How Do You Get Diagnosed with Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a long-term condition that causes pain all over your body, makes certain areas very sensitive, and leaves you feeling exhausted.

Diagnosing fibromyalgia can be tricky because there aren’t any specific lab or imaging tests for it. Instead, your doctor will need to ask you about your symptoms and how bad they are.

Other illnesses have similar symptoms to fibromyalgia, such as:

• HIV
• AIDS
• Lyme disease
• Some cancers
• Spine diseases
• Thyroid problems

Doctors can run tests to rule out these other conditions, but it takes time, effort, and money. According to the National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association, it usually takes about five years for someone with fibromyalgia to get an accurate diagnosis.

How Do Doctors Diagnose Fibromyalgia?

In 2010, the American College of Rheumatology created new guidelines for diagnosing fibromyalgia, published in the journal Arthritis Care and Research.

According to these guidelines, you have fibromyalgia if:

1. You have a widespread pain index (WPI) score of seven or higher, a symptom severity…