The painful, all-over body ache that ravages your muscles, joints, bones, and tender points are just the start of the disorder that has the scientific world stumped and leaves one of the most debilitating chronic illnesses in the shadows.
The disorder is categorized as a somatic, centralized pain disorder, a rheumatic, neurological, or otherwise unknown condition that affects otherwise healthy muscles, joints, bones, and the central nervous system causing dysfunction of its operation.
But those who suffer from Fibromyalgia know the true nature of the beast and its capability to turn a healthy, fit, and energized individual into an emotional and physically crippled human.
The causes are often some form of trauma, either emotionally or physically, i.e Car Accidents, losing a loved one, operations, and so on but have also it has been said to have a genetic component to the disorder leaving many sufferers to trace back their steps of when they first started to feel a level of pain, discomfort or had first shown symptoms of the debilitating condition.
Each patient suffers from Fibromyalgia differently from one patient to the next and whilst Widespread pain is the most common complaint, to this date there have been over 250+ reported symptoms of Fibromyalgia and many of these patients generally suffer other co-morbidities.
Below is a list of the 250 plus symptoms of Fibromyalgia:
GENERAL
1. Activity level decreased to less than 50% of pre-illness activity level
2. Cold hands and feet (extremities)
3. Cough
4. Craving carbohydrates
5. Delayed reaction to physical activity or stressful events
6. Dryness of eyes and/or mouth
7. Edema
8. Family member(s) with Fibromyalgia
9. Fatigue, made worse by physical exertion or stress
10. Feeling cold often
11. Feeling hot often
12. Frequent sighing
13. Heart palpitations
14. Hoarseness
15. Hypoglycemia (blood sugar falls or low)
16. Increased thirst
17. Low blood pressure (below 110/70)
18. Low body temperature (below 97.6)
19. Low-grade fevers
20. Night sweats
21. Noisy joints – with or without pain
22. Poor circulation in hands/feet
23. Profuse sweating
24. Recurrent flu-like illness
25. Shortness of breath with little or no exertion
26. Severe nasal allergies (new or worsening allergies)
27. Sore throat
28. Subjective swelling of extremities – (feels swollen Bu can’t find anything)
29. Sweats
30. Symptoms worsened by air travel
31. Symptoms worsened by stress
32. Symptoms worsened by temperature changes
33. Tender or swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck and underarms
34. Tremor or trembling
35. Unexplained weight gain or loss
PAIN
36. Abdominal wall pain
37. Bad hip pain
38. Burning Nerve Pain
39. Chest pain
40. Collarbone pain
41. Diffuse swelling
42. Elbow pain
43. Exacerbated Plantar arch or heel pain
44. “Growing” pains that don’t go away once you are done growing
45. Headache – tension or migraine
46. Inflamed Rib Cartilage
47. Joint pain
48. Lumpy, tender breasts
49. Morning stiffness
50. Muscle pain
51. Muscle spasms
52. Muscle twitching
53. Muscle weakness
54. Pain that ranges from moderate to severe
55. Pain that moves around the body
56. Paralysis or severe weakness of an arm or leg
57. Restless Leg Syndrome
58. Rib Pain
59. Scalp Pain (like hair being pulled out)
60. Sciatica-like pain
61. Tender points or trigger points
62. TMJ syndrome
63. “Voodoo Doll” Poking Sensation in random places
NEUROLOGICAL
64. Blackouts
65. Brain fog
66. Carpal Tunnel
67. Feeling spaced out
68. Hallucinating smells
69. Inability to think clearly
70. Lightheadedness
71. Noise intolerance
72. Numbness or tingling sensations
73. Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
74. Seizures
75. seizure-like episodes
76. Sensation that you might faint
77. Syncope (fainting)
78. Tinnitus (ringing in one or both ears)
79. Vertigo or dizziness
EQUILIBRIUM/PERCEPTION
80. Bumping into things
81. Clumsy Walking
82. Difficulty balancing
83. Difficulty judging distances (when driving, etc.)
84. Directional disorientation
85. Dropping things frequently
86. Feeling spatially disoriented
87. Frequent tripping or stumbling
88. Not seeing what you’re looking at
89. Poor balance and coordination
90. Staggering gait
SLEEP
91. Alertness/energy best late at night
92. Altered sleep/wake schedule
93. Awakening frequently
94. Difficulty falling asleep
95. Difficulty staying asleep
96. Excessive sleeping
97. Extreme alertness or energy levels late at night
98. Falling asleep at random and sometimes dangerous moments
99. Fatigue
100. Light or broken sleep pattern
101. Muscle spasms/twitches at night
102. Narcolepsy
103. Sleep disturbances
104. Sleep starts or falling sensations
105. Teeth grinding
106. Tossing and turning
107. Un-refreshing or non-restorative sleep
108. Vivid or disturbing dreams/nightmares
EYES/VISION
109. Blind spots in vision
110. Eye pain
111. Difficulty switching focus from one thing to another
112. Frequent changes in the ability to see well
113. Night driving difficulty
114. Occasional Blurry vision
115. Poor night vision
116. Rapidly worsening vision
117. Vision changes
COGNITIVE
118. Becoming lost in familiar locations when driving
119. Confusion
120. Difficulty expressing ideas in words
121. Difficulty following conversation (especially if background noise present)
122. Difficulty following directions while driving
123. Difficulty following oral instructions
124. Difficulty following written instructions
125. Difficulty making decisions
126. Difficulty moving your mouth to speak
127. Difficulty paying attention
128. Difficulty putting ideas together to form a complete picture
