Fibromyalgia Treatment Centers: Fibromyalgia Symptoms and Diagnosis

Fibromyalgia Symptoms and Diagnosis: What Are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia? How Is Fibromyalgia Diagnosed? Fibromyalgia Treatment Centers provide the information on 16 Symptoms of Fibromyalgia. Food and Fibromyalgia: What’s the Connection?

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia: Fibromyalgia is often difficult to diagnose since its symptoms overlap with many other rheumatic conditions. Are there diagnostic laboratory tests for fibromyalgia? What are the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia? What are fibromyalgia tender points? How is fibromyalgia diagnosed? So What Are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?

Symptoms of fibromyalgia include:

Chronic muscle pain, muscle spasms or tightness, weakness in the limbs, and leg cramps
Moderate or severe fatigue and decreased energy
Insomnia or waking up feeling just as tired as when you went to sleep
Stiffness upon waking or after staying in one position for too long
Difficulty remembering, concentrating, and performing simple mental tasks
Abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and constipation alternating with diarrhea (irritable bowel syndrome)
Tension or migraine headaches
Jaw and facial tenderness
Sensitivity to one or more of the following: odors, noise, bright lights, medications, certain foods, and cold
Feeling anxious or depressed
Numbness or tingling in the face, arms, hands, legs, or feet
Increase in urinary urgency or frequency (irritable bladder)
Reduced tolerance for exercise and muscle pain after exercise
A feeling of swelling (without actual swelling) in the hands and feet
Painful menstrual periods
Dizziness

Fibromyalgia symptoms may intensify depending on the time of day — morning, late afternoon, and evening tend to be the worst times, while 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. tends to be the best time. They may also get worse with fatigue, tension, inactivity, changes in the weather, cold or drafty conditions, overexertion, hormonal fluctuations (such as just before your period or during menopause), stress, depression, or other emotional factors.

If the condition is not diagnosed and treated early, symptoms can go on indefinitely, or they may disappear for months and then recur.

Call Your Doctor About Fibromyalgia If: You have chronic muscle pain and overwhelming fatigue. 10 Ways to Make Your Home Safer and Healthier

Fibromyalgia Diagnosis Is Difficult

Research shows that people with fibromyalgia typically see many doctors before receiving the diagnosis. One reason for this may be that pain and fatigue, the main symptoms of fibromyalgia, overlap with many other conditions.

Fibromyalgia Screening Quiz

Doctors often have to rule out other potential causes of these symptoms before making a diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

Rheumatism, Rheumatic Disease, And Arthritis: Are They All The Same?

No Diagnostic Laboratory Tests For Fibromyalgia

Another reason fibromyalgia diagnosis remains difficult is that there are currently no diagnostic laboratory tests for fibromyalgia; standard laboratory tests fail to reveal a physiologic reason for pain. Because there is no generally accepted, objective test for fibromyalgia, some doctors unfortunately may conclude a patient’s pain is not real, or they may tell the patient there is little they can do.

Test Your Knowledge: Fibromyalgia

Diagnostic Criteria For Fibromyalgia

A doctor familiar with fibromyalgia, however, can make a diagnosis based on two criteria established by the American College of Rheumatology:

a history of widespread pain lasting more than 3 months the presence of tender points

Pain is considered to be widespread when it affects all four quadrants of the body; that is, you must have pain in both your right and left sides as well as above and below the waist to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

How to Recognize the Signs and Symptoms of Fibromyalgia
How To Choose The Right Doctor For You
First Visit To The Rheumatologist
A rheumatologist is a medical doctor who specializes in arthritis and related diseases.

Fibromyalgia Tender Points

The American College of Rheumatology also has designated 18 sites on the body as possible tender points. For a fibromyalgia diagnosis, a person must have 11 or more tender points.

What are Fibromyalgia Tender Points?

Fibromyalgia Symptoms – Fibromyalgia Diagnosis and Treatment. One of these predesignated sites is considered a true tender point only if the person feels pain upon the application of 4 kilograms of pressure to the site. People who have fibromyalgia certainly may feel pain at other sites, too, but those 18 standard possible sites on the body are the criteria used for classification.