Fibromyalgia symptoms can be general and vague at times which defines how this illness is treated both by doctors and the general public. You’ll need to work with your doctor over the course of several visits so that you can narrow down some of the symptoms that also overlap with other diseases. Then you will have to go through the tests to eliminate the other diseases because there is no conclusive test for fibromyalgia. If you want fibromyalgia relief you need to take them all into account.
There can be two different schools of thought with this illness. One is the doctor’s list of symptoms which is quite short and I’ll refer to it as official symptoms. The other list is one that actual fibromyalgia patients have described.
Some of these might be side effects from medicine or just the side effects that come from a combination of extreme pain, fatigue, and lack of sleep. Some of these minor symptoms will help to exclude other disease or show your doctor if it’s a different syndrome entirely. Many patients with this condition have multiple conditions at once so every little symptom you experience does count.
Official Symptom List
Both the description and placement of fibromyalgia pain can be vague. However, being in pain for at least 3 months is one of the diagnostic criteria and it needs to be widespread pain. This is one of the things that differentiates it from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome where fatigue will of course be the main symptom.
Fatigue is another symptom of this disease. It’s often referred to as fibro fatigue. While many patients have this symptom it hasn’t always been necessary for the diagnosis. This could also stem from sleep disturbances which are common with the syndrome.
Another symptom is tender points on both the front and back of the body. This is where the only real test for fibromyalgia comes in. Your doctor can do a physical exam to see if you have these points. Like with the rest of the disease there is no known reason for there being tender points in such similar locations across so many patients.
The Unofficial Symptom List
While your doctor will consider those as the main symptoms there are a few common complaints or threads that run through many fibro sufferers.
Brain fog or fibro fog as it’s more commonly known is an issue. Some sufferers complain of being dizzy while others complain of often mixing up or forgetting words. Again this could be a side effect from the lack of sleep.
Unusual sensitivities are another problem. This could stem from the neurotransmitter theory of the disease or just the stress that comes from being tired all the time. This could be chemical sensitive or being overly sensitive to smell, touch, or cold. If the cold hurts your joints then you may have a secondary illness. It could also be an indication of a thyroid problem.
Tell your doctor about all symptoms you are experiencing no matter where you are at in the diagnostic process to get the most effective treatment.