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Fibromyalgia symptoms or not? Understand the fibromyalgia diagnosis process
The sooner your fibromyalgia symptoms are diagnosed, the sooner they can be treated. Find out how to ensure you don't spend years searching for a fibromyalgia diagnosis.
By Mayo Clinic staffIf you have widespread pain, you and your doctor may wonder if you're experiencing fibromyalgia symptoms. But determining whether you do indeed have fibromyalgia symptoms isn't an easy process. It's not uncommon to spend years going from doctor to doctor and undergoing tests for conditions as varied as arthritis, depression and multiple sclerosis before reaching a fibromyalgia diagnosis.
The fibromyalgia diagnosis process can be frustrating. Here's a look at why it may take so long to go from fibromyalgia symptoms to fibromyalgia diagnosis and what you can do to make the process more efficient for you and your doctors.
Fibromyalgia symptoms: Not always as clear
Fibromyalgia can't be easily confirmed or ruled out through a simple laboratory test. Your doctor can't detect it in your blood or see it on an X-ray. Instead, your doctor relies on your symptoms. Unfortunately, fibromyalgia symptoms may vary widely from one person to the next.
The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) guidelines direct doctors making a fibromyalgia diagnosis to test 18 points on your body for tenderness. Your doctor puts light pressure with his or her fingers on each point to see whether you feel pain. ACR criteria state that pain at 11 of the points may indicate fibromyalgia. Even that guideline is controversial, though, and some specialists question whether it's useful because fibromyalgia symptoms may come and go. You may experience pain in one area of your body, rather than over your entire body.
To further complicate the diagnosis, you may experience signs and symptoms that are seemingly unrelated to fibromyalgia. Chronic stomachaches or headaches combined with the pain you're experiencing may lead your doctor to suspect other similar conditions first.
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