Are FMS & ME the same?

Please ask our experts your adult medical questions about ME/CFS here.

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tiredlady
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by tiredlady on Fri Aug 16, 2013 10:14 am

Are FMS & ME the same?

I've heard both sides one dr told me they're the same another said they're very different

soulpoet
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Joined: Wed Aug 14, 2013 1:44 pm

by soulpoet on Fri Aug 16, 2013 11:03 am

Re: Are FMS & ME the same?

It certainly seems some medical students or current GP's are STILL not being given the information they need ref Fibro, M.E etc - or else it depends on where they trained and so forth.
At the start of a routine eye check, a young ophthalmologist said apologetically, "Could you tell me a bit about M.E, as I've never heard of it?" I was too brain foggy, so pointed him to afme, which he quickly looked at on the internet. He then said that it is an illness he should be aware of as part of his work, and presumed it must be very rare in Cornwall, as I was the first client he had seen with the condition. As you can imagine, I gently yet firmly told him this is not the case, and why.
One of my best friends has had Fibromyalgia for eight years; whilst I have had M.E for four.
My friend had to 'fight' for several years for her debilitating and disabling symptoms to be taken seriously and get a proper diagnosis - at one stage being told she needed counselling!
I was lucky enough to be quickly referred to a consultant, and had a diagnosis within four months of finally admitting there was something very 'wrong'. Nervously going to my GP, who although a different one to my friend's, based on her experience I was not confident about how I would be received!
Al least this valuable forum is a good start. AND the wonderful charities - and folk like all of us, being supportive and spreading key knowledge!

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Dr Charles Shepherd
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by Dr Charles Shepherd on Fri Aug 16, 2013 11:13 am

Re: Are FMS & ME the same?

There is a considerable degree of overlap between the symptoms of FM and ME/CFS - which is why some doctors believe that they are basically the same condition and why you might go to Dr X with this sort of symptom complex and be diagnosed as having FM but go to Dr Y with the same symptoms and be diagnosed as having ME/CFS

However, there are some important differences

For example, you have to have pain (sometimes referred to as widespread and symmetrical along with 'tender spots' in very specific sites) to have a diagnosis of FM. But some people with ME/CFS do not have any pain

So whilst there is some degree of overlap it should normally be possible to come to a conclusion as to which is the more appropriate diagnosis to make

I would also point out that, where appropriate, like some of my medical colleagues, I sometimes use the term ME/CFS with a fibromyalgic component
Dr Charles Shepherd
MB BS, Honorary Medical Adviser, ME Association

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