Fibromyalgia: How to Recognize the Symptoms and Help your Doctor

Assist your doctor diagnose this mystery disorder. Some possible causes and symptoms have been discussed here.

Fibromyalgia is a little understood condition that, because of the similarity of symptoms with other disorders like rheumatoid arthritis, is often misdiagnosed. Assisting your medical providers with a list of your symptoms, levels and locations of your pain and other information will greatly expedite your treatment.  Along with its similarity with other disorders there are a number of co-existing conditions that usually thrive side by side and aggravate an already high level of discomfort. Women are 10 times more likely than men to have this disorder. It is especially important for them to get the facts.  Researchers are not exactly sure what the cause of this condition is.  Some of the some of the main culprits for fibromyalgia may be:

• Abnormalities in the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems, both of which release hormones under stress.
• Physical and/or emotional trauma.
• Genetics; check your family medical history for anyone with similar problems.
• Bacterial or viral infections like HCV or HIV are both likely candidates.
• Muscle tissue abnormalities, whether structural, metabolic or functional.
• Abnormal blood flow.

Symptoms are as follows:

• Localized pain at one or more of the tender points on the body. Tender points are not to be confused with trigger points which can lead to a misdiagnosis of Chronic Myofacial Pain. Make your provider aware that the pain, while localized, is body wide. If at least 11 of the 18 tender points are affected the diagnosis is usually fibromyalgia.
• Widespread pain cannot be confused with tender points. This pain usually manifests as shooting, burning or aching pain and the muscles can easily throb and twitch. The worst pain is usually in the morning and can be aggravated by either too little or too much sleep, cold or humid weather, or anxiety. One of the reasons it is usually grouped with or mistaken for arthritis is that the pain is so intense it limits Range of Motion.
• Fatigue felt in a crippling intense form. If you feel just as fatigued when you wake in the morning as you did when you went to bed, this is a symptom. Often mistaken for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
• Problems sleeping. Bursts of brain activity in deep sleep aggravate other problems due to lack of restful sleep.
• Other symptoms include: Anxiety/depression, difficulty concentrating, dizziness, pain during and after exercise, painful menstrual cycle, sensitivity to touch, light or sound and stiffness.

Though researchers have not determined any precise correlation between fibromyalgia and certain co-existing conditions like Reynaud’s Syndrome, Irritable Bowl Syndrome, migraines, and Restless Leg Syndrome but know they are connected.

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