Dear Fibromyalgia

Category: Fibromyalgia Conditions

Explore the conditions associated with Fibromyalgia, their symptoms, and how to manage them for improved well-being.

Fibromyalgia: Expectations vs reality
Back in the day. Like 20 years back in the day I had some expectations about what fibromyalgia is and then I learned the reality of what fibromyalgia is. We all have expectations of what it will be and mean for our lives in the beginning. Even before we are diagnosed since that can take 5 to 10 years. And sometimes we believe it will be horrible forever. And others, like me, believed it wouldn’t have the impact it had.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

Expectation 1

The pain and fatigue were manageable if I paced.

Reality

Pacing is damn near impossible when you are working so you end up in the Boom and Bust cycle. Overdo it, suffer for days, recover a bit, and repeat over and over and over. And pain flares sometimes for no reason. And the fatigue can be worse than the pain sometimes. Also, fibromyalgia changes over time. I felt like I had decent control over it back then because I was a student, I paced, I napped and I didn’t work. But more obligations mean, well, more pain and fatigue. Also less sleep, and waking early, which makes this all a real mess of crapola.

Expectation 2

Okay, fibromyalgia is going to affect my body and I will have limitations. Figured those limitations out the hard way. But it will never affect my mind or capacity to work, like a desk job.

Reality

So yeah a desk job does help since I tried others in University and it was a level of hell I wouldn’t willing to undertake again. You still need to change positions all the time and take walks every bit or so… or pain. But fibromyalgia has fibrofog and the research on that cognitive dysfunction suggests there are several areas impacted. Our concentration. Our working memory. Our short-term memory. Memory retrieval of things we Know. Trouble speaking words. Typos. So yeah, it affects you all right. All the time. And worse in the workplace when you are trying to concentrate and a piece of a policy literally poofed out of your brain. I had several binders for things to remind me of. So I had easy access to things I commonly forgot. And conversation issues were a constant embarrassment.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

Expectation 3

I thought this was the whole show. The pain, fatigue, and cognitive issues.

Reality

Sorry, but fibromyalgia has a number of strange to bizarre symptoms due to its effects on the central nervous system. IBS showed up. Rashes. Paresthesia. Allodynia burning skin pain. And it seems when one thing settled down something else flares up. It leads to constant doctor appointments about strange things that crop up and stick around for a bit that just end up being fibromyalgia. And it is disconcerting sometimes because you feel something else is going on.

Expectation 4

Okay, so I have fibromyalgia with all its symptoms. I need to adapt and cope. But that is all. It is just going to be this.

Reality

Oop here comes a comorbid. And then another. And another. And they will make coping far, far, far so bloody far harder to cope with.

Mine are:
- hypothyroidism
- chronic migraine
- asthma
- Nerve damage
- depression
And I have to tell you when you add that all up it was a lot harder to cope with than I initially anticipated. The depression alone took a huge toll on my capacity to cope. When that was treated I cope better. We learn all sorts of strategies that help in the end. Use what works, discard what doesn’t.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store
09/14/2022
Adolescents with fibromyalgia who are physically active report lower levels of pain and disability

Adolescents with fibromyalgia who are physically active report lower levels of pain and disability, according to findings of a multicenter study published in The Journal of Pain, published by the American Pain Society.

Led by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, this study is the first to use actigraphy-based physical activity monitoring to measure the relationship between pain, perceived functional impairment, and depressive symptoms in adolescents with juvenile primary fibromyalgia syndrome (JPFS). For the research, 104 adolescents ages 11-18 were fitted with hip-mounted actigraphs for one week. The battery-powered device measures the amount and intensity of human physical activity.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

The research objectives were to measure physical activity levels in adolescents with JPFS, examine the differences and characteristics of high and low activity subjects, and explore the impact of psychiatric disorders on physical activity. The objective activity measurements were intended to address concerns about the reliability of self-reports on the impact of pain on physical activity, and validate observations that some JPFS patients remain vigorously active while enduring significant pain.

