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FIBROMYALGIA SYMPTOMS

Because the classic symptoms of fibromyalgia widespread muscle and joint pain and fatigue aren't very distinctive, the condition is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood.

You may not have all of the symptoms, and you may have other medical problems, too.

Since there are no lab or imaging tests for it, when you go to get a diagnosis, your doctor will ask about your symptoms to decide if you have fibromyalgia.

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​​Almost all people with fibromyalgia ache all over. It can feel similar to tendinitis, osteoarthritis, and bursitis, but it's over your entire body. This is usually what makes you go see your doctor. The pain can be deep, sharp, dull, throbbing, or aching. For some people, the pain comes and goes. You may also have tender points specific spots around your joints that hurt when you press them with a finger. If you press a tender point on a person without fibromyalgia, they'll just feel pressure. That same pressure would be very painful for someone with fibro. These tender points are in predictable places on the body. They're often under the surface of the skin, not in areas of deep pain. It's the tissue around the muscles and joints that hurts rather than the joints themselves.

Common symptoms and related conditions. Many people
​with fibro also called fibromyalgia syndrome or FMS may have:

•  Pain and tender points
•  Fatigue
•  Sleep problems
•  Concentration and memory problems, known as "fibro fog"
•  Anxiety or depression
•  Morning stiffness
•  Numbness, and tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs
•  Headaches
•  Irritable bowel syndrome
•  Problems with peeing
•  Painful menstrual cramps
•  Pain and Tender Points

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Fatigue

People often feel tired even when they should feel rested, such as after a good night's sleep. Some compare it to working long hours and missing a lot of sleep. You may feel too tired to exercise or more tired after a workout. You might even be too tired for sex.

Sleep Problems

The majority of people with fibromyalgia have trouble sleeping. You may be able to fall asleep, but your sleep is light and easily disturbed. Tests done in sleep labs show that people with fibro are constantly interrupted by bursts of brain activity similar to what happens in the brain when they're awake. These interruptions limit how much time you spend in deep sleep, when your body restores itself, and you feel run down as a result.

Mood Disorders

Up to half of all people with fibromyalgia have depression or an anxiety disorder when they're diagnosed with fibro. Dealing with being fatigued and in pain all the time can be stressful. You probably worry about keeping up with life and what you can do to feel better. You may become less active and more withdrawn, which can lead to depression. It's also possible that anxiety and depression may actually be a part of fibromyalgia, like the pain. People diagnosed with fibromyalgia and depression have a hard time with concentration and short-term memory, which make it hard to remember day-to-day things, like where they've put their keys or plans they've made for lunch tomorrow.

Morning Stiffness

Most people with fibromyalgia feel like they need to "loosen up" after getting out of bed before they can start their day. The muscles and joints of their back, arms, and legs feel stiff. Some people say it lasts only a few minutes, the stiffness usually sticks around for more than 15 to 20 minutes each day. Sometimes it lasts for hours, and it could linger all day. Swelling and tingling in Hands and Feet While the cause of numbness, tingling, and burning is unclear, many people with fibro feel them. These sensations, called paresthesia, tend to happen randomly. They may last a few minutes, or they may be constant. The feelings can be especially bothersome in the mornings along with morning stiffness. They generally don't get in the way of doing things.

Headaches

Up to 2 out of 5 people with fibro also get migraine or tension headaches regularly. They may be a result of pain in your neck and upper back. Headaches can make it much harder for you to live with fibro and manage the disease. Irritable Bowel Syndrome  About two-thirds of people with fibromyalgia often have belly pain, bloating, and gas and feel like throwing up. They can also have constipation and diarrhea. Many have acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), too.

Problems Peeing

Feeling the urge to go a lot, hurting when you do, or a leaky bladder can happen when you have fibromyalgia. These symptoms could also be caused by bladder and kidney diseases, such as an infection.

Menstrual Cramps

Women with fibromyalgia may have unusually painful menstrual cramps, often for years, along with their other symptoms.

Restless Legs Syndrome

This usually affects your feet and legs below your knees. It may hurt, but more often it feels like you need to move your legs to try to make them comfortable. It's especially bothersome at night because it can keep you from sleeping.

Fibromyalgia Pain

Whether you are experiencing painful tender points, deep muscle pain, chronic headaches, unending back pain, or neck pain, you know how fibromyalgia feels. People with fibromyalgia experience pain in ways no one else can really understand. Is fibromyalgia pain acute (short term) or chronic (long term)? And what impact does fibromyalgia pain have on every part of your life?

What Is Pain?

Pain is an uncomfortable feeling in your body that warns you something is wrong. While this feeling is the body's way of alerting your brain that there is a problem, after it goes on for weeks or even months, pain becomes a part of your very existence. At that point, not only is pain a symptom that something is wrong, but pain becomes the disease itself.

What Is Fibromyalgia-Related Pain?

Fibromyalgia-related pain is pain that causes you to ache all over. Other times they will burn or ache with deep stabbing pain. Some patients with fibromyalgia have pain and achiness around the joints in their neck, shoulders, back, and hips.

How Does the Brain Perceive Pain?

There are over 20 different kinds of nerve endings in your skin that tell you if among other sensations something is hot, cold, or painful. These nerve endings convert mechanical, thermal, or chemical energy into electrical signals that convey information to the brain and spinal cord also known as the central nervous system or CNS.

These signals travel to areas of your CNS where you perceive the stimuli as the sensations you actually feel sensations such as searing, burning, pounding, or throbbing.

