One of the most certain things about fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS) is that there's some sort of genetic predisposition. We also know that FMS and ME/CFS involve a lot of neurological abnormalities.
In my own family history, I see a lot of neurological disorders, especially those involving neurotransmitters. They include:
- Insomnia
- ADD/ADHD
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Addiction
- Depression
- Phobias
In my Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome community forum, several people have talked about having parents with neurodegenerative diseases, especially Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).
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What I wonder is whether the same genetic predisposition that makes us susceptible to FMS or ME/CFS is also linked to a host of neurological conditions. Take the poll so we can explore the similarities in our gene pools!
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Yes, many of us develop neurological problems of all kinds. All you have to do is read one of Dr. David Bell’s books to see the many symptoms one can develop.
Personally, I have idiopathic neuropathy and dysphonia as well as degenerative disk disease on top of having ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia.
The Whittemore Inst. is doing some excellent research regarding our disorders. Lets hope they get lots of support to find some answers for us.
Nancy
Two years ago, my now 89-year-old mother came down with a very rare neurologic disease called chronic inflammatory polyneuropathy. Two of her nieces and nephews also have demyelinating conditions (multiple sclerosis). I have always wondered if I’m genetically predisposed to ME/CFS on my mother’s side. Any comments out there?
In my experience, genetic predisposition may be more of a shared energy component factor in families– rather than a true genetic component. Such as, in families we’re living the same histories, many of the same stresses and we’re all affected. The stressful event gets lodged in each individual person’s cellular memory. “Cellular memory is one of the strongest, most active components to illness.” Plus, when you consider the effect of an extremely stressful event on people in a family unit, not all of them come down with the same disease/condition. Resulting illnesses come about because of a person’s reaction (perception of) the causal stress. It affects each one “individually” causing an illness, not necessarily the same one that someone else in the family experienced.
Cinda,
You bring up a lot of good points, and I’m sure that true in a lot of cases. Still, there’s fairly solid evidence of a genetic link, especially when you get clustering of similar neurological illnesses, or the same one, over multiple generations. For example, my grandmother’s severe OCD likely has a genetic relationship to my fibromyalgia and my nephew’s ADHD, even though neither of us ever met her.
The causes and triggers of these conditions is so varied, though, I’m sure there are a lot of different explanations. That’s what makes answers so hard to come by, right?