Patient discussions

Before embarking on a treatment programme, it is very important to educate the patient about his or her condition.[127] 

Key components of patient education may focus on:

  • Reassurance

    • Fibromyalgia (FM) is a real illness

    • Benign nature of the disorder, not a deforming or physically deteriorating condition

    • Neither a life-threatening nor a cosmetic problem.

  • Brief understanding of pathogenesis

    • Correcting frequent misconceptions (no evidence of a chronic infection, autoimmune disease, cancer)

    • Focus on the biopsychological model, rather than a biomedical or illness model (i.e., focus should be on improving function through a holistic approach to the patient and their life, rather than continuing to search for new diagnoses).

  • Importance of self-management

    • Empower patients to successfully manage their condition

    • FM is a chronic illness, akin to that of diabetes mellitus and congestive heart failure, self-management of day-to-day symptoms is key and has been associated with decreased pain, depression, catastrophic thinking, and improved quality of life.[113][128]

    • Identify specific goals regarding health status and quality of life, that is encouraging exercise and sleep hygiene.

  • Treatment

    • Generalised treatment approach should be addressed with an emphasis on non-pharmacological therapies

    • In the appropriate situation, discuss the role of pharmacological therapies.

  • Getting information from reliable sources

    • Highlight the importance of getting information about FM from reliable sources, studies have suggested that available information is of poor quality.[218][219]​​​

    • Not-for-profit organisations provided the most complete and accurate information such as:[220]

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