Do you want to know what the symptoms of unreal fibromyalgia are?

Do you also complain of unexplained pain in different parts of your body and want to know about fibromyalgia? We recommend that you read more.

Introduction

Fibromyalgia is a disorder that affects a person chronically and for a long time. The person experiences muscle and bone pain, general fatigue, sleep, cognitive disorders, and irritable and pain-sensitive areas. Even doctors say that it is difficult for them to diagnose the disease purely because the symptoms of this disease are very similar to other disorders and conditions, and there is no specific test to confirm the development of this syndrome.

Sometimes there are people whose disease is not diagnosed at all. Taking medication and lifestyle changes can improve the quality of life of an infected person to some extent. Read more about this disorder below.

Fibromyalgia

This syndrome, formerly called fibrosis by doctors, is a form of chronic rheumatism associated with diffuse body pain, sleep disturbances, and extreme fatigue.

It is a common and debilitating disease, and fibromyalgia symptoms slowly appear over weeks and cause discomfort. These symptoms are various and overlap with other skeletal disorders. Interestingly, most people with the syndrome report that their pain, discomfort, and problems are exacerbated by stress and emotional stress.

Many people even consider the occurrence of an emotional incident as a trigger for this disorder.

Epidemiology

Statistics show that four million people in the United States aged 18 and over, or about two percent of the total population, have the syndrome. It should be noted that most cases of this syndrome are diagnosed in women. But this does not mean that men and children do not get the disease. It may be less common in men and children. Many people get the disease in middle age. It is a chronic complication, but some people also experience periods of diminished severity. People even say that during periods of pain, their fatigue decreases considerably.

What are the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome?

Doctors say the symptoms are:

• Persistent connective tissue pain can be felt in almost any body part.
• Unexplained feeling of fatigue
• Sleep disorders that cannot be described if you do not get enough fatigue after waking up
• Feeling tired in these people is so unexplained that even after getting enough sleep in bed, this fatigue does not go away.

Doctors say that the presence of sensitivity when pressing the eighteen sensitive points marked in the image below confirms the diagnosis of fiber. These points are located in nine symmetrical areas and a total of eighteen points, which are as follows:

1. sternum
2. the outer margin of the forearms, which is entirely below the elbows
3. above the hip joint
4. the fat pad above the knees
5. base of the skull
6. base of the neck
7. scapulae
8. above the shoulders
9. the outer surface of the thigh

Suppose a doctor wants to diagnose fibrosis for a person, according to the scientific definition in medical reference books. In that case, at least eleven of these eighteen points must be sensitive and painful. As you can see, this disease is challenging to diagnose and differentiate from other disorders because allergies in important areas can change daily. The body is divided into five regions in another definition in the classification and the different meanings in medical books. It is said that if the person under examination feels pain in four of the five areas identified for this disease and is sensitive to touch and pressure. A diagnosis of fibromyalgia is made for him. The type of pain that a person with this syndrome feels is diffuse or widespread. This pain should be continuous. Their severity and duration are emphasized to diagnose the disease on specific body parts mentioned above. Other signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia include the following:

• Fatigue
• Sleep disorders, for example, a person wakes up without feeling that he has rested enough.
• Headache
• Depression
• Pain in the lower part of the body
• Anxiety
• Dry eyes
• Attention problems
• Concentration disorders
• Bladder problems such as interstitial cystitis

A notable point is impaired consciousness and memory. Fibrofog or brain fog is a disorder in which the patient will have problems with memory, concentration, and attention. The following manifestations are other symptoms of this disorder:

• Hard to stay awake
• Difficulty concentrating
• Memory disorders and attention deficit

According to studies, the mental problems caused by this fibromyalgia fog will sometimes be more annoying than the pain the patient feels in his body.

What causes fibromyalgia?