Research suggests that the pain associated with fibromyalgia is caused by a "glitch" in the way the body processes pain. This glitch results in a hypersensitivity to stimuli that normally are not painful. According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), research has shown that people with fibromyalgia have reduced blood flow to parts of the brain that normally help the body deal with pain.

Is Fibromyalgia Pain Acute or chronic?

In more than 80% of cases, acute pain goes away in about two weeks. It is considered acute if your pain from a strained muscle lasts only a few days or weeks. Chronic pain is pain that lasts much longer than someone would normally expect based on the original problem or injury. As neurochemical changes in your body increase your sensitivity to pain, the chronic pain worsens.

What Are Fibromyalgia's Tender Points?

Tender points are not areas of deep pain. People with fibromyalgia often have 11 or more out of a possible 18 tender points.

How Does the Chronic Pain of Fibromyalgia Impact Lives?

Fibromyalgia's chronic pain seems unending. While you want to exercise and be active, you may suffer with foot pain, hip pain, knee pain, or other painful joints. The constant pain causes more irritation and difficulty dealing with others, including family members, friends, and people at work. For women with fibromyalgia who must take care of family members and work full-time, coping with pain is a challenge. If there is undiagnosed pain and no effective treatment or medication for the fibromyalgia, the overwhelming feelings can lead to irritability, exhaustion, anxiety, social isolation, and depression.
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How Can I Get Relief for Undiagnosed Fibromyalgia Pain?

Talk to your doctor about your symptoms of fibromyalgia, including the body aches, aching joints, painful tender points, and fatigue. With a multifaceted program of effective drugs, alternative therapies, psychotherapy, and mind/body remedies, you should be able to find good relief of symptoms and reclaim your active life again.

Living Well With Fibromyalgia

Pain is a given for nearly everyone with fibromyalgia. Are fatigue and brain fog. While those symptoms can be challenging, you don't have to put your life on hold because of them. Living with fibromyalgia means making adjustments, from work to parenting responsibilities to household chores to having fun. By taking a more active role in managing your condition, you may feel a sense of control and boost your self-esteem along with your quality of life.

Medical Care

Stay on your medications. Sounds obvious, but this can be why you don't get enough symptom relief. Nearly half the people in one study didn't take their medication as directed because of forgetfulness, carelessness, or out of frustration. Keep a journal and bring it to doctor visits so you can zero in on what's bothering you, and see what helps. Make sure the doctor in charge of your care has experience with fibromyalgia.

Other team members, who often practice together at pain and rheumatology clinics, can help with specific symptoms. They include physiatrists, psychologists, and physical and occupational therapists. Consider complementary therapies, like acupuncture and massage, for pain relief.

Sign up for a self-management education class, in person or online, to better understand fibromyalgia. The CDC has several for people with arthritis (which would work for you, too) listed on its website.

Exercises

Regular exercise is one of the most effective ways to deal with fibromyalgia. It eases both fatigue and pain. Aim for 20-30 minutes, 2 or 3 days per week. Balance exercises will help you feel steadier. Resistance training can boost your strength and overall fitness. A trainer can teach you the right way to lift.

​Exergaming

Video games that include exercise may be a good option if you're worried about falling. These fitness games track your body movements or reactions and combine that with virtual reality. This style of exercise targets your ability to move easily and balance. If you're uneasy on your feet or if even low-impact activity is hard, ask your doctor about an exercise program for people with fibromyalgia or another type of supervised rehab to improve your flexibility, strength, and stamina.

Energy

You need sleep to feel better, but your symptoms can get in the way. Practice good sleep habits, like going to bed and getting up at the same time.
Regular exercise will also help you sleep. You might try a simple nightly soak in the tub to help you relax and temporarily ease pain. Ask your doctor to test you for sleep disorders like restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea. During the day, pace yourself. Plan your work, household chores, and social events so you don't overdo it.
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Stress Relief

Worry, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed will drain your energy, too. Try to adopt a more "go with the flow" rather than "crisis" approach to life, set priorities, and remember it's OK to say "no" so you can focus on what's important.

Mindfulness meditation teaches you to focus your thoughts in a positive way. The more you practice it, the more pain relief it can bring. Mind-body practices like tai chi, qi gong, and yoga may ease many fibromyalgia issues, from sleep problems and fatigue to mood. Because they include movement, they work the way exercise does, with the bonus of stress relief from focused breathing.

Diet
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Focus on nutrient-rich foods to have more energy and to avoid other health problems. Use your diary to see if any foods make you feel better. People with fibromyalgia tend to have low levels of vitamin D. That could worsen pain and other symptoms. A blood test can tell if you're short on D. Ask your doctor if you should take a supplement. One study showed that light and moderate (but not heavy) alcohol drinkers have a better quality of life and less severe symptoms than nondrinkers. In this study, "moderate" meant 3-7 drinks per week, and not all in one day.

Avoid caffeine

While it may make you feel more alert, it can also put you on edge and make it harder to sleep. Drinking 4 or more cups of a caffeinated beverage a day has been linked with more fibro pain.

Relationships

Counseling with a therapist may help bridge the gap if that's difficult. If they're having a hard time grasping what it's like, you could bring them to your next doctor visit. Find out what really matters to the people you care about, like your kids' soccer games or the school play.

Plan your activities and save your energy to be there for them during those times.

Join a fibromyalgia support groups.

You'll discover tips for your own care as well as ideas about how to get family, friends, and co-workers on the same page with you.