Posted by MERM on 5/26/2009, 10:23 am, in reply to "Common symptoms of FIBROMYALGIA"
DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS AND IBS
Digestiv
e problems and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) frequently accompany fibromyalgia.
Abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort are the main symptoms of IBS.
Some people also experience constipation;
others have chronic diarrhea; and some alternate between constipation and diarrhea.
Researchers have not yet discovered a specific cause for IBS.
Below are some of the possibilities that might explain its relationship to FM:
One theory is that people who suffer from IBS have a colon, or large intestine, that is particularly sensitive and reactive to certain foods and stress.
Since FM tends to involve general hypersensitivity, it follows that they could have a sensitive digestive tract.
Normal motility, or movement, may not be present in the colon of a person who has IBS.
Staying active and exercising regularly can help the colon maintain its natural motility, but people with FM tend to be less active and often shy away from exercise because of the pain.
According to the National Institutes of Health, “Recent research has reported that serotonin is linked with normal gastrointestinal (GI) functioning.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, or chemical, that delivers messages from one part of your body to another. Ninety-five percent of the serotonin in your body is located in the GI tract, and the other 5 percent is found in the brain. Cells that line the inside of the bowel work as transporters and carry the serotonin out of the GI tract. People with IBS, however, have diminished receptor activity, causing abnormal levels of serotonin to exist in the GI tract.
As a result, they experience problems with bowel movement, motility, and sensation - having more sensitive pain receptors in their GI tract.”
Since people with FM are known to have lower than normal levels of serotonin, this could be a significant factor.
COLD AND HEAT INTOLERANCE
Most people with fibromyalgia report being extremely sensitive to cold and/or heat. As with most FM symptoms, this seems to be related to the general state of hypersensitivity that occurs with fibromyalgia.
There may, however, be another explanation that is important to check out. It’s not unusual for people with fibromyalgia to also have hypothyroidism.
Since the thyroid gland regulates body temperature, any thyroid abnormality could affect how the body responds to external temperature variations.
It’s important that FM patients have their thyroid levels checked regularly.
Standards of what is considered to be “normal” thyroid levels have changed recently, but not all doctors and labs have caught up with the changes yet.
Many FM patients who fell within the normal range under the old standard, but are now being treated for hypothyroidism under the new standards, have experienced a significant improvement in their symptoms.
HEADACHES AND MIGRAINES
Many people with fibromyalgia say they also suffer from frequent headaches and/or migraines. It’s important to note that headaches and migraines are two very different things. A migraine is not just a really bad headache. It is a genetic neurological disease that is characterized by flare-ups, which are called migraine attacks. While head pain is common with migraines, it is possible to have a migraine attack without having a headache.
Like FM, migraine disease seems to be a central nervous system problem that results in hypersensitivity to various triggers. There are many theories as to exactly what happens to bring on a migraine attack, but the most prevalent theory is that people with migraines have overly excitable neurons in their brains. When they encounter a trigger, those neurons fire in a wave across the brain, starting a cascade of events involving several parts of the brain.
The most common type of headache is the tension-type headache. These headaches usually occur on both sides of the head and have a pressing or tightening quality to them. Some patients describe them as feeling like they have a tight band around their head. Since pain in general tends to cause the body to become tense, it’s not surprising that people with fibromyalgia might develop tension-type headaches.
One type of headache that is important to mention, especially for FM patients, is the rebound or medication-overuse headache. It is caused by the very medication being taken to relieve the pain. Unfortunately, people who are susceptible to rebound headaches find themselves in a catch-22 situation. In these cases, when patients take medication to relieve the headache or migraine pain more than two or three times a week, their bodies get used to having the medication and actually create a headache in order to get more of the medication. The only way to break this cycle is to stop taking the medication that caused it. This can be a particularly difficult problem for people with fibromyalgia since often the medications being taken to relieve FM pain can cause rebound headaches.
RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME
Approximately 30 percent of people with fibromyalgia also have restless legs syndrome (RLS). RLS is a neurological disorder characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs and an uncontrollable urge to move when at rest. People describe these unpleasant sensations as burning, creeping, tugging, or like insects crawling inside the legs. The sensations may range in severity from uncomfortable to irritating to painful.
The most distinctive feature of RLS is that lying down and trying to relax actually activates the symptoms, which can significantly interfere with sleep. Because moving the legs relieves the discomfort, people with RLS often keep their legs in motion. They toss and turn in bed and often find they have to get up and walk to relieve the sensations.
More than 80 percent of people with RLS also experience a more common condition known as periodic limb movement disorder (PLMD), which is characterized by involuntary twitching or jerking of the legs during sleep. These movements typically occur every 10 to 60 seconds and may continue throughout the night, causing repeated awakening and severely disrupting sleep.
The cause of both RLS and PLMD remains a mystery. Both, however, result in poor sleep quality, leaving patients with exhaustion, poor concentration, and an inability to accomplish normal daily tasks.
postedbyMERM wellnesstrainresearchteamdirector
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