Smorgasboard- the Buffet of Symptoms

One of the key elements of fibromyalgia is the staggering array of symptoms. There are three that are key: widespread chronic but transitory pain, fatigue, and mental fogginess. For the first three years, I only had the first two, and then the fibrofog came in, which turned out to be the most devastating of the symptoms and one I continue to battle on a daily basis.

I have separate entries for these three main symptoms, but there are also a lot of other commonly reported symptoms. Here are some that I have direct experience with and that are commonly reported:

IBS

One of the more common symptoms is irritable bowel syndrome. Why is currently unknown, but there is a strong clue. It is believed that fibromyalgia is linked to an imbalance in serotonin levels. IBS is also linked to an imbalance of serotonin, but in the gut, not in the brain. That may not be a coincidence. IBS is painful, and this may one of the few symptoms where actual “it hurts because something not good is going on there” pain is involved.

Swelling, numbness, and tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs

My feet and legs are fine, but boy do my hands swell and go numb. It is a painful kind of numb, a combination of a loss of sensation and the pins and needles of restored sensation. Sometimes they get so numb I can barely type or pick things up.

Sleep problems

Sure, sleep can become difficult, but usually that is because of pain. Sometimes I just can't sleep, classic insomnia, and lack of sleep does make my other symptoms worse. What many fibro sufferers have a problem with is not getting a deep enough sleep. They wake up frequently during the night. I guess I do as well, but I fall back to sleep immediately. What seems to be happening according to sleep studies is that while sleeping, people with FM have bursts of brain activity that disturb their sleep. Because this interrupts deep sleep, you wind up not feeling as rested. This is different from the chronic fatigue symptoms though, which usually hit me in the afternoon. Most of those with disturbed sleep tend to have these feelings of fatigue and tiredness when they first wake up. 

Depression

I am in the group of people, including some researchers, who believe that depression is less a symptom than a natural reaction to the difficulties of the condition. Who would not be a little depressed? When I have deep fibrofog, I can't see any future because my vision so narrows, and I do get depressed. That seems reasonable to me under the circumstances. As soon as that clears up a little and I can think clearly the depression goes away. I have not experienced any long term, or chronic depression with FM. Anxiety is also listed as a symptom, but there is a lot going on here to make you anxious. Since I am upbeat most of the time, I am uncertain if depression is a widespread symptom or simply a response to something that is depressing. There is no clear consensus on this issue yet.

Headaches

I get terrible headaches, but here is the interesting part. Taking Ibuprofen helps. It does not help with any other type of fibromyalgia related pain, nor does any other type of painkiller. I wonder if headaches, real headaches, are triggered by pain or other stressors related to FM. In my experience, the headaches I have are typical headaches and unlike the strange and bizarre pain triggered by fibromyalgia. There does seem to be some increase in intensity of the headache pain, but that might be related to the hypersensitivity to so many things you have with fibromyalgia. Real pain can sometimes seem magnified.

Morning stiffness

More than 75% of people with fibromyalgia feel stiffness when they first get up in the morning. I experience this as well but it tends to go away very quickly. For some it can last hours, and has been compared to the stiffness that people with arthritis experience.

Urinary Problems

Early on when I was first struggling to get diagnosed, I had problems with needing to urinate frequently. This can be a symptom of a lot of different things, many of them not good, and was quite concerning to me. Doctors kept looking and found nothing. This symptom has sort of faded away and does not seem to be as much of an issue for me anymore.

Restless Leg Syndrome

What an innocuous name for such a totally miserable condition. In general, it is a desire to move your legs to lessen an uncomfortable sensation. It is a neurological condition where the impulse to keep moving the legs is very very strong. In my case, though, it is not just an unpleasant sensation but actual pain. Moving my legs does seem to offer some relief, but it only lasts for seconds at most. I am constantly tossing and turning trying to find a comfortable position so that I can sleep. No matter what I do, I never get comfortable. I had heard of restless leg syndrome but did not know anything about it, so I did not relate it at all to what was happening to me. I just considered it one of the more unpleasant of the pain episodes with no idea that it had a specific name. I finally read about it a bit more and realized how well it described what was happening to me. I thought the constant impulse to move my legs was a natural response to the pain, from trying to find a way to get comfortable. Upon reflection, it is a bit more complex than that.

This list only touches the surface. A more extensive list developed by fibromyalgia experts lists over 60 known symptoms. I have experienced many of these lesser covered symptoms and will discuss them in a future post.