Is Fibromayalga Real?

[alarson]

As an insurance claim adjuster for 30 years, I first began to see this diagnosis about 1995. Keep in mind, "fibro" means muscle fibers are involved, and "myalgia" just means muscle pain. What I observed is that there is no evidence for this diagnosis. Many illnesses and diseases can be verified with a test. Many physical ailments can be verified with X-Ray, MRI, CT scan, etc.

With fibromyalgia there is nothing to see, no test to prove it. It seemed to be a term developed for otherwise unexplained pain. It could be real, it's just not objective.

I became skeptical because it became such a popular diagnosis for people involved in auto accidents, usually those who retained an attorney. Again, this is not evidence, but I'm just explaining the basis for my doubts.

So, whereas I had been settling claims for a few thousand dollars when people were stiff and sore for several weeks, with fibromyalgia the argument became that the accident didn't just cause temporary muscle sprain or strain. Now it was a debilitating crippling pain with no discernible cure or resolution. And all with no physical or medical proof, but requiring much more money to compensate the victim.

So, this doesn't answer the question, it is just one man's experience.

Or hear me out, maybe those companies were undercompensating people who had real pain before but couldnt prove it and didnt have a name for what was happening to them.

There's a lot we still don't understand about pain. We certainly know certain things that can cause pain, but there's a lot we don't know.

 

[bstegs]

I would argue that it is real in at least some cases. My wife has been diagnosed with both sjogren's syndrome as well as fibromyalgia. I believe both are considered autoimmune disorders. She has bouts of debilitating pain in her extremities and through her arms. She also suffers from the aforementioned fatigue during flare-ups.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

I would argue that it is real in at least some cases. My wife has been diagnosed with both sjogren's syndrome as well as fibromyalgia. I believe both are considered autoimmune disorders. She has bouts of debilitating pain in her extremities and through her arms. She also suffers from the aforementioned fatigue during flare-ups.

I wonder if inflamation has anything to do with it?

 

[deadeyededric]

I never understood questioning someone who says they are feeling pain.

What if they are hypochondriacs that think everything is going to kill them? Same girl I'm talking about will take a week off of work if she has a runny nose. She's lost a lot of jobs due to calling in sick 5-10 days a month.

 

[Shawker]

In my experience the people I've met with fibromyalgia have underlying mental health issues that they refuse to acknowledge. Anxiety and depression are well known to manifest in physical pain, fatigue, etc.

 

[isufbcurt]

What if they are hypochondriacs that think everything is going to kill them? Same girl I'm talking about will take a week off of work if she has a runny nose.

But you don't know if they have pain or not.

 

[deadeyededric]

But you don't know if they have pain or not.

In the case of my friend, I think she has mental problems and this is how she gets attention. I know that sounds terrible but I think it's true.

 

[isufbcurt]

In the case of my friend, I think she has mental problems and this is how she gets attention.

 

[carvers4math]

What if they are hypochondriacs that think everything is going to kill them? Same girl I'm talking about will take a week off of work if she has a runny nose. She's lost a lot of jobs due to calling in sick 5-10 days a month.

Is she a girl or a middle aged woman who is lonely and needs attention?

 

[jsb]

In the case of my friend, I think she has mental problems and this is how she gets attention. I know that sounds terrible but I think it's true.

Why do you care so much? It’s weird that you are posting on a sports message board about an obviously hard to diagnose disease and claiming that someone is faking it. If you think she’s faking it then don’t be friends with her. Don’t interact with her.

But maybe recognize that you have no ******* idea if she’s got it or not. You have no ide ma if she’s faking or not. In general women tend to under emphasize their medical conditions especially ones where ******** spend time and effort trying to discredit them.

 

[deadeyededric]

Is she a girl or a middle aged woman who is lonely and needs attention?

42 and lonely. She can't stick to Dr. recommended diets or anything.

 

[BCClone]

42 and lonely

@NWICY may have some time on his hands.

 

[carvers4math]

I would argue that it is real in at least some cases. My wife has been diagnosed with both sjogren's syndrome as well as fibromyalgia. I believe both are considered autoimmune disorders. She has bouts of debilitating pain in her extremities and through her arms. She also suffers from the aforementioned fatigue during flare-ups.

I have a neighbor with both sjogren’s and rheumatoid arthritis. Her daughter-in-law passed away and she tries to help her son with his two toddlers and is terrified the pain and fatigue will be too much. Husband and I have run across the street to help her with the older one. She’s afraid to tell her son how much pain she is having.

 

[cowgirl836]

As an insurance claim adjuster for 30 years, I first began to see this diagnosis about 1995. Keep in mind, "fibro" means muscle fibers are involved, and "myalgia" just means muscle pain. What I observed is that there is no evidence for this diagnosis. Many illnesses and diseases can be verified with a test. Many physical ailments can be verified with X-Ray, MRI, CT scan, etc.

