hi there,

First, there is no test for fibromyalgia Basically, the diagnosis is made by ruling out every other possibililty for the symptoms .. including diabetes, low thyroid, malnutrition or malabsorption of nutrition, other autoimmune diseases and yes, depression. Also, there are specific tender points, which it sounds as though you have some of them on your arms and legs, but these are present with other conditions too.

Have a read through this thread from a member who was experiencing symptoms that suggested fibromyalgia. There's a lot of good information there, and some guides on how to tell if fibro might be what's ailing you.

On the question about drs' attitudes ... back in the 1970's and '80's, the medical community decided that fibro and chronic fatigue syndrome must be psychosomatic because they couldn't find anything physically wrong. Of course, they were looking in the wrong place Because the PWF (person with fibro) suffers muscle pain and aching, they studied and biopsied the muscles ... and of course, everything looked normal. Thus, drs assumed the problem was in the head, and indeed .. antidepressant medication seemed to relieve pain for many patients (who were mostly women, of course). In the last decade, they've discovered that there's a definite physical disturbance in the amounts of and the way the body utilizes various brain chemicals, hormones and neurotransmitters that affect our experience of pain and fatigue .. and they are similar in some ways to depression. But for most PWF, the depression is a RESULT, not a cause of the unrelenting pain. Low doses of antidepressants help because they regulate some (but not all) of the neurochemicals involved.

A good book is "Fibromyalgia and Muscle Pain ... Your self-treatment guide" by Leon Chaitow. pub Thorson's (UK) ISBN - 0-00-711502-4. 3rd edition published in 2001. The information is up to date, and thorough.

hth,

Doreen