The primary fibromyalgia symptoms and signs consist of deep muscle pain, painful tender points, and early morning stiffness. Other common symptoms of fibromyalgia consist of sleep problems, fatigue, and anxiety. In order to make a precise diagnosis, your doctor will need to evaluate your symptoms and signs of fibromyalgia.
Main Causes of Body Pain After Sleeping
What Are the Common Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?
Common symptoms of fibromyalgia — likewise referred to as fibromyalgia syndrome or FMS — may consist of:
- Pain
- Anxiety
- Concentration and memory issues — referred to as “fibro fog”
- Depression
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Morning tightness
- Painful menstrual cramps
- Sleep issues
- Numbness, and tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs
- Tender points
- Urinary symptoms, such as pain or frequency
Also read: Does Sleeping with Wet Hair Cause Headaches?
Is Pain the Most Common Symptom of Fibromyalgia?
Yes. Prevalent pain is characteristic of almost all individuals with fibromyalgia. In truth, pain is usually what forces an individual with fibromyalgia to see his or her doctor.
Unlike the joint pain of osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia pain is felt over the entire body. The pain can be deep, sharp, dull, throbbing, or hurting, and it is pain that’s felt in the muscles, tendons, and ligaments around the joints. The Arthritis Foundation describes the muscle and tissue pain as tender, aching, pulsating, sore, burning, and gnawing.
For some individuals with fibromyalgia, the pain comes and goes. The pain likewise appears to travel throughout the body.
Do Painful Tender Points Accompany Fibromyalgia Pain?
Together with the deep muscle pain and body pains, individuals with fibromyalgia might have painful tender points or localized areas of tenderness around their joints that hurt when pushed with a finger. It’s the tissue around the muscles and joints instead of the joints themselves that harms. These tender points are frequently not areas of deep pain. Rather, they are superficial, situated under the surface of the skin.
The area of tender points is not random. They are in predictable places on the body. If you use pressure to tender points on a person without fibromyalgia, he or she would simply feel pressure. For an individual with fibromyalgia, pushing the tender points can be incredibly painful.
Is Fatigue a Fibromyalgia Symptom?
Next to pain and tender points, fatigue is a major complaint. Fatigue in fibromyalgia describes a lingering tiredness that is more constant and restricting than what we would typically expect. Some patients experience being tired even when they should feel rested, such as when they’ve had adequate sleep. Some patients report the fatigue of fibromyalgia as being similar to symptoms of flu. Some compare it to how it feels after working long hours and missing out on a lot of sleep.
With fibromyalgia, you may feel:
- Fatigue on occurring in the morning
- Tiredness after moderate activity such as grocery shopping or cooking supper
- Too tired out to start a project such as folding clothing or ironing
- Too tired out to exercise
- More fatigued after workout
- Too tired out for sex
- Too tired out to operate adequately at work
Also read: Why Am I Always Sleepy and Tired?
Are Sleep Disturbances a Common Symptom of Fibromyalgia?
Sleep disruptions prevail in the majority of people with fibromyalgia. While people with fibromyalgia might not have difficulty dropping off to sleep, their sleep is light and quickly disturbed. Many awaken in the early morning feeling exhausted and unrefreshed. These sleep disruptions might help produce a continuous state of tiredness.
During sleep, people with fibromyalgia are continuously interrupted by bursts of brain activity similar to the activity that occurs in the brain when they are awake. Tests in sleep labs done on individuals with fibromyalgia have actually revealed that individuals with fibromyalgia experience disturbances in deep sleep. These disturbances restrict the amount of time they invest in deep sleep. As an outcome, their body is unable to rejuvenate itself.
Is Morning Stiffness a Common Symptom of Fibromyalgia?
Studies reveal that many people identified with fibromyalgia feel stiffness in the early morning when they get up. The tightness is extensive — impacting the muscles and joints of the back, arms, and legs. It makes them feel the have to “relax” after getting out of bed before starting their normal activities.
Some individuals with fibromyalgia report that the early morning stiffness may last only a few minutes, but in general, it is generally very obvious for more than 15 to 20 minutes every day. Sometimes, however, the tightness lasts for hours, and in others it appears to be present all day.
While the majority of people feel stiff when they first wake up, the stiffness connected with fibromyalgia is a lot more than simply a small hurting. In reality, individuals with fibromyalgia have the very same feeling of tightness in the morning that people feel with numerous types of arthritis, especially rheumatoid or inflammatory arthritis.
Is Depression a Fibromyalgia Symptom?
Depression is a crucial symptom for many people with fibromyalgia. Up to half of all individuals with fibromyalgia also have depression or a stress and anxiety condition when they are diagnosed with FMS.
Stress from the consistent pain and fatigue can cause stress and anxiety. Likewise, chronic pain can result in an individual being less active and becoming more withdrawn. This, in turn, can cause anxiety.
It is also possible that stress and anxiety and depression may really belong of fibromyalgia, much like the pain. People diagnosed with fibromyalgia and depression report trouble focusing and impaired short-term memory.
What Causes Swelling and Tingling Hands With Fibromyalgia?
Neurological grievances — such as numbness, tingling, and burning — are frequently present with fibromyalgia. While the causes of these sensations is uncertain, numbness or tingling feelings in the hands, arms, or legs are felt by many people with fibromyalgia. The feelings may be especially annoying when they take place in the mornings along with early morning tightness on arising.
The medical term for these experiences is paresthesia. The feelings normally happen at irregular times. When they do happen, they might last a few minutes or they might be consistent. While the experiences can be bothersome, they are not severely limiting.
Are Chronic Headaches a Symptom of Fibromyalgia?
Chronic headaches, such as recurrent migraine or tension-type headaches, prevail in as much as 40% of individuals with fibromyalgia. They can present a major problem in an individual’s capability to deal with and self-manage FMS.
The headaches might be a result of pain in the neck and upper part of the back. They are frequently caused by tightness and contraction of the muscles of the neck, which results in a type of headache called tension-type headaches or muscle-contraction headaches. They may also be brought on by tender points over the back of the head and neck. It is necessary to bear in mind that other medical issues can cause headaches, so frequent or severe headaches must be correctly diagnosed and dealt with by your doctor.
Is Irritable Bowel Syndrome a Symptom of Fibromyalgia?
Constipation, diarrhea, frequent abdominal pain, abdominal gas, and nausea represent symptoms regularly found in up to 65% of patients with fibromyalgia. Heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) likewise accompanies high frequency.
Is Urinary Frequency a Symptom of Fibromyalgia?
Feeling an urge to urinate, urinary frequency, painful urination, or incontinence can happen in people with fibromyalgia. Because these symptoms can be brought on by other bladder and kidney illness, such as an infection, contact your doctor to be sure no other issues are present.
Do Menstrual Cramps Affect Women With Fibromyalgia?
Unusually painful menstrual cramps may occur in women with fibromyalgia. These cramps, together with other symptoms, are typically present for several years.
What is restless legs syndrome with fibromyalgia?
Restless legs syndrome results in discomfort in the legs, specifically the areas of the legs below the knees, and the feet. It is specifically bothersome in the evening. The sensation can be painful, but a lot of commonly it is referred to as the have to move the legs to aim to make them comfortable.
Restless legs syndrome typically interrupts sleep as the individual searches for a comfortable position for rest. Just like other symptoms, restless legs syndrome can be found alone or along with other medical issues.
