can anyone tell me what the difference is between FM and ME please? They sound so similar but so far I haven't found an answer.

[OuchOuch]

Please if possible don't be too technical/medical as I won't understand!

[julieevh]

I have both! (CFS/ME for 4 and half years .... FM diagnosed a couple of weeks ago).

ME (also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, CFS and CFS/ME) is characterised by unrelenting tiredness, the sort of exhaustion you get when you have the flu. Any physical activity above a very minimal level makes you even worse and sleep is never refreshing.

Fibro is characterised by pain, aching pain is common but so are other types and the body has tender points where the pain can be tremendous.

Both are diagnosed by exclusion, no cure is known and the brain fog / fibro fog is also common in each.

I'm sure there are more sophisticated descriptions but to me it is

CFS/ME = tired ,

FM = pain.

Julie xx

[Hidden]

I have both too! Was first diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and then CFS/ME. For me it's exactly the same as Julie describes so well above, but each case can be different. We all tend to be affected in slightly different ways. Some people have more bad days than others, others cope better. I find my fatigue is fairly constant, no matter what I do I am constantly at a certain level of exhaustion and then there's my Fibro pain to deal with. That can be very erratic.

I have become used to having both conditions now, it's about adapting and pacing myself which I was taught at a CFS Clinic. This helps me lead quite a good life now. It's a big adjustment but taking one day at a time really works.

(Thanks Julie for explaining so well! )

[fairycazzie]

I wpuld say pretty similar too. I have sleep depravation /benign hypermobility the full whack and yet cannot understand why they get seperated but guess each individual with health issues has a difference in symptoms! Some may only have cfs without fm so that i take is why they seperate but / together.

If made sense lol.

I am still puzzled as to how we do not have illness but 'symptoms' physcological.

Ms is mental illness and ours is not a medical/mental illness but physcological ... Ooooookay so not sure i absorb that one like xxxxhuggles

[julieevh]

When they find a definitive test for Fibro and/or CFS the conditions then each will be promoted to be proper medical conditions with proper respect and treatment.

Until then we seem to exist in a strange Neverneverland of confusion, misinformation and misunderstanding.

Ohh for a conclusive blood test or two!

Julie xx