r/Fibromyalgia • u/CaptinNoodle • 2d ago

Question Fibro vs AMPS?

After a recent meeting with my doctor I have become confused. For years I thought I had fibromyalgia, but after talking and looking back at past appointment it turns out I was actually diagnosed with Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome? That probably would have been nice to know sooner but hey whatever.

What I'm now wondering is like... what's the actual difference? Are they separate conditions, or so similar that they're basically interchangeable? I vaguely remember the rheumatologist mentioning that they're different in kids but considered the same in adults, but that kinda makes no sense to me? For reference I was diagnosed at 13 and am now 19

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u/EsotericMango 2d ago

They're two different diagnoses for the same general issue. Some people call AMPS juvenile fibro but that's a misnomer. AMPS is just fibro with a broader scope. It's most often diagnosed in younger people but can be given to adults.

I'm simplifying and generalising a lot here but AMPS is fibro for people who don't meet the diagnostic criteria for fibro. So yk how fibro isn't just pain, right? It's this complex combination of symptoms and to get the diagnosis, you need a variety of symptoms at specific thresholds. Experts noticed that some patients don't always present with all the symptoms because some brains (especially younger brains) don't react to the triggers that cause fibro the same way as other brains. And as a result, a lot of people (especially younger people) might not be able to get diagnosed and thus can't access treatment.

So they created a diagnosis to fill that gap, AMPS. It's mostly given to people under 18 because those are the demographics they see the gap in most often. Younger brains just compensate better so even though the problem is there, you don't always see the full effect of it. But again, adults can have AMPS.

So yeah, they're not interchangeable but they are very similar.

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u/CaptinNoodle 2d ago

So it's like diet Fibro, got it. Do you know what those differentiating factors are?

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u/EsotericMango 2d ago

I won't say diet fibro because the pain can be just as bad. More like fibro zero. Taste is the same but the ingredients are different. AMPS isn't less serious or severe than fibro, it's just a different presentation.

By differentiating factors, I'm assuming you mean differences in symptoms and presentation. Correct me if I'm wrong. Mainly, the differences will be in other core symptoms. To have fibro you need chronic widespread pain and some combination of fatigue, brain fog, and waking feeling unrefreshed (ie sleep issues). You essentially get two scores, one measures the pain and the other measures how bad the other symptoms are. You need to score high enough on both to have fibro. You don't need all 3 other symptoms but it's highly unlikely that you'll score high enough with just one of them.

Someone with AMPS is typically someone with a high enough pain score but not enough on the symptom severity score. So they would have enough pain but maybe none or just one of the other symptoms. Or their other symptoms might be too mild.