Is there a difference between fibro and ME?

[sweetiepie]

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Some say they are and some say not but i have a friend who has ME and we are very similar in our symptoms so who knows, lets face it they are both very complex syndromes it's hard to seperate them i believe personaly they are but i have no medical certificate to back that up hehe so will just have to trust the professional as where i live now i can't complain about them as yet.

take care xxx

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Hi sweetiepie, I think the answer really depends on who you talk to and their training background. ME is sometimes associated with or even called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) again it depends on who you talk to or the texts that you read. One doctor told me that ME has been renamed CFS. In turn CFS is also associated with Fibro and many people are diagnosed with both. You will find more information on the NHS web pages and you could try following some of the tags on the right side of this web page. Not a clear cut answer but I hope that it helps. Jane x

[Hidden]

Hello Sweetiepie, that's a good question!

Fibromyalgia and CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) and ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) tend to come under the same umbrella these days. However there are differences and there are similarities also -

With Fibromyalgia we tend to be affected with chronic widespread pain all over our bodies, this appears to be our main symptom. Also with Fibro is extreme sensitivity to heat, light, temperature whether hot or cold, pain, touch etc. Stiffness and cognitive problems (Fibro fog) can occur with Fibroymalgia, also poor sleep.

With CFS and also ME, the fatigue and exhaustion is unbearable and plays the major part although there can be pain present too. Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) is characterised by a range of neurological symptoms and signs, muscle pain with intense physical or mental exhaustion, relapses, and specific cognitive disabilities. Similarly with CFS the fatigue and exhaustion does not go away with sleep or rest, and limits your usual activities.

Hopefully this has helped explain a bit about all three conditions. Any queries, please feel free to ask away, we will do our best to help you.

(((hug))) xxx

[phlebo123]

Hi -- I have just posted a BLOG about ME -- if you read the article in the Telegraph yesterday (26th nov) it may help you understand xx

[Akasha72]

I was diagnosed with Fibro first and then cfs came into the mix. Personally I think the lack of sleep due to pain brought the cfs side out.

The pain team explained it like this ..

If you imagine a slider scale with fibro on one end and cfs on the other sometimes they meet in the middle, sometimes the slider goes over the middle line toward the cfs side, other times it goes over the middle toward the fibro side.

To me that was an easy way to describe our symptoms

[Ozzygirl64]

Well after reading all the replies I am still confused. I think I do have CFS as well as the Fibro, but I will leave it well alone until next year now xxxxx

[taff461]

i have been diagnosed with both me and fms there are differences between the 2 of them but it appears that a lot of people end up with a diagnosis for both mainly due to the neurological symptoms hope you get the answers you need

[Hidden]

Hi, I have been diagnosed with both ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia. Yes, under the same umberella, though I feel different and of course, affecting people in different ways. Sometimes the symptoms are moreso FM and other times moreso ME/CFS., though one or the other is lurking, the predominant one for me is CFS. Symptoms impact on one another. Like a pendulum and fluctuating sliding scale. One of the main things with ME is the post exertional fatigue/malaise which is experienced after very little exertion with long recovery periods of days, weeks, months along with other triggers. It's so complex isn't it and there are so many symptoms to consider. Hope this clarifies rather than not.

Alice