Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Does Fibromyalgia Cause Stomach Pain

What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia | A Whole Body Pain Experience and Fatigue

The most common symptoms of fibromyalgia are

  • Pain and stiffness all over the body
  • Fatigue and tiredness
  • Problems with thinking, memory, and concentration
  • Headaches, including migraines

Other symptoms may include:

  • Tingling or numbness in hands and feet
  • Pain in the face or jaw, including disorders of the jaw known as temporomandibular joint syndrome
  • Digestive problems, such as abdominal pain, bloating, constipation, and even irritable bowel syndrome

Increased Sensitivity To Pain

You may sense that you are having an extreme sensitivity to pain if you have fibromyalgia. The pain is not that much but it is extreme and it makes the person to grow into less resistant. Over one-third of people with fibromyalgia develop a small fiber neuropathy caused from the chronic pain.

Management : Dr. Teitelbaum says medications known as NMDA receptor antagonists, memantine is one can help

What Home Remedies Are There For Digestive Problems

Home remedies may promote proper digestion of food and healthy bowel movements. For a start, be kind to your digestive system by doing the hard work for it and chewing your food properly. As the Chinese proverb says, the stomach has no teeth, so it is important to chew your food properly to ensure that the essential nutrients are absorbed.

Think about your diet too, as certain foods can be harder for your digestive system to cope with and are likely to result in digestive problems. Most notably, caffeine and refined sugar should be avoided as much as possible, as they will also drain you of energy if consumed too frequently. Additionally, some people have a lower tolerance to certain types of foods than others, so trying a diet of elimination with certain food types may help establish the most suitable diet for you.

Pre-biotics help to improve the internal environment of the gut, making you less prone to symptoms of poor digestion. They are found in products such as A.Vogel’s Molkosan, an organic, lacto-fermented whey drink.

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Menstrual Pain Or Changes

Women may experience more pain during their menstrual cycle, including cramping and low back pain. They may also experience irregular menstrual cycles or changes in their cycle in duration and heaviness. Healthline reports that:

In a report by the National Fibromyalgia Association, women with the condition have more painful periods than usual. Sometimes the pain fluctuates with their menstrual cycle. Most women with fibromyalgia are also between the ages of 40 to 55 years old. Research suggests that fibromyalgia symptoms may feel worse in women who are post-menopausal or are experiencing menopause.

High Levels Of Fatigue

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It is a sensation that you may consider is because of something else however fibromyalgia can originate severe and great intensities of fatigue you are inevitable to neglect.

Management : With daily activities, its good to set up a scheduled routine. Be careful about overdoing it, so you dont deplete your extra energy. Learning moderation is a skill that can help you get things done despite discomfort and fatigue.

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Key Points About Fibromyalgia

  • Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that causes pain in muscles and soft tissues all over the body.
  • Researchers think it may be linked to sleep problems, stress, or immune, endocrine, or biochemical problems.
  • Symptoms may also include lack of energy , sleep problems, depression, headaches, and other problems.
  • There is no cure, but symptoms can be managed.
  • Treatment can include medicine, exercise, relaxation, heat or cold, and massage.

Joint And Muscle Pain

You dont have to suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms such as joint and muscle pain, headaches, insomnia, and irritable bowel syndrome alone. If you think you might have fibromyalgia, start by seeing your family doctor. He or she can confirm a diagnosis of primary fibromyalgia syndrome through physical examination and blood tests. The two most common conditions that can cause similar symptoms are rheumatoid arthritis and lupus . If your doctor suspects one of these two disorders is causing your pain, he or she may recommend an autoimmune disease panel test to help get a better sense of whats going on with your body.

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Is Fibromyalgia An Autoimmune Disease

For decades, fibromyalgias very existence was controversial. But not anymore. Early on, some doctors who believed in FM classified it as arthritis-like.

Many medical experts suspected autoimmunity because of the conditions similarities to known autoimmune diseases such as lupus, Sjögrens syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and multiple sclerosis.

However, early research failed to turn up the hallmarks of autoimmune disease, including:

  • Damage from the immune system attack
  • Inflammation as part of the immune and healing processes
  • Autoantibodies

Criteria For Diagnosing Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia: How to Manage Chronic Pain

For fibromyalgia to be diagnosed, certain criteria usually have to be met. The most widely used criteria for diagnosis are:

  • you either have severe pain in three to six different areas of your body, or you have milder pain in seven or more different areas
  • your symptoms have stayed at a similar level for at least three months
  • no other reason for your symptoms has been found

The extent of the pain used to be assessed by applying gentle pressure to certain “tender points”, where any pain is likely to be at its worst. However, this is less common nowadays.

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Confused State Of Mind

Fibromyalgia can make you to have a chaotic state of mind constantly, you might not tell what you are doing and what not, and because of this fact it is something that you ought to keep in mind. Fibromyalgia can also make you to turn out to be lost and can push you towards having quite a mixed up state that you might not in fact realize why but know that it might be because of fibromyalgia.

