Anyone read the monster list ?

[wednesday_focker]

Seems to me i have way more symptoms than athralgia and myalgia

i did research a long while back and found i have so many of this list that i could relate to,

FIBROMYALGIA SYMPTOMS CHECKLIST

General Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Delayed reactions to physical exertion or stressful events

Other family members with fibromyalgia (genetic predisposition)

Sweats

Unexplained weight gain or loss

Cravings for carbohydrate and chocolate

Headaches & migraines

Vision changes, including rapidly worsening vision

Muscle & Tissue-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Pain that ranges from mild to severe, and may move around the body (See The 7 Types of Fibromyalgia Pain)

Morning stiffness

Muscle twitches

Diffuse swelling

Fibrocystic (lumpy, tender) breasts (as an overlapping condition)

Sinus & Allergy-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Allergies

Post nasal drip

Runny nose

Mold & yeast sensitivity

Shortness of breath

Earaches & itchy ears

Ringing ears (tinitis)

Thick secretions

Sleep-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Light and/or broken sleep pattern with unrefreshing sleep

Fatigue

Sleep starts (falling sensations)

Twitchy muscles at night

Teeth grinding (bruxism)

Reproductive Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Menstrual problems

PMS (as an overlapping condition)

Loss of libido

Impotence

Abdominal & Digestive Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Bloating & nausea

Abdominal cramps

Pelvic pain

Irritable bowel syndrome (as an overlapping condition)

Urinary frequency

Cognitive/Neurological Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Difficulty speaking known words, other language impairments (dysphasia)

Directional disorientation

Poor balance and coordination

Paresthesias in the upper limbs (tingling or burning sensations)

Loss of ability to distinguish some shades of colors

Short-term memory impairment

Confusion

Trouble concentrating

Staring into space before brain "kicks in"

Inability to recognize familiar surroundings

Sensory Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Sensitivity to odors

Sensitivity to pressure changes, temperature & humidity

Sensitivity to light

Sensitivity to noise

Night driving difficulty

Sensory overload

Emotional Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Panic attacks

Depression (as an overlapping condition)

Tendency to cry easily

Free-floating anxiety (not associated with situation or object)

Mood swings

Unaccountable irritability

Heart-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Mitral valve prolapse (as an overlapping condition)

Rapid, fluttery, irregular heartbeat

Pain that mimics heart attack, frequently from costochondritis (as an overlapping condition)

Skin, Hair & Nail-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Pronounced nail ridges

Nails that curve under

Mottled skin

Bruising or scaring easily

Hair loss (temporary)

Tissue overgrowth (non-cancerous tumors called lipomas, ingrown hairs, heavy and splitting cuticles, adhesions)

I can say yes to most of these , wish people would stop saying its pain and fatigue, its so much more!!

chronicfatigue.about.com/od...

[Hidden]

me too interesting about the heart problems after giving birth to my youngest daughter traumatic birth prolapsed cord and nealy lost her, I developed heart problems I was on beta blockers for a few years, I couldnt take the spray as I was breast feeding

[gypsycrafter]

makes us sound like hyperchondriac s!! It is true though although I suspect like many of did not realise these were fibro symptoms. i can count on one hand the things i have NOT got! Most have been with me since I was quite young. I know stomach problems are on the list but I would like to add bad wind to it. had that last night and it often sends my heart into AF, or more frequently just a very high pulse (140-180) seeing GP today to sort pain meds and will ask for something for the wind too.

[wednesday_focker]

lally

it affects almost every area of your body/life/health , i can say yes to about 90% of this list, thankfully not the heart problems, yeah its all in our heads eh ? x

[wednesday_focker]

Gypsy

yes i get wind, sometimes trapped, other times not and its embarrasing ! x

[Wales1965]

wow.. very interesting list and omg I have never put alot of those together with fibro before I have had a 'talon' nail (only on index fingers though) for years. ear ache and itchy ears. wow...

[Hidden]

I think its easier to say what I havent got, than what I have, looking back Im convinced Ive had fibro for over 30yrs

[LindseyMid]

Please, please do not use this list!

Some of these are caused by conditions that can be active alongside Fibro. Putting all symptoms down to Fibro is a BIG problem. It means many people have undiagnosed conditions that are understandably out of control. We feel very strongly that an accurate and comprehensive diagnosis is the key to getting control of symptoms for many people with Fibro.

[kraftyk8 in reply to LindseyMid]

Do you know I whizzed straight down this list of replies to find yours. Sanity!!

That list is very dangerous and gives symptoms some of which can be ascribed to almost any condition in the medical dictionary. I think the NHS choices symptoms are far more reliable to check against, if you must.

The rule is never to assume any new symptoms are related to FM, always get them checked by your GP.

[wednesday_focker]

Lindsey

i didnt mean to cause problems here!

I agree there can be other conditions causing these things, i just know for me ive had ears, libido, anxiety so many symptoms looked into thyroid etc, and they can find no cause for these symptoms, so i thought it might help people, however i didnt mean to post it to stop people seeking meidcal advice x

[LindseyMid in reply to wednesday_focker]

Don't worry about it.

What we're finding is that people aren't having things diagnosed, possibly because their doctors do not know about the specific problem. Hughes Syndrome is often misdiagnosed as all sorts of things for example. And very very few GPs have even heard of myofascial pain, let alone can diagnose it. Plus, some things cannot be tested for reliably with the tests the NHS uses - low probiotic levels or Candidasis spring to mind there.

