If you find yourself confused about fibromyalgia, you are not alone. Patients, physicians, and researchers alike have been perplexed by this complex condition. Even as few as ten years ago, there was little discussion about this syndrome within the medical community. With the wide array of symptoms associated with it, fibromyalgia was often confused with the symptoms which accompanied it, and consequently was misdiagnosed or thought to be "in the mind." Today science has recognized fibromyalgia as a rheumatic autoimmune disorder affecting between 3 and 6 million Americans each year. What was once thought of a psychosomatic complaint has turned out to be a complex disorder which is only now beginning to be understood.

Your health care professional may use other names for this condition including fibromyositis, fibrositis, periarticular fibrositis, muscular rheumatism, chronic muscle pain syndrome, musculoskeletal pain syndrome, and tension myalgia. However, fibromyalgia, which means pain of the muscles and other fibrous tissue, is now the acknowledged term. It is now accepted that the following two criteria must be met for a diagnosis of fibromyalgia: widespread musculoskeletal pain in all four quadrants of the body for at least three months duration, in combination with tenderness at 11 or more of the 18 specific "tender point" sites.(1)

What causes this disorder? We simply do not know yet. However, the medical community has begun to develop theories about how certain life events can act as triggers which somehow relate to its onset. While these triggers do not necessarily cause fibromyalgia, it is thought that they might somehow awaken some underlying abnormality which then leads to the onset of the disorder. Some of these triggers include such things as infections and physical traumas like an automobile accident. Illnesses such as lupus, "leaky gut" syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis are being looked at as possible triggers as well.

Part of the confusion over fibromyalgia is that it mimics, or looks like, many other diseases or conditions. That is why, in the past, it was so often misdiagnosed. For years, the diagnosis of fibromyalgia was difficult because objective signs, such as inflammation and joint deformity, are not associated with the condition. In fact, many clinicians initially thought that fibromyalgia was a psychiatric illness. Today, several well-designed studies have disproved this theory.(2, 3) Fibromyalgia is now accepted as a physical illness.

Other conditions that may commonly mimic, or look like, fibromyalgia include hypothyroidism, lupus, Lyme disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and infections. We now know that there is a very close relationship between fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.(4) Still again, some patients have absolutely no underlying or related disorder. No wonder this condition is so difficult to diagnose with absolute certainty!

The good news is that medical science is taking this disorder seriously now. That means that there will be more studies conducted which will give us some of the answers to the complexity of this condition. Studies published in medical journals offer information to the healthcare professional which assist them in making diagnostic and treatment decisions. In the meantime, there are lifestyle and nutritional changes that patients with fibromyalgia may make which may help with the many symptoms associated with FM. Listed below is information which covers what has been reported in these journals about how to treat FM. This information is useful for the patient and healthcare professional alike and covers both conventional and alternative treatments.

Connection to "Leaky Gut" Syndrome: Epidemiological studies have confirmed that patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) frequently overlap with fibromyalgia (FM). Fibromyalgia occurs in up to 60 percent of patients with functional bowel disorders. Up to 50 percent of patients with a diagnosis of FM syndrome complain of symptoms characteristic of functional dyspepsia, and 70 percent have symptoms of IBS.(5) These digestive problems can cause a leaky gut, which can cause multiple food allergies, weakened immunity, increased toxicity, psychological disturbances, nutrient depletions, and low energy.