Fibromyalgia (patient information)

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Fibromyalgia

Overview

What are the symptoms?

What are the causes?

Who is at highest risk?

When to seek urgent medical care?

Diagnosis

Treatment options

Where to find medical care for Fibromyalgia?

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Possible complications

Prevention

Fibromyalgia On the Web

Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov

Images of Fibromyalgia

Videos on Fibromyalgia

FDA on Fibromyalgia

CDC on Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia in the news

Blogs on Fibromyalgia

Directions to Hospitals Treating Fibromyalgia

Risk calculators and risk factors for Fibromyalgia

For the WikiDoc page for this topic, click here

Editors-in-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. Associate Editor-In-Chief: Ujjwal Rastogi, MBBS [1]

Overview

Fibromyalgia is a common syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues.

Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression, and anxiety.

What are the symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

Pain in the main symptom of fibromyalgia. It may be mild to severe.

Painful areas are called tender points. Tender points are found in the soft tissue on the back of the neck, shoulders, chest, lower back, hips, shins, elbows, and knees. The pain then spreads out from these areas. The pain may feel like a deep ache, or a shooting, burning pain. The joints are not affected, although the pain may feel like it is coming from the joints.

People with fibromyalgia tend to wake up with body aches and stiffness. For some patients, pain improves during the day and gets worse at night. Some patients have pain all day long.

Pain may get worse with activity, cold or damp weather, anxiety, and stress.

Fatigue, depressed mood, and sleep problems are seen in almost all patients with fibromyalgia. Many say that they can't get to sleep or stay asleep, and they feel tired when they wake up.

Other symptoms of fibromyalgia may include:

What causes Fibromyalgia?

The cause is unknown. Possible causes or triggers of fibromyalgia include:

  • Physical or emotional trauma
  • Abnormal pain response - areas in the brain that are responsible for pain may react differently in fibromyalgia patients
  • Sleep disturbances
  • Infection, such as a virus, although none has been identified

Who is at highest risk?

Fibromyalgia is most common among women aged 20 to 50.

The following conditions may be seen with fibromyalgia or mimic its symptoms:

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call your health-care provider if you have symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Diagnosis

To be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, you must have had at least 3 months of widespread pain, and pain and tenderness in at least 11 of 18 areas, including

  • Arms (elbows)
  • Buttocks
  • Chest
  • Knees
  • Lower back
  • Neck
  • Rib cage
  • Shoulders
  • Thighs

Blood and urine tests are usually normal. However, tests may be done to rule out other conditions that may have similar symptoms.

Treatment options

The goal of treatment is to help relieve pain and other symptoms, and to help a person cope with the symptoms.

The first type of treatment may involve:

  • Physical therapy
  • Exercise and fitness program
  • Stress-relief methods, including light massage and relaxation techniques

If these treatments do not work, your doctor may prescribe an antidepressant or muscle relaxant. The goal of medication is to improve sleep and pain tolerance. Medicine should be used along with exercise and behavior therapy. Duloxetine (Cymbalta), pregabalin (Lyrica), and milnacipran (Savella) are medications that are approved specifically for treating fibromyalgia.

However, many other drugs are also used to treat the condition, including:

  • Anti-seizure drugs
  • Other antidepressants
  • Muscle relaxants
  • Pain relievers
  • Sleeping aids

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is an important part of treatment. This therapy helps you learn how to:

  • Deal with negative thoughts
  • Keep a diary of pain and symptoms
  • Recognize what makes your symptoms worse
  • Seek out enjoyable activities
  • Set limits

Other recommendations include:

  • Eat a well-balanced diet
  • Avoid caffeine
  • Practice good sleep routines to improve quality of sleep (See: Sleeping difficulty)
  • Acupressure and acunpuncture

Severe cases of fibromyalgia may require a referral to a pain clinic.

Where to find medical care for Fibromyalgia?

Directions to Hospitals Treating fibromyalgia

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

Fibromyalgia is a long-term disorder. Sometimes, the symptoms improve. Other times, the pain may get worse and continue for months or years.

Possible complications

It does not lead to other disease. But fibromyalgia is associated with the pain and lack of sleep, which can interfere with ability to function. It can also result in depression and health-related anxiety.

Prevention

There is no known prevention.

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