FIBROMYALGIA AND THE CIDP THEORY

What is CIDP?

Why should we care?

In 2008 there was a small study that found that there was a subset of Fibromyalgia that was found to have chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Basically, this is an immune disorder of the peripheral nervous system.

OK.....so what?

Fast forward to 2014. The follow up study also discovered high indicators of small fiber neuropathy in the legs of people with Fibromyalgia. If you've been diagnosed with Fibro and also have nerve pain, numbness or a tingling sensation in your hands, feet, toes, fingers, legs and/or arms, it's a possibility that you might have either small fiber neuropathy or the chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Now CIDP is diagnosed by a thorough neurological examination, blood tests, nerve conduction and other test that leads to a final diagnosis. 

What this does bring to mind is autoimmunity. 

It also brings to mind subsets.

This brings Fibromyalgia squarely into the field of an immune-mediated neurological disorder.

Having said that where does autoimmunity come into play? If this truly is a subset of Fibro it's a little scary. This sounds like it could be related to MS. The symptoms have always been close. There are flares and remissions. This isn't new. This has been floating around for quite some time. 

Now with the advents of research into this and AV shunts in the hands by Dr. Frank Rice it sounds like they're getting closer to a cause and it sounds like we have damaged nerves. 

I think more research needs to be done in this area. Speaking of, I'm getting nerve conduction tests done. I'm anxious to see what comes of it.

The treatment that is used is intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). There are side effects from this treatment which include headache, muscle aches, fever, chest pain. The trouble with a lot of treatments is that the side effects sound a lot like the symptoms we experience with the Fibromyalgia, however, the treatment did help the symptoms in the study. 

The immunoglobulin treatment is basically borrowing a healthy persons immune system.

Borrow?

Screw that.

If it works I won't borrow it.

I'll keep it.