Estimates by “National Institute of Health Findings” puts the number of people suffering from Fibromyalgia a muscle disorder to be around 20 million worldwide with 15 million individuals in USA alone. This number is expected to be higher in reality.
Doctors still don’t know the exact reason for this disorder. Fibromyalgia is considered as a malfunctioning of our nervous system. The problem can start as a result of shock, injury or mental issues in childhood. The primary cause is considered environmental but it is also expected that the disease has a very strong genetic link too because in more than one fourth of the cases people pass it into their children too.
Many symptoms re associated with fibromyalgia but the hallmark symptom is what is called as “global pain”. In global pain the effected person experiences aches in his upper and lower limbs and also the torso region. The distinctive feature of this pain is that the affected person experiences this pain throughout the body and the pain is not centered on a certain region hence given the name global pain
Along with global pain there are other symptoms one should be aware of:
1. Pain in muscles
A person suffering from fibromyalgia may start suffering from deep-set aches in the muscles which are used very often. These include muscles in arms and legs as well as shoulder and pelvis. This deep-set pain can be accompanied by a pulsating pain in the same areas
2. Burning
Along with pain in the above-mentioned areas the affected person may feel like these areas are on fire.
3. Exhaustion
Exhaustion is also a very common symptom in this disease. The patient feels drained even without doing any physical labor.
Patients also describe the feeling as though their limbs are always carrying heavy weights
4. Sleeplessness
Due to the constant aches, people are often faced with sleeplessness. In addition to this people feel difficulty in falling asleep and waking up during sleep or waking very early and feeling lethargic after this lack of sleep.
5. Sensitivity
Your body gets very sensitive to different stimuli. These stimuli include many things from touching exposure to light and even sounds
6. Skin Changes
Your otherwise healthy and clear skin may develop swelling or have a patchy and blue appearance.
Some people also develop itchy marks red in appearance
7. Depression
The patient may start feeling depressed without any reason. This will be accompanied by loss of interest in previously enjoyable tasks along with feeling of anxiety, a sense of life being meaningless, guilty feeling as well as wishing for death.
People start gaining or losing weight due to this depression
8. Excessive Sweating
The patient may feel that he has started sweating more than usual and in areas where he/she didn’t sweat before
9. Brain fog
Some patients also experience brain fog.
Brain fog is a condition in which the person finds it difficult to concentrate, retain memory and feels confused. It is also called as brain fatigue.
10. Stiffness in Joints
Individuals may feel that their joints are stiff this specially occurs at the start of the day.
11. Headaches
More than half of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia report experiencing constant headaches and even migraines.
The headaches are usually severe and their frequency is about once or twice in a week
12. Imbalance
Patients may have balance issues. This will sometimes result in difficulty in walking and even losing balance and falling
13. Digestive disorder
Many of the people affected by fibromyalgia face digestive issues. These issues include constipation, pain, feeling of vomit etc.
