The main symptoms of fibromyalgia are: Chronic, widespread pain throughout the body or at multiple sites. Pain is often felt in the arms, legs, head, chest, abdomen, back, and buttocks. People often describe it as aching, burning, or throbbing.
And there's no test or scan that can diagnose fibromyalgia, so it can be hard for your doctor to nail down what's causing your aches and pains. If you think you could have it, pack your patience. You may need to see several doctors to get the right diagnosis. Once you do, the right treatments can help you feel better.
Fibromyalgia was formerly classified as an inflammatory musculoskeletal disease but is now considered to be an illness that primarily affects the central nervous system.
Fibromyalgia is often triggered by an event that causes physical stress or emotional (psychological) stress. Possible triggers include: a serious injury, such as after a car accident.
What does fibromyalgia leg pain feel like? If you're suffering from fibromyalgia leg pain, you may experience throbbing, shooting, achy, or burning sensations in your legs. Often, you'll feel the pain at your fibro tender points, particularly inside of each knee and on the hip just behind your hipbone.
If you have fibromyalgia, one of the main symptoms is likely to be widespread pain. This may be felt throughout your body, but could be worse in particular areas, such as your back or neck. The pain is likely to be continuous, although it may be better or more severe at different times.
Fibromyalgia can be associated with ocular symptoms (foreign body sensation, irritation) and visual disturbances (blurred vision), coexisting with dry eye syndrome and reduced corneal sensitivity. Cases of scleritis, including the necrotizing form, accompanying fibromyalgia have been reported.
While MS and fibro may have some symptoms in common, they are ultimately distinct conditions with very different causes and treatments. Fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis are both chronic diseases with no cure. Fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis can both cause some of the same symptoms.
There is no specific blood test to diagnose fibromyalgia. Your physician may take blood to screen for other diseases and rule other diseases, such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland), polymyalgia rheumatica, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus.
Gabapentin (Neurontin) is sometimes helpful in reducing fibromyalgia symptoms, while pregabalin (Lyrica) was the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat fibromyalgia.
First-choice treatments for fibromyalgia are exercise and lifestyle changes. Studies prove these are very effective. Medications might help reduce fibromyalgia pain by 30% in some people. They work best in combination with non-medication therapies.
Fibromyalgia is one of a group of chronic pain disorders that affect connective tissues, including the muscles, ligaments (the tough bands of tissue that bind together the ends of bones), and tendons (which attach muscles to bones).
Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain in muscles and soft tissues all over the body. It is an ongoing (chronic) condition. It can affect your neck, shoulders, back, chest, hips, buttocks, arms, and legs. The pain may be worse in the morning and evening.
Jaw and facial pain
It's possible for fibromyalgia to be linked to pain in the muscles of the jaw and face (temporomandibular joint disorder) or to myofascial (skeletal muscle) pain in one part of the body. Such occurrences could be considered forms of regional or localized or incomplete fibromyalgia.
Women with FM report significantly bothersome pelvic floor and urinary symptoms. Fibromyalgia management should include evaluation and treatment of pelvic floor disorders recognizing that pelvic distress and urinary symptoms are associated with more severe FM symptoms.
FM patients may present with numerous oral complaints, such as xerostomia, glossodynia, and dysgeusia. Xerostomia, known as dry mouth, is a subjective sensation of dryness in the mouth, which often accompanies salivary gland hypofunction. The incidence of xerostomia with FM varies from 7% to 71% [39,44].
Rheumatoid arthritis causes visible damage to joints. Fibromyalgia does not. Rheumatoid arthritis also gets progressively worse, causing swelling and sometimes deformities. The pain from fibromyalgia is more widespread, while rheumatoid arthritis is concentrated initially to hands, wrists, knees and balls of the feet.
More than two-thirds of those with fibromyalgia also have stomach pain, bloating, gas, and nausea on a regular basis. Constipation or diarrhea can also occur regularly.
As a result, patients with fibromyalgia may lose their ability to walk faster or their capacity to maintain balance while standing as their gait changes, according to a study published in Frontiers in Human Science. They may also have difficulty moving about due to pain and stiffness.
The unifying and most common symptom of fibromyalgia from person to person is chronic pain without cause throughout your body. The pain can range from a dull, burning ache to a sharp pain, and it can move to different parts of your body. The pain may be seemingly innate, or it may be caused by even gentle touches.
Primary symptoms include sleep disturbance, exhaustion, widespread chronic pain, and cognitive difficulties. When you have fibromyalgia, you may feel as if you cannot get enough of the pain, which might include a throbbing back. Lower back pain affects up to 49% of persons with fibromyalgia.