the Neurology Advisor take:

Fibromyalgia, a condition that causes muscle pain and fatigue throughout the entire body, is frequently misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, among other conditions. Researchers had participants complete the Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR) and the Symptom Impact Questionnaire (SIQ) to determine specific symptoms that differentiate between these conditions.

Results from the questionnaires revealed three main differences that differentiate fibromyalgia from rheumatoid arthritis and lupus: tenderness to touch, difficulty cleaning floors, and discomfort sitting for 45 minutes.

The researchers concluded that these key differences should be incorporated into a new questionnaire to more accurately diagnose fibromyalgia and the other conditions.

Symptoms of fibromyalgia include trouble sleeping, morning stiffness, painful menstrual periods, tingling or numbness in the hands or feet, and problems with thinking or memory (“fibro fog”). Other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome may also occur with fibromyalgia. While its exact cause is unknown, doctors suspect that stressful or traumatic events, repetitive injuries, illness, other specific diseases, and genetics come into play.

The main differences between fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis are joint inflammation (which is present in rheumatoid arthritis but not in fibromyalgia), the progression of the illnesses (fibromyalgia does not progress but rheumatoid arthritis worsens over time with more damage to the joints), and noticing pain on one side of the body and then the other (this occurs in rheumatoid arthritis because of an abnormal immune system response that leads to inflammation).

The easiest way to determine the difference between fibromyalgia and lupus is if lupus rash or lupus kidney disease is present.