Recognizing The Early Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia

January 9, 2008 8:45pm CST
Recognizing The Early Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia Written by Ashlynn Donaldson Fibromyalgia is hard to diagnose as the early symptoms can be masked as other conditions. Someone who thinks they may have it might have to go to many different doctors to find one who does not think that the symptoms they are having are "all in their head". This can make the whole diagnosis process extremely frustrating. If you suspect you might have Fibromyalgia you should document everything you feel and everything that happens to your body. This might help a doctor diagnose you more quickly. However,because many of the early symptoms of Fibromyalgia can be mistaken for something else, it can be hard to figure out what is going on. Pain: This is something that happens quite noticeably in the neck and shoulders first, but a person with this pain might simply think they have strained or pulled something. The pain tends to be more pronounced in the joints, but radiates into the muscles. These areas will feel very tender when pressed. In some cases, the pain will shoot down the back and arms. Stiffness: This is something that happens in any of the joints of the body. It feels a little like arthritis, but when you first experience it, you might think you are far too young to be having problems such as these. You may notice the stiffness in the morning when you wake up or when the weather changes. This might also be accompanied by a burning sensation near the joints. Headaches: People with Fibromyalgia will notice that they get more and more headaches that vary in degree and intensity. These headaches might be the tension variety that radiate into the neck and shoulders, or the more dibilitating migraine variety. Fatigue: This is also an early symptom that a peron might brush off as something else. We all feel tired now and again, but someone with Fibromyalgia will notice they feel tired every single day no matter how much sleep they are getting. This fatigue may also be accompanied by "brain fog", or feelings of depression that happen more frequently. Horrible sleep patterns: Those with this condition will notice early on that they are having problems with their sleeping each night. Some have insomnia, and others wake frequently throughout the night. Some have both problems. Someone might also notice that they have Restless Leg Syndrome as well. All of these sleep problems are a common link to all those with this condition. There are also a variety of other symptoms that may or may not be apparent in the early stages of this condition. Some of the early symptoms of Fibromyalgia are not common for everyone, but many will have at least some of them. These can be frequent urination, painful menstrual cycles, problems with the bowel movements (irritable bowel syndrome), and osme might have problems with rashes and other skin problems. If you have any of the more common symptoms of Fibromyalgia, along with some of the secondary ones, you should find a doctor to help you sort through what you are feeling to see if you might have Fibromyalgia or if something else might be going on. I hope this helps everyone out there who may need more info on Fibromyalgia...
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1 response
@kaysue4 (951)
• United States
2 Mar 08
Thank you for this information. I keep thinking that I am crazy because of all of the tenderpoints that I have and pain also. I have been to several doctors and have had so much bloodwork I thought I was feeding the baby vampires hiding in the basement of the docs office! I have had the symptoms before and was treated with Neurotin. I switch to a different doctor because of insurance and that doc wasn't on the list anymore. So for years I had just put up with the pains and such. I have depression and you can get pains from deep depression also. So, I start to this doctor and since have been to a neuro doc, back doctor (which I have a heriated disk), and I can just keep going with the list. I had horrible periods that would last for almost 6 - 10 months none stop. So I had a particle hysto to stop that problem. I don't sleep at night, really. I go to bed and just lay there and stare at the walls, watch tv, read books, sleep for a couple of hours and I am up again for hours and then there goes the alarm and it is time to get the kids off to school. I hardly sleep during the day, don't drink caffine. I have had a sleep apnea test to come out negative. I was so tired from not sleeping for about a week, that I pasted out into a peaceful sleep at the hospital. The IBS, is the worst. If my nerves get bad or I eat outside of the house, I better not be too far from the restroom. Thanks for the information, now if I can get my doctor to believe that I actually have a problem is the bigger issue.