BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Are there any symptoms of fibromyalgia or CFS?

I am fairly new here and for the last two years,I have not been feeling the greatest.I have constant headaches(in the back of my neck)and all of the muscles in my arms and legs ache for no reason.I am not into sports,so no sports injuries.Sometimes my arms get severe muscle spasms that feel like someone is twisting my muscles like you would wring out a wet towel.I also get tender spots for no reasons on my legs, arms, and feet.Some nights I hurt so bad that I cannot sleep.And on top of that,I have degenerative disc disease and have two discs in my neck that are causing me a lot of pain.I would like to know if there are any symptoms of fibromyalgia?I am going out of my mind because I feel horrible.No one in my family really understands what I am going through.My doctor is sending me for an MRI of my neck and back.Would something like this show up on an MRI?Thank you.

I have the symptom list and it's very long. I was so relieved in a wierd way to read it. I saved it into word so I could always have it too. But I only checked the symptoms that I DON'T have...


fms awareness
Body: This condition is very misunderstood yet 1 in 50 Americans has it!!!! Please help raise the awareness. much love and peace.

Symptoms of Fibro
GENERAL
____ Fatigue, made worse by physical exertion or stress
____ Activity level decreased to less than 50% of pre-illness activity level
____ Recurrent flu-like illness
_____ Sore throat
____ Hoarseness
____ Tender or swollen lymph nodes (glands), especially in neck and underarms
____ Shortness of breath (air hunger) with little or no exertion
____ Frequent sighing
____ Tremor or trembling
____ Severe nasal allergies (new allergies or worsening of previous allergies)
____ Cough
____ Night sweats
____ Low-grade fevers
____ Feeling cold often
____ Feeling hot often
____ Cold extremities (hands and feet)
____ Low body temperature (below 97.6)
____ Low blood pressure (below 110/70)
____ Heart palpitations
____ Dryness of eyes and/or mouth -
____ Increased thirst
____ Symptoms worsened by temperature changes
____ Symptoms worsened by air travel
____ Symptoms worsened by stress
____ Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar attacks)

PAIN
____ Headache
____ Painful Menstruation
____ Tender points or trigger points -
____ Muscle pain
____ Muscle twitching
____ Muscle weakness
____ Paralysis or severe weakness of an arm or leg
____ Joint pain
____ TMJ syndrome
____ Chest pain

GENERAL NEUROLOGICAL
____ Lightheadedness; feeling "spaced out"
____ Inability to think clearly ("brain fog") -
____ Seizures
____ Seizure-like episodes
____ Syncope (fainting) or blackouts
____ Sensation that you might faint -
____ Vertigo or dizziness
____ Numbness or tingling sensations
____ Tinnitus (ringing in one or both ears)
____ Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
____ Noise intolerance

EQUILIBRIUM/PERCEPTION
_____ Feeling spatially disoriented
_____ Dysequilibrium (balance difficulty)
____ Staggering gait (clumsy walking; bumping into things)
____ Dropping things frequently
_____ Difficulty judging distances (e.g. when driving; placing objects on surfaces)
_____ "Not quite seeing" what you are looking at

SLEEP
_____ Hypersomnia (excessive sleeping)
____ Sleep disturbance: unrefreshing or non-restorative sleep
____ Sleep disturbance: difficulty falling asleep
____ Sleep disturbance: difficulty staying asleep (frequent awakenings)
_____ Sleep disturbance: vivid or disturbing dreams or nightmares
____ Altered sleep/wake schedule (alertness/energy best late at night)

MOOD/EMOTIONS
____ Depressed mood -
____ Suicidal thoughts
____ Suicide attempts
____ Feeling worthless
____ Frequent crying
____ Feeling helpless and/or hopeless
____ Inability to enjoy previously enjoyed activities
__ __Increased appetite
____ Decreased appetite
____ Anxiety or fear when there is no obvious cause
____ Panic attacks
____ Irritability; overreaction
____ Rage attacks: anger outbursts with little or no cause
____ Abrupt, unpredictable mood swings
____ Phobias (irrational fears)
____ Personality changes

EYES AND VISION
____ Eye pain
____ Changes in visual acuity (frequent changes in ability to see well)
____ Difficulty with accommodation (switching focus from one thing to another)
____ Blind spots in vision

SENSITIVITIES
____ Sensitivities to medications (unable to tolerate "normal" dosage)
____ Sensitivities to odors (e.g., cleaning products, exhaust fumes, colognes, hair sprays)
____ Sensitivities to foods
____ Alcohol intolerance
____ Alteration of taste, smell, and/or hearing