Results showed that adolescents with JPFS did not engage in physical activities and aerobic exercise at levels recommended by their physicians. Just 23 percent of the subjects participated in 30 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical exercise, and only one adolescent engaged in 60 minutes of exercise every day. Low levels of exercise in these patients are troubling to clinicians who view exercise as a major component of improved pain management.

Another key finding was that higher pain intensity ratings were not significantly associated with lower levels of activity in the group as a whole. The authors noted that adolescents with JPFS have other symptoms that may diminish interest in physical activity, such as fatigue and impaired sleep. The authors also noted that higher pain levels in the least active group may be related to their decreased activity or vice versa.

Further, the inactive group had higher levels of depressive symptoms and functional disability, according to parent reports. However, in the small number of JPFS patients who maintained very high levels of physical exercise, the reported pain levels were lower than the inactive group, perhaps due to exercising, and their parents reported they had lower depressive symptoms and disability than inactive subjects.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

09/12/2022
Fibromyalgia Increases Pain And Fatigue For Pregnant Women

Pregnant women with fibromyalgia (FM) experience significant pain, fatigue, and psychological stress, symptoms that are often misdiagnosed or undertreated as a normal part of pregnancy, according to a pilot study by Karen M. Schaefer, D.N.Sc., R.N., assistant professor of nursing at Temple University’s College of Health Professions. Her research, the first to look at the impact of pregnancy on women with FM, was recently presented at the 2006 Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nurses’ convention in Baltimore.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition commonly found in women that causes pain in the muscles and soft tissues of the body. Many sufferers feel weak from fatigue, and the condition, at its worst, can lead to disability.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

“Until now, there was only anecdotal evidence suggesting that women with FM had a rougher time during pregnancy,” said Schaefer. “This data is the first step toward gathering hard evidence of FM effects on this group and will hopefully help us identify ways to reduce the impact of fibromyalgia during pregnancy.”

For this study, Schaefer recruited pregnant women with and without FM through an Internet announcement on a fibromyalgia Web site. Study subjects were between the ages of 29 and 31, in their third trimester, with no history of stillbirth and free of chronic illnesses other than FM.

The women were then mailed a questionnaire about fatigue, depression, pain, and ability to function. A demographic form was also used to assess the number of painful areas in the body as well as age, marital status, education, hours slept, and use of medication.

Schaefer’s results revealed that pregnant women with fibromyalgia had a hard time functioning, felt more stiff and tired, and experienced pain in more body areas than women without FM.

“Most women with FM have trouble getting this condition properly diagnosed, let alone knowing where to turn for help once their condition is identified. We need to start looking at how FM affects all areas of these women’s lives and come up with ways to provide as much comfort and support as possible,” she said.

Schaefer, whose research focuses on women with chronic illness (fibromyalgia, lupus, ovarian cancer) is currently expanding her study to include a larger group of subjects.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

09/10/2022
High rate of restless legs syndrome found in adults with fibromyalgia

A study in the Oct. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that adults with fibromyalgia had a much higher prevalence and risk of restless legs syndrome than healthy controls. The study suggests that treating RLS may improve sleep and quality of life in people with fibromyalgia.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

Results show that the prevalence of restless legs syndrome was about 10 times higher in the fibromyalgia group (33 percent) than among controls (3.1 percent). After statistical adjustments for potential confounders such as age, gender, and ethnicity, participants with fibromyalgia were 11 times more likely than controls to have RLS (odds ratio = 11.2). As expected, considerable sleep disruption was reported by participants with fibromyalgia using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Insomnia Severity Index, and Epworth Sleepiness Scale. In the fibromyalgia group, these sleep problems were more severe among people who also had RLS.

