The main symptom of fibromyalgia is pain. There are other symptoms related to fibromyalgia:
Chronic widespread pain is the main symptom of fibromyalgia. Patients have described their pain as:
- Aching
- Exhausting
- Radiating/shooting
- Throbbing
- Gnawing
- Unbearable
70-85% of people with fibromyalgia have sleep difficulties, which can include the following:
- Trouble falling asleep
- Tossing and turning
- Frequent waking
- Lack of deep sleep
Nearly all people with fibromyalgia experience fatigue, and often say that they just always feel tired. This fatigue might feel like:
- Exhaustion
- Tiredness
- Lack of energy
- Feeling "drained"
- General weakness
People with fibromyalgia may experience other symptoms, such as:
- Poor memory
- Lack of concentration
- Nervousness or anxiety
- Restless legs
- Depression
Your doctor may want to evaluate areas of tenderness you might have, by pressing on certain specific points on your body that may be painful to the touch for patients suffering from fibromyalgia. Based on how many points are tender to the touch, and other symptoms, your doctor may be able to diagnose fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia often has no obvious cause. But it can be triggered by several factors, which include:
- Physical trauma, such as a car accident
- Emotional trauma, due to negative, life-changing events
- Heredity, some sufferers have a family history of fibromyalgia
- Infection, such as a viral illness
Fibromyalgia may occur alongside a more general disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, osteoarthritis, or hyperthyroidism.
In most cases, patients say that they can't remember when their fibromyalgia started. They just say that the pain has always been there.
