My GP says that CFS and FM are two ve... - Fibromyalgia Acti...
My GP says that CFS and FM are two very completely different diseases. IS SHE RIGHT?
my phyclogist who is supposed to be an expert in cfs, told me the pains are worse with fibro
My doctor, many years ago, told me that they are both basically the same except that there is more pain with Fibro and more fatigue with CFS. I don't know how they make the distinction though as it seems to me that both are equal. On my DLA forms I put FMS/CFS and no-one has ever corrected me on it.
I think they are two different things that commonly come together, I know some people that have been diagnosed with CFS but do not have FM, I also know people who have FM and have not been diagnosed with CFS, I think that one or other of these is hard enough to cope with but when like myself and many of you have them both on your list of ailments suffer more as if it is not one that is in the limelight its the other and when they both rear their ugly heads at the same time nothing can help the pain or the fatigue and can make for a very depressive few days or more, thank goodness we can come here and have a good old moan or just a read to see that we are NOT alone....(((((gentle hugs))))) Kim x
Hi Dizzyduck
Well hoorah!! You have a GP who knows what they are talking about, I'd hang on to her.
Yes they are two separate conditions.
Chronic Fatigue is, as the name suggests, an ongoing lack of energy, exhaustion and tiredness.
Fibromyalgia, a little more difficult if you don't know the translation but also as the name suggests, is fibro = fibrous tissue (as in muscles and tendons), myalgia = pain.
So they are distinctly different. They are however, both thought to have their root cause in disruption of certain neuro-transmitters and neuro-receptors in the brain.
The thing is, that it is common to find you suffer from both.
I am lucky in that I don't have CFS, just pain and that is easy to treat with medication.
I hope that helps, happy hugs, kate 
Thanks all. Kraftyk8.... She is fabulous, however; I do have FM, but the last couple of months I have been so exghausted, that I cannot even get out of the bed or have the energy to even be bothered to wash etc. It's become, like it's not the pain stopping me its me stopping me (sounds weird I know) XX
Fatigue and exhaustion can be symptoms of Fibro. The thing is that they should respond to effective treatments for Fibro. And - with effective treatments - activity and exercise should be able to be a positive thing for people with Fibro, whereas it may well not be with ME/CFS. The difficulty comes with not many people with Fibro receiving effective treatment!
In the UK, CFS/ME (as NICE call it) is typically treated only with psychosocial treatments (as per the NICE Guidance on CFS/ME). Some researchers do say though that what they are coming out with - such as the PACE trial - should not be applied to ME patients (only non ME, CFS patients). That distinction is too hard for most docs to comprehend though. So a diagnosis of CFS/ME may mean you get pushed towards the more psychosocial treatments and away from the medication & physical therapy treatments needed with Fibro (though psychosocial therapies can help many people). In other words, getting a diagnosis of CFS/ME from some doctors will make them refuse treatments. Make sense?
Hi i have fibro and i cant do yoga like i used to or ant form of physical activity i walk mt dog but today has been a bad wobbly jelly leg day i wish i could walk like i used to we used to go for lovely walks in the counrty we would be gone for hours it was lovely but not now even decorating etc i used to do all my own painting in the house but not now i am on all the medication i could possibly be on but it still makes no difference , and all this week i have been laying on my bed reading which is un heard of for me or used to be but its the norm now but jus have to accept it it is not going to change it may get worse and i have resigned myself that it wont get better so we jus have to do what we can when we can and try to be as happy in our lives as we can love to you diddle x
