I have been researching fibro hard for the past six months as I have gone through the riggors of trying to find out what was wrong with me. I have also joined several fibromyalgia email groups and followed every link and bought every book they recommended. The following links are the best I have found, the first is written by the author of two of the best books on the topic as well. It is VERY comprehensive and an excellent place to start. There are also a list of printable articles that your mother will benefit greatly from as a place to begin learning. Both links are the Web sites of doctors that have tirelessly dedicated themselves to helping people with FMS. They also volunteer their time to answer medical questions about FMS and MPS (Myofascial Pain Syndrome) on one of those email lists I joined. In my opinion, you couldn't start your journey in a better place. I believe the mailing list info is there on those sites, but if not, please feel free to write me in person and I will be glad to give you more information.
http://www.sover.net/~devstar/
http://fmaware.org/doctor/nye.htm
As to the depression question, I fought the idea that I was depressed despite doctor after doctor telling me I was, because I really wasn't--at least not until I received the cortisone injections in my back and hip. 24 hours later I had an acute episode of depression that has persisted for two months now. I have been depressed before, but then I have also been fighting doctors for the past 28 years (age 11) when my IBS and joint problems first started. After so many years of pain and coming up with nothing again and again, and losing so much of my life to this disease without knowing what was wrong with me...well, eventually you WILL develop some emotional problems. Who wouldn't?
However, I do not believe that the depression has in any way caused the muscle spasms and joint pain I have had nearly my entire life, whether I was depressed or not. Another point I would like to make, though, is that organic depression CAN coexist with FMS; they are not mutually exclusive. Recovering from FMS is very possible (though it is not curable), but it takes tireless committment and the strength to exercise when you really just want to lie down and be unconcious. That kind of strength and committment is impossible to do when you are also depressed.
Part of my personal journey has been to give up all the pain meds they had me taking on a daily basis. I took one pill for IBS and one for pain and one for sleep, and all they did was exacerbate my brain fog and coordination problems to the point where I could not drive to the pool, I could not think my way out of a paper bag, and in the end were a large part of why I ended up having to go on medical leave. They were as incapacitating as the pain. So I gave up on the doctors recently, and went off all the meds and took control myself. I am now to the point where I am working out at the pool five times a week. I am starting to build strength and endurance. I am simultaneously working (why I am here!) at losing 120 lbs--if for no other reason than to prove to the doctors that it is not the cause of my pain--rather, the pain is the reason I have gained so much weight. I've been in pain when I was thin, too, and as a child, but they don't believe it. I am also working very hard with a therapist at finding ways to control my responses to daily stress, as stress is a major aggravator of FMS pain.
FMS must be treated through a multi-treatment approach, as you will soon learn.
I wish you and your mother a speedy rehabilitation.
Sincerely,
kaelen