Is Fibromyalgia Stealing Your Life? Learn How to Fight Back!
For those who have been given the diagnosis of having fibromyalgia, they are going to find that this can affect the body in various ways.
In fact, many people find that it is easier to state the ways in which the illness is not affecting the body!
There are several issues that can arise once a person understands that they do have fibromyalgia.
Once a person understands this, they are going to find that they can then start to manage these symptoms so that they do not find their quality of life affected.
Fatigue All the Time
One of the main ways in which fibromyalgia affects the body is fatigue. This fatigue is more than not getting enough sleep one night.
This is all-encompassing fatigue that makes a person feel as though they cannot function in day to day life.
It is not uncommon for people to find that they simply want to sleep. This is one of the first symptoms that people start showing.
In fact, many wonder if they do not have mononucleosis due to the level of tired that they are feeling.
However, when this last for several weeks, many doctors start to look at fibromyalgia as being the culprit.
In order to deal with this, many physicians suggest:
- Staying active, even when you are tired, to avoid muscle loss and pain that is associated with sitting still all the time.
- Ensuring that you do get a good night’s sleep
- Sticking to a sleep schedule
Pain and Tender Points
A major indicator of fibromyalgia is the pain and tender points that go along with this illness. This pain is not as though you have broken or sprained an area of the body.
It can start immediately and simply pressing on one part of the body can feel as though the person has been punched in this area.
These are referred to as pressure points. These pressure points are located throughout the body.
The pain is often worse in terms of stress and if the person overexerts themselves they may find this pain to be worse.
These pressure points are located:
- In the arms
- On the legs
- There are several located in the neck and shoulders that can make the pain radiate throughout the body
To deal with the pain and tender points, there are several suggestions that can be utilized in order to help alleviate this slightly:
- Take warm baths or showers to help relieve the pain
- Utilize ice packs on problem areas
- Ensure that you do exercise to help work the muscles
- Taking over the counter medications to help with the pain
- In severe cases, doctors may give prescriptions for depression or nerves in order to help alleviate the pain somewhat
GI Issues
There are several fibromyalgia patients who report issues with their intestinal system as well as having fatigue and pain. These GI issues can be:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Having motion sickness always
- Displaying signs of irritable bowel syndrome
Many people may have had these issues before they were diagnosed with fibromyalgia. However, they become more prominent when the person has fibromyalgia due to the other conditions that they are dealing with.
Dealing with these issues a person needs to remember:
- Monitor your diet and ensure that you are not eating greasy foods that are known for agitating this
- Take medications to help with symptoms that are often recommended by your doctor
Hearing Issues
Due to the location of the tender points and nerves that are affected by this illness, many people report having hearing issues.
These issues include:
- Ringing in the ears
- Loss of hearing as the ears feel as though they are clogged
- Pain in the ear that feels as though it is directly coming from the ear canal
In order to alleviate this symptom, you can:
- May find that placing a warm dishcloth on the ear can help alleviate some of the pain
- Check with a doctor about medications that could help with the ringing that is being heard
Mental Effects
There are several mental effects that a person can suffer when they are dealing with fibromyalgia.
Due to the nature of this illness, many people start to feel cut off from the rest of the world.
Some of the mental effects that are being seen include:
- Feeling depression
- Feeling as though you are in a fog
- Having a difficult time understanding conversations
These issues are often due to the person being in extreme pain. Due to the pain, they may not be able to focus on other things that are going on around you.
In order to help with these issues may doctors recommend depression medications.
However, many people find that meditation or yoga can go a long way in helping a person to learn to focus through the pain.
Learning how to function with pain is the main goal of most fibromyalgia patients.
Other Effects on the Body
There are several other effects that fibromyalgia patients report. However, they may not be associated with fibromyalgia just yet.
These effects include:
- More allergies as the nervous system are affected by the illness
- Women tend to get more yeast infections
- Sleep apnea
- Itchy and blotchy skin
- Extreme night sweats
- Extremely susceptible to infections
- Have the “shakes” in which they find that they shake due to not eating regularly or the like
- Bruise easily
- Tenderness to the changing temperatures
- Weight gain or loss that is sudden
- Sensitive to light
- Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
- Sinus issues
- Trouble with swallowing
- Chronic dry cough
- Dry eyes, nose, and mouth
- Eye pain and trouble with vision
As we learn more about fibromyalgia, these symptoms are likely to grow. Fibromyalgia affects the entire body.
While it may be categorized as an illness that causes fatigue and pain, this is not all that is causes in patients.
