Posted Today 3:12 AM (GMT 0)
I understand there are different medical definitions for both FM and CFS... but it appears to me that these conditions are nearly one and the same or co-occurring conditions (for the most part).
Broken down into simplest terms, I see it as follows: The prominent characteristics of Fibromyalgia are = pain and soreness. CFS = fatigue and exhaustion. But isn't it true that most people with CFS experience some amount of bodily discomfort, and most people with FM experience some amount of exhaustion and fatigue? I'm not completely clear as to why we have two different diagnoses and terms for what appears to me to be similar symptoms and facets of the same syndrome. (Other than the medical community trying to distinguish unknown illnesses and developing separate diagnoses for the same syndrome depending on which symptoms surface as the most prominent).
Furthermore, I'm beginning to look at my condition differently. Usually I just tell people I have FM if I want to name what I'm dealing with. I'm not fond of the term "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" because it sounds made up and, at best, a mild nuisance. It doesn't sound debilitating like CFS can be for many. What I have decided to tell people from now on (if I want to share with them what I believe is the crux of my issue) is that I have a troublesome sleeping disorder, because to me using this terminology would translate more to someone that didn't know what FM or CFS was. When I sleep better, I feel healthy and much more normal. When I don't sleep well, I feel terrible. And I believe that the general public can at least somewhat relate to the uncomfortable feeling of exhaustion from a few bouts of sleep deprivation.
Another thing I've been wondering (which I've touched on before) is if FM often surfaces and presents similarly in different people but is caused by completely different sources. For instance, if a person experiences sleep apnea, they may have inhibited deep sleep and begin to present a fibromyalgia type pain. However, another person may not have sleep-apnea but may still have a dysfunction within the nervous system that inhibits deep sleep and causes the same sorts of pains and effects. Same syndrome, but different source.. In essence.. different disease (?) and different underlying medical condition. It appears to me that FM/CFS is a dysfunction that can be caused by multiple sources, because I imagine that sleeping disorders and sleeping dysfunction can be caused by a wide variety of factors, which causes me to wonder if the causes and sources of FM/CFS are also just as varying. When I say "cause", I don't mean 'bring into being' but rather, where the true source or root of imbalance is within the body that continues to cause the ongoing dysfunction. I'm inclined to believe that this root dysfunction and cause is not the same person to person, even though the effects and influences may present similarly.
These are just some ideas I've been contemplating.