The root cause of fibromyalgia has not yet been determined in these people. It is said that the brain and nerve fibers are damaged, and they also feel pain signals more. On the other hand, the balance of chemicals in the brain may be disturbed in these people. And this imbalance of chemicals in the brain will also affect the feeling of excessive pain. Patients with this syndrome have low energy levels in the body; this syndrome may occur as an abnormal nervous system response of energy in the body; this syndrome may appear an abnormal response of the nervous system and the person feels more pain than the actual amount and in some parts of the body.

The difference between fibromyalgia in men and women?

Doctors say that according to statistics, the symptoms and manifestations of this syndrome in women will be worse and more severe than in men. Radicular pain is much more common in women than men with the syndrome. Women are more likely than men to have symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, fatigue, and low energy in the morning. Painful, heavy menstrual periods are also standard in women.

As women approach menopause, the severity of the syndrome increases, but usually in men, fibromyalgia syndrome remains unknown, but men will also experience severe pain and emotional changes. This syndrome affects work status, emotional and social relationships, and quality of life. There is a misconception in society that men should not express their pain; this syndrome will often remain unknown to men.

What is the type of pain in fibromyalgia?

The main symptom of this pain syndrome is that the sufferer feels pain in different muscles and soft tissues in other body parts. The patient’s pain can be mild to severe and unbearable.

The disease’s severity determines the person’s condition in the future. The leading cause of the disease has not been determined yet, and more research is needed to identify the causes and definitive treatments. People with this syndrome can experience the following pains.

• Chest pain

In this syndrome, people the syndrome may experience chest pain and experience conditions such as heart attack. Still, the critical point is that in this syndrome, the pain usually focuses on the cartilage that connects the ribs to the sternum and sometimes on the shoulders and arms. Also, in this syndrome, chest pain can be very sharp and cause a tingling or burning sensation in the chest. Sometimes people can also have trouble breathing.

• backache

Statistics show that eighty percent of all people experience back pain at least once in their lifetime. A person who suffers from back pain. It is impossible to pinpoint the exact cause of another illness, such as arthritis and muscle strain, or whether the pain was caused by fibromyalgia syndrome. This is why other symptoms, such as brain fog, fatigue, and sleep disturbances, usually accompany these pains and help diagnose fibromyalgia. The possibility should also be in mind that a person can have both fibromyalgia and arthritis.

• leg pain

fibromyalgia can cause pain in the muscles and soft tissues of the foot and can cause symptoms similar to pain from muscle stiffness from inflammation of the ankles. The pain is usually deep and throbbing and is accompanied by a burning sensation. The pain in the leg in this syndrome can also be accompanied by numbness or tingling. Sudden foot movements, which are signs of Restless Legs Syndrome, sometimes overlap with the symptoms of this syndrome, called fibromyalgia. Sometimes a person may feel heavy in the leg; for example, the person says that heavyweights are attached to the leg and pulls him down.

Possible causes of fibromyalgia?

In the above sections, we mentioned that doctors have not yet discovered the main and exact cause of this syndrome, but according to research, the syndrome probably has a genetic origin, which is prone to factors such as stress, infections, and trauma.

• Genetics

Studies show that if a family member has this problem, other people are more likely to get the syndrome than families without. Some genetic mutations can play a role in this genetic predisposition. So far, several specific genes have been identified that affect the transmission of chemical signals of pain between nerve fibers.

• Stress

Stress can have irreversible effects on your entire body; hormonal changes can accompany stress.

• trauma

Research shows that people exposed to psychological and physical trauma risk developing this annoying syndrome. This condition is sometimes associated with post-traumatic stress disorder.

• Infection

There are some infectious diseases that a person has had before, and doctors suspect that this previous condition may trigger fibromyalgia syndrome. These infections include the following:

• Influenza and lung tissue infections or pneumonia
• Gastrointestinal infections followed by Salmonella and Shigella
• EBV infection

These infectious agents are associated with the above syndrome.

In autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or inflammation of the immune system, the normal tissues of the affected person are mistakenly attacked. The symptoms of the above syndrome are very similar to autoimmune disorders. This is a claim, but it is challenging to prove because a person with this syndrome does not develop inflammation of the nerves; in other words, laboratory tests of a person with fibromyalgia syndrome do not have specific antibodies and do not show any signs of inflammation.

