After appearing on ITV This Morning to discuss her mystery illness, viewers suggest Jo Guest might have fibromyalgia.

Former Page 3 model Jo Guest's mystery illness could be fibromyalgia.

Jo Guest was a successful glamour model in the 1990s but in December 2005, fed up with her London lifestyle, she decided to move to Bournemouth where she gave up drinking and smoking. In May 2006 she began to get a bloated stomach and her calf muscles became swollen: "One day I tried to put on my favourite boots and couldn't zip them up." She then started to feel lethargic, her muscles and joints ached and she was vomiting 4-5 times a day, she went to see her GP.

Jo was referred to hospital where she had an ultrasound and a Gastroscopy (where a camera examines the inside of stomach) but doctors couldn't find anything wrong. Over the next year doctors ruled out any serious conditions such as a tumour or growth and allergy tests for foods came back negative. Some doctors believed she could have M.E but unfortunately there's no test for this. The illness has had a big effect on her - she has no energy, only goes out to walk her dog and it's caused her many financial problems. N.B- Last time she was on the show Jo was trying to sell her house - she's now in the process of selling.

After Jo appeared on ITV This Morning to talk about her illness with Dr Chris, the show received nearly 200 emails from viewers who had similar symptoms, or who offered suggestions on what she could be suffering from, these included M.E, lime disease, Lupus, stiff person syndrome and a underactive thyroid. The majority of people suggested fibromyalgia, something Jo had never heard of and no doctor had mentioned before, Jo says: "I was really overwhelmed by the emails. It was amazing that so many people were willing to share their thoughts and people who were suffering from fibromyalgia, which leaves you so exhausted, actually made the effort to email. I was very grateful and didn't feel alone."

Jo reviewed the suggestions and she made a list of the most common suggestions. At the beginning of March she had an appointment with her consultant at the Gastro department of her hospital: "I took along the list and the doctor tested me for the conditions which could be identified with a blood test. About 80% of the emails suggested fibromyalgia, unfortunately there's no test for it but the gastro doctor believed this is what I was suffering from. He thought my swollen belly was caused by irritable bowel syndrome which often goes hand in hand with fibromyalgia." The consultant wrote to Jo's GP that he believed it was fibromyalgia, her GP agreed, although he doesn't know the cause and gave her a diagnosis. On the 17th March she started on a course of medication called Amitriptyline which is a antidepressant - this is the only medication that can be prescribed to sufferers of fibromyalgia to lessen the symptoms.

Jo's Progress
Jo's on the antidepressant medication, anti inflammatories and vitamins including magnesium and iron to help with her symptoms. There has been a small improvement: "I used to get my words mixed up, get confused easily - it's a thing they call 'fibro fog' - but my mind feels a lot clearer now which is amazing. Also, most mornings I wake up rigid, in so much pain but couldn't stretch. I can actually stretch now - not everyday but it feels good when I can. I've not felt a dramatic change but because I've had the condition for so long, it could take a long time to feel better." Jo says she still has bad days, when she's fed up and can't get out of bed: "I have to live one day at a time. If I do too much I'll pay for it the next day so I have to pace myself. I'm relieved that I have the diagnosis but disappointed that I'm not suffering from something which can be cured. I've realised that I've got to pull myself together and not give up - I'll bounce back."

Dr Chris says:
The name fibromyalgia is derived from Algia which means pain in the muscles and fibra which means pain in the tendons, ligaments and other soft tissues. There are many possible causes, theories include stress, a genetic link, it might be brought on by a physical injury or viral infection, you just don't know

Symptoms of fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia symptoms include wide spread aches and pains and very disturbed sleep patterns, which can result in extreme fatigue which is also part of the condition. Patients can suffer with depression but whether this is caused by the condition or is a symptom is an area of great debate. It causes tenderness on certain parts of the body. A few years ago, one way of coming to a diagnosis was to look for these tender spots - the back of the neck for example - and if the patient showed tenderness in 11 out of 18 points they were given a diagnosis.

Related conditions : The Fibro Five
Quite a few doctors think certain conditions are related - the fibro five - fibromyalgia, M.E, a certain type of cystitis, migraines and irritable bowel syndrome - which would explain Jo's swollen stomach. Many patients with fibromyalgia will also suffer from one of the other four. The condition impares daily activities and gives the sufferer a poor quality of life.

Diagnosing fibromyalgia
There is no test for fibromyalgia and many people can go 4-5 years before being diagnosed. It's diagnosed by a process of elimination of other conditions. As the symptoms are so widespread many doctors don't believe it's real and that it's all in the mind but the Department of Health have now officially accepted that it's a real condition.

Treatments for fibromyalgia
There's no cure but it does not shorten your life, you've just got to live through the deliberating pain. The standard treatments are pain killers and anti depressants which can help with the sleep problem and feelings of depression. Other useful drugs are Lyrica, which is the first drug to be licensed in America as treatment for fibromyalgia, although it's not licensed or available in the UK yet - it may soon be. Also in the last couple of months a product called Corvalen has been launched. They've had some astounding results on fibromyalgia sufferers. It's a type of sugar which is mixed with water and taken as a drink and creates a surge of energy into muscles." "Other treatments include acupuncture, massage and heated pool therapy. There are also treatments that work on the mind - cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help people cope better with the symptoms and manage the pain and relaxation therapy may be helpful. Full recovery is uncommon, although symptoms may come and go - this is the end result of fibromyalgia.

More information
Corvalen Web Site


This content was created on Sat 19 April 2008

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