What are common myths about fibromyalgia?

A common myth about fibromyalgia is that the condition isn't real; that the symptoms are all in a patient's head. Watch family medicine physician Jennifer Caudle, DO, explain how fibromyalgia is indeed a real condition with valid diagnostic criteria.

Transcript

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I've had patients say to me, you know, I wonder. Is this all in my head? Am I making this up? Am I crazy?

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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Now, fibromyalgia really is a complex condition. And unfortunately, there are a number of myths that are going around about fibromyalgia

00:19

that are simply not true. I have many patients in my practice that have fibromyalgia. And honestly, some things I've heard from them,

00:25

when they were sort of going through the stages of being diagnosed and trying to figure out what was going on, I've had patients say to me, you know, I wonder,

00:33

is this all in my head? Am I making this up? Am I crazy? They've said to me. And the answer is no.

00:40

Fibromyalgia is a real medical condition with real criteria, diagnostic criteria, that helps the medical community really treat this condition.

00:49

So no, it's not all in your head. You're not crazy. The other thing that I've learned is that a lot of people

00:55

don't even know what fibromyalgia is. [MUSIC PLAYING]

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The Osteopathic American Association did a survey, showed that one out of three Americans had never even heard of it, didn't even

01:10

know it was a real condition. So in addition to people wondering if it's fake or make-believe, there's a lot of people who just don't know what it is at all.

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Fibromyalgia is a very real condition, and we have medications. We have treatment plans. We have diagnostic procedures to help figure out