Risk factors

The risk factors for this disease are said to be as follows

• Gender

Women are more likely than men to be diagnosed with the syndrome

• Age

The disease is usually diagnosed in middle age; the older the person, the higher the incidence of the disease. Of course, it should be said that children and adolescents can also get this syndrome.

• History of previous illnesses

Having the flu, gastrointestinal infections, Salmonella‎, and lupus or rheumatoid arthritis can increase the risk of developing this syndrome.

Recurrence of the disorder can be due to the following factors:

• Mental crisis and stress
• trauma
• getting infections

Diagnosis

If a person feels diffuse pain in their body for three months or more than three months, they must see a doctor. Extensive and radicular pain refers to pain that affects both sides of the body, and the person has felt it in the upper and lower torso and around the waist. With a complete history, the doctor should diagnose whether there is another disease that causes the above symptoms in the person or not.

No single laboratory diagnostic or imaging technique can diagnose the disease. So the only way to interpret this syndrome is to rule out possible causes of chronic pain. Diagnosing this syndrome from many autoimmune diseases is sometimes tricky because the symptoms overlap highly.

treatment

There is currently no definitive treatment for eradicating this syndrome, and existing therapies, which are commonly used in combination, aim to improve the quality of life and reduce the severity of the symptoms of the disease. Treatments are classified into three groups:

• medication

• Self-care methods
• lifestyle changes

Medications help reduce pain and help a person fall asleep more easily. Physiotherapy and acupuncture can help reduce stress and increase physical strength.

Medication in fibromyalgia syndrome

Common medicines are:

1. Analgesics or painkillers:

Painkillers such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and naproxen can help control mild pain. In severe pain, drugs have been used before, but today research has shown that it has no particular effect on improving the condition of these patients.

It should be noted that if the pain is severe and debilitating, the administration of analgesic drugs should be done only by a doctor.

2. The second category of antidepressants

Duloxetine and milanaxipran are sometimes used to treat pain and fatigue in sufferers. Taking these drugs improves sleep quality and balances the neurotransmitters in the brain.

3. The third category of anticonvulsant drugs

Gabapentin effectively reduces the severity of symptoms in patients with the above syndrome. Another drug is Pergoblin, the first anticonvulsant drug to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration to treat the syndrome. The second drug does not allow the message of pain perception to be sent to nerve fibers.

Other medicines may be recommended for this syndrome, but note that doctors do not prescribe other medications that the Food and Drug Administration does not approve.

Another treatment for the above syndrome is adjunctive therapies, including the following:

• Physiotherapy
• Traditional medicine
• Meditation
• yoga
• Proper exercise
• Massage therapy
• A healthy and balanced diet

It is also a good idea to attend counseling sessions to reduce anxiety, a significant trigger for illness. Your doctor may usually recommend CBT psychotherapy sessions to control stressful situations. It should be noted that many of the alternative therapies mentioned above have not been scientifically proven or require further scientific research to prove them.

Nutritional considerations in the syndrome:

These healthy strategies will help you better control your symptoms.

• Drink enough water
• Eat more plant-based foods than meat
• Get enough fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, protein, and whole grains

And always try to keep your weight in the normal range. Some foods containing gluten and sodium can worsen your symptoms, so make a list of the foods you eat and if you feel special after consuming them, be sure to record them and share them containing gluten. Sodium can worsen your symptoms, so make a list of the foods you eat and if you feel special after consuming them, be sure to record them and share them with your doctor.

The final words

When a person is always in pain, tired, and does not have a good quality sleep, his quality of life will undoubtedly undergo significant changes. The problem will increase when the people in contact with him are unaware of his syndrome and its symptoms. It isn’t easy to understand. In many cases, those around the patient think that the person exaggerates in expressing his pain and seeks attention.

In the first step, the patient must accept that they are ill, follow the path of diagnosis and treatment properly, and know that it is better to do more than one treatment to improve and get results from the treatment.