When
you're suffering the symptoms of fibromyalgia, you wake up in the morning feeling
like every muscle in your body hurts. That all too familiar feeling of exhaustion
is overwhelming you again. But when you visit your doctor, all the tests come
up negative. You're really beginning to worry that it's all in your head.
Before
you decide that you're psychosomatic, consider one more alternative. You might
be suffering from fibromyalgia, a disease that is becoming increasingly more prevalent.
More women than men develop it and its symptoms vary widely from person to person.
Fibromyalgia
is a chronic condition characterized by generalized pain that settles in your
muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Additionally, your body has certain spots that
are tender to the touch for no apparent reason. And to top it off you feel fatigued
most of the time.
Previously
known as fibrositis, chronic muscle pain syndrome, tension myalgias and even psychogenic
rheumatism, fibromyalgia isn't life-threatening. Nor are its symptoms progressive,
that is, they won't get worse as you age. But the bad news is it's currently believed
the symptoms will never completely go away.
The
symptoms of fibromyalgia not only vary from person to person, but your own symptoms
can fluctuate depending on such factors as the weather, the amount of stress in
your life, your level of activity, and even as something as trivial as the time
of day. But there are a few signs and symptoms that can help you identify your
pain as that of fibromyalgia.
First,
if you feel the pain in just about all parts of your body, it's very possible
that you may have fibromyalgia. When you apply pressure to certain areas of your
body, like the back or your head or your upper back, you feel pain. This is a
good indication it might be fibromyalgia. Accompanied by a general stiffness,
this pain can lasts for months.
Fatigue.
Sleep disturbances. You wake up tired and you never seem to get enough sleep,
even though you get more than enough sleep. Some researchers believe that these
symptoms are due to an interrupted sleep pattern. Deep sleep is virtually impossible
because it's frequently interrupted by bursts of brain activity that resembles
being awake.
If
you have fibromyalgia, you may also be plagued with irritable bowel syndrome.
It's not uncommon to experience the constipation, diarrhea, bloating and the uncomfortable
abdominal pain of IBSas if you needed any more pain!
You
may also be experiencing facial pain that very well may be related to the tenderness
or the stiffness in your neck and shoulders. Those individuals who complain of
fibromyalgia may experience frequent headaches as well as temporomandibular joint
dysfunction usually abbreviated as TMJ. This pain affects the jaw joints
as well as the surrounding muscles.
Individuals
dealing with fibromyalgia also experience a heightened sensitivity. It's not uncommon
for those with fibromyalgia to report that their senses work so much better than
normal. They can smell odors better, bright lights are brighter than normal, and
they are more sensitive to touch.
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