3 ms·

It sounds like the FM/a test is still experimental- at least in the sense that abnormally low levels of cytokenes are a potential indicator of FM. https://www.

It sounds like the FM/a test is still experimental- at least in the sense that abnormally low levels of cytokenes are a potential indicator of FM. https://www.healthline.com/health/fibromyalgia/blood-test#research https://www.healthline.com/health/fibromyalgia/blood-test#re... (Feb 2020) Neither the American College of Rheumatology nor the Mayo Clinic appear to indicate it as an option, yet; both continue to claim that FM is a label after other options have been exluded: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/in-depth/fibromyalgia-symptoms/art-20045401 https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/... https://www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseases-Conditions/Fibromyalgia https://www.rheumatology.org/I-Am-A/Patient-Caregiver/Diseas... In fact, the The American College of Rheumatology preliminary diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia and measurement of symptom severity" that you refer to are still incredibly generic; basically it's just an extended period of pain, accompanied by poor sleep or mood to the exclusion of other possible causes. Naturally, months of chronic pain will contribute to feeling poorly rested and / or an altered mood, fibromyalgia or no. I don't mean to disparage your assertions, and fully agree with your ultimate point of not letting it get to you. That said, I look forward to the FM/a test being more widely recognized. The thing that surprised me the most about this conversation (and the quick research it forced me to do) is that there is a curiously high level of co-incidence between psoriatic arthritis and fibromyalgia. One of the more annoying effects I suffer (most frequently when I was younger, less so now) was a heavy "fibro fog" cognitive decline typically triggered by high levels of stress. Maybe I have both? Who knows. Yet another website claiming that neither psoriatic arthritis nor fibromyalgia have a reliable test: https://www.everydayhealth.com/psoriatic-arthritis/living-with-psoriatic-arthritis-or-fibromyalgia/ https://www.everydayhealth.com/psoriatic-arthritis/living-wi... (I just might ask my doctor about getting one of those FM/a tests though!)

shakna 6y ago
> I don't mean to disparage your assertions, and fully agree with your ultimate point of not letting it get to you. That said, I look forward to the FM/a test being more widely recognized. FM is young. Keeping up to date on it is something I'll leave to my specialist, living with it doesn't require knowing the latest or greatest, so I don't find it disparaging at all. I mentioned the FM/a test in particular because it's FDA-approved under 21 CFR 866.5700 [0] back in 2012, which generally means it has moved beyond the experimental stage (the notification exception is because it isn't a take-home style test, only a doctor can use it). There's another blood test in the early experimental stages at Ohio State (Stage II) as well, and one from Oxford (Stage II) at similar stages. Unfortunately, you'll find that the Mayo Clinic doesn't tend to keep up to date, either. They provide some good high-level information on the disease, but because of how young it is, the effort required to keep up to date on a deeper understanding, such as diagnostic options, is probably not worth it to them. That and a lot of research into fibromyalgia runs into walls and funding problems. We don't have a great understanding of the disease, but we're getting there. The stigma of it being over-diagnosed is probably the most harmful part to research, when that no longer seems to be the case. [0] https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/866.5700 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/866.5700

shakna 6y ago

> I don't mean to disparage your assertions, and fully agree with your ultimate point of not letting it get to you. That said, I look forward to the FM/a test being more widely recognized. FM is young. Keeping up to date on it is something I'll leave to my specialist, living with it doesn't require knowing the latest or greatest, so I don't find it disparaging at all. I mentioned the FM/a test in particular because it's FDA-approved under 21 CFR 866.5700 [0] back in 2012, which generally means it has moved beyond the experimental stage (the notification exception is because it isn't a take-home style test, only a doctor can use it). There's another blood test in the early experimental stages at Ohio State (Stage II) as well, and one from Oxford (Stage II) at similar stages. Unfortunately, you'll find that the Mayo Clinic doesn't tend to keep up to date, either. They provide some good high-level information on the disease, but because of how young it is, the effort required to keep up to date on a deeper understanding, such as diagnostic options, is probably not worth it to them. That and a lot of research into fibromyalgia runs into walls and funding problems. We don't have a great understanding of the disease, but we're getting there. The stigma of it being over-diagnosed is probably the most harmful part to research, when that no longer seems to be the case. [0] https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/866.5700 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/866.5700