The condition itself is related to arthritis and was once thought of as a psychological problem since laboratory tests found no indication that there was something wrong with individuals who had the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

However, later studies have verified the existence of the condition. The fact of the matter is it was only 14 years ago when the American College of Rheumatology recognized fibromyalgia and legitimized it as a human disorder.

Recent statistics indicate that fibromyalgia affects between 3 – 5 million of the U.S. population. Diagnosing the condition is now a formalized process. People who exhibit a history of widespread pain on both sides of the body in the upper and lower areas of the waist for at least three months, as well as pain in at least 11 of 18 specified tender-point areas are most likely suffering from fibromyalgia.

Modern medicine has already found ways of treating fibromyalgia, although there is currently no specific FDA approved fibromyalgia medication. However, there are drugs that are prescribed to relieve the pain. Such drugs include aspirin, ibuprofen and other pain relievers. Antidepressants are also commonly prescribed to help relieve depression and may also help with sleep disorders that often come with having fibromyalgia. Doctors also recommend muscle relaxants such as cyclobenzaprine among others.

However, the best treatment plan doesn’t involve drugs alone. It is actually a combination of exercise, medicine, physical therapy and relaxation that helps individuals with fibromyalgia to overcome the condition.

A study that was carried out on 84 fibromyalgia sufferers, where half the group where given normal medications and the other half followed a self-help program instead. This involved swimming, exercise, relaxation techniques and small modifications in diet.

The self-help group reported the most positive benefits, feeling less fatigue, depression and anxiety alone with added boost of more energy. The first group who followed the medical treatments reported no difference in their condition at the end of the trial.

So, to introduce self-help methods to your treatment plan try low-impact aerobic exercises such as walking and swimming. Interestingly, strength training has also shown to be helpful in treating fibromyalgia patients.

These types of exercises increase muscle and overall body flexibility and strength. These also help relieve pain and can help patients sleep. Plus, doctors have successfully tested that heat and massage offer short-term relief from pain and muscle stiffness. The key, however, is moderation. Just like normal exercises, the body cannot take too much of something. With this in mind, it is important to work closely with your doctor to determine the type of exercises and how much you should do.

Aside from regular exercises, there are a number of natural and self-care techniques that patients with fibromyalgia can observe for faster recovery.
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Patients with fibromyalgia should learn to reduce stress in their everyday life. This stress can be either overexertion from day to day activities, or emotional stress from family or personal life. It is vital that patients learn to relax and take it easy. The more stressed they become, the more their condition will worsen. Deep-breathing exercises or meditation can be very effective means to manage or control your stress.

Another option you might consider is to avoid fatigue. Rest whenever you feel fatigued and make sure that you get sufficient sleep everyday. However, you should limit your daytime naps, and set up a regular go-to-sleep ritual that relaxes you and helps you prepare for a good night’s sleep.

The study also included dietary changes and you’ve no doubt heard often about the importance of a healthy diet, and it has never been truer than with fibromyalgia. Be sure to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and other nutritious foods. Drink plenty of water and stay away from processed, fast or fried foods. Also now is the time to give up smoking and possibly also alcohol. Live a healthy life and go out and play and feel happy, satisfied and fulfilled. Having a positive predisposition in life also has an effect on your health.

Self help for fibromyalgia is very much available, and accessible if you start putting some of these simple steps into practice.

These two medical conditions have baffled the medical community for quite a while now. It took them years to establish and release official guidelines for the two syndrome’s diagnosis.

Both FMS and CFS are non-fatal conditions. And because the conditions do not damage any body tissue, no permanent physical effects have been observed from people who had the syndromes. Nevertheless, the damaging effects might not be present in the body itself, but rather the conditions can greatly affect relationships in families, with friends and employers.

Most evident and most immediately affected by these syndromes are job performance and family relations. This is why it is very important that patients have a solid support group to help them cope with the hardships they will have to face as they treat their conditions.

Fibromyalgia syndrome or FMS is usually categorized by the pain patients feel in their muscles, particularly in the areas like the back of your head, neck, upper chest, elbows, hips and knees. The pain usually needs to be consistent for at least three months before fibromyalgia is considered as the cause.

Also there other symptoms that accompany the disorder which helps doctors distinguish the syndrome from CFS or from other related disorders or diseases for that matter. Aside from the chronic pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons, feelings of extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, depression and anxiety are some of the other symptoms of FMS.

While people diagnosed with CFS have symptoms like muscle weakness, digestive disturbances, loss of brain function, hypersensitivity, orthostatic intolerance (the body has an abnormal reactions when standing up), depression, immune system weakness, and even cardiac and respiratory problems. But these are just accompanying conditions and the most prominent symptom of a person with CFS is fatigue. Fatigue can vary from mild to severe; however, these instances of feeling exhaustion can occur in unexpected situations.

For example, patients that have possible CFS will feel exhausted quickly even if he/she is doing very simple, normal activities. Some doctors or experts insists that before the patient is officially diagnosed as having CFS, the condition of fatigue and tiredness be present for a period of six consecutive months. Also, the fatigue felt by patients should not be associated with other medical conditions or disease like cancer.

However, although these are two separate conditions there appears to be quite a significant overlap between them and it is thought they may make up part of a wider spectrum of similar conditions. Your diagnosis of either fibromyalgia or CFS may depend on which symptom presents itself first.

They are both similar conditions to arthritis where the symptoms can come and go and also vary in severity.

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Many of the treatment options for both fibromyalgia chronic fatigue syndrome are similar, which stands to reason given the symptoms are also very similar.

