Consider having a disease that produces pain every day, alters a person's activities of daily living and submits the person to questionable care from some medical professionals who still fail to acknowledge fibromyalgia as a disease. Mayo Clinic defines fibromyalgia as a person exhibiting pain for longer than three months and demonstrating location of pain in up to 18 places on various locations on the body. Fibromyalgia falls under a definition of a syndrome due to co-occurrence with other diseases.
Neuropathic Pain
According to the Fibromyalgia Partnership, fibromyalgia sufferers complain of aching and burning pain all over the body, but especially indicate the joints cause the most discomfort. The pain arises from the muscles, soft tissue and skin around the joints and other pressure points. Pressure or trigger points stem from nerve bundles located in multiple places on the human body. The "American Journal of Medicine" describes the pain in fibromyalgia from abnormal processing of the chemicals, serotonin, norepineprine and dopamine, by the brain and spinal cord.
Heart and Chest Conditions
A condition known as costochondritis produces muscle pain at the site where the ribs meet the chest bone. Individuals with fibromyalgia complain of costochondritis especially when performing tasks like typing, office desk activities or working on an assembly line. A heart condition described as mitral valve prolapsed appears in fibromyalgia sufferers. In this condition, one valve in the heart may fail to close properly, but most individuals with this condition experience no health problems.
Intestinal Disease
According to the Fibromyalgia Network, constipation, frequent abdominal pain, bloating, abdominal gas and diarrhea can appear with this condition in up to 70 percent of individuals with fibromyalgia. These symptoms describe the condition known as irritable bowel syndrome.
Neurological and Mental Health Conditions
Fibromyalgia sufferers describe fatigue and sleeping difficulties. Control centers for sleep and general functioning of the body reside in our brain. Individuals express difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. MayoClinic.com reports that experts believe people with fibromyalgia rarely attain restorative stages of sleep. Depression or feelings of sadness and despair occur in some individuals with fibromyalgia. This mood disorder may interfere with everyday life for an expanded time period from low energy that accompanies the depression.
Skin Problems
Itchy, dry or blotchy skin may be associated with fibromyalgia. According to "BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders," 25 percent of subjects surveyed with fibromyalgia reported problems with skin rashes. Fibromyalgia sufferers report an additional sensation of swelling in the extremities that appears to be an anomaly unrelated to inflammation of a joint.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Fibromyalgia
- Fibromyalgia Partnership: Fibromyalgia
- "The American Journal of Medicine"; Fibromyalgia Syndrome; L. M. Arnold and D. J. Claus; June 2010
- Fibromyalgia Network: Overlapping Conditions
- "BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders"; An Internet Survey of 2,596 People with Fibromyalgia; Robert M. Bennett, et al.; 2007