“Sleep disruption is common in fibromyalgia, and often difficult to treat,” said contributing author Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson, associate professor of neurology at the University of Washington in Seattle, Wash. “It is apparent from our study that a substantial portion of sleep disruption in fibromyalgia is due to restless legs syndrome.”

The research team led by Dr. Watson and lead author Dr. Mari Viola-Saltzman of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., studied 172 people with fibromyalgia who had a mean age of 50 years; 93 percent were female. They were compared with 63 healthy controls who had a mean age of 41 years.

Fibromyalgia was identified by self-report or review of the medical records, and it was confirmed on examination according to published guidelines regarding the presence of pain that is chronic and widespread. The pain was assessed by the subjective report and by objective measurement with a dolorimeter, a spring-loaded gauge that is used to apply standardized rates of pressure to tender points on the arms and legs.

According to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, fibromyalgia can cause significant pain and fatigue. It is estimated to affect 5 million Americans age 18 or older, and between 80 and 90 percent of those diagnosed with fibromyalgia are women. The causes of fibromyalgia remain unknown.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

Restless legs syndrome was diagnosed using a self-administered, validated questionnaire. RLS is a sleep-related movement disorder that involves an urge to move the legs that are usually accompanied or caused by uncomfortable and unpleasant sensations in the legs. This urge begins or worsens during periods of rest or inactivity, is partially or totally resolved by movement, and worsens or only occurs at night. RLS occurs 1.5 to two times more commonly in women than in men.

Watson noted that treating restless legs syndrome may be one of the keys to reducing fatigue and improving the quality of life in people with fibromyalgia. RLS often can be successfully treated with a medication such as pramipexole or ropinirole.

“Since restless legs syndrome is a treatable condition, diagnosing and treating RLS in fibromyalgia patients has the potential to improve their sleep,” Watson said.

According to the authors, the cross-sectional nature of the study did not allow for an examination of causality. However, several aspects of the two syndromes suggest a logical overlap. Both disorders involve sensory abnormalities, and similar pathophysiology of the system that regulates the neurotransmitter dopamine has been proposed for both syndromes. Furthermore, restless legs syndrome may be induced by antidepressants, which are a common treatment for pain and depression in fibromyalgia. Also, exercise has been shown to improve the symptoms of both syndromes.

The study was supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health and by the National Fibromyalgia Research Association.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

09/08/2022
Young people report worse fibromyalgia than older patients

It may seem counterintuitive, but young and middle-aged fibromyalgia patients report worse symptoms and poorer quality of life than older patients, a Mayo Clinic study shows. Fibromyalgia most often strikes women. It is characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain with fatigue, sleep, memory, and mood issues. The research, one of several Mayo studies being presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual meeting, suggests the disorder plays out differently among different age groups.

Researchers studied 978 fibromyalgia patients and divided them into three age groups: those 39 or younger, those 50 to 59, and those 60 or older. The younger and middle-aged patients were likelier to be employed, unmarried, and smokers and have a higher education level, lower body mass index, more abuse history, and a shorter duration of fibromyalgia symptoms than older patients.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

“Among the three age groups of young, middle-aged, and older, symptom severity and quality of life differ,” says senior author Terry Oh, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The study’s findings were surprising because the quality of life and physical health are considered to be negatively associated with age, Dr. Oh says.

Dr. Oh notes that women in all three groups with fibromyalgia reported a lower quality of life than average U.S. women and that the difference between their physical health and that of the average woman was more significant than mental health differences, particularly in young patients.

In other studies, Mayo researchers found:

*About 7 percent of fibromyalgia patients had inflammatory rheumatic conditions, and in general, those fibromyalgia patients didn’t do as well with treatment as those without rheumatic diseases.

*Fibromyalgia patients may also have skin-related symptoms such as excessive sweating or burning or other sensations.

*Obese patients with polymyalgia rheumatica have more pain and disability than other polymyalgia rheumatic patients. They also tend to need higher doses of glucocorticoids.