129. Difficulty putting tasks or things in proper sequence
130. Difficulty recognizing faces
131. Difficulty speaking known words
132. Difficulty remembering names of objects
133. Difficulty remembering names of people
134. Difficulty understanding what you read
135. Difficulty with long-term memory
136. Difficulty with simple calculations
137. Difficulty with short-term memory
138. Easily distracted during a task
139. Dyslexia-type symptoms occasionally
140. Feeling too disoriented to drive
141. Forgetting how to do routine things
142. Impaired ability to concentrate
143. Inability to recognize familiar surroundings
144. Losing track in the middle of a task (remembering what to do next)
145. Losing your train of thought in the middle of a sentence
146. Loss of ability to distinguish some colors
147. Poor judgment
148. Short term memory impairment
149. Slowed speech
150. Staring into space trying to think
151. Stuttering; stammering
152. Switching left and right
153. Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words, and/or letters when you speak
154. Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words, and/or letters when you write
155. Trouble concentrating
156. Using the wrong word
157. Word-finding difficulty
EMOTIONAL
158. Abrupt and/or unpredictable mood swings
159. Anger outbursts
160. Anxiety or fear when there is no obvious cause
161. Attacks of uncontrollable rage
162. Decreased appetite
163. Depressed mood
164. Feeling helpless and/or hopeless
165. Fear of someone knocking on the door
166. Fear of telephone ringing
167. Feeling worthless
168. Frequent crying
169. Heightened awareness – of symptoms
170. Inability to enjoy previously enjoyed activities
171. Irrational fears
172. Irritability
173. Overreaction
174. Panic attacks
175. Personality changes –usually a worsening of the previous condition
176. Phobias
177. Suicide attempts
78. Suicidal thoughts
179. The tendency to cry easily
GASTROINTESTINAL
180. Abdominal cramps
181. Bloating
182. Decreased appetite
183. Food cravings
184. Frequent constipation
185. Frequent diarrhea
186. Gerd-like Symptoms
187. Heartburn
188. Increased appetite
189. Intestinal gas
190. Irritable bladder
191. Irritable bowel syndrome
192. Nausea
193. Regurgitation
194. Stomachache
195. Vomiting
196. Weight gain
197. Weight loss
UROGENITAL
198. Decreased libido (sex drive)
199. Endometriosis
200. Frequent urination
201. Impotence
202. Menstrual problems
203. Painful urination or bladder pain
204. Pelvic pain
205. Prostate pain
206. Worsening of (or severe) premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
SENSITIVITIES
207. Alcohol intolerance
208. Allodynia (hypersensitive to touch)
209. Alteration of taste, smell, and/or hearing
210. Sensitivity to chemicals in cleaning products, perfumes, etc.
211. Sensitivities to foods
212. Sensitivity to light
213. Sensitivity to mold
214. Sensitivity to noise
215. Sensitivity to odors
216. Sensitivity to yeast (getting yeast infections frequently on skin, etc.)
217. Sensory overload
218. Sensitivity to pressure & humidity changes
219. Sensitivity to extreme temperature changes
220. Vulvodynia
SKIN
221. Able to “write” on the skin with a finger
222. Bruising easily
223. Bumps and lumps
224. Eczema or psoriasis
225. Hot/dry skin
226. Ingrown hairs
227. Itchy/Irritable skin
228. Mottled skin
229. Rashes or sores
230. Scarring easily
231. Sensitivity to the sun
232. Skin suddenly turns bright red
Cardiovascular (Heart)
233. “Click-murmur” sounds through the stethoscope
234. Fluttery heartbeat
235. Heart palpitations
236. Irregular heartbeat
237. Loud pulse in ear
238. Pain that mimics a heart attack
239. Rapid heartbeat
HAIR/NAILS
240. Dull, listless hair
241. Heavy and splitting cuticles
242. Irritated nail beds
243. Nails that curve under
244. Pronounced nail ridges
245. Temporary hair loss
OTHER
246. Canker sores
247. Dental problems
248. Disk Degeneration
249. Hemorrhoids
250. Nose bleeds
251. Periodontal (gum) disease
This may seem inconceivable to even a fibromyalgia sufferer as some of us will not have or experience all of these or even the crippling effects of Fibromyalgia, everyone is so unique. This also makes the condition hard to treat and live with day to day as every
day is different from one to the next.
Fibromyalgia is actually COMMON but misunderstand and medically hard to diagnose
because there is no diagnostic tool apart from assessing the number of tender points
and symptoms against the checklist, there is no imagery or blood test to confirm, it is
a process of elimination.
Science is continuing to develop and move with the times so we all hold onto hope
that discovery of cause is found and then they can move on to developing a cure.
As a Sufferer first, a thriver second I knew I had Fibromyalgia approximately 3 months
after my car accident occurred and it was only bought to the attention of my treating Dr
due to my own diligence in advocating for myself and my health, through research and a
process of elimination after having all body imagery cleared, blood cleared, and making sure I did not suffer any underlying conditions or illnesses that share some of the common symptoms with Fibromyalgia.
Apart from having Fibromyalgia, I am one of the lucky ones who does not suffer any co-morbidities such as immune disorders or illnesses that contribute to the worsening or adding of symptoms.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments regarding the type of condition you feel Fibromyalgia is, I definitely think it is neurological in nature.
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