Everything You Should Know About This Condition!
Fibromyalgia is a disease that can cause excruciating pain all over the body. It can also cause crushing fatigue accompanied with insomnia. Another characteristic symptom of the condition is inability to feel hot and cold temperatures or even minor temperature changes. An internet survey of 25,000 suffering from fibromyalgia displayed that the most common aggravating factor was insomnia. Many further studies have displaced that sleep deprivation can be associated with aggravating joint pain. What concerns us with fibromyalgia is that they notice the pain more readily than normal individuals.
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic painful condition. The pain is usually described as a constant dull achy pain. Fibromyalgia have a lower threshold for pain and an increased sensitivity in the brain for pain signals. It is a chronic debilitating neurological illness that can cause havoc in the life of the sufferers. It may cause problems in your personal and professional life so here are a few symptoms that may hint you to obtain further investigations for fibromyalgia.
Symptoms of fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is not always easy to diagnose because the symptoms differ from person to person. But here are a few symptoms that may help you identify if you are possibly affected with this condition:
• Chronic muscle pain, spasms, or tightness around the joints
• Moderate to severe fatigue and a state of low energy
• Insomnia or feeling sleep deprived upon waking up as well
• Stiffness upon waking up or after standing in one position for a prolonged period of time
• Difficulty with memory related tasks like remembering, concentration or performing simple mental tasks- this condition is referred to as fibro fog
• Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome like alternating constipation with diarrhea
• Tension headaches or migraine headaches
• Facial tenderness especially around the jaw region
• Feeling sensitivity to one of the following stimuli- temperature, noise, bright lights, medications, food
• Anxiety and depression
• Numbness all over the body- face, arms, hands, legs, or feet
• Irritable bladder leading to an increased urgency for urination
• Reduced level of exercise tolerance and an increased
• A feeling that there is a swelling in the hands or feet without any existing swelling in the region
Tests
In order to further confirm your suspicions of fibromyalgia your doctor might prescribe the following tests which might be helpful. Not only do they rule out other possible explanations for your condition but they might also help narrow down a definitive diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
• Complete blood count
• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
• Thyroid function tests
Treatments of fibromyalgia
Although this disorder can be quite difficult to treat, the following methods may be tried:
Analgesics: These drugs target pain and include acetaminophen (Tylenol), NSAIDs such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve). Drugs belonging to opioid such as tramadol are much more potent.
Antidepressants: Although these drugs are used for depression and other psychiatric disorders, they are of some help in fibromyalgia’s due to the effect they have on the nervous system. They alter the levels of neurotransmitters at synapses, and thus alter the perception of pain and promote sleep as well. These drugs include Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors, Nor-epinephrine Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors and Tri-cyclic Antidepressants.
Anti-seizure drugs: Some medications like gabapentin are used to treat epilepsy. They can help reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Some other epilepsy medication like pregablin was in fact the first drug approved to treat fibromyalgia.
Lifestyle modifications and home remedies
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic painful condition. The pain is usually described as a constant dull achy pain. Fibromyalgia have a lower threshold for pain and an increased sensitivity in the brain for pain signals. It is a chronic debilitating neurological illness that can cause havoc in the life of the sufferers. It may cause problems in your personal and professional life so here are a few symptoms that may hint you to obtain further investigations for fibromyalgia.
Symptoms of fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is not always easy to diagnose because the symptoms differ from person to person. But here are a few symptoms that may help you identify if you are possibly affected with this condition:
• Chronic muscle pain, spasms, or tightness around the joints
• Moderate to severe fatigue and a state of low energy
• Insomnia or feeling sleep deprived upon waking up as well
• Stiffness upon waking up or after standing in one position for a prolonged period of time
• Difficulty with memory related tasks like remembering, concentration or performing simple mental tasks- this condition is referred to as fibro fog
• Symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome like alternating constipation with diarrhea
• Tension headaches or migraine headaches
• Facial tenderness especially around the jaw region
• Feeling sensitivity to one of the following stimuli- temperature, noise, bright lights, medications, food
• Anxiety and depression
• Numbness all over the body- face, arms, hands, legs, or feet
• Irritable bladder leading to an increased urgency for urination
• Reduced level of exercise tolerance and an increased
• A feeling that there is a swelling in the hands or feet without any existing swelling in the region
Tests
In order to further confirm your suspicions of fibromyalgia your doctor might prescribe the following tests which might be helpful. Not only do they rule out other possible explanations for your condition but they might also help narrow down a definitive diagnosis of fibromyalgia.
• Complete blood count
• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
• Thyroid function tests
Treatments of fibromyalgia
Although this disorder can be quite difficult to treat, the following methods may be tried:
Analgesics: These drugs target pain and include acetaminophen (Tylenol), NSAIDs such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve). Drugs belonging to opioid such as tramadol are much more potent.
Antidepressants: Although these drugs are used for depression and other psychiatric disorders, they are of some help in fibromyalgia’s due to the effect they have on the nervous system. They alter the levels of neurotransmitters at synapses, and thus alter the perception of pain and promote sleep as well. These drugs include Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors, Nor-epinephrine Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors and Tri-cyclic Antidepressants.
Anti-seizure drugs: Some medications like gabapentin are used to treat epilepsy. They can help reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Some other epilepsy medication like pregablin was in fact the first drug approved to treat fibromyalgia.
Lifestyle modifications and home remedies
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