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Blood test for fibromyalgia
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Related Questions
Fibromyalgia is a prevalent condition that affects many people in the United States. Approximately 3.7 million Americans have Fibromyalgia. That is 1 in every 73 people.
More Quick Facts...
Is there a blood test to
Is there a blood test to determine whether or not you actually might have fibromyalgia or maybe even CFS?
Ah, if only it were that
Ah, if only it were that easy!
Unfortunately, no blood test or imaging test can determine whether or not a person has fibromyalgia or CFS. The diagnosis of fibromyalia is primarily a diagnosis of exclusion; that is to say, blood tests and imaging tests can tell doctors what you DON'T have. There are many conditions that mimic the symptoms of fibromyalgia, thus ruling out these conditions makes fibromyalgia more likely, especially when a person has been experiencing symptoms over the course of many months or years and also has at least 11 of 18 tender points elicited on physical exam.
That being said, a person may undergo many tests to rule out other conditions other than fibromyalgia or CFS, such as:
CBC (complete blood count; to rule out anemia or blood dyscrasias that may account for fatigue and other symptoms)
Throid panel (to rule out hyper- or hypothyroidism)
Liver panel (to rule out hepatitis or other liver diseases)
ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, to rule out autoimmune conditions, such as arthritis and Lupus)
ANA (antinuclear antibody test, to rule out Lupus and other autoimmune disorders)
Rheumatoid factor (to rule out arthritis)
You may also undergo x-rays to rule out bone disease, MRI to rule out neurological, bone or joint disease, and other tests as deemed necessary by your physician to rule out any other likely culprits for your symptoms.
Hope this answers your question!
Jennifer Bunn, RN
They can do blood tests to
They can do blood tests to see if you have inflammation (which if you are in severe pain your inflammation will be up, the higher the pain, the higher the levels). Its like they can see your pain levels in your blood! Atleast that is how my hemotologist explained it to me!