Talk:Fibromyalgia

Hi, I'm far from being an expert on this, but my ex-G/F had what was apparently a relatively minor auto accident about 4 years ago and she was in various kinds of pain that could not be diagnosed for several years afterward, with serious consequences to our relationship. Eventually she came under "pain management" specialists and we discussed, for a year or so, also with our accident lawyer, who is very knowledgeable in the field, whether or not she had fibromyalgia and, if so, we wanted to pursue this vis-a-vis the insurance people. My own understanding after all of this time is that it is still a very controversial notion -- some doctors agree that it exists, others do not. (Like the earlier Chronic Fatigue.) I'm certainly not going to try to contribute anything to the article, or even to edit it, but I think that the lede paragraph ought to have at least *something* to the effect that it is still controversial and that many medical workers adamantly deny its existence. (Not me, though....) Hayford Peirce 22:23, 8 October 2008 (CDT)

In the last couple of years, there has started to be a good deal of consensus that there is a syndrome that has certain specific characteristics; many chronic soft tissue pain disorders don't qualify, although the treatments for that class of chronic pain tend to have commonalities. The disease guideline that quickly came up was http://www.guideline.gov/summary/summary.aspx?doc_id=7298#s24, I find an American College of Rheumatology list of diagnostic criteria from 1990, but I know there is more recent work. eMedicine has a recent review: http://www.emedicine.com/med/TOPIC790.HTM

Let me put it this way: I believe there is substantial evidence for a spectrum of chronic soft tissue pain disorders, which often have a fatigue and emotional component -- and, by emotional, I mean treatable. The exact boundaries of the disorders, and the treatment plans for a specific patient, are difficult, but almost all competent chronic pain therapy has to be individualized. If at all possible, you want to have an interdisciplinary team treating the spectrum of conditions. Howard C. Berkowitz 00:10, 9 October 2008 (CDT)

My understanding was that if you could say OUCH! to something like 17 out of 26 points on your body when you were poked, then you had it. Or at least enough pain to make doctors take you seriously. Fortunately, for me at least, it is now a totally academic interest -- the insurance company eventually handed over some big bucks but fibro. never officially came into the picture, even in the 5-foot shelf of documents that we accumulated. But it sure screwed up my life for a couple of years.... Hayford Peirce 12:42, 9 October 2008 (CDT)

PS -- I got a haircut this morning and my barber (a lady) was explaining to another barber, a man, that MSG and meat tenderizer were the same thing, and that Chinese restaurants had stopped using it because the tenderized meat then tenderized your muscles after you ate it. The guy nodded (I suppose) and said, "Ah, it makes your muscles soft." I had my eyes closed, as is my wont when I go to the barbershop, and didn't say anything...." Hayford Peirce 12:46, 9 October 2008 (CDT)

Do we need an article on "they", the ultimate sourcing of too many things?

It looks like that someone started editing the pain articles last year, and not much has happened since. They go onto my ToDo list

Organization

I hope nobody minds that I moved some of the para from the very long intro section into the appropriate sections they address.

Can someone please add references to paras 3 and 4? I do not think we should cite stats without attributing them no state a questionnaire is validated without attributing its validation and the lack of validation of all other questionnaires. I am suspicious that the FIQ is not the only validated questionnaire. - Robert Badgett 21:42, 19 February 2009 (UTC)