Fibromyalgia Disorder

Introduction

Fibromyalgia is a condition that is characterized by the existence of widespread musculoskeletal pain and symptoms of memory issues, sleep and fatigue. The disorder triggers painful sensations attributed to the distortion of the manner in which the brain processes the pain signals. This paper pays high attention to the criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia, risk factors, diagnostic test, and ways of explaining these diagnostic tests to the patients.

Diagnostic criteria

The diagnosis of fibromyalgia is difficult as its symptoms resemble other conditions. For a person to satisfy the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia, the physician must ascertain existence of three major conditions. These include the widespread pain index by the patient that is greater than seven and a scale score of more than seven (Engdahl, 2010).In addition, the patient must show relevant symptoms for more than three months. The scale score explains the symptoms such as the muscle pain and cramps, irritable bowel syndrome, general weakness among others. Besides, the symptoms score comprises of the severity of the somatic symptoms of the disorder such as Cognitive symptoms, the patient waking unrefreshed, and fatigue. The patient should not have a similar disorder with symptoms that can be used to explain the occurrence of pain and fatigue.

Risk factors

The risk factors for fibromyalgia include the family history, sex, and rheumatic disease. The disorder occurs mostly in women as compared to their male counterparts. A person whose immediate family member or relative has developed the condition is at a great chance of developing the same condition. Similarly, people who had previously suffered from a rheumatic disease such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis have an increased risk of developing fibromyalgia disorder (Engdahl, 2010).

Diagnostic Tests

There are no diagnostic tests for fibromyalgia. However, there are several tests carried out to rule out other conditions. Physicians conduct physical examination of the symptoms such as pain, body weakness, muscle cramps and fatigue and rule out other conditions (McCarberg et al., 2009). The FM/a test is used to identify the immune symptom markers in the immune system of the blood cells in people suspected to have fibromyalgia disorder. The diagnosis of the condition is largely dependent on the patient to give a thorough explanation of the feeling to the physician during a physical examination. Since the main feature of fibromyalgia is widespread pain, the doctor asks the patient to give a vivid description of the pain in order to rule out other possible causes of pain. However, the physician can notice tender points during the examination by use of the digital palpitation. The doctor can use the complete blood count test to rule out anemia that can cause pain and fatigue (McCarberg et al., 2009).Over-activity or under-activity of the thyroid glands can be identified using the thyroid tests. Routine blood tests are useful for the exclusion of other differential diagnosis.

Explaining the diagnosis to the patient

Upon suspecting fibromyalgia, the doctor may perform the tenderness to pressure at specific tender points or certain spots before confirmation of the case. However, the doctor cannot perform diagnosis before communicating with the patient (Engdahl, 2010).The doctor explains the diagnosis to the patient through physical examination as it is the primary method of diagnosing the condition. Although other tests are crucial to rule out other disorders with similar symptoms, interaction with the patient is vital to give the specific feeling.

Conclusion

It is, therefore, evident that fibromyalgia is a common condition among men and women. Moreover, it is contributed by inheritance, sex and rheumatic disease. However, the condition can be ruled out by conducting blood tests to the suspected individuals.

References

Engdahl, Sylvia. (2010).Fibromyalgia. Detroit: Greenhaven Press/Gale Cengage Print.

McCarberg, Bill H, and Daniel J Clauw. (2009).Fibromyalgia. New York: Informa Healthcare, Print.