Fibromyalgia diagnostic tests?

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Gil

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Hi everyone,
My dad (mid 50s) has been experiencing intense muscle pain and tenderness in shoulder, chest, arm, leg, and really bad GERD issues for around 1 year. He also having really bad sleep problems (and depression), and taking several medications such as etoricoxib/orinox and omeprazole (both not really effective). He has been meeting several specialists (therapist, neurologist, rheumatologist, pathologist, orthopedics, etc). He took several tests like physical test, palpation, ANA, stool test, Complete blood test, X-ray, and MRI as recommended, but none of them showed any conclusive results (everythings fine). All of the doctors seems puzzled and can not diagnose the problems, and they are just giving drugs.

My dad symtomps are really similar with fibromyalgia (i do intensive interview about his symptoms).
I'm just wondering, what kind of test that can detect fibromyalgia and gives a definite/conclusive result. And then, please share your story about what kind of test did you take before get diagnosed, and how your doctors do the diagnosis (?).

I will appreciate any help/story/suggestion from everyone here, and please forgive my english.
Thank you very much!
 
Hi Gil,
Unfortunately there is no test that gives a conclusive result to identify and diagnose Fibromyalgia. It is diagnosed most often when everything else has been ruled out. There is a test some doctors do which is pressing on certain points in the back, to see if it causes pain. but many doctors don't bother with this test because it is not reliable. I have had this test three times, and had different results each time because on one day it didn't hurt, while on another day if you pressed on any part of my body it would have caused intense pain.

Keep in mind that Fibromyalgia is not a precise diagnosis, but rather an umbrella term used when they really cannot find a cause for your pain and other symptoms. The diagnosis is useful in terms of getting medication and/or having insurance cover some things, but other than that it's not helpful because there's no cure and no one treatment that works for everyone, or even for the majority of people.

Read the posts about the things that help various individuals the most, and get your Dad to try implementing these things to see if they help.
Honestly, that is about all you can do. I would strongly recommend that you try to steer your father away from any opiate medications or other narcotic medications for the pain, as they will not continue working as well as they do at first, requiring more and more and leading to addiction.
By the way, your English is just fine!
Best of luck to you and your Dad.
 
It simply does my head in, trying to come to grips with a condition /disease/wtf. I have not been able to get a doctor to confirm what I know is fibromyalgia simply through the desperation of information mining. I really think the advice to keep medication as low as possible, first trying not to do any more harm. I have taken a non steroid anti inflammatory for years every day... I have had to stop them. My kidney function suffered unexpectedly and now I only take one in desperation. Having a bout of depression about it all as my pain has been tumbling around me. My specialist is awesome but concentrates on my long standing structural issues and pain control. Blocks of cortisone and anesthetic... Nerve ablation... Some days I feel like I have walked through a buzz saw and have been given a pack of steri strips to keep my body together!.... Good nutrition. I find a tablet for pain that includes a slight sedation at night helps. Duloxetine for depression helps with pain to some extent. Rest. Distraction therapy for him. Something to do he enjoys like reading, music, Sudoku, painting, writing, anything to help give peace... Prayer, not for him specifically, others... What a cluster of sadness this thing can be. BUT hopefully you and he can find a health care provider /doctor of understanding. A word to the wise... You can't fix him. I know that you want to. Love is all that matters right now between you. The burden otherwise will be very heavy indeed. Xx
 
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Thanks for the replies, i really appreciated it.
I really understand your pains and really hope the best for you all!

I wish to share updates of my dad, his conditions are getting worse everyday, and he crying all day long, and also he suffered depressions. He seems to lost his spirit to fight the disease, he said that he tried everythings like exercise, drugs, and anything seem only to getting worse (he cant work, drive, sleep, eat, and sit). This covid and economic crisis things make his depression a lot worse (he really wished to die, and stuff). I think his depression also cause really severe IBS, that makes him really nausea and vomit all he ate, he lost a really lot of weight and cant barely walk. I think he feels sad and can not accept the reality of his disease. Currently, my families will try to get any help available from physicians and physcologist to fix his mental issues. I really planned to get him hospitalized, but he denied it because he is really scared of corona. He also said that he dont wanna go to doctors because they cant fix him, and dont wanna take some drugs since it make him feel a worse next day.

I just want to remind you all that your mental health are really important weapon to fight this disease, only you can control it, and you should not let this fibro control yourself. I know that you might think that, it is easier to say for me, because i dont feel the pains. But i do really wish thay everyone of you can feel happy and keep experimenting everythings to make you feel better.

Remember it is not a death sentence, or life time sufferings. It is not always this bad, believe that the pain will go and everything is going to be okay.

All the best from me.
 
All you say is true, Gil.
As for your Dad, I wonder for how long did he try changing his diet and doing exercise and so on. I find that many if not most people will try something for only a very short time and if they don't see results quickly they will give up and say it didn't work. That's the result of living in a world where everyone these days wants a quick fix - take a pill and feel better. This syndrome is not like that. You have to give every thing you try a good long time to see if it works, and you have to try only one thing at a time.

I am not saying you should tell this to your Dad; it might not help at all. the worst thing is it sounds as though he has given up, and that is a shame. I know he's in extremely bad shape, but people who have been in such bad shape as he have still managed to do things to help themselves, so it is possible.

There's a book you might want to read. Written by a woman whose health deteriorated to the point all she could do was lie on the bathroom floor all day and in bed all night for two whole years, and no one anywhere could tell her what was wrong with her. She found a way out. Now, I don't necessarily agree with everything she says and she is repetitive, and the book could be at least 100 pages shorter! But I thought it was worth reading, anyway. It's called "The Lady's Handbook For Her Mysterious Illness", by Sarah Ramey. It is slanted heavily toward women (one of the things I don't like about the book) but a lot of what she says about the path to a life even when your health has hit bottom applies equally toward men. Maybe something in there will help you, even if it doesn't help your Dad. Best of luck to you.
 
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I very much agree! I was diagnosed with fibro at age 27 and I’m now 60 . I went into remission for at least 12 years
So there is hope and also some reminders: on good days enjoy the small things and be balanced , on bad days reflect on the good days and that this will pass. I am recently in a flare and it is hard not to get exasperated or depressed. Those of that suffer this CHRONIC disease will require of us to dig deep and seek out whatever ways we can to re focus - just never give up hugs 🤗
 
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