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Fibromyalgia as a disease is extremely difficult to diagnose. The primary reason is that the symptoms are such that they often mislead doctors towards belonging that they belong to some other illness. The most basic symptom of this disease is muscular pain along with inflammation or swelling. For this reason, it is often confused with arthritis mainly because both arthritis and fibromyalgia primarily affect the joints.

Unlike arthritis, however, the pain is not localized in a specific joint or muscle; it’s widespread, throbbing, sharp and deep. While the pain is widespread, many fibromyalgia patients also report “tender spots” where pain is felt more sharply if the area is pressed. Doctors have narrowed down the number of tender points to 18 specific locations. Under these circumstances, it’s easy to understand why fibromyalgia is so difficult to diagnose.

Swelling or damage in the joints is known as arthritis. Some patients affected by arthritis though, could also be suffering from fibromyalgia. The swelling caused because of fibromyalgia occurs mostly in the hands and the feet. This can be used as a distinguishing tool between patients of arthritis and those of fibromyalgia. While those suffering from fibromyalgia get swellings that resemble edema, those suffering from arthritis get swelling which are particularly located at the joints.

Stiffness in the joints, especially in the morning. It’s this joint stiffness which often leads doctors to mistake the diseas for arthritis. Making it even more difficult to diagnosis Fibromyalgia is that the disease often appears in conjunction with other forms of arthritis. It’s very common, for instance, for a patient to suffer from both rheumatoid arthritis and Fibromyalgia.

While the disease has become well known for its mystery and the challenge associated with its diagnosis, health care professionals are more aware of the telltale Fibromyalgia symptoms than ever before. Using the 18 specific tender spots as guides and learning to identify pain by degress and location have helped enormously.

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