UROGENITAL
____ Frequent urination
____ Painful urination or bladder pain
____ Prostate pain
____ Impotence
____ Endometriosis
___ Unexplained Hematuria (blood in the urine)
___ Decreased libido (sex drive)


GASTROINTESTINAL
____ Stomach ache; abdominal cramps
____ Nausea -
____ Vomiting
____ Esophageal reflux (heartburn)
____ Frequent diarrhea
____ Frequent constipation
____ Bloating; intestinal gas
____ Decreased appetite
____ Increased appetite
____ Food cravings
____ Weight gain (_10___ lbs)
_____ Weight loss (__5-10__ lbs)

SKIN
___ Rashes or sores -
_____ Eczema or psoriasis

OTHER
____ Hair loss
_____ Mitral valve prolapse
_____ Cancer
____ Dental problems
_____ Periodontal (gum) disease
____ Aphthous ulcers (canker sores)

COGNITIVE
____ Difficulty with simple calculations (e.g., balancing checkbook)
____ Word-finding difficulty
____ Using the wrong word
____ Difficulty expressing ideas in words
_____ Difficulty moving your mouth to speak
____ Slowed speech
____ Stuttering; stammering
____ Impaired ability to concentrate
____ Easily distracted during a task
____ Difficulty paying attention
____ Difficulty following a conversation when background noise is present
____ Losing your train of thought in the middle of a sentence -

____ Difficulty putting tasks or things in proper sequence
____ Losing track in the middle of a task (remembering what to do next)
____ Difficulty with short-term memory
____ Difficulty with long-term memory
____ Forgetting how to do routine things
____ Difficulty understanding what you read
_____ Switching left and right
____ Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you speak
____ Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you write
____ Difficulty remembering names of objects
____ Difficulty remembering names of people
____ Difficulty recognizing faces
____ Difficulty following simple written instructions
____ Difficulty following complicated written instructions
____ Difficulty following simple oral (spoken) instructions
____ Difficulty following complicated oral (spoken) instructions -

____ Poor judgment
____ Difficulty making decisions
____ Difficulty integrating information (putting ideas together to form a complete picture or concept)
____ Difficulty following directions while driving -
____ Becoming lost in familiar locations when driving -
____ Feeling too disoriented to drive

Hi Tammy,

I was wondering the source of your symptoms list. It would make great topics for articles. Do you have the website or book?

Thanks

Yes, having headaches and muscle pains are symptoms of Fibromyalgia.

The symptoms of fibromyalgia which a person feels usually includes extreme fatigue, headaches including migraines, aching muscles, and even anxiety, also depression, sleeplessness, irritable bowel syndrome, stress and many more.

I'm one of many people suffered much pain of Fibromyalgia. I went from doctor to doctor to look for answers regarding my condition. It's really difficult to lead a normal life having this and others thinking I'm crazy.

I'll go searching the internet,find any solutions that will help me, I found this system that really helps me. The "Heal Your Body System". This is an eBook entitled �Heal the Body� which gives you a step by step approach in showing you how to rid yourself of the pain having fibromyalgia. This offers long term solutions to your Fibromyalgia not just a cover up medication. It gives you the power to cure yourself rather then relying on others to heal you. It gives you the freedom to gain your health back free from the countless medicines you�ve been taking.

What triggers this horrible condition and why it won�t go away? I�m about to lose my job my mind and worst of all people think I am crazy.HELP!

Les

Is anybody out their? I�m not getting any replies.

Need help!!
Les

A common working hypothesis about the etiology of chronic fatigue syndrome is that it represents a depletion of or a low basic level of some of the hormones of the adrenal gland such as cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Blood hormone level measurements have not always been consistent but it appears there may be a lowering of cortisol and DHEA (4, 5, 6). Also it has been shown that the adrenal glands are physically smaller, perhaps by 50% in women with chronic fatigue syndrome (7). Treatment with low dose cortisol supplements have been shown to reduce some of the fatigue in the short run (8).

Just as with CFS, fibromyalgia has also been studied and thought to represent lowered secretion of adrenal hormones, especially DHEA (9). The problem with all of these studies of CFS and FMS is that the control groups used were not women with a chronic stress of some sort other than their health condition. The findings of lowered adrenal hormones in women with CFS and FMS are consistent with anyone who has a chronically stressful condition. Some investigators have noted that these findings may be more stress related than disease related (10). If this is true, then any menstrual abnormalities and lowered pain thresholds associated with stress are likely to be present in women with CFS and FMS.



Ovarian Cysts No More

Follow the protocol in the book The Fibromyalgia Solution. Be sure that Wellbutrin or one of the meds suggested in the book is used. You need to turn down your pain signals in order to feel better. FMS patients are missing dopamine; when lack of dopamine is treated, your overall symptoms improve.

Veronica