The Role That Diet And Eating Habits May Play

Kumar advises patients to discuss diet, which he says is extremely important, with their physicians. The food we eat not only nourishes our bodies but also the millions of bacteria that live in our gut, he says. So the types of food that you eat can make SIBO better or worse. Eating yogurt with live active colonies, he says, is supported by research as helpful for SIBO.

I also recommend a low-FODMAP diet to people who have irritable bowels, says Kumar. FODMAP are carbohydrates that are naturally present in foods and are particularly appealing to bacteria that can overgrow and cause SIBO, he explains. Talk to your doctor before beginning a low-FODMAP diet, he cautions, to determine whether it really may be helpful. The concern, he says, is that you could excessively or unnecessarily restrict your diet, preventing you from obtaining needed nutrients. And dietary changes, he warns, need to be maintained over the long term or SIBO is likely to reoccur.

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How Are They Related

With both conditions, you have more brain activity in the parts that process pain. Your sense of pain can be enhanced.

The exact problem is not well understood, but in these functional disorders, your nervous system is overly sensitive or hyperactive. Your immune systems is thought to play a role, and doctors are looking at genetics, too.

Stress can lead to any of these functional disorders. In one survey, more than half of fibromyalgia patients reported symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, a condition that affects the brain.

What Causes Our Muscle Spasm

Pin on Fibromyalgia, CFS and IBS

We don’t have a lot of research on why muscle spasms are involved in fibromyalgia. However, at least one study suggests that our spasms are caused by myofascial trigger points.

Myofascial trigger points are ropy bands of tissue that form when soft tissue injuries don’t heal properly. A condition called myofascial pain syndrome can develop in someone with multiple active trigger points. MPS is extremely common in people with fibromyalgia and some healthcare providers believe they’re actually the same condition.

TrPs feel like hard nodules under your skin and are usually about the size of a pencil eraser. It hurts when you push on them. More important though, is that TrPs cause referred pain, which is a pain in another area of your body. For example, a TrP on the muscle running up the side of your neck can cause pain on the top of your head as well as what feels like sinus pain under your eyes.

In the Ge study, researchers were able to reproduce fibromyalgia muscle painthose seemingly random pains that crop up in areas where nothing is wrong with the tissuesby manipulating TrPs. They concluded that TrPs caused muscle spasms which were largely responsible for fibromyalgia pain.

Of course, a single study is never conclusive. Our muscle spasms could also be caused by other things, such as our overactive nerves, nutrients deficiencies or any number of other things.

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Fibromyalgia And Digestion: Common Ailments

The gastrointestinal system is made up of several parts: the esophagus, stomach, small intestine and bowel. When digestion slows down, or an intolerance disrupts the natural process, a chain of events can push pain and discomfort through your entire GI tract.

Fibro patients often complain of frustrating digestive troubles, like:

  • Acid reflux. When gastric juices are not used in the stomach, they tend to travel back up through the esophagus, resulting in heartburn or a painful sensation in the chest.
  • Cramping and constipation. When the process of peristalsis slows down, your irritated intestines can begin to cramp and prevent the movement of waste through the bowel.
  • Diarrhea. When the digestive process slows or halts, undigested food can move from the stomach and into the intestine, where it can irritate the lining of the colon and produce IBS symptoms.
  • Gas. The longer food stays in your stomach and intestines, the longer your natural GI bacteria has to break down the compounds, and the more methane gas is produced from bacteria metabolism.

IBS is a distinct condition caused by abnormalities in the nerves that supply the digestive tract, and physicians often use the ROME criteria to diagnosis the disorder. If your doctor isnt convinced that your symptoms fit in with IBS, dont throw in the towel just yet there are several ways to address your digestive problems, regardless of whether you have overlapping conditions or fibro-triggered GI pain.

Main Signs And Symptoms

The main symptom of fibromyalgia is pain and tenderness in muscles and joints throughout your body. The pain can shift from place to place, but to meet the criteria for a diagnosis, youll need to have experienced pain for at least three months. The pain must be in a specific number of body parts and be above a specific severity score. And, you must not have another condition that could explain the pain.

Fibromyalgia also causes a number of other symptoms, such as:

  • fatigue

The pain from fibromyalgia can be intense and constant. It can be severe enough to keep you home from work and other activities.

In a National Health Interview Survey, of participants reported having pain on most days or every day of their lives.

Fibromyalgia can also cause intense emotional symptoms. Over 43 percent of people in the National Health Interview Survey had anxiety and depression that were severe enough to need medication.

Of all the fibromyalgia symptoms, fatigue can have one of the biggest impacts on your life. Constant fatigue affects more than 90 percent of people with the condition.

Fibromyalgia fatigue isnt ordinary tiredness. Its a bone-weary exhaustion that drains your body of energy and turns every activity into a chore.

