Aa
fibro, hypomania, and ptsd
I'm a 57 year old female, diagnosed 12 years ago with fibromyalgia. I've also been diagnosed with PTSD. I'm an artist and writer and also have episodes of hypomania.
Is there any known relationship among fibromyalgia, PTSD, and hypomania?
Is there any known relationship among fibromyalgia, PTSD, and hypomania?
I'm dx'd with fibro and had PSTD (which I worked through in intensive counseling). However, the damage was likely done before I began therapy. I do think there is a relationship between long-term, high-stress or PSTD and fibro...in that it changes the brain chemistry and how it reacts along with reeking havoc on our immune system. Nothing that i've come across has listed 'hypomania' as a symptom of fibromyalgia. I use to have periods of it, but now believe it was more to do with ADHD than fibro.
I am service connected for PTSD due to assault but also have fibromyalgia. I remember once reading that people with PTSD have a much higher rate of FMS...will need to do more research but not right at my fingertips.
"60 percent of patients with FMS had "clinically significant levels of PTSD symptoms," a prevalence rate significantly higher: "
Women who reported rape were 3.1 times more likely to have FMS than women who did not report rape" http://www.clinicalpain.com/pt/re/clnjpain/abstract.00002508-200509000-00003.htm;jsessionid=JbBTZKcQf0lrf1zT870l62D9JQb1K8DvJghKZ5SknGbv3YmvnMF2!-971142314!181195628!8091!-1
hope this helps in some way
"60 percent of patients with FMS had "clinically significant levels of PTSD symptoms," a prevalence rate significantly higher: "
Women who reported rape were 3.1 times more likely to have FMS than women who did not report rape" http://www.clinicalpain.com/pt/re/clnjpain/abstract.00002508-200509000-00003.htm;jsessionid=JbBTZKcQf0lrf1zT870l62D9JQb1K8DvJghKZ5SknGbv3YmvnMF2!-971142314!181195628!8091!-1
hope this helps in some way
ps. I'm not trying to say cfs is a brain chem disorder. It does seem to be a factor in it though with the hormones all mucked up, and the HPA axis involvement and the cognitive dysfunctions.
The relation is ptsd and fibro is unknown. Some research shows the occurence of both at levels similar to other illnesses and healthy people. Other research shows past trauma (not ptsd specifically) is more common in fibro patients. However, that research is generally compared to healthy people, not to other illnesses, and it doesn't take into account that people with poorly identified illness (like FM) might be more inclinded to talk about, think about, and focus on past trauma as part of their search for answers. My personal feeling too, well my experience was, that when I couldn't do anything, including watch a tv show, anything bothering me stuck around more because i couldnt' do the normal methods i use to move on. I complained to my doctor about it.
I haven't heard a relationship to hypomania. With families with CFS there seems to be an increased occurrance of other conditions like adhd, bipolar, anxiety disorders, in other words other brain chemistry disorders. That too is more annedotal than proven. There is one pretigious doctor who beleives many biopolar and schiz cases are actually dysautonmioa (which are common in cfs such as neurally mediated hypotension) which are being treated incorrectly. The nutty and sometimes paranoid way cfs patients act kinds of goes along with that. (As I've improved my behavior/emotional base has improved too. I don't have bipolar, but it is in my family in mild form - might actually be post holocaust trauma and not biopolar, hard to say. But there is mild depression in the family on that side too which makes it even harder to say.) I know one person (well) who's dad was diagnosed with biopolar for years, yet eventually she concluded it was incorrectly diagnosed nhm like she has. He died from a bad reaction to some medication and she explained that he had the reaction you'd expect from a cfs patient, which was diff from a biopolar condition. (I dont' remember what the med or reaction was.)
One person (whom I respect) in the search for her daughter was told there is generally an increased occurrence of autoimmune conditions in general in familes with cfs. It was true in her family when she researched it. It's not true in mine.
The trauma connection appears to be somewhat a case of self-fulling prophecy. Researchers were sure cfs was about depression or some emotional connection, so they did a lot of research to prove it. Generally when that happened, at least so of the studies "prove" it. That's why repeat of studies with varied methods is so important. (And I've read studies where the research showed one thing and the authors concluded what they wanted to believe even though their own research contradicted them, one more than one paper.) On the other hand Reeves at CDC who runs their CFS program is concluding there is a connection. He was the whistle blower who got the cdc in trouble of misappropriated federal money by lieing to congress about how it was spending cfs research funds.
When I had pysch testing for cognitive problems, the doc believed that my prior head injury could have made that part of my brain more suspectible to this virual or imbalance injury. So, I would think he'd include other brain chemistry injuries in that category. (I'd believe ptsd impacts brain chemisty in the process of everything else.)
Have you come up with any other information on the connections?
I haven't heard a relationship to hypomania. With families with CFS there seems to be an increased occurrance of other conditions like adhd, bipolar, anxiety disorders, in other words other brain chemistry disorders. That too is more annedotal than proven. There is one pretigious doctor who beleives many biopolar and schiz cases are actually dysautonmioa (which are common in cfs such as neurally mediated hypotension) which are being treated incorrectly. The nutty and sometimes paranoid way cfs patients act kinds of goes along with that. (As I've improved my behavior/emotional base has improved too. I don't have bipolar, but it is in my family in mild form - might actually be post holocaust trauma and not biopolar, hard to say. But there is mild depression in the family on that side too which makes it even harder to say.) I know one person (well) who's dad was diagnosed with biopolar for years, yet eventually she concluded it was incorrectly diagnosed nhm like she has. He died from a bad reaction to some medication and she explained that he had the reaction you'd expect from a cfs patient, which was diff from a biopolar condition. (I dont' remember what the med or reaction was.)
One person (whom I respect) in the search for her daughter was told there is generally an increased occurrence of autoimmune conditions in general in familes with cfs. It was true in her family when she researched it. It's not true in mine.
The trauma connection appears to be somewhat a case of self-fulling prophecy. Researchers were sure cfs was about depression or some emotional connection, so they did a lot of research to prove it. Generally when that happened, at least so of the studies "prove" it. That's why repeat of studies with varied methods is so important. (And I've read studies where the research showed one thing and the authors concluded what they wanted to believe even though their own research contradicted them, one more than one paper.) On the other hand Reeves at CDC who runs their CFS program is concluding there is a connection. He was the whistle blower who got the cdc in trouble of misappropriated federal money by lieing to congress about how it was spending cfs research funds.
When I had pysch testing for cognitive problems, the doc believed that my prior head injury could have made that part of my brain more suspectible to this virual or imbalance injury. So, I would think he'd include other brain chemistry injuries in that category. (I'd believe ptsd impacts brain chemisty in the process of everything else.)
Have you come up with any other information on the connections?
Have an Answer?
You are reading content posted in the Fibromyalgia Community
A list of national and international resources and hotlines to help connect you to needed health and medical services.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Condoms are the most effective way to prevent HIV and STDs.
PrEP is used by people with high risk to prevent HIV infection.
