Fibromyalgia: Signs and Symptoms
What are the signs and symptoms of fibromyalgia?
Pain and stiffness all over the body.
Fatigue and tiredness.
Depression and anxiety.
Sleep problems.
Problems with thinking, memory, and concentration.
Headaches, including migraines.
Widespread muscle pain and tenderness are the most common symptoms.
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes widespread pain around the body. The pain stems from a problem in the way the nervous system processes pain signals. It also causes symptoms like tiredness, depression, and mental fog.
Doctors may not immediately consider fibromyalgia when evaluating these types of symptoms, because pain is also common with many other conditions. That’s one reason why it takes an average of 5 years for people with this disorder to get diagnosed.
Knowing the type and location of your pain, and what other symptoms you have, can help your doctor arrive at a diagnosis. The faster you get diagnosed, the sooner you can get started on a treatment to relieve your symptoms.
Main signs and symptoms
The main symptom of fibromyalgia is pain and tenderness in muscles and joints throughout your body. The pain can shift from place to place, but to meet the diagnosis criteria, you’ll need to have experienced pain for at least three months. The pain must be in a specific number of body parts and be above a specific severity score. And, you must not have another condition (like arthritis) that could explain the pain.
Fibromyalgia also causes a number of other symptoms, such as:
fatigue
lack of energy
trouble sleeping
depression or anxiety
memory problems and trouble concentrating (sometimes called “the fibromyalgia fog”)
headaches
muscle twitches or cramps
numbness or tingling in the hands and feet
itching, burning, and other skin problems
Most severe symptoms
The pain from fibromyalgia can be intense and constant. It can be severe enough to keep you home from work and other activities.
In a National Health Interview Survey, 87 percent of participants reported having pain on most days or every day of their lives.
Fibromyalgia can also cause intense emotional symptoms. Over 43 percent of people in the National Health Interview Survey had anxiety and depression that were severe enough to need medication.
Of all the fibromyalgia symptoms, fatigue can have one of the biggest impacts on your life. Constant fatigue affects more than 90 percent of people with the condition.
Fibromyalgia fatigue isn’t ordinary tiredness. It’s a bone-weary exhaustion that drains your body of energy and turns every activity into a chore.
Between 40 and 70 percent of people with fibromyalgia also have uncomfortable symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, such as:
diarrhea and/or constipation
belly pain
bloating
gas
nausea
And up to 70 percent have regular tension or migraine headaches, which are often severe. Headaches may stem from painful head, neck, or shoulder muscles.
More unusual symptoms
Here are a few other symptoms that you might not expect, but that can occur with fibromyalgia:
excess sweating
easy bruising
swelling
sensitivity to noise, light, or temperature
jaw pain
chest pain
bladder pain
an urgent need to urinate
food allergy symptoms like a stuffed nose, wheezing, diarrhea, or vomiting
How is fibromyalgia pain different from other types of pain?
Fibromyalgia pain is located in muscles and other soft tissues like joints. It’s unique in that it affects various sites all over the body. The pain is intensified because of the way the brain processes it.
Fibromyalgia pain can be in the:
neck
middle and lower back
arms
legs
shoulders
hips
Everyone feels fibromyalgia pain differently. Some people feel it all over their body. Others feel it only in certain muscles, like in their back or legs.
The quality of the pain can also differ from person to person. It’s been described as:
throbbing
aching
burning
shooting
stabbing
soreness
stiffness
The intensity of the pain can vary based on the time of day and your activity. In some people it’s worse in the morning, or after they exercise. Stress, a lack of sleep, and the weather can also affect the type and intensity of fibromyalgia pain.