*Rheumatoid arthritis patient experiences and symptoms do not always reflect what medical literature shows when it comes to pain, morning stiffness, the relationship between swelling and damage, and what worsens or improves symptoms.

*Hospitalization is a significant risk factor for gout flares in people already diagnosed with gout.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

09/05/2022
Lady Gaga: When people doubt

I use the word ‘suffer’ not for pity, or attention, and have been disappointed to see people online suggest that I’m being dramatic, making this up, or playing the victim to get out of touring. If you knew me, you would know this couldn’t be further from the truth

It isn’t at all surprising to me that people have suggested to Lady Gaga that she is being dramatic, making her pain up, or playing the victim.

Everyone with chronic pain has faced this exact same sort of stigma before. It is pervasive with fibromyalgia.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

I want to say ‘Try it on for size, see how it fits. Hell, give it a decade or two and come back to me. Tell me how it feels.’ But I wouldn’t want anyone to endure this pain. Not ever. But it seems chronic pain is a member’s only club. The true depth of the experience is extremely hard to explain to people. And there will be those that doubt it is a valid experience. That you are in as much pain as you say. That you are in pain at all. That, surely, you exaggerate it.

You see, the main lesson we learn early on in coping is to try and function with pain and the fatigue of fibromyalgia. Generally, we learn this the hard way. We push through the pain. We do not pace. We do not pay attention to our limits. We want to keep our lives as IS. So we push through it. So perhaps the impact isn’t seen by the outside observer yet. This causes a great deal more pain. So we begin to seek some sort of resolution.

But there isn’t any resolution. So we seek some sort of reduction. But there aren’t any easy answers there. But meanwhile, we are still pushing through the pain. And this stress builds and builds until we cannot do that anymore. Generally, a lot of us learn the hard way we have to pace. We have to slow down. We have to pay attention to those newly imposed limitations.

I learned this twice. Because that is how I roll.

Nevertheless, the impact is seen in our lives then. People do not see the chiropractor, acupuncture, or massage therapy appointments. Doctor appointments and specialist appointments. Diets. Supplements. Exercise. And every other thing we try and do. But when it begins to start to cancel plans and affect work… they begin to notice.

You are always canceling plans

How is it you did that one day, but couldn’t the next? You are just lazy. You are just exaggerating the pain.

You just don’t want to work.

The judgments begin. All the while you feel guilty for not being who you Were. And struggle to maintain the semblance of a life you had. May be struggling to hold onto your career, working in general or dealing with the sudden loss of work. Not being able to work is something that is difficult to deal with financially, in regards to self-worth and guilt wise. All this takes adjustments. And people Judge.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

What they have no comprehension of is the level of pain, fatigue, poor concentration and other symptoms of illness one has to endure and try to function with on a daily basis. When you are developing a treatment plan, it can be pretty much impossible to function. Unmanaged pain is extremely difficult to cope with. And it may never be managed well.

That is the thing with chronic pain. Not everyone’s pain can be managed to a level they can function well enough to work or do the sort of things society expects of them. Some people can have moderately managed pain and they can function at a better capacity some of the time. And there are those with well-managed pain. But it is still pain. It is still very difficult to deal with. There are still very bad days, moderate days and then there are good days. It is very unpredictable.

Oddly enough they think we exaggerate when we also learn to mask the pain in order to function in society as we do. We are rather stoic given the level of pain we are in. We have exceptional pain tolerances we develop from dealing with it all the time. We have ‘baseline’ pain that we find ‘normal’ or ‘good days’ and I will guarantee the average person wouldn’t find that ‘normal’ at all.

And we have moderate pain that even Then we are still going at it… but not doing Quite as well. And we have brutal pain that would have the average person in the ER, and certainly, it is the sort that causes us to be non-functional. So do not judge us for non-functional days. Not to mention there are decades of worse pain sometimes. Times when pain management isn’t working. And it is relentless then. But we get through it.

