Fibromyalgia Symptoms, Treatment & Causes

People with fibromyalgia experience chronic pain all over their body. It can be a throbbing, dull discomfort or a sharp pain, both of which can make it difficult to follow your normal routine.

Fibromyalgia is thought to be much more common in women than men, with women between 30 and 50 the most likely to have it.

If you’re suffering from constant pain and think fibromyalgia could be the cause, speak to a doctor today to discuss your symptoms and get treatment at the push of a button.

The following issues are all signs that you might have fibromyalgia:

You’re extremely sensitive when touched and find even little things painful
You’re having trouble remembering things or concentrating
You can’t sleep and feel tired all the time
You have difficulty controlling body temperature, and often feel too hot or too cold even when the weather is mild
Your muscles feel stiff and occasionally spasm
You get frequent headaches and migraines
You have symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), such as diarrhoea or constipation
You’re feeling depressed
You occasionally get dizzy spells
You’re getting pins and needles in your hands and feet

While the root causes of fibromyalgia aren’t fully understood, it’s thought that problems with the central nervous system could be to blame. Essentially, your brain is telling you you’re in pain, even though you’re not.

One potential reason for this is that your brain isn’t producing certain hormones needed to function properly.

The potential triggers for fibromyalgia can be divided into physical and mental factors.

Physical

Recovering from an operation
Giving birth
An injury or illness

Mental

A relationship breakdown
Being stuck in an abusive relationship
Grief at losing a loved one

The fact that fibromyalgia is difficult to diagnose makes it difficult to treat. It shares many symptoms with other medical conditions, such as arthritis, and there’s no single test that will confirm that you definitely have fibromyalgia.

However, if your doctor gives you a fibromyalgia diagnosis, there are various things you can do to treat both your pain and the possible underlying causes:

Antidepressants
Painkillers
Counselling to manage depression
Exercise, which releases hormones such as serotonin and dopamine that are linked to feelings of happiness.

If you think you may be suffering from fibromyalgia - or aren’t sure - don’t rely on guesswork, talk to a doctor today.

Our GPs can discuss your symptoms and medical history and pin down whether fibromyalgia or some other condition could be to blame:

FIBROMYALGIA

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia symptoms

Fibromyalgia causes

Physical

Mental

Fibromyalgia treatment