I am 55 years old and have had back pain that started about 30 years ago and has been getting gradually worse. The latest American surgeon I have talked to told me I had degenerated discs at multiple levels and so he could not recommend anything for me. I started checking on Stenum until I heard through this site about their reputation. I recently made contact with the European Medical Tourist (EMT) services and sent them fresh MRI and X-ray images. Their representative sent those to a surgeon in Germany who said my case is "very complicated" and would require spinal reconstruction. My impression is that in his opinion, narrowing of the spinal canal is the biggest problem. (I have been told before that I had stenosis). He said that they no longer recommend laminectomies and that the reconstruction is the solution. Here's the kicker: he said the films show evidence of fibromyalgia. I know next-to-nothing about that disorder and can find no reference to it being detectable with an MRI. I was hoping for a "simple" 2 level disc replacement, and now it sounds like something much more complicated would be needed. Do any of you know anything about the subjects I have touched on? Does all of this sound legitimate? Any informed advice will be greatly appreciated.

I know only little more than next to nothing but there is a fibromyalgia dedicated website talking about what's known about the condition. I also thought the diagnosis was more of a whole body assessment of the patient's current condition rather than something that could be detected in a imaging study. I could guess that an extensive imaging study could show soft tissue problems in a large enough number of area that a doctor could suspect a systemic problem like fibromyalgia but that seems a little farfetched.

We have previously had problems with language translations working with German doctors. Is it possible that the doctor was questioning whether or not you have fibromyalgia rather than diagnosing it?

phil
perhaps you should be seeing dr. Bertagnoli at www.pro-spine.com
or a Dr. Zeegers at http://www.alphaklinik.com/
zeegers is in munich and dr bertagnoli is in straubing. both are the best and have no trouble with hard cases.
also you would be in the best hands in the world.
best wishes
chuck
ps pleased to meet you.

I have a couple of books on Fibromyalgia & Myofascial Pain Syndrome. I'll see if there is any mention of using MRI as a diagnosis tool in them.

I was diagnosed as having MPS after everything else was ruled out after bloodwork & by medical history. However, my OS calls in a "waste basket" diagnosis. His feeling is that no one could tell me why I was in pain so they just called it MPS.

I appreciate your thoughts and ideas. I kind of doubt it was a translation problem since I was talking to the European Medical Tourist English-speaking representative, not the doctor. I have heard so many good things in my short while on this forum about those two surgeons - Bertagnoli and Zeegers - that the thought of contacting this has crossed my mind. One of my greatest fears is having a procedure that doesn't help or even makes things worse.

You can not diagnose FMS with the use of an MRI. I would ask the party that stated this, for the study or medical article that discusses this "new" approach. FMS is determined by palpating known tender points and once you have a certain number of tender points that hurt (11 of 18), then you have FMS. The pressure applied to the tender points is the amount of pressure that will change the color of the skin under your finger nail when you press on it. See the link below for further discussion:

http://ww2.arthritis.org/research/Bu.../Diagnosis.asp

I'm currently being treated for Fibromyalgia as are some others here on the boards.It's also sometimes interlinked with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
It's defiitely not diagnosable by MRI, in fact there is no test to confirm Fibromyalgia,the gold standard as mentioned is the tender point test. You're usually "diagnosed" with it when tests fail to find any other specific reason for the baffling symptoms.

MRI's do not detect Fibromyalgia, however you usually submit a pain report with your MRIs. It may have been deduced from the pain report, not the MRI.

Have to agree - never ever heard of fibro being diagnosed from an MRI, or fibro causing anything that would show up on an MRI. The tender points test is key, along with pain in all four quadrants of your body (somewhere) for at least 6 months' duration. Stenosis is something to be concerned about. Bertagnoli performed my surgery - 3 level ADR above and below a fused level. I am improved from the surgery. I hope you will be able to get some real help. Phil, if you let us know what state you're from, we may be able to recommend good ADR docs in the US, although none of them have had the experience Bertagnoli and Zeegers have had.