I am a woman and my mother has fibromyalgia, what are the chances, percent wise, that i would get it

Dear Ask The Doctor: I am a woman and my mother has fibromyalgia, what are the chances, percent wise, that i would get it?

Dear Katrina: Fibromyalgia is a highly debatable topic and very little is understood about the condition. There have been certain studies that point to an increased incidence of fibromyalgia in first degree relative. A study conducted by Pellegrino, Waylonis and Sommer in 1989 found that 52% of the siblings and relatives of a patient with fibromyalgia had characteristic symptoms of fibromyalgia but were not diagnosed with it and 26% had no symptoms but had abnormal muscle consistency.

Fibromyalgia is diagnosed on the basis of history and the absence or presence of physical findings. Characteristic findings include musculoskeletal pain which changes with the weather, anxiety, stress, reduced hours of sleep, fatigue. While there is no effective treatment of fibromyalgia, lifestyle modifications, treatment with low dose antidepressants, NSAIDS, Opioid analgesics, SSRI and SNRI have been used.