What Are All the Signs & Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is considered a rheumatic disorder that has no physical cause. According to Mayo Clinic, this syndrome occurs in 2 percent of the population, with women being its most likely target. A variety of factors seem to contribute to the illness, such as genetics, infection and physical or emotional trauma. Brain receptors become overly sensitive to pain, leaving its sufferers with constantly aching muscles.

Tender Points

• One very strong common denominator that fibromyalgia patients share is a list of specific areas in their body that hurt when any firm pressure is applied. These areas of the body are known as tender points and include the muscles of the midback, back of the head, upper chest, outer elbows, sides of hips, inner knees, upper hips and the front of the neck. The distinctive feature of tender points makes this condition very different from chronic fatigue syndrome, which is oftentimes misdiagnosed to explain a person's symptoms.

Sleep

• The majority of people with fibromyalgia have sleep disturbances or alpha-EEG. This sleep disorder is characterized by the brain constantly "waking up" while a person is sleeping. Because the brain never gets enough sleep even though the individual's body may get plenty of sleep, the person wakes up feeling drained.

  Many people also have sleep apnea coexisting with their sleep disturbances. Sleep apnea is a disorder that causes the person to suddenly stop breathing while sleeping. Oftentimes the person doesn't know they have stopped breathing or have woken up. The breathing may stop for a second or even minutes.

Headaches

• People with fibromyalgia have two types of headaches: migraines and tension headaches.

  The "common" migraine frequently occurs in fibromyalgia sufferers. Before the migraine, the person will feel anxious or depressed. Then nausea, dizziness, sensitivity to light and eye pain begin to set in. The other type of migraine is the classic migraine, which is preceded by double vision, seeing spots and distorted vision. These types of headaches last anywhere from a couple of hours to a week.

  Tension headaches can occur on either side of the head and last up to a couple of hours.

Fatigue

• Fibromyalgia patients often feel fatigued. It is more severe than being tired and can keep an individual in bed for a majority of the time. This starts a vicious cycle--a person feels fatigued and stays in bed, which aggravates the pain they feel in their muscles. Most of the symptoms of fibromyalgia become exacerbated by fatigue. While not all fibromyalgia sufferers feel fatigued day in and day out, they have had a bout of intense fatigue at some point in their illness.

Depression

• Many people experience chronic depression as part of the illness or because of their symptoms. Living everyday in pain can be very taxing on the mind. In addition, the medical community is still trying to classify this illness, and numerous people in the field are unaccustomed to treating fibromyalgia. It is important when finding a doctor that they have some experience dealing with fibromyalgia.

Other Symptoms

• Other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia are anxiety, muscle twitching, chest pain, urinary problems, rhinitis, muscle stiffness, chemical sensitivity, digestive problems, myofascial pain, weight gain and memory loss. Rarely do people experience all of these symptoms, but it is important to record what symptoms you have. If you suspect you have fibromyalgia, research ways to deal with your illness.