Does anyone have any good information on the progression of fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a neurological disorder of hypersensitivity, not a muscular disorder.

FMS isn't, technically, considered to be a degenerative disease at all. It does not directly cause any degradation of muscles or tissues, but can lead to decreased activity, which would of course lead to a decline in muscle tone.

If FMS isn't treated properly, though, the hypersensitivity can get worse, leading to a greater degree of disability.

Also, FMS can make any other condition the patient has more difficult to deal with, because it amplifies any associated pain.

For instance, I have arthritis, which is a degenerative disease, as well as FMS for which I didn't get proper treatment for over a decade after diagnosis. In my case, FMS has been degenerative, and as a result, I am disabled.

My daughter, on the other hand, was treated as soon as she was diagnosed when she was 9. At 16, she is NOT disabled, nor is she likely to be. She's very active, and she knows that she has to stay aware of the fact that she has FMS but she doesn't have to live in fear because of it.

Your prognosis and course of treatment really depend on your current health and background. The things I suggest most strongly to everyone are to educate yourself, get a good healthcare team of doctors who "believe in" fibromyalgia, and to surround yourself with family and friends who are supportive of you.

Stress will make fibromyalgia worse, so reducing the stress you can control in your life will improve your ability to deal with FMS and to deal with the stressors you can't control. If there are negative people around you, remove them. They're poison.

The same goes for environmental stressors. Drink plenty of clean water - put a filter on your kitchen tap or use a filtered pitcher in your fridge. Reduce the amount of everything else you drink - soda, coffee, alcohol, whatever. Watch what you eat, especially packaged stuff with preservatives and artificial coloring and so on. Put a HEPA air filter in your bedroom and change the air filter on your furnace/air conditioner every month. Keep your living environment as uncluttered as possible, and use non-toxic cleaning products - the Method line that Target carries is pleasant, effective, and reasonably priced. If you smoke, STOP - and don't hang out around people who do smoke.

Move every day, somehow. Stretch, especially - carefully :-) Many people who have fibromyalgia have hypermobile joints (or, more accurately, many people who have hypermobile joints develop fibromyalgia). If you have access to a pool, swim. Non-weight-bearing exercise is great for allowing you to keep moving without increasing your pain levels.

And keep your spirits up! Play, treat yourself, have fun. Give yourself a daily "whine budget" and then STOP and move on to focusing on what you can do.

Good luck!

You may find a search of this topic to be rather rewarding. You will find what is thought to be the cause but there is nothing conclusive. It becomes a catch all phrase with little knowledge of what causes it nor, how to treat it. It is thought to have some connection with the immune system. The term fibromyalgia only means the fibrous and muscle tissues have an ache. The other symptoms you mention indicate a neurological factor.

It will progress without proper treatment...

I can suggest some all natural supplements which are very effective for treatment.

Vita-C: strengthens the integrity of connective tissue

CoEnzymeQ10: increases cellular energy

NutriFeron: builds and strengthens the immune system

Lecithin & GLA Complex: insulates the fibrous sheath of the nerve bundles

Calcium/magnesium: muscle relaxant

Optiflora: increase good bacteria

Hope this is of some help and feel free to contact me with questions.

Become an expert in exactly what you’re doing. Learn how and why things work after which it you’ll have faith that they can. Check out a podcast called Cut The Fat, and pay attention to it when you’re exercising.

I've heard the disease progresses and is different for each person. Depending on how much you want to change your lifestyle, diet certainly helps.

My mother has had it for at least 20 years and she doesn't "look" sick at all.

Hope these web sites help