Fibromyalgia dignosing

[Maitcait]

Before anyone was diagnosed with fibromyalgia did you have bloods done to check for any other imflamtory

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee]

Yes most of not all people will have this done as a matter of course

[Maitcait in reply to desquinn]

Thankyou

[Mathex]

Hi. I did have bloods taken but I was experiencing severe pain on my knees so I asked GP for bloods to rule out any inflammation there and they were all clear. My knees aren’t as too bad but I do have times when I would struggle to walk but thankfully it’s not all the time x

[Magi54 in reply to Mathex]

I had blood work done for years before they discovered I had m.e. It was known for

[Charr53]

Hi yes I did , and all came back clear although I don't understand it at all. Does anyone know why it comes back clear?

[Cat00 in reply to Charr53]

Because as far as we know Fibromyalgia isn't an autoimmune condition, like arthritis for example, so there are no inflammatory markers in our blood.

[Charr53 in reply to Cat00]

Thank you for that! I have arthritis in both my knees and bloods came back negative for inflammation. But can clearly be seen on xray. Would that just mean I wasn't inflamed on the day they took the blood tests?

[Cat00 in reply to Charr53]

My mother is the same, she has visibly swollen knees and can see it on the x-rays but her markers aren't raised enough for their liking. I'm sure other people know way more than about this though! Lots of things don't behave in predictable manners in regards to inflammation, my friend has Lupus, as does her aunt and her mother and sister, despite having very clear lupus symptoms her blood test came back negative, her doctors say she does have it and its just one of the things they use to diagnose as its often inconclusive....

[Charr53 in reply to Cat00]

Shame I hope your mom is OK it can be so painful.. thank you for replying...

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Charr53]

there is something called seronegative arthritis that does not trigger on relevant blood tests but not sure if it does not have inflammation markers on CRP / ESR tests. Our bodies are complicated

[Charr53 in reply to desquinn]

Tell me about it.. 😀 thanks again for the reply your knowledge is very good!

[Midori in reply to Charr53]

Osteo Athritis is the wearing out of joints, mainly due to age. Rhuematoid Arthritis is the inflammatory sort. Rheumatoid tends to be earlier onset.

Sorry, retired nurse!

Cheers, midori

[Charr53 in reply to Midori]

Thank you for that, good to know! 😀

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Charr53]

they may also test for anomia and thyroid (more complicated discussion) and they come back clear or within bounds. Doctors come to a diagnosis and use serology like blood tests to confirm or rule things out.

With fibro we do not have biomarkers to rule it in so they are ruling things out or investigating them when they show up.

[Charr53 in reply to desquinn]

Thank you for that, that makes sense.. I'm in a full blown flare up and nothing is making sense at the moment apart from what you just said. Thank you for your time!

[gillian-51]

I was first diagnosed with lupus and seen by a different rheumatologist every time I went for routine check up. The last one decided that as my blood hadn't shown any indication for over a year that I hadn't got lupus but fibromyalgia and she didn't need to see me again. I was sent home with a leaflet and left to get on with things.

[Charr53 in reply to gillian-51]

Oh my goodness that's terrible... how are you getting on now? Thank you for reply

[gillian-51 in reply to Charr53]

I'm managing thank goodness I'm not as bad as some on here. I managed to stay on the naproxen as I have osteoarthritis and that takes care of most pains. It seems that everything that goes wrong is blamed on fibromyalgia.

[Gigiruth in reply to gillian-51]

Hi Gillian,Sorry to here you had such a blunt experience. I have found everyone on here so supportive and understanding. I hope you find things that are helpful day to day. Take care if you.

[gillian-51 in reply to Gigiruth]

Thank you

[Acocoa]

Yes I did have bloods done. Results came clear, but had low vitamin D. I have been taking Vit D now for 6 years.

[Tink0812 in reply to Acocoa]

Was the low vitamin d a deciding factor in him diagnosing you with fibromyalgia?

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Tink0812]

It will not have been as it is not part of the criteria. It can be a differential.

[Acdf]

Yes I've recently had bloods done it was all fine but have never even been able to actually see a doctor face to face it was myself who had to actually suggest could I have fibromyalgia and was told it's very likely! Feel like I m having to self diagnose after a year and a half of pain not been given any medication either!!

[Midori]

Yes, it's one of the first things they like to check.

Cheers, Midori

[oscarsgran]

Yes I did and also to look at the enzymes in the muscles as that can show similar problems.

[Phanerzoic]

Hi,

My blood tests brought up an HLA-B27 antigen marker that lead to my diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) an inflammatory auto-immune disease at age 32. Although I have AS I was experiencing numerous other symptoms that were not expressed by other AS patients. Sixteen years later I finally got a FM diagnosis as well! No one had ever mentioned to me the existence of FM until 2 years ago, and when I looked into it I found that I have every single symptom registered around a FM diagnosis.

Conclusion: Blood test can help to diagnose an illness... but they can also ring fence you to a single condition in the minds of health professionals. Do not make the mistake I made and not push for further answers.

Hope this helps you.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Phanerzoic]

You would probably have better experience today as it is now recognised that having AS or arthritis puts you at 12-15% more risk of fibro,

[Phanerzoic in reply to desquinn]

Hi Desquinn,

thank you for replying... can I ask where you get your information from?

Thanks,

P.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Phanerzoic]

Done of our was published at our around the bsr 2019 conference as that's when I started talking about it. I think it was professor Gary MacFarlane that initially mentioned it to me about as but the studies will be available.

Would give you sources but that would have to wait until I am on pc. Generally I get info from Google searches on journals and pub med etc or interactions with medical professionals and researchers via email and or medical advisory board.

[Phanerzoic in reply to desquinn]

If you can please send me the sources when you have time then that would be great. Do you have AS as well as FM?P.

[desquinn Partner Volunteer FMAUK Trustee in reply to Phanerzoic]

Not what I was looking for but this is a helpful article ankylosingspondylitis.net/f...

I do not have AS

[Phanerzoic in reply to desquinn]

Thanks chap.P.