Do I have Fibromyalgia?

A new method of diagnosing fibromyalgia was created and approved by the American College of Rheumatology in 2010. This test in combination with a physician's exam, is used to diagnose individuals with Fibromyalgia. The details of the FM diagnostic criteria are outlined below.

Curious if you might have Fibromyalgia?

Would you like to take a fibromyalgia test and find out?

Click here to take the free online fibromyalgia test

Criteria Required for a Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia

The fibromyalgia test uses the widespread pain index and a symptom severity scale as criteria for diagnosis as per the American College of Rheumatology FM diagnostic criteria.

The widespread pain index (WPI) is a 19 item checklist whereby you mark the number of body parts where you have experienced pain during the last week. The symptom severity scale (SS) comprises a measure of waking unrefreshed, fatigue, and cognitive issues; the three primary indicators of fibromyalgia.

Symptoms are rated on an ascending scale of severity from zero (0) to three (3). A diagnosis is the result of a combination of the number of painful areas, number of symptoms, their severity, and the length of time the symptoms have been experienced.

The American College of Rheumatology approved the above criteria for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia to a success rate of 88% when compared to a control group of over 850 patients that suffered from fibromyalgia and similar conditions such as chronic pain sufferers.

A patient meets the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia if either of the following two scenarios are met:

Scenario A
A patient meets the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia if the following 2 conditions are met:
  1. The WPI score is greater than or equal to 7 points
  2. (AND) The SS score (Part A and B) is greater than or equal to 5 points
Scenario B
A patient also meets the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia if the following 4 conditions are met:
  1. The WPI score (Part 1) is from 3 to 6 points
  2. (AND) The SS score is greater than or equal to 9 points
  3. (AND) Symptoms have been present at a similar level for at least 3 months
  4. (AND) You do not have a disorder that would otherwise explain the pain

Click here to take the test

Comments

David

Sat, 03/18/2017 - 14:36

The online test works well for people learning about fibromyalgia or that may be new to diagnosis.