Between 40 and 70 percent of people with fibromyalgia also have uncomfortable symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, such as:

  • diarrhea and/or constipation
  • milnacipran
  • pregabalin
  • relaxation therapies
  • biofeedback
  • yoga and tai chi

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Dont Ignore The Connection Between Gut Health And Chronic Pain

Fibromyalgia is more than just chronic pain, says Kumar. Although theres a lot left unknown about it. We are now understanding that its more than just a muscle and joint illness. It can be affected by any number of other organ systems, like the gut.

If you have fibromyalgia and suspect you may have gut issues, or vice versa, you may have to be your own best advocate. People with fibromyalgia are sometimes not taken very seriously by doctors when there may be other issues complicating the diagnosis, says Kumar. The growing recognition of a link between SIBO and fibromyalgia is a great example of this.

What Do Your Fibromyalgia Symptoms Mean

Fibromyalgia: Living with chronic pain – BBC Stories

There is currently no cure for fibromyalgia, but there are treatments that can make living with fibromyalgia easier. An earlier post on our blog discussed the common fibromyalgia treatments that are in use today for this syndrome. You can also watch our blog for any developments in fibromyalgia research or therapeutic techniques.

If youre experiencing some of these symptoms, but not all, read about lupus symptoms. This is a similar condition, but it often causes accompanying skin changes.

Your best way to beat fibromyalgia or any pain condition starts with a diagnosis. By working with a pain specialist who has experience treating fibromyalgia, you can take the first step in getting your life back. Click the button below to find a pain doctor in your area.

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Excessive Sweating And Change To Weight

Among the common symptoms weight loss is considered to be one of the severe symptoms seen in fibromyalgia individuals.

Though weight loss can be because of various reasons or various health disorders, people who have fibro body also exhibit weight loss.

Weight loss can be because of digestive problems people face. Sometimes when people have pain in the body, they will show less interest towards food consumption. This can lead to the reduction in weight.

There are also other cases where people gain more weight after acquiring fibromyalgia problems. The main reason for weight gain is because of reduction in physical activity.

The mobility of the person is also affected. Due to pain in the body, people find it very difficult to do physical activity. This can contribute to the rapid increase in weight of the individual.

Sweating is also very common in people who have fibro body. Excessive heat exhibited by the body is the reason for sweating.

Symptoms Of Severe Fibromyalgia Nobody Talks About

Lorna Effy talks about some of the symptoms shes experienced with fibromyalgia that arent often associated with the disease.

Nine possible causes of fibromyalgia to discuss with your doctor.

Lorna explains that she has three ongoing issues that she attributes to fibromyalgia, but can find no online information about any connection between them despite talking to other fibromyalgia patients who also have the same symptoms.

Lorna describes the ever-present problems she has with her throat, where she feels her throat muscles are not strong enough for her to be able to eat enough food and she often experiences pain after talking for a while. She also goes on to share how her nose always tends to be blocked and the congestion was making it difficult for her to sleep. Finally, Lorna says that since shes had fibromyalgia she had also started suffering from acute panic attacks.

Eight facts you probably didnt know about fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

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A Different Type Of Inflammation

Neuroinflammation has different effects than typical inflammation in the joints and soft tissues. Typical inflammation causes pain in many conditions, such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis.

When tissues expand beyond their normal size, they cause pain by putting pressure on surrounding structures. Arthritic fingers hurt because theyre inflamed.

Neuroinflammation doesnt cause the same issues. Instead, it causes neurological problems that lead to neurological symptoms.

FM pain is believed to come from central sensitization, which is a heightened response to pain in the central nervous system. Research suggests neuroinflammation is behind central sensitization.

So, regardless of neuroinflammation, your FM pain isnt caused by tissue inflammation and therefore cant be treated in the same way.

Swelling And Tingling In Hands And Feet

How To Get Relief From Fibromyalgia Muscle Pain â Fibromyalgia Pain Cure

While the cause of numbness, tingling, and burning is unclear, many people with fibro feel them. These sensations, called paresthesia, tend to happen randomly. They may last a few minutes, or they may be constant.

The feelings can be especially bothersome in the mornings along with morning stiffness. But they generally don’t get in the way of doing things.

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What Can You Do

Antidepressants can help both IBS and fibromyalgia. You could also have trouble with sleeping, headaches, anxiety, and depression, so talk to your doctor about prescription medicines that could help.

As odd as it may seem, pain medicines like opioids are not very effective. Over-the-counter NSAID pain medications like ibuprofen or aspirin donât work well by themselves, but they can be used with antidepressants to treat fibromyalgia.

Focus on treating both the physical and the mental symptoms equally. Learn all you can about these disorders. The more you know about your condition, the better you will be able to take care of yourself.

Exercise will help, especially cardio. It gets your heart rate up and builds your muscle strength. But start out slowly. You can also try yoga or tai chi. Chang says she sometimes recommends meditation, which can calm the mind and the body.

Some research suggests that people with fibromyalgia may have a higher incidence of celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. Talk to your doctor to see if you should be tested. If you do have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, a gluten free diet may give you relief from your GI symptoms.

Stay open to trying all the treatments your doctor suggests, even if you have to do more than one at a time. The usual treatments like drugs and surgery may not help.

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