In the past, it has been called ‘Rheumatism’ and ‘Fibrositis’. It is now firmly established that a central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction is primarily responsible for the increased pain and sensitivity of Fibromyalgia.

The tendency to develop Fibromyalgia Syndrome may be inherited. Many mothers with Fibromyalgia have children with it as well. I was just one of those. My mum used to suffer from fibrositis nearly every winter and would sometimes require injections for pain in order for her to get out of bed. The pain, however, was limited to her neck and shoulders and down her arms. I also started suffering from the same symptoms in my teens.

They say that you cannot have Fibromyalgia only on your back or in your hands. You either have it all over or you don’t have it at all. Well, I have to disagree. At the moment I am suffering from an acute attack of what I would call Fibrositis which is in my neck and shoulders (particularly one side of my neck) but my other pains are not as acute as the pain in my neck. I feel as though I have been in a draft which is something that can trigger my Fibrositis.

Fibromyalgia is not a diagnosis of exclusivity. You may have co-existing conditions, such as MS, arthritis, and/or myofascial pain, and still, have Fibromyalgia pain.It is not a disease but a syndrome, which means a specific set of signs and symptoms that occur together. Rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and many other serious conditions are also classified as syndromes.

If you put Fibrositis into google the dictionary comes up with ‘inflammation of fibrous connective tissue, typically affecting the back and causing stiffness and pain’. It doesn’t specifically mention your neck but typically in your back. I personally think it’s all the same thing and that in the 60’s they called it ‘Fibrositis’ and since then because it started affecting other parts of the body so they called it ‘Fibromyalgia’.

Collins dictionary says ‘fibrositis is in the lower 50% of commonly used words in the Collins dictionary’  which implies that they no longer use this name much but what puzzles me is that maybe some people are suffering from ‘fibrositis’ as opposed to ‘fibromyalgia’ as they only get the pain in their neck and shoulders.

They also say that Fibromyalgia is not the same as chronic myofascial pain, there is no such a thing as a Fibromyalgia trigger point. Trigger points are part of myofascial pain and not Fibromyalgia. It is also is not the same as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome. It is not just widespread pain or achy muscles, nor is it an autoimmune condition and can often be triggered off by an event that activates biochemical changes, causing a cascade of symptoms.

When you read all these different symptoms of Fibro it makes you realise why it has taken so long for some people to be diagnosed. A good Rheumatologist with a lot of knowledge on the symptoms of Fibromyalgia is an obvious advantage. What are your views on this?



  1. I wasn’t diagnosed for many years. Then one day my GP sent me off to a rheumatologist. All my tests had come back negative and I was feeling very negative too, thinking that, as usual, I’d be told there was nothing they could do. Instead, the rheumatologist asked me how I slept? I told him that I didn’t really, a lot of the time. Immediately he swung into action – he knew exactly what to do. It was fibromyalgia triggered off by chronic insomnia. He treated both the sleeplessness and the pain. It would be misleading to say that ‘I’ve never looked back’ – I still have bouts of fibro, but learning that it was linked to insomnia made so much difference, and I’m learning all the time how best to manage myself.

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