Today The Times Health Guide takes a look at fibromyalgia, a mysterious ailment that afflicts both women and men with a range of symptoms that include pain, fatigue, poor sleep, tingling and memory problems.

This week Dr. Brent Bauer, director of the complementary and integrative medicine program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., joins the Consults blogs to answer readers questions about fibromyalgia.

Dr. Bauer writes:

Fibromyalgia is a vexing condition for both patients and doctors. It’s vexing for patients because it can cause symptoms ranging from mild muscle aches to debilitating pain, yet it remains poorly understood and has no known cure. It’s vexing for many physicians who are faced with suffering patients but have only a limited armamentarium of treatments to offer…

NY Times, 09/23/09

Tags: alternative and complementary medicine, Complementary/Alternative Medicine