I think it is a great thing that Lady Gaga is out there sharing the truth about chronic pain and fibromyalgia. But with that truth comes the very true fact of the stigma we all experience. It is a great thing she is pointing it out as well. When your pain isn’t managed it will manage you, and you need to take the time to deal with it. She has no one to answer to for that. Most people will completely understand that. Those that don’t are the ones that we all deal with in our lives and why awareness is so very important in the first place.

But I will say this:

Just because you cannot see my pain doesn’t mean I have to validate its existence to you. Believe it. Or don’t. I don’t care. I still have to live and cope with it whether you do or don’t. What it does mean is that if you don’t… you will not be a person I will value in my life. If you do not believe in a fundamental experience that defines my existence and how I live in this world, then I have very little use for you.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

09/04/2022
Recent treatment recommendations for Fibromyalgia

Recent talks at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting looked at overall treatment protocols we should see.

The two presentations:

Daniel J. Clauw, MD, a rheumatologist and professor of anesthesiology and medicine, and director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at the University of Michigan focused on the nature of pain experienced by patients with fibromyalgia and how clinicians can treat it. Carmen E Gota, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, stressed the importance of exercise and tailored patient care.

Clauw looked at three areas of pain, centralized pain, peripheral pain, and peripheral neuropathic pain. He states opiates are limited. “’ The body’s natural opioid production system may be impacted in fibromyalgia, so giving them opioids could be fueling the fire,’”

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

I have written articles about how opiates tend not to be our best choice, two being Fibromyalgia and Opiates for pain: Helpful or hindering?, Opiates and fibromyalgia– a treatment for severe pain but the brain works against us so there is some suggestion that opiates and FM might not get along.

Instead, he recommends tricyclic compounds, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, and gabapentinoids for centralized pain.

Gota’s talk, on the other hand, looked at non-medication treatments such as exercise.

“In 2010, about 80% of patients were taking analgesic drugs and 52% were taking central acting drugs,” she said. “Over time, we have seen increasing use of [central nervous system] CNS drugs. However, despite the increasing use of centrally acting drugs, we do not see a decrease in the use of analgesics.”

Her recommendations are a strong emphasis on exercise but also CBT; Physical therapy, acupuncture or hydrotherapy for example; and meditation. Exercise has the most consistent impact.

This is one study I posted on Fibromyalgia and exercise

Both Clauw and Gota stress patient management over and above trying to categorize the patient into a diseased state.

“It is important to know your patient because that will determine how you are going to treat your patient,” she added. “Establish a network of collaborators who will help treat your patient, including primary care providers, physical therapists, psychologists or psychiatrists, and sleep, and medical experts.”

And this is… nothing new at all. They have been saying this for years now. Exercise. No opiates. Same old same old, but they seem to be suggestive of comprehensive treatment options to replace the lack of opiates. Medication, psychologists, sleep experts, physio, and so forth. A comprehensive method is indeed needed. And they are right that symptoms need to be attacked and modified where modifications can be done.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

09/02/2022
Long-term study on fibromyalgia severity
I came across an interesting long-term study in Finland on Fibromyalgia spanning 26 years published in the journal of Clinical Rheumatology. The severity of symptoms persists for decades in a fibromyalgia-a 26-year follow-up study.

There has been this sort of rumor that fibromyalgia improves with the time that I have heard several times and so this study is interesting. Also, there is the question of whether we can go into remission or not. Either way, we all want to know what FM will be like in the future. We know it isn’t progressive but we worry it will worsen with age.

