“An inherited imbalance in neuro-vegetative systems resulting from increased sympathetic tone because of a metabolic deficiency in the serotoninergic system…” is how Coaccioli et al describe fibromyalgia.  My first instinct was to flop on the floor and throw a temper tantrum of frustration.  Instead, I broke it down:

1. Inherited… genetically passed on from generation to generation
2. Imbalance in neuro-vegetative systems… refers to the autonomic nervous system – this controls things like breathing and digestion, things we aren’t conscious of.
3. Increased sympathetic tone… sympathetic nervous system, which is pulling in a cardiac aspect, which I haven’t really read much about in conjunction with fibro.  Increased sympathetic tone can be a cause of high blood pressure.
4. Metabolic deficiency…”Abnormal chemical reactions in the body alter the normal metabolic process” (Wikipedia)
5. Serotoninergic system…. located in both digestive tract and brain, ultimately having to do with regulating mood, sleep, appetite, and blood clotting, among other things.

So…doing a little rewording, Coaccioli et al managed to say that fibromyalgia is genetic, a chemical imbalance which affects things we aren’t usually even aware of doing, including digestion, heart rate and blood pressure, and metabolism, thus messing up our mood, sleep patterns, appetites (to the detriment of girly figures), and even something as basic as blood clotting.  So almost everything we have little or no control over gets messed up.  Still, they sidestepped the question I keep coming back to – would fixing just one thing make all these other problems settle down and into place?  Metabolic deficiency.  I’m going to look there.