Posted by TENA/DIAMOND on 2/1/2009, 2:53 pm
Symptoms of fibromyalgia come in many shapes and sizes -- and fibromyalgia is often confused with other conditions. Learn all about fibromyalgia symptoms and how to manage your symptoms effectively.
Symptoms#1
Fibromyalgia Symptoms
Are you living with fibromyalgia symptoms? They can range from pain and sleep problems to dry eyes and irritable bowel. Learn more now and start feeling better today.
Are you looking for information about the symptoms of fibromyalgia? Here is an overview of the symptoms and signs of fibromyalgia that you can use to help you talk with your doctor.
The main fibromyalgia symptoms include deep muscle pain, painful trigger points or tender points, and morning stiffness. Other major symptoms of fibromyalgia include sleep disorders, fatigue, and anxiety. In order to make an accurate diagnosis, your doctor will need to review your symptoms and signs of fibromyalgia.
What are the common symptoms of fibromyalgia?
Common symptoms of fibromyalgia, also known as fibromyalgia syndrome or FMS, may include:
Anxiety
Concentration and memory problems -- known as fibro fog
Depression
Digestive disorders
Discoloration of hands and feet (Raynaud's phenomenon)
Dryness in mouth, nose, and eyes
Fatigue
Headaches
Irritable bowel syndrome
Morning stiffness
Pain
Painful menstrual cramps
Restless legs syndrome
Sleep problems
Swelling, numbness, and tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs
Trigger points
Urinary symptoms
Is pain the most common symptom of fibromyalgia?
Yes. Widespread pain is characteristic of more than 97%of patients with fibromyalgia. In fact, pain is usually what forces a person with fibromyalgia to see his or her doctor.
Unlike the joint pain of osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia pain is felt over the entire body. It is a deep, sharp, dull, throbbing, or aching pain that's felt in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the joints. The Arthritis Foundation describes the muscle and tissue pain as tender, aching, throbbing, sore, burning, and gnawing.
For some people with fibromyalgia, the pain comes and goes. The pain also seems to travel throughout the body.
Do painful trigger points accompany FMS pain?
Along with the deep muscle soreness and body aches, people with fibromyalgia have painful trigger points or localized areas of tenderness around their joints that hurt when pressed with a finger. It's the tissue around the joints rather than the joints themselves that hurts. These trigger points or tender points are often not areas of deep pain. Instead, they are superficial, located under the surface of the skin.
The location of trigger points is not random. They are in predictable places on the body. If you apply pressure to trigger points on a person without fibromyalgia, he or she would just feel pressure. For a person with fibromyalgia, pressing the trigger points is extremely painful.
Is fatigue a fibromyalgia symptom?
Next to pain and the tender trigger points, fatigue is a major complaint. Fatigue in fibromyalgia refers to a lingering tiredness that is more constant and limiting than what we would usually expect. Some patients complain of being tired even when they should feel rested, such as when they've had enough sleep. Some patients report the fatigue of fibromyalgia as being similar to symptoms of flu. Some compare it to how it feels after working long hours and missing a lot of sleep.
With fibromyalgia, you may feel:
Fatigue on arising in the morning
Fatigue after mild activity such as grocery shopping or cooking dinner
Too fatigued to start a project such as folding clothes or ironing
Too fatigued to exercise
More fatigued after exercise
Too fatigued for sex
Too fatigued to function adequately at work
TENA/DIAMOND
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