Fibromyalgia, a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, and cognitive difficulties, remains a complex challenge for both patients and healthcare providers. While its exact cause is still not fully understood, fibromyalgia is often linked to central sensitization, which amplifies pain signals in the nervous system. One of the treatments approved for managing fibromyalgia is duloxetine, a medication…
“It’s not about what the FDA-approved treatments directly target. Fibromyalgia is about neuroinflammation in the central nervous system [CNS],” said Younger, who is associate professor of psychology and director of the Neuroinflammation, Pain and Fatigue Lab at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “The key to treatment is to reduce that inflammatory process in the…
Fibromyalgia and its comorbidities Fibromyalgia (FM) is a relatively well-known musculoskeletal disorder characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, and sleep issues. However, few are aware of its comorbidities. The frequent pain and other symptoms normally associated with FM can be further exacerbated when occurring along with ankylosing spondylitis, axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or rheumatoid…
Diagnosing fibromyalgia (FM) can be challenging. It’s not uncommon for someone to ask their healthcare provider if they could have the condition only to have the suggestion waved off. What’s going on? Fibromyalgia is a common chronic pain condition that involves fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, sleep disruptions, and many other possible symptoms. When you bring up a possible…
If you have fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome, there are a few things you should know—and do—before you go in for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test. It’s unlikely that you’ll need an MRI for a diagnosis of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome unless your particular set of symptoms is similar to that of a neurological illness that…
Fibromyalgia (FMS), a chronic condition that causes widespread muscle pain and fatigue, can be primary or secondary. In primary (idiopathic) fibromyalgia—the more common form—the cause is unknown. In secondary fibromyalgia, the symptoms are related to another underlying health condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or Lyme disease.1 This article discusses primary and secondary fibromyalgia. It explains the…
Allodynia is a rare type of nerve pain that is triggered by something that wouldn’t normally cause pain, such as the touch of your bedsheets, the seam of a sock, or the warmth coming off of freshly made toast. This pain type is frequently associated with fibromyalgia. Some research suggests allodynia may be associated with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue…
A swollen face and hands in the mornings is a common symptom of fibromyalgia. When you have fibromyalgia, you may also experience other morning symptoms like exhaustion, stiffness, and aches. Not everyone with fibromyalgia has these morning symptoms, but they’re common. This is one of those areas medical research hasn’t yet explained. They also don’t know…
Fibromyalgia and heart health may be more closely connected than people realize. Fibromyalgia can greatly affect quality of life, and lifestyle changes due to the disease can increase the risk of problems with the heart and blood vessels, including heart attack and stroke. This article discusses how fibromyalgia is related to heart problems, what it has…
If you love someone with fibromyalgia you experience intense pain that varies from one day to the next and from one hour to the next. We can not predict that. So we want you to understand that sometimes things have to be canceled at the last minute and it bothers us as much as you…
