Hey Lisa,
Ok, here goes....
as defined by the National Brain tumor Foundation:
http://www.braintumor.org/Meningioma?bMediumFontSize=1"Meningioma
These tumors grow from the meninges, the layers of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord. As they grow, meningiomas compress adjacent brain tissue. Symptoms are often related to this compression of brain tissue, which can also affect cranial nerves and blood vessels. In some cases, meningioma growth can also extend into the bones of the head and face, which may produce visible changes. Most meningiomas are considered nonmalignant or low grade tumors. However, unlike nonmalignant tumors elsewhere in the body, some of these brain tumors can cause disability and may sometimes be life threatening. In many cases, meningiomas grow slowly. Other meningiomas grow more rapidly or have sudden growth spurts. There is no way to predict the rate of growth of a meningioma or to know for certain how long a specific tumor was growing before diagnosis. Meningiomas are graded from low to high. The lower the grade, the lower the risk of recurrence and aggressive growth."
so, as you can see, shares some similarities, yet not.....
FMS (Fibromyalgia Syndrome) is its own fugly onto itself, usually secondary in nature to another primary ailment ongoing. One link may be of interest:
http://www.fmnetnews.com/Having been diagnosed many years ago with FMS, they noted to me that it was secondary to my initial (non-AN) medical issue but it has exasberated (did I spell that write?
) over the years as my health has declined.
Hoping this info helps.
Phyl