Diagnosing Fibromyalgia
Before doctors can diagnose fibromyalgia, they need to rule out a host of other conditions. Typically, they’ll order blood tests to rule out other medical disorders with similar symptoms, including hypothyroidism, infections, polymyalgia rheumatica, rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
Diagnosing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
No medical test can reliably detect chronic fatigue syndrome. The first step toward making a diagnosis is for doctors to perform tests to rule out conditions with similar symptoms, including chronic infections such as tuberculosis, mononucleosis or Lyme; fibromyalgia; autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and lupus; or psychiatric/emotional conditions.