Great conversation!

Why does it take them so long to even check a few skin biopsies?
In my case, I had multiple diagnoses by two researchers, each specializing in his own field. This was in the early 1980's!
This was a collaborative effort, to determine if CFS and FMS were the same or were separate conditions. I had agreed to participate with them and they had diagnosed me with both conditions (according to the definitions at that time).
These were extensive tests for each and they were listening carefully and asking lots of questions. They were in the room together at the time. (I also saw each of them individually for further follow-up.)

These gentlemen were very attentive to the person and to their research and have excellent reputations. They each had kept telling me he knew I had some severe neurological disease they could not yet recognize. (While also tagging me with CFS and FMS at the time. They also had me see some topnotch neurologists for consults then... due to their strong beliefs I truly had a severe neuro. condition underlying it all.)

It was another maybe 12-15 years before I had a skin punch biopsy and they all went wonky when they saw the results. Yet, with even what little they were saying to me about a neuro illness, why did it all take so long?
It is taking even longer for those not in research studies!

Is it true that not all neurology clinics (even at teaching hospitals) actually do the skin punch biopsies as a part of any work-up? Or is it more true they can obtain the biopsy, yet must send it out to a qualified pathologist?

(Our teaching hospital was doing sural nerve biopsies long before doing the skin punch biopsies... even when the skin punch biopsies were the thing to do at other centers. I'll never agree to a sural nerve biopsy again. Over 20 years later, I still have many diagnoses and things keep becoming increasingly overtly neurological... and a mix of all kinds of AI and neuro. "stuff." They just tell me they can't help me, except to try to help me with pain. The truth is, most of the time they try to prescribe, most of the meds make me even worse.)

It is so hard to believe it took so long to do a few biopsies to see what the trend might be with FMS groups!

I hope they do start offering skin punch biopsies to people with FMS diagnoses.
Everyone deserves to know what is going on in his/her own body, if there is any way to discern this for each individual.

~DejaVu