This disease is diagnosed by listening to the patient's symptoms and doing tender point testing. By eliciting tenderness in at least 11 of 18 predetermined spots, a physician is able to diagnose this disease. Essentially all of the laboratory tests, X-rays, biopsies, and MRI's are negative. The physician has absolutely no specific treatment for this disease. We usually place the patient on a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, amitriptyline for sleep, maybe a muscle relaxant, and tell them to find a support group and learn to live with it.
Chronic fatigue is very similar to fibromyalgia.
However, instead of having total body pain they usually have more symptoms of low-grade fevers and swollen glands. They both have significant fatigue. Individuals with chronic fatigue seem to have more of a depleted immune system. Again, there is really no treatment that we are able to offer these patients. My wife has had fibromyalgia for the past 18 years.