ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The typical chief complaint of a patient who is ultimately diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM) is “I hurt all over.” However, musculoskeletal pain, even widespread pain, is a very common complaint in the primary care setting, and assuring that patients who present with symptoms of widespread pain have FM and do not have other causes for their symptoms can be a daunting task. Further complicating the evaluation, FM is often comorbid with other conditions and optimum management will require addressing both conditions. It is imperative for physicians to separate for themselves, and for their patients, what complaints should properly be attributed to FM and what symptoms should be attributed to other conditions. This can be challenging but is crucial for creating a framework by which treatment effects can be evaluated and for educating patients about the intended outcomes of treatment or combination of treatments.