Serotonin, fibromyalgia and high blood pressure

Serotonins are neuro-transmitters that pass on messages from one cell to the next via synapses. In the central nervous system, serotonin affects memory, mood and sensations of pain. A condition called Serotonin Syndrome is characterized by increased serotonin levels in the body.

For people who have fibromyalgia, serotonin syndrome can become a problem. Some of the newer and most promising treatments for fibromyalgia are serotonin-based medications. These medications provide relief from pain and muscle stiffness but they can also elevate the levels of serotonin in the body. As a result, fibromyalgia patients can feel dizzy, restless, confused, uncoordinated, sweaty and anxious.

If left untreated, this syndrome can lead to complications including high blood pressure. If allowed to progress, high blood pressure as a result of fibromyalgia medication can be life-threatening and lead to seizures and strokes.

High blood pressure as a result of fibromyalgia

In a recent study conducted by the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Wisconsin, it was found that fibromyalgia increases the risk developing metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome brings with it a host of risk factors that include stroke and high blood pressure.

In the study that involved 109 women who have fibromyalgia, it was found that they were 5.5 times more likely to develop metabolic risks than women who were healthy are. They also tended to have higher body mass index, LDL cholesterol levels, glycosylated hemoglobin and yes, high blood pressure.

Changing the way we treat fibromyalgia

The American Heart Association recently made a statement regarding the use of certain drugs to treat chronic pain, including those associated with fibromyalgia. According to the statement, the AHA advises doctors to use treatments that are non-pharmacologic as a first line of defense against fibromyalgia. Only when this approach fails should doctors consider medications to provide relief but only in a ’stepped-care’ approach. The AHA believes that chronic pain, including fibromyalgia pain, can be overcome without the need to expose patients to risks such as heart problems and high blood pressure.

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Due to the side effects of certain medications, fibromyalgia is often inadvertently linked to high blood pressure. Because of the accompanying risks involved, patients must work closely with their doctors to find the proper medications that can treat their disorder and still keep the negative risks low. Patients should be aware of the fibromyalgia high blood pressure connection so they know what to expect and to see their doctor immediately if a negative reaction is experienced.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder, with the pain symptom being widespread musculoskeletal pain and the presence of multiple tender points. There are 18 specific tender points and doctors will usually look for the patient to express pain for at least 11 when pressed using mild force. , They can be found in the areas near the neck, spine, shoulders, hips, knees and elbows. Fibromyalgia patients also exhibit a myriad of other symptoms, with the most common being sleep disorders, morning stiffness, fatigue, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, depression and anxiety.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is also a chronic disorder, which is also known as chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome (CFIDS), or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME). People with CFS feel a persistent fatigue that does not improve with rest. They will feel tired immediately even if they were just doing ordinary and normal activities. They can feel exhausted for no apparent reason and be housebound or bed-bound for long periods of time.

Studies have indicated that about 80 percent of patients diagnosed with CFS were observed to have an overlapping diagnosis of fibromyalgia. There is some speculation that because of this close relationship fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are actually part of a wider spectrum of disorders and therefore are linked.

When treating fibromyalgia, doctors and experts recommend having a holistic approach. Treatment programs for fibromyalgia are not piece-meal processes. Everyone involved should be an active player. The patients, the doctors, the therapists, and the family and friends should play active roles in the treatment programs. The support group of patients with fibromyalgia should be as strong as their will power will need to be to recover from their condition.

There are a number of treatment programs that patients can adopt that reduce symptoms. For one, low impact aerobic exercises have shown to have positive impacts, with fibromyalgia patients reporting reduced pain and improved sleep. These exercises include swimming and walking both of which targets the muscles making them more fit which reduces muscle pain and tenderness. Exercise also releases certain hormones and chemicals that can block pain receptors and boost the immune system.

Other forms of treatment for fibromyalgia include heat and massage therapies. These help to increase the blood flow to the muscles to encourage healing. Medications are also available and include painkillers, antidepressant medications for elevating moods, sleep drugs and muscle relaxants. However the best results seem to come from patients who use a combination of medication, exercise, diet modifications, physical therapy, and meditation and relaxation in their fibromyalgia treatment programs.

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Treating chronic fatigue syndrome uses similar methods to the fibromyalgia treatments. It has been observed that patients with the condition are also more likely to improve their condition if they use an integrated treatment approach in their programs.

As symptoms and severity can vary so much from patient to patient, doctors will normally try to address the worse symptoms first. There are medicines that can target sleeping problems, cognitive difficulties and pain, however CFS patients are often sensitive to these so dosages are normally lowered.

Herbal treatments are an option and although your doctor won’t prescribe these, anecdotally CFS sufferers have experienced significant improvements.

You should be aware however, that herbal treatments can inter-react with other medicines and you should seek medical advice before taking anything.

Amending your diet to remove caffeine, refined sugar, and alcohol is also recommended as many CFS sufferers report sensitivities to these products. If you smoke you should try and give up, if not for your lungs, but because it can make symptoms worse.

Some patients have found relief through alternative treatments like gentle massage, acupuncture and mediation. If you wish to try an alternative treatment method try to find a practitioner who has experience of CFS.

Just like fibromyalgia, medications alone don’t normally succeed in alleviating all the CFS symptoms. By combining conventional medicines with treatments like meditation or relaxation, stress management, emotional and mental health counseling, and sleep management both fibromyalgia chronic fatigue syndrome can be better managed.