Fibromyalgia and Lupus- Two Separate Diseases with Many Symptomatic Similarities

Lupus is as difficult to diagnose as fibromyalgia, and because of this, people who are initially diagnosed with fibromyalgia are often given the Lupus test more than once. The symptoms can be very similar, though the lupus pain is often more directly in the joints, whereas fibromyalgia pain is often more widespread and muscle-intensive. Let's look at the similarities first.

Both conditions have pain in the muscles, extreme fatigue, confusion, fever (though with Lupus the fevers are higher), and swollen glands. Both conditions are often associated with headaches, dizziness, depression, chest pain, and anxiety, though these are less reported in both.

Now, the differences. Lupus's primary symptom is a rash, often called the "butterfly" rash, which appears across the face. It can also appear on the neck, scalp, and behind the ears. With lupus, the joints become painful, swollen, and arthritic, particularly the hands, wrists, and feet. The accompanying fever can be very high, often over 103, and sufferers have chest pain from swelling in the pericardium and chest wall. Those afflicted with lupus often have hair loss, pale or purple fingers and toes from Reynaud's Phenomenon (this can occur in fibromyalgia sufferers, but it is more rare than among those with Lupus), photosensitivity, swelling in legs or around eyes, and mouth ulcers. Lupus sufferers also may experience seizures. New symptoms may continue to appear years after the first diagnosis is made, and a different cluster of symptoms may occur at different times. In some people with lupus, only one part of the body (such as the joints) is affected. Other people have symptoms everywhere. The severity of the illness varies wildly from person to person. Lupus also has systemic effects, and can attack the kidneys, lungs, central nervous system, blood vessels, blood, and heart. For some of these systemic effects, lupus can be deadly.

Fibromyalgia is much less damaging systemically, but it is equally difficult to live with. Fibromyalgia's other symptoms can include nausea, irritable bowel syndrome, tempomandibular joint dysfunction, skin complaints such as widespread rashes, random skin allergies, and skin sensitivity (the "sunburn" effect), myofascial pain syndrome, sensitivity to weather changes, morning stiffness, sleep disorders, chemical sensitivities, dysmenorrhea, muscle twitches and weakness, urinary tract problems (including bladder spasms, irritations, and infections), cold symptoms without a cold, vision problems, and weight gain. Fibromyalgia sufferers can also experience numbness or tingling in their hands, feet, arms, and legs. They may also experience restless leg syndrome, abdominal pain, bloating, and appetite changes. Many people with fibromyalgia complain of being "too tired to feel hungry," and cannot understand how they gain weight, because they do not eat nearly enough food to sustain the weight they do gain.

As you can see, despite the similarities, there are some significant differences between these illnesses. The primary difference is, in short, that lupus is an illness that can lead to complications that will eventually be terminal. Of course, with the proper medication and preventive treatment, that does not have to be the case. But too many people treat lupus as "just another woman's illness" and are very dismissive of those who have it.

It is not an illness that should be taken so lightly.

Personally, I do not think fibromyalgia should be, either, because it is not easy to live with pain 24/7- but on behalf of my friends who have lupus, I have been quite outraged at those who are dismissive of its potential for destruction in their lives and bodies.

It is a very frightening illness, and one that needs a cure.