Fibromyalgia syndrome (aka FMS)
http://nro.sagepub.com/content/14/5/415
This article presents evidence that fibromyalgia patients have alterations in CNS anatomy, physiology, and chemistry that potentially contribute to the symptoms experienced by these patients. There is substantial psychophysical evidence that fibromyalgia patients perceive pain and other noxious stimuli differently than healthy individuals and that normal pain modulatory systems, such as diffuse noxious inhibitory control mechanisms, are compromised in fibromyalgia. Furthermore, functional brain imaging studies revealing enhanced pain-related activations corroborate the patients' reports of increased pain. Neurotransmitter studies show that fibromyalgia patients have abnormalities in dopaminergic, opioidergic, and serotoninergic systems. Finally, studies of brain anatomy show structural differences between the brains of fibromyalgia patients and healthy individuals. The cerebral alterations offer a compelling explanation for the multiple symptoms of fibromyalgia, including widespread pain and affective disturbances. The frequent comorbidity of fibromyalgia with stress-related disorders, such as chronic fatigue, posttraumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression, as well as the similarity of many CNS abnormalities, suggests at least a partial common substrate for these disorders. Despite the numerous cerebral alterations, fibromyalgia might not be a primary disorder of the brain but may be a consequence of early life stress or prolonged or severe stress, affecting brain modulatory circuitry of pain and emotions in genetically susceptible individuals. NEUROSCIENTIST 14(5):415-421, 2008. DOI: 10.1177/1073858407312521
interesting, though it means nothing. At least it's vaguely validating after all thsoe years of "you're making yourself sick".
It seems like the medical community is changing it's mind about that. Little by little. That will make getting help actually possible. I like that idea. ^_^ So if I can't just 'get over it' the least I can do is learn how to throttle down. even if it means adding a chemical to the engine fuel.
New Diagnosis concepts remove me from the "yeah but your male and you have different trigger points" bucket as well: http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/news/20100526/a-new-way-of-diagnosing-fibromyalgia
This article presents evidence that fibromyalgia patients have alterations in CNS anatomy, physiology, and chemistry that potentially contribute to the symptoms experienced by these patients. There is substantial psychophysical evidence that fibromyalgia patients perceive pain and other noxious stimuli differently than healthy individuals and that normal pain modulatory systems, such as diffuse noxious inhibitory control mechanisms, are compromised in fibromyalgia. Furthermore, functional brain imaging studies revealing enhanced pain-related activations corroborate the patients' reports of increased pain. Neurotransmitter studies show that fibromyalgia patients have abnormalities in dopaminergic, opioidergic, and serotoninergic systems. Finally, studies of brain anatomy show structural differences between the brains of fibromyalgia patients and healthy individuals. The cerebral alterations offer a compelling explanation for the multiple symptoms of fibromyalgia, including widespread pain and affective disturbances. The frequent comorbidity of fibromyalgia with stress-related disorders, such as chronic fatigue, posttraumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression, as well as the similarity of many CNS abnormalities, suggests at least a partial common substrate for these disorders. Despite the numerous cerebral alterations, fibromyalgia might not be a primary disorder of the brain but may be a consequence of early life stress or prolonged or severe stress, affecting brain modulatory circuitry of pain and emotions in genetically susceptible individuals. NEUROSCIENTIST 14(5):415-421, 2008. DOI: 10.1177/1073858407312521
interesting, though it means nothing. At least it's vaguely validating after all thsoe years of "you're making yourself sick".
It seems like the medical community is changing it's mind about that. Little by little. That will make getting help actually possible. I like that idea. ^_^ So if I can't just 'get over it' the least I can do is learn how to throttle down. even if it means adding a chemical to the engine fuel.
New Diagnosis concepts remove me from the "yeah but your male and you have different trigger points" bucket as well: http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/news/20100526/a-new-way-of-diagnosing-fibromyalgia