This is a crucial time for patients who can require much encouragement during initial, intense cycling. We encourage them to record periods of intensification or improvement. Remapping on subsequent visits reveals at a glance areas of partial or total clearing to confirm adequacy of dosage. Newly involved areas reverse sooner than older ones. Regression with guaifenesin occurs at a rate of about one year for every two months of treatment.
Improvement is sustained initially for only a few hours, later for days and eventually, for weeks.
Duration of the illness and responsiveness to medication determine recovery time. We believe fibromyalgia is inherited. The age spread at onset suggests multiple gene involvement. Symptoms are noticeable in adolescence or earlier if both parents are afflicted. One of these complained of pains at age 2.