It started with 56 patients in 1986 who were given a base questionnaire. 42 of these fulfilled the criteria for FM at that time.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

Then 26 later 36 of the patients were located again. and 28 of these filled out another questionnaire. So we are looking basically at the study of these 28 individuals. Nine of the questions on the new questionnaire were identical to the old one, including questions on the quality of life and changes in symptoms.
- Three individuals (11%) had recovered from fibromyalgia. (this is a fascinating number here. Makes you want to dig a little into the reasons for their recovery.)
- 23% reported the remission we hear about, having had one or several symptomless periods lasting at least 1 year. This does suggest that remission is indeed possible.
- In others (n=25), all symptoms aside from pain showed a slight deterioration. So we might see a slight slide in symptoms.
- Despite aging and the FM, functional levels remained the same over time. This is a key one. Functionality, despite aging, remained consistent.
- The actual amount of symptoms reported didn’t change much (10.8 (SD 2.9) vs. 11.1 (SD 4.1), p = 0.75). Symptom changes can lead to a lot of problems, but it looks like over time we do not change overly in them.
- Insomnia showed the most significant increase. I wouldn’t say this is much of a surprise since it is a difficult one to manage.
- Exercise didn’t have a significant influence on the changes in the measured parameters. But the 3 recovered individuals did an exercise on a regular basis. And they speculate since 21 of 24 (who answered the question on exercise) did exercise it might be why functionality was consistent over time. Most of the participants did exercise and this could be then a key to treatment and functionality. A study of those who do not compare to those who do long-term would be interesting.
Symptoms of FM have persisted in most patients for decades without significant deterioration of self-reported functional ability. About one-fourth of patients had experienced long symptomless periods during their illness. Three patients (11%) reported that they have healed from FM. study

We can conclude in the long-term symptoms will remain but there can be extended periods of remission. And that perhaps exercise helps us maintain our current level of functionality over time. This is a positive study for long-term outlook really. At the very least it says things remain consistent over time, not worse.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store
09/01/2022
Fibromyalgia and sensitivity to non-painful stimuli

Fibromyalgia is a chronic syndrome defined by widespread muscle pain, fatigue, sleep dysfunction, and cognitive dysfunction. Fibromyalgia pain dysfunction involves increased sensitivity to pain known as hyperalgesia for example.

But we all feel hypersensitive to another stimulus as well. And many of us mention things like sound sensitivity and light sensitivity. Well, there was a 2014 study that demonstrated we are indeed sensitive to this as well but because it was an fMRI study it was small. Still, it was interesting to me.

A recent study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) shows that people with fibromyalgia have hypersensitivity even if events are non-painful based on Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) imaging of the brain. Brain imaging reveals reduced activation in primary sensory regions and increased activation in sensory integration regions.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

These responses to non-painful stimuli may be the cause of problems with tactile, visual, and auditory stimulation. Patients often do report reduced tolerance to environmental and sensory stimuli in addition to the pain.

The small study included 35 women with fibromyalgia and 25 controls. Patients had an average disease duration of seven years and a mean age of 47. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to analyze the brain’s response to visual, tactile-motor, and auditory stimulation. Patients reported increased subjective sensitivity or unpleasantness in response to this multisensory stimulation in daily life.

The results of the fMRI showed patients had reduced “task-evoked activation in primary/secondary visual and auditory areas and augmented responses in the insula and anterior lingual gyrus. Reduced responses in visual and auditory areas were correlated with subjective sensory hyper-sensitivity and clinical severity measures.”

The study concluded there was a strong “attenuation of brain responses to non-painful events in early sensory cortices, accompanied by an amplified response at later stages of sensory integration in the insula,” and these abnormalities are associated with the main FM symptoms suggesting this maybe be linked to the pathology of the syndrome.

Dr. Marina López-Solà from the University of Colorado Boulder stated, “Our study provides new evidence that fibromyalgia patients display altered central processing in response to multisensory stimulation, which is linked to core fibromyalgia symptoms and may be part of the disease pathology. The finding of reduced cortical activation in the visual and auditory brain areas that were associated with patient pain complaints may offer novel targets for neurostimulation treatments in fibromyalgia patients.”

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

08/30/2022
Sleep and fibromyalgia are not friends

So there are a lot of issues with sleep and fibromyalgia. I also have other chronic pain and vertigo, but seriously since I was young sleep and I have not been on speaking terms.

