Fibromyalgia

                       Fibromyalgia

          Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain and spinal cord process painful and non-painful signals. 

      Symptoms often begin after an event, such as physical trauma, surgery, infection, or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time with no single triggering event. 

    Women are more likely to develop fibromyalgia than men. Many people who have fibromyalgia also have tension headaches, temporomandibular joint disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, and depression. 

Symptoms:

 The primary symptoms of fibromyalgia include:

- Widerspread pain: The pain associated with fibromyalgia often is described as a constant dull ache that has lasted for at least three months. To be considered widespread, the pain must occur on both sides of your body and above and below your waist. 

- Fatigue: People with fibromyalgia often awaken tired, even though they report sleeping for long periods of time. Sleep is often disrupted by pain, and many patients with fibromyalgia have other sleep disorders, such as restless legs syndrome and sleep apnea. 

Cognitive difficulties: A symptom commonly referred to as "Fibro fog" impairs the ability to focus, pay attention and concentrate on mental tasks. 

Co-exists condition with fibromyalgia: 

- Irritable bowel syndrome

- Chronic fatigue syndrome

- Migraine and other types of headaches

- Interstitial cystitis or painful bladder syndrome

- Temporomandibular joint disorders

-  Anxiety 

- Depression

- Postural tachycardia syndrome 

People may experience:

 Pain areas: In the muscles, abdomen, back, or neck 

Pain types: Can be chronic, diffuse, sharp, or severe

Pain circumstances: can occur at night

Whole-body: fatigue, feeling tried, or malaise

Muscular: Muscle tenderness, delayed onset muscle soreness, or muscle spams 

Gastrointestinal: constipation, nausea, or passing excessive amounts of gas

Mood: anxiety mood swings or nervousness

Cognitive: forgetfulness or lack of concentration 

Hand: the sensation of coldness or tingling

Sensory: pins and needles or sensitivity to pain 

Sleep: difficulty falling asleep or sleep disturbances

Also common: Depression, flare, headache, irritability, joint stiffness, painful menstruation, sensitivity to cold, or tingling feet. 

Causes:

 Many researchers believe that repeated nerve stimulation causes the brain and spinal cord of people with fibromyalgia to change. This change involves an abnormal increase in levels of certain chemicals in the brain that signal pain. In addition, the brain's pain receptors seem to develop a sort of memory of the pain and become sensitized, meaning they can overreact to painful and nonpainful signals. Here are likely many factors that lead to these changes, including: 

Genetics: Because fibromyalgia tends to run in families, there may be certain genetic mutations that may make you more susceptible to developing the disorder. 

Infections: some illnesses appear to trigger or aggravate fibromyalgia. 

physical or emotional event: Fibromyalgia can sometimes be triggered by a physical event, such as a car accident. Prolonged psychological stress may also trigger the condition. 

Risk factors: Risk factors for fibromyalgia include: 

Sex: Fibromyalgia is diagnosed more often in women than in men. 

Family history: You may be more likely to develop fibromyalgia if a parent or sibling also has the condition. 

Other disorders: If you have osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, or lupus, you may be more likely to develop fibromyalgia. 

 Complication: 

 The pain, fatigue, and poor sleep quality associated with fibromyalgia can interfere with your ability to function at home or on the job. The frustration of dealing with an often-misunderstood condition also can result in depression and health-related anxiety. 

Diagnosis: 

 In the past, doctors would check 18 specific points on a person's body to see how many of them were painful when pressed firmly. Newer guidelines from the American College of Rheumatology don't require a tender point exam. Instead, the main factor needed for a fibromyalgia diagnosis is widespread pain throughout your body for at least three months. 

To meet the criteria, you must have pain in at least four of these five areas: 

- Left upper region: Including shoulder, arm, or jaw

- Right upper region, including shoulder, arm, or jaw

- Left lower region: Including hip, buttock, or leg 

- Right lower region: Including hip, buttock, or leg

Axial region: This includes the neck, back, chest, or abdomen.

Tests: 

 The doctor may want to rule out other conditions that may have similar symptoms. blood tests may include: 

 - Complete blood count (CBC)

- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate 

- Cyclic citrullinate peptide test

- Rheumatoid factor

- Thyroid function tests

- Anti-nuclear antibody

- Celiac serology 

- vitamin D

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