I thought I had fibromyalgia for years but I've taken a terrible painful turn for the worst. My mother died of RA (cervical involvement)
Q: how do you diagnose the difference between fibromyalgia and RA
Answers (3)
9/26/09 3:15pm
Ellen gave you some good links, so I just want to let you know that the prognosis for RA has changed significantly since your mother had the disease. I can imagine that given what happened to your mother, you're very frightened right now, but please know that the advances in treatment for RA means that your mother's experience will not be yours.
9/21/09 12:13pm
You need to see a rheumatologist and get tested. If you don't already have a rheumatologist, see your regular doctor and he can do the basic tests. If you've had them before, you still might need to have them again, because results can change (and they sure do!)
If you have swollen/warm joints, that's not fibro. But the symptoms can be tricky.
And they can definitely overlap. A lot of people (myself included) were first told they "only" had fibro but that turned out not to be the case...
Check out the info on RA and FM on this site.
Keep in touch!
9/23/09 4:21am
I usually can tell the difference between my RA and fibro is that the RA is in my joints and they are usually swollen. The fibro is in muscles like my legs. I can run my hands down my legs and feel the pain or across the top of my feet and it just hurts for no reason. I also feel the pain in my arms, but not necessarily in a joint.
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By jules— Last Modified: 12/22/10, First Published: 09/20/09
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