If this seems subjective, it’s because it is. Fibromyalgia is a collection of symptoms, not a specific disease. This has led some skeptics to wonder if it really exists. This is a significant question, because an estimated two percent of the U.S. population is thought to suffer from fibromyalgia, with women seven times more likely than men to have it.

Common complaints of “fibros” (people with fibromyalgia) are chronic achiness, morning stiffness and sleep disturbance. But those are common complaints of a lot of people.

Exercise helps improve the symptoms, but fibros are reluctant to exercise because of the pain. However, pain typically shows up one to three days later, not during exercise. This is also common in people starting exercise programs, especially if they are out of shape, and most fibros are in rotten shape.

Weighing in on the side of organic problems are recent studies indicating fibros are deficient in growth hormone or insulin-like growth factor, IGF-1, indicating hormonal dysfunction. This seems to be tied into the problem of sleep disturbance and non-restorative sleep. So far this knowledge has not led to effective treatment. Most fibros use some sort of alternative medicine, which indicates that conventional treatments don’t work.

And what about the most popular type of conventional medicine — drugs? Some fibros are helped by antidepressants, but just as many respond to a placebo drug.

Someone from the Arthritis Foundation told me that there is a theory that men have fibromyalgia almost as much as women; they just drink their way through it. I hasten to add that this in no way is meant to reflect the position of the Arthritis Foundation or the person who told me about it.

Fibromyalgia is lumped in with arthritis, so the Foundation knows a lot about it. The representative was just giving me an example of the theories that abound. I passed this along to a chiropractor friend who said in no way did men have fibromyalgia in as any numbers, because the people who came to see him with that complaint were all women. He missed the point, which is that men are reluctant to seek treatment for this condition (according to this theory). And health professionals do have their stereotypes about fibromyalgia, which is too bad, because they don’t seem to be able to help much with what they know.

Anything that’s diagnosed by excluding other diseases is bound to be questioned. The pivotal 18 tender points may be tender on healthy people. We just don’t test them out if we feel good. (This is not tenderness to touch. It is tenderness to 10 pounds of pressure. Try it out.)

Even if this collection of symptoms masquerading as a disease is not caused by bacteria or hormonal dysfunction or genetics, apparently it really does hurt. In time, more will be known about fibromyalgia, and treatments will become available. If you have this condition, don’t sit around and wait for that time. Get somebody who is expert in exercise to help you with a workout program and get as fit as you can. That will help.