As you may or may not know, fibromyalgia is a rheumatic condition that causes musculoskeletal pain with stiffness, mood problems, memory issues, and localized tenderness at specific points on the body. Fibromyalgia is a famous musculoskeletal condition that is still a mystery for doctors and scientists.
A strange fact about fibromyalgia is that it affects women more than men, and the reason is still not yet clear. As mentioned before, fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal condition and its symptoms are close to osteoarthritis, and you should absolutely know and understand the signs and symptoms linked to fibromyalgia to get the necessary diagnosis and treatment(s).
First, you have to know the risk factors that can cause fibromyalgia.
Risk Factors
In general, there are 3 risk factors that are associated directly with fibromyalgia and that can increase your chances of getting it.
1. Sex.
Sex can help develop fibromyalgia for women (men too, but mostly in women)
2. Family history.
Genetics play a huge role in almost everything, that is why if a close family member has fibromyalgia, then you are most likely going to develop the disorder.
3. Rheumatic disease.
Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis can increase your chances of getting fibromyalgia. If you have one of the two diseases, then the probability of developing fibromyalgia is higher than average.
Symptoms
Fibromyalgia’s most famous symptoms are fatigue, painful touch in certain parts of the body, and widespread pain. Of course, there are more symptoms like sleeping disorders and depression.
Here are 9 fibromyalgia symptoms you should know about:
- Inability to concentrate
- Abdominal pain
- Hypersensitivity to cold and/or heat
- Numbness or tingling in your fingers and feet
- IBS (Irritable bowel syndrome)
- Incontinence
- Chronic headaches
- Stiffness
- Dryness in the mouth, nose, and eyes
Treatment
To make sure that you have fibromyalgia, you should obviously go see a doctor to confirm your doubts, and if it happens that you do, there are 3 famous ways that can help you go through it.
1- Pain relievers.
Ask your doctor to prescribe pain killers for you (doctors usually do, but just in case). Or, you can use ibuprofen or any other known pain killers. This way you can improve your sleeping and soothe the discomfort. Don’t worry, pain killers can be found in almost every pharmacy and some of them do not require any kind prescriptions.
2- Antidepressants.
Antidepressants do not treat depression all by itself, they can also help you cope with the fatigue and pain that are associated with fibromyalgia.
3- Antiseizure drugs.
Antiseizure drugs can reduce the pain caused by fibromyalgia, that is why they are recommended when coping with pain.
