Several ENFA members recently attended The International Congress on Controversies in Fibromyalgia, held in Vienna, Austria between March 4th and 5th, 2019. Here, ENFA member Eva Deurloo, representing Fibromyalgiförbundet, Sweden, provides a summary of topics discussed during the conference. We gathered in Vienna, Austria for ‘The International Congress on Controversies in Fibromyalgia’, a congress focusing…
DetailsENFA Board Member, Ricardo, recently attended the first face-to-face meeting of the European Patients’ Forum Capacity Building Module 2019 on Empowering Leadership and Positive Organisational Governance. Over the next six months, Ricardo and other course members will receive six sessions of online coaching, before a second face-to-face meeting in September 2019. Here’s what Ricardo thought……
DetailsFibromyalgia is common and an enormous clinical burden for both patients and society. It is a very complex disease with a variety of symptoms in addition to the defining symptom – chronic widespread pain. These include fatigue, non-restorative sleep, morning stiffness, irritable bowel and bladder, restless legs, depression, anxiety and cognitive dysfunction often referred to as “fibro fog”. All of these symptoms cause serious limitations in patients’ ability to perform ordinary daily chores and work and severely affect their quality of life. The burden on healthcare and society is high. Research in the UK has shown that diagnosis and positive management of fibromyalgia reduces healthcare cost by avoiding unnecessary investigations and consultations. Yet a recent global survey showed that healthcare professionals lack confidence in diagnosing and managing fibromyalgia. The average time from development of symptoms to diagnosis is over 2 years with unnecessary medical referrals and investigations. Educating the public, patients and healthcare professional to promote better recognising and management of fibromyalgia will benefit patient, healthcare providers and society.
Professor Ernest Choy
Head of Rheumatology and Translational Research
School of Medicine, Cardiff University
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