Thanks for posting this. At least I can not blame myself for this one, if it's genetic. I'll blame Mom and Dad. LOL Judy

My oldest is 11 and she complains about aches n pains all the time, the doc says its most likley growing pains and they don't test for fibro in kids under 13 (cuz thats when the growing process slows or stops) She is in cheerleading and softball so she does stretching before practice and stays active, but I worry about her, shes already started her menstral cycle and I'm worried the hormones will cause onset. (didn't know about onset blamed it on daily stress n lack of sleep, but pregnancy hormones kicked it into full gear 2yrs ago so my youngest has an even higher percentage of getting it)should I wait till shes 13 or insist that my rhuematologist check her for it now??

I'm the only one in my entire extended family that has this illness. I can trace the start of my illness to an extreme reaction to the parvo B-19 virus. I'm not prepared to buy the hereditary thing. That may be a contributing factor, but it's certainly not the only root of this monster.

i have watched my girls carefully & they both have all the complaints i beleive my mother had it before i was born she got a shot when she was preganant w/me & was in hospital 3mo before i was born in the hospital! She passed in 1998 so no-one can tell me what the shot was but i have been sick all my life! So wonder if its genetic or/is it a virus we could pass on to our children & could be doorment untill something activates it!

I was the only one in my family that had fibro for the last 20 years. Now in the last few years all of my siblings ( including our brother )have been diagnosed with fibro too. This goes back at least two generations.

I am not saying that someone can't have fibro without the genetic predisposition for it. What I am saying is that the research is showing more and more that genetics have at least something to do with it.

Thank You.

Good info the best is Don't stop moving once you stop it's hard to start moving again.

genetics will play a role in this illness along with viruses and probably several other causes

for me I think that xmrv virus will be the cause and my chemo treatment will be what thru it into over drive. wether the virus was passed down to me thru my mom or picked it up some other way the slam to my immune system is what let it take over.

sorry about spelling

Thanks for sharing, Narey. Can you post who the expert was, please. I'd love to be able to try and do some more research into what he has discovered. Thanks.

Thanks for the info. It reminds me that I really got to get that sleep study done. I worry for my children as well. Take care and thanks again.

Lack of sleep or entirely disrupted sleep plus stress are part of the reason Fibro knocked me down..........no doubt about it.

I appreciate all who share their journey here. Thank you.

I am the only one in my family history who has it so it doesn't apply to me that way!

I'm sorry... I should have been more explicit there. The doc said it's genetic so many times that I questioned it at the end of the talk. He said they've not foudn the gene yet (I asked) but that they know it's genetic by doing so many studies... kind of like they've learned other things are genetic. NOw that does not mean that you just get it if you have the gene. The gene must be "expressed" or turned on and that's where you have some stimulus that turns on the gene.

He mentioned that the stress that turns it on can be physical or emotional trauma, or illness... I don't have my notes in front of me right now. But so you see... you have a genetic predisposition and then something 'turns it on'. (don't know WHY in heck I didn't ask what he thinks about the retroviral link)

Often, he said, mothers pass to daughters; it seems to be more prevalent that way.

Oh, I did ask him and he was emphatic that children should be evaluated.

His name is Richard Jermyn, D. O. http://profiles.umdnj.edu/ext/ext_profile.cfm?RUID=jermynrt&CFID=2853641&CFTOKEN=56741041

I absolutely believe there is a genetic component to Fibromyalgia, that some have a genetic predisposition to develop it (just as some people have a genetic predisposition to develop heart disease). My mother has it (luckily her Fibro isn't as bad as mine). She developed severe allergic rhinitis while I was in college - she was hospitalized, brought to the University of Pennsylvania for treatment. It came about as a result of working in a 'sick' building (mold was everywhere). Shortly afterwards, she developed widespread pain (and eventually other Fibro symptoms).

I developed severe allergic rhinitis after my 2nd hospitalization and surgery when I became home-bound. I spent 5 months in the house, mostly on the couch. That room's ceiling was opened up last year and there was a MASSIVE amount of mold (it took more than two weeks to eradicate it). Maybe my weakened immune system was weakened further or attacked by the mold and that set off the Fibro.

Either way, my rheumatologist believes that - someday - they'll determine those of us suffering from Fibro were infected with a virus or bacteria (or mold for all we know), that it took hold, changed multiple body systems, and that a trauma triggered the Fibro or otherwise tipped the scales. I'm obviously paraphrasing him but, I absolutely believe the same thing he does.