I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2001, you can read my history here, but, I did not know about fibromyalgia until just a few years ago.
Although it was discovered way back in 1981, still, most doctors and even neurologists were just saying it was just in “our” heads, or there was no way to truly diagnose it even though a set of guidelines were set forth in 1991. I knew that there was something more than the Crohn’s afflicting me. Everything from headaches to the feeling of ants crawling all over my body that wont go away.
When I was diagnosed a few years ago that I have fibro (fibromyalgia), I finally had some answers. Answers to all the pain. Answers to all the sleepless nights.
I found this resource of “symptoms” that are classified as Fibromyalgia. No two people will be the same (this causes a lot of confusion for both patients and doctors).
General Symptoms
- Activity level decreased to less than 50% of pre-illness activity level
- Cold hands and feet (extremities)
- Cough
- Craving carbohydrates
- Delayed reaction to physical activity or stressful events
- Dryness of eyes and/or mouth
- Family member(s) with Fibromyalgia
- Fatigue, made worse by physical exertion or stress
- Feeling cold often
- Feeling hot often
- Frequent sighing
- Heart palpitations
- Hoarseness
- Increased thirst
- Low blood pressure (below 110/70)
- Low body temperature (below 97.6)
- Low-grade fevers
- Night sweats
- Poor circulation in hands/feet
- Recurrent flu-like illness
- Shortness of breath with little or no exertion
- Severe nasal allergies (new or worsening allergies)
- Sore throat
- Sweats
- Symptoms worsened by air travel
- Symptoms worsened by stress
- Symptoms worsened by temperature changes
- Tender or swollen lymph nodes, especially in neck and underarms
- Tremor or trembling
- Unexplained weight gain or loss
Pain
31. Chest pain
32. Diffuse swelling
33. “Growing” pains that don’t go away once you are done growing
34. Headache
35. Inflamed Rib Cartilage
36. Joint pain
37. Lumpy, tender breasts
38. Morning stiffness
39. Muscle pain
40. Muscle spasms
41. Muscle twitching
42. Muscle weakness
43. Pain that ranges from moderate to severe
44. Pain that moves around the body
45. Paralysis or severe weakness of an arm or leg
46. Restless Leg Syndrome
47. Rib Pain
48. Scalp Pain (like hair being pulled out)
49. Tender points or trigger points
50. TMJ syndrome
51. “Voodoo Doll” Poking Sensation in random places
Neurological
52. Blackouts
53. Brain fog
54. Feeling spaced out
55. Inability to think clearly
56. Lightheadedness;
57. Noise intolerance
58. Numbness or tingling sensations
59. Photophobia (sensitivity to light)
60. Seizures
61. Seizure-like episodes
62. Sensation that you might faint
63. Syncope (fainting)
64. Tinnitus (ringing in one or both ears)
65. Vertigo or dizziness
Equilibrium/Perception
66. Bumping into things
67. Clumsy Walking
68. Difficulty balancing
69. Difficulty judging distances (when driving, etc.)
70. Directional disorientation
71. Dropping things frequently
72. Feeling spatially disoriented
73. Frequent tripping or stumbling
74. Not seeing what you’re looking at
75. Poor balance and coordination
76. Staggering gait
Sleep
77. Alertness/energy best late at night
78. Altered sleep/wake schedule
79. Awakening frequently
80. Difficulty falling asleep
81. Difficulty staying asleep
82. Excessive sleeping
83. Extreme alertness or energy levels late at night
84. Falling asleep at random and sometimes dangerous moments
85. Fatigue
86. Light or broken sleep pattern
87. Muscle spasms/twitches at night
88. Narcolepsy
89. Sleep disturbances
90. Sleep starts or falling sensations
91. Teeth grinding
92. Tossing and turning
93. Un-refreshing or non-restorative sleep
94. Vivid or disturbing dreams/nightmares
Eyes/Vision
95. Blind spots in vision
96. Eye pain
97. Difficulty switching focus from one thing to another
98. Frequent changes in ability to see well
99. Night driving difficulty
100. Occasional Blurry vision
101. Poor night vision
102. Rapidly worsening vision
103. Vision changes
Cognitive
104. Becoming lost in familiar locations when driving
105. Confusion
106. Difficulty expressing ideas in words
107. Difficulty following conversation (especially if background noise present)
108. Difficulty following directions while driving
109. Difficulty following oral instructions
110. Difficulty following written instructions
111. Difficulty making decisions
112. Difficulty moving your mouth to speak
113. Difficulty paying attention
114. Difficulty putting ideas together to form a complete picture
115. Difficulty putting tasks or things in proper sequence
116. Difficulty recognizing faces
117. Difficulty speaking known words
118. Difficulty remembering names of objects
119. Difficulty remembering names of people
120. Difficulty understanding what you read
121. Difficulty with long-term memory
122. Difficulty with simple calculations
123. Difficulty with short-term memory
124. Easily distracted during a task
125. Feeling too disoriented to drive
126. Forgetting how to do routine things
127. Impaired ability to concentrate
128. Inability to recognize familiar surroundings
129. Losing track in the middle of a task (remembering what to do next)
130. Losing your train of thought in the middle of a sentence
131. Loss of ability to distinguish some colors
132. Poor judgment
133. Short term memory impairment
134. Slowed speech
135. Staring into space trying to think
136. Stuttering; stammering
137. Switching left and right
138. Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you speak
139. Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you write
140. Trouble concentrating
141. Using the wrong word
142. Word-finding difficulty
Emotional
143. Abrupt and/or unpredictable mood swings
144. Anger outbursts
145. Anxiety or fear when there is no obvious cause
146. Attacks of uncontrollable rage
147. Decreased appetite
148. Depressed mood
149. Feeling helpless and/or hopeless
150. Feeling worthless
151. Frequent crying
152. Inability to enjoy previously enjoyed activities
153. Irrational fears
154. Irritability
155. Overreaction
156. Panic attacks
157. Personality changes
158. Phobias
159. Suicide attempts
160. Suicidal thoughts
161. Tendency to cry easily
Gastrointestinal
162. Abdominal cramps
163. Bloating
164. Decreased appetite
165. Food cravings
166. Frequent constipation
167. Frequent diarrhea
168. Heartburn
169. Increased appetite
170. Intestinal gas
171. Irritable bladder
172. Irritable bowel syndrome
173. Nausea
174. Stomachache
175. Vomiting
176. Weight gain
177. Weight loss
Urogenital
178. Decreased libido (sex drive)
179. Endometriosis
180. Frequent urination
181. Impotence
182. Menstrual problems
183. Painful urination or bladder pain
184. Pelvic pain
185. Prostate pain
186. Urinary frequency
187. Worsening of premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
Sensitivities
188. Alcohol intolerance
189. Allodynia (hypersensitive to touch)
190. Alteration of taste, smell, and/or hearing
191. Odor sensitivity
192. Sensitivity to chemicals in cleaning products, perfumes, etc.
193. Sensitivities to foods
194. Sensitivity to light
195. Sensitivity to mold
196. Sensitivity to noise
197. Sensitivity to odors
198. Sensitivity to yeast (getting yeast infections frequently on skin, etc.)
199. Sensory overload
200. Sensitivity to pressure changes, temperature & humidity
Reference:
The original reference for this list was ushealthpedia.com, but is currently not in service. The reference to the article is below, but the link does not work as of this writing.
http://ushealthpedia.
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