So just because your GP can't find another cause, unfortunately it doesn't mean there isn't one.

[Hidden]

I always find its better to treat symptomatically not everything can be down to fibro check other things out first

[KatiMaiTay]

I am wondering just how many of the aknowleged symptoms listed will appear on the new Goverment ESA Assesment Form and will the actual ones that are aknowleged be assessed by a Knowlegable Proffesional Medical Team, Surely it can only be deemed as a unfair assessment if it is conducted by a general practitioning body? We as Sufferers should not be treated this way it is so unjust.

[westgate]

hi wednesday!

im going to break the mould here and say its thursday!!

Sorry - my humour deosnt get any better!! Welcome aboard! speak soon and have a glorious day!!

xx

[trisha64]

scarily 90 per cent of these symptoms ,, so why do we have to fight for disability ?? its all wrong you have the likes of the sun journo rod liddle saying hes going to sign off with an imaginary illness ,,, id love him to have this for just one wekk xxx

[Hidden]

Idnt you heard its all in our head, my last gp asked if I was depressed, well I told her not being able to walk and soiling myself wasnt a bundle of laughs

[wednesday_focker]

estgate LOLOLOL your humours fine by me, need it to get through this darn ilness i think x

[wednesday_focker]

i was told by a rhuemy i had it and its real, but its usually caused by stress of being sexually abused as a child and i had to go home and think about that !! well i thought for 30 seconds and i can tell you i wasnt, have had a stressful life in many ways but so have many people who never had fibro !

trish its true people shouldnt have to fight , its disgusting ! x

[jenglen]

well think wot u like, id say 98% of all reading this have 95% upwards of these symptons. I do think we have to be careful and not blame everything on fibro, but we do have to be realistic. The medical profession could be blamed on blaming things on fibro, for example i was sent to a&e with chest pain and shortage of breatth and alot on pain, and after a few hours of tests eg ecg, i was told by the consultant that it was fibro effection my heart and lungs cos after all they are muscles.........

[LindseyMid in reply to jenglen]

Yes, but how?

Fibro is a central processing disorder of the brain. It works centrally, not in the muscles itself. Thinking that Fibro is in the muscles is an old idea from back when it was assumed that Fibro was a rheumatological disorder.

Possibly, myofascial pain is the specific problem (often mixed up by doctors as both Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain used to have the same label as Fibrositis - we now know they are different).

Possibly costochondritis, which more people with Fibro do seem to get.

But both of these require different treatment than Fibro itself.

[retiredpharm]

"I will try to comment on this - the first comment I made dissapeared into space and I was too shattered to try again.

I had a lot of the symptoms on that list for years before the acute phase I had 14 years ago which started the quest to find a proper answer.

Previous to that my wife always knew I was having a bad day because my cheeks and jowells would swell up, very puffy. Since that acute phase my neck and shoulders have never stopped hurting and my face is permanently puffed out and swollen

[retiredpharm]

Hooray it worked !

[Hidden]

sorry to say i had never seen half the symptoms but good ness i have a lot more .. thank you x

[Oceandeep]

While it's easy to read this list and say 'Yes' to almost all of these. My biggest bug-bare and my, as always, on going fight with the health care system, is that SO much of what happens to us 'Fybro's' get's shoved under the umbrella of Fybromyalgia! It's taken me literally years ..and many doctors and specialist to make them understand, that my 'neck' issues' are not JUST my Fybro. I broke it some 17 odd years ago and now it's degenerating. A herniated disc(s) is NOT down to Fybro! I know that the neck/shoulders are trigger points..but 'some' of the pain isn't just my Fybro. So yeah, read the list..but don't let the docs and also, more importantly, don't allow yourself to be convinced that it's ALL down to fybro. I know my 'Fybro' very well. Better than any doctor really. ( as I'm the one living with the day-to-day pains etc) I intuitively 'know' when a new pain/symptom is not my Fybro. ( and no, I'm not saying that all doctors are wrong...just a battle weary Fybro person talking from my own personal experience.

[LindseyMid in reply to Oceandeep]

Good point.

Did you know that trigger points are myofascial pain though, not Fibro? That needs a different treatment. With targeted treatment, myofascial pain can be managed even if it's due to an ongoing cause you can't get rid of.

[Oceandeep in reply to LindseyMid]

Now that is interesting...yet with all the books I have on the subject and the many hours of research...they say that Fybro has trigger points...?

[kasp767982]

I was always lead to believe that Fibromyalgia was to do with how the pain reseptors in the brain are transferred to the nerves. For example if you stubbed your toe, the electrical impulses in your brain should send a pain signal to your toe, telling you it hurts. However, with Fibromyalgia there are no direct signals, somehow all the pain receptors have gotten mixed up like a ball of wool, so shooting pain here, there & everywhere.

I know that research has come a long way since I was first dianosed, so they probably understand it a bit more, of coarse we need the nerves to be working properly for our muscles to work, but somewhere along the line the brain isn't receiving or giving out the signals that it needs for the body to work properly & painlessly.

Either way, I don't think anyone should read to much into the sort of list that is posted above, I guess it's OK as a guide, but really & truelly we will all have symptoms that differ from one person to the next, to varying degrees.

My theory is, if you start to experience something out of the ordinary to you, see advice from a DR, not just a book, list or similar. It could very well be down to Fibro, but it's always worth getting checked out properly

[Babi31]

Yep I get all these not the heart ones though my heart is strong