When you spell pain F-I-B-R-O-M-Y-A-L-G-I-A
One common symptom that all fibromyalgia patients have in common is pain.
Pain cannot be felt, touched, nor can it be reliably measured. The individual experiencing pain can give a number on a scale as to how much pain they are feeling but those of us who are not experiencing the pain of fibromyalgia will have a difficult time being able to comprehend how much pain exactly the patient is experiencing.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that consists of many factors such as pain in multiple parts of the body in a manner that can be classified as “widespread”.
Fibromyalgia is not progressive and it is not a fatal condition. It is however a condition that can make functioning difficult. Each day may bring a different degree of symptom from mild one day and severe the next. Currently, there is no cure for fibromyalgia. It is also difficult to diagnose and is often misdiagnosed.
The pain of fibromyalgia can be described as a chronic pain that can vary in intensity from mild to moderate to severe. The discomfort can be like needle tingling, muscle aches or like nerve pain. The individual suffering from fibromyalgia can also feel eye pain, which includes blurred vision, sensitivity to light.
The pain can be felt in the neck; lower back, hips or shoulders. The pain can be focused in the muscles, tendons or joints. The symptoms can be intensified when the individual becomes ill with another condition such as the flu or cold or when there are weather changes. Those who are younger are often misdiagnosed as having growing pains.
Other factors that can make fibromyalgia symptoms worse are when the individual is under stress or has been excessively exerting themselves, have had a lack of sleep, or if there are changes in weather such as when there is an increase in humidity or the barometric pressure is high. Sometime if the individual also suffers from food intolerances this can also make the fibromyalgia symptoms worse.
Aches, pains and stiffness are often combined in such a manner as to intensify the experience so that the individual feels like they are having pain from “head to toe”.
The pain and other discomforts keeps them turning and tossing in bed at night, which further aggravates the sleep disturbances often associated with fibromyalgia. Some patients report feeling a burning sensation in their muscles or muscle twitches. Other descriptions of the pain felt by fibromyalgia sufferers include muscle aches, a throbbing or shooting pain that is often accompanied by stiffness.
The pain of fibromyalgia is often so great that the individual calls off from work or is unable to complete daily tasks.
Another source of pain for those with this condition is the frequent headaches that can be recurrent in nature. Irritable bowel syndrome is often experienced at the same time as the individual is having fibromyalgia symptoms. The irritable bowel syndrome symptoms include abdominal pain.