Fibromyalgia and Small Fiber Polyneuropathy

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Last Updated: 19 October 2021 19 October 2021

Up to 60% of Fibromyalgia patients in some studies show evidence of Small Fiber Polyneuropathy (SFPN), a condition which shares many symptoms with Fibromyalgia and which may be treatable. Dr. Khosro Farhad spoke about this topic and reviewed recent research on SFPN at a public talk sponsored by the Massachusetts CFIDS/ME & FM Association on Nov. 14, 2015 at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Newton, Massachusetts.

• Video of the talk is posted here and video of the Q&A is posted here.
• Dr. Farhad's slides are posted here.
• The chart for diagnosing Fibromyalgia according to the 2011 criteria from the American College of Rheumatology is posted here.
• A list of blood and other test to consider for diagnosing Small Fiber Polyneuropathy is posted here.

Disclaimer: There materials are provided only for convenience so that you can print them out and take them to discuss with your health care provider. 

Please note this correction from Dr. Farhad: "When I spoke about the diagnosis of fibromyalgia based on American College of Rheumatology criteria, there was a mistake in my explanation. The patients need to answer “yes” to the first question and “no” to the second question in the third box [questions 4 and 5, see slide 3]. I mentioned patients should answer yes to both questions, which is not correct."

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Dr. Byron Hyde 2012 Fall Lecture Videos Posted

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Last Updated: 14 June 2023 14 June 2023

Byron Hyde, M.D. was the featured speaker at the Massachusetts CFIDS/ME & FM (Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Fibromyalgia) Association's October 27, 2012, lecture. His topic was “Why Doctors Can’t Diagnose and What Tests Should be Considered.”

Videos of Dr. Hyde's talk are now posted  on YouTube. YouTube links are on a private channel and can be accessed from the direct links; the videos are not searchable on YouTube:

• Part 1 - General Information and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (51 minutes)
• Part 2 - Fibromyalgia (48 minutes)
• Part 3 - Questions (24 minutes)

A written summary of this lecture is now available at Dr. Byron Hyde 2012 Fall Lecture Summary.

Dr. Hyde, an internationally recognized ME/CFIDS physician and researcher, is one of the few physicians worldwide whose practice has consisted solely of the study and treatment of ME and CFS patients since 1984. He is the founder of the Nightingale Research Foundation, Ottawa, Canada (www.nightingale.ca), which is dedicated to the study and treatment of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and related illnesses.

One of the biggest issues for patients is getting a physician to RUN tests, then having them KNOW what the results mean, and finally what to try for TREATMENT.  Dr. Hyde has a long history of international research expertise in ME, known in the U.S. as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or CFIDS. His interest also extends to Fibromyalgia-type illnesses. He will explore the reasons physicians aren’t able to do their jobs, the patient suffering as a result, and which tests would point the physician in the correct direction.

In 1984, Dr. Hyde switched from family practice medicine to the study of post-infectious Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. He travelled around the world for five years investigating ME epidemics and has a command of all the incarnations of various names of this illness going as far back as Florence Nightingale, for which his foundation was named. While many physicians in North America were unaware of ME, England had an established diagnostic criteria for ME. In 1992, in collaboration with leading ME/CFS authorities, Dr. Hyde published the first, comprehensive medical textbook about ME and CFS, The Clinical and Scientific Basis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Today, the Nightingale Research Foundation’s priorities are individual patient-based research with total body/brain investigation of ME and CFS patients, as well as the development of a sophisticated database to consolidate these findings for analysis and publication.