Is Fibromyalgia Related to Other Diseases?

Whether or not fibromyalgia has a specifically connection to other diseases may be a difficult question to answer, as patients suffering from one autoimmune illness have a high likelihood of developing one or more other autoimmune illnesses.

Cause Unknown

ArthritisToday.org tells site visitors that the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown. Many scientists research suggest that heredity plays a large role in predicting who could get the illness.

Arthritis Connection

A connection appears between fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis patients. Like fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease. The immune system of RA patients malfunctions and attacks joints, destroying them and causing pain. Fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis commonly appear in the same people.

Hypothyroidism

Hypothyroidism is a condition where the patient has an under-active thyroid. Some people have speculated that a connection could exist between thyroid disease and fibromyalgia since many of the symptoms are similar, including fatigue, malaise, muscle aches, and brain fog.

Another factor for this theory rests in the research of Dr. John C. Lowe and Dr. Gina Honeyman-Lowe of the Chiropractic and Wellness Nutrition Center. They report that the incidence of hypothyroidism in fibromyalgia patients is higher than it is in the general public.

However, while fibromyalgia patients are more likely to have hypothyroidism, it has been determined that they are separate issues and one is not caused by the other.

Depression

Patients suffering with fibromyalgia often also suffer with depression. Interestingly, medications recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of fibromyalgia, such as Cymbalta, are common depression treatments. Medical professionals are quick to point out that this fact does not imply that fibromyalgia and depression are synonymous. Other medications used to treat fibromyalgia, such as Lyrica, are not depression treatments.

Studies show that depression manifests itself frequently in patients of many chronic illnesses, and not just fibromyalgia.