Do your fibromyalgia symptoms just seem to be getting worse every year?
Are you worried that things will continue to go downhill?
You may be wondering if fibromyalgia is a progressive disease or if there’s hope for improvement.
fizkes / Getty Images
Fibromyalgiais not generally considered a progressive disorder, but in some cases, it does get worse over time.
It’s not, however, a condition with a predictable course.
Can You Be Symptom-Free?
My personal preference is to call this a long-term remission.
Several years ago, I went into a long-term remission that lasted several years.
Then, developed severe pain from an overlapping condition and it re-activated my fibromyalgia.
In those cases, symptoms may remain about the same long-term or they may get worse.
Life After Fibromyalgia Diagnosis
In 2018, research was published on the long-term prognosis of fibromyalgia.
It’s not a huge study, but it does provide us with some numbers, at least.
Researchers sent a questionnaire to those people and received answers from 28 of them.
Of those 28:
Meanwhile, other researchers are working to establish profiles for differentsub-types of fibromyalgia.
This condition varies greatly from person to person and so does the effectiveness of treatments.
Most experts believe that’s because we have multiple types that need to be treated differently.
We have more options than ever.
Vincent A, Whipple MO, Rhudy LM.Fibromyalgia flares: a qualitative analysis.Pain Med.
2017;56(11):2015-2024. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/kex302