With fibromyalgia there is nothing to see, no test to prove it. It seemed to be a term developed for otherwise unexplained pain. It could be real, it's just not objective.

I became skeptical because it became such a popular diagnosis for people involved in auto accidents, usually those who retained an attorney. Again, this is not evidence, but I'm just explaining the basis for my doubts.

So, whereas I had been settling claims for a few thousand dollars when people were stiff and sore for several weeks, with fibromyalgia the argument became that the accident didn't just cause temporary muscle sprain or strain. Now it was a debilitating crippling pain with no discernible cure or resolution. And all with no physical or medical proof, but requiring much more money to compensate the victim.

So, this doesn't answer the question, it is just one man's experience.

Just because something doesn't have an objective test as of today, doesn't mean it's made up. There was no covid test this time 3 yrs ago. The other thing is that ailments that are deemed to be more impactful for women (like autoimmune) often don't get the same funding and research resources. Meaning it may take longer to get those kind of objective testing measures developed. Resources at this stage probably better spent on treatment research.

 

[Gunnerclone]

So is this the same thing as “Chronic pain”? These people could all be getting great pricing on medical cannabis. Clear ‘em right up with a nice GG4 or Northern Lights.

 

[cowgirl836]

42 and lonely. She can't stick to Dr. recommended diets or anything.

I mean, neither can a lot of smokers, middle aged men with heart disease or pre diabetes. Doesn't make their illnesses less real.

 

[83cy]

Unless they've changed recently, fibermyalgia is recognized as a disability under Social Security.

Anything and everything is recogized as a disability under Social Secrurity, so that proves nothing. Not saying fibermyalgia is or isn't real.

 

[Mr Janny]

Why do you care so much? It’s weird that you are posting on a sports message board about an obviously hard to diagnose disease and claiming that someone is faking it. If you think she’s faking it then don’t be friends with her. Don’t interact with her.

But maybe recognize that you have no ******* idea if she’s got it or not. You have no ide ma if she’s faking or not. In general women tend to under emphasize their medical conditions especially ones where ******** spend time and effort trying to discredit them.

Because it's fascinating. I don't really know what fibromyalgia is, but people faking pain/illness for attention is absolutely a real phenomenon that 100% occurs.

I used to work with a woman who absolutely faked illnesses in her children. The number and frequency of her kids' ailments was staggering, and shockingly topical. If there was a new illness going around, they always got it first. If someone brought up an allergy, they had it too. Her kids had multiple seizures, anaphylaxis, Lyme disease, SARS, pneumonia, etc, all in the course of 12 months, with multiple occurrences of several of them. She missed almost 25% of work days for an entire calendar year, due to sickness in her kids.
There was no fathomable way that her kids were that sick all of the time.

And that's fascinating that some people will do that, and will continue to do it, even after all believability has been exhausted.

I'm not passing judgement, but it's definitely something that is interesting as hell, and worthy of study.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Because it's fascinating. I don't really know what fibromyalgia is, but people faking pain/illness for attention is absolutely a real phenomenon that 100% occurs.

I used to work with a woman who absolutely faked illnesses in her children. The number and frequency of her kids' ailments was staggering, and shockingly topical. If there was a new illness going around, they always got it first. If someone brought up an allergy, they had it too. Her kids had multiple seizures, anaphylaxis, Lyme disease, SARS, pneumonia, etc, all in the course of 12 months, with multiple occurrences of several of them. She missed almost 25% of work days for an entire calendar year, due to sickness in her kids.
There was no fathomable way that her kids were that sick all of the time.

And that's fascinating that some people will do that, and will continue to do it, even after all believability has been exhausted.

I'm not passing judgement, but it's definitely something that is interesting as hell, and worthy of study.

Allergies are also fascinating to me.

 

[cowgirl836]

Because it's fascinating. I don't really know what fibromyalgia is, but people faking pain/illness for attention is absolutely a real phenomenon that 100% occurs.

I used to work with a woman who absolutely faked illnesses in her children. The number and frequency of her kids' ailments was staggering, and shockingly topical. If there was a new illness going around, they always got it first. If someone brought up an allergy, they had it too. Her kids had multiple seizures, anaphylaxis, Lyme disease, SARS, pneumonia, etc, all in the course of 12 months, with multiple occurrences of several of them. She missed almost 25% of work days for an entire calendar year, due to sickness in her kids.
There was no fathomable way that her kids were that sick all of the time.

And that's fascinating that some people will do that, and will continue to do it, even after all believability has been exhausted.

I'm not passing judgement, but it's definitely something that is interesting as hell, and worthy of study.

That does sound extreme and likely at least partially muchensans by proxy or whatever but just based on say....260 work days...if I had taken a sick day every day our kids were home in 2022, my count as of today with a puker last night is 48. That's 18% of the year with 3 weeks left. I'm sure we'll hit 50.