Among the many confusing things you have to deal with when trying to learn about fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS) is the difference between a disease and a syndrome.

When doctors who don't believe in FMS or ME/CFS are quoted in articles, they frequently lean heavily on the distinction. The word "syndrome" itself has been so misused in the popular media that it sounds a bit silly and overblown. But really, what's the difference?

The definition of syndrome is pretty straight forward:

• Syndrome: a collection of signs and symptoms known to frequently appear together but without a known cause.

Defining disease is a little more complicated. Many medical dictionaries define it as a disorder in a system or organ that effects the body's function. Some, however, add more requirements:

• Disease: a morbid entity characterized usually by at least two of these criteria:
1. Recognized etiologic agent (cause)
2. Identifiable group of signs and symptoms
3. Consistent anatomic alterations

Here's why you find the important distinctions. We still don't have widely recognized causes for FMS and ME/CFS; signs and symptoms are too variable, and often point to numerous possible causes; and researchers have failed to find anatomic alterations that are consistent enough to stand up to scientific scrutiny.

It's important to remember, though, that while the term syndrome sometimes seems to belittle the illness, it's really just a classification based on what the medical establishment understands. When someone throws out that "it's just a syndrome" argument, they should take a close look at what they're really saying. Instead of it being an indication that an illness is somehow less valid than others, it's really more of an indictment of the medical community for not yet figuring it out.

Suggested Reading:

• Find a Support Group for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Start a Support Group for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Find Support, Understanding & Friendship in About.com's Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome forum

Have you ever had the feeling someone thought you were just a wimp when it came to pain? Like you just can't handle pain like most people? Maybe, in some of our weak moments (i.e., heavily drugged, still hurting and unable to sleep at 3 a.m.), we even think that about ourselves.

It's true that we feel pain when other people don't. However, we also deal with more pain than other people do, and we generally deal with it better than they do as well.

What's at work here is the difference between pain threshold and pain tolerance. Here are the definitions:

• Pain Threshold: the point at which stimulus is reported by a person as pain.
• Pain Tolerance: the amount of pain a person can withstand before breaking down, either emotionally or physically.

So yes, our pain threshold is incredibly low. When confronted with stimuli other people's bodies consider harmless, our nervous systems sound the alarm, turning up the volume on pain.

When it comes to pain tolerance, though, we can blow most people out of the water! I had a good friend who recently was laid out by an ingrown toenail. Sure, it hurt, but does it really warrant constant complaining, stopping your life and spending a few days on the couch? Meanwhile, we deal with so much pain that it becomes just another part of who we are. For me, it's like, "I'm a Mom, I'm short, I wear glasses, and I hurt." I work in pain, I socialize in pain, I parent in pain. If I didn't, I wouldn't be able to do them at all. It takes a heck of a lot of pain to break me down, physically or emotionally.

So when someone looks at you as if you're weak for being in pain, look back at them with all the strength it takes to live with pain as your constant companion and ask, "Who here is stronger?"

Suggested Reading:

• Fibromyalgia Symptoms - The Monster List!
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Symptoms - The Monster List!
• Central Sensitization - At the Root of Our Pain?