Yes, this is how I look when I sleep. Child-like and innocent and buried in glitter.

Here are some of the random things you can look forward to with fibromyalgia and sleep:

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

The ouchie, the flip, and the flop

People will ask from time to time, what is your favorite sleeping position. And I am like, well, I go for all of them several times a night and see whichever I finally pass out from sheer exhaustion. Because it hurts. It just hurts in one position fairly quickly. So flip. And then that hurts. On stomach, then… well you get the point.

What sort of hypnic jerk from hell was that?

So hypnic jerks occur in twilight sleep. So just sort of hovering on the cusp before actual sleep. A state which actually can cause a lot of funky things. But hypnic jerks are just annoying as all hell. You Finally get almost to sleep after Hours and then your leg spasms like a dog when running in its sleep. But with fibromyalgia look forward to your entire body spasming. Yeah, that will wake ya.

Did I actually sleep?

So we have non-restorative sleep. So 4 hours or 10 hours and you actually do not feel refreshed. At all. Like you never slept at all. And trust me, when I can, I will sleep in to ‘catch up on sleep. Yet, I do not feel any better doing that. I still feel like it wasn’t enough… except there tends to be more pain with more sleep, because I was in one position for too long.

More not-sleeping than actual sleeping

Without medication, it can take me 2 to 4 hours to fall asleep. And then I wake up repeatedly. Over and over. The night actually passes slowly. I have literally no concept of this deep sleep all night and waking up like no time had passed. I strongly envy my spouse for this quality of a perfectly normal sleep life. On the other hand, he cannot remember his dreams. Whereas I certainly do. With frequent wakings, you tend to remember a lot of dreams.

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

And now I am stuck in my body but also weirdly alert

Yeah, sleep paralysis. With fibromyalgia, it can be an insane struggle to sleep. I actually get severely sleep-deprived without medication to help me. I have actually had nocturnal, Bizzaro seizure-like events when I was severely sleep-deprived which led to me being put back on my sleeping pill. But what usually happens is sleep paralysis. A lot of sleep paralysis.

As in several times in one night. I just get ‘stuck’ in my body, because the brain has shut down movement, as it should, but you are ‘aware’ like you shouldn’t be. Now, this can come with hallucinations, because technically you are not awake. So sort of dream-like things can happen while being aware of being stuck. I often get the feeling some Thing is staring at me.

Sometimes I get the feeling someone is hugging me, tightly, and when I become aware in some way that this is not my spouse I freak out and try to wake myself up, but getting ‘unstuck’ is tricky. And then when I do wake myself up, as soon as I go back to sleep it happens again. I actually have to get up, do something, then go back to bed and try again.

Yeah I do not snore

So sleep apnea is a real issue with fibromyalgia and that is something we definitely need to pay attention to. But I do not snore. Really. I’m serious. I may have woken myself up to the suspicious sound of someone snoring, which wasn’t my spouse, but I deny all knowledge of that person being me. I actually did have a sleep study done and I do not have sleep apnea, but this is good to determine, I do though have asthma and allergies which could -in pure theory- cause someone to snore. But not me.

And this does not feel right at all

So we can also sometimes have comorbid restless leg syndrome. And I do not have that. But I have had times with restless body syndrome. Sort of this agonizing since you have to move because there is this powerful, intense, Sensation when you don’t. I have no idea if that is what restless leg syndrome feels like. I sometimes get this in my legs, or my arms, or literally my whole body. But if that is what it feels like, at least it isn’t frequent. But it is intense. And it is near impossible to get to sleep like that.

https://www.teepublic.com/stores/fibromyalgia-store

Click Here to Visit the Store and find Much More….

For More Information Related to Fibromyalgia Visit below sites:

References:

Fibromyalgia Contact Us Directly

Click here to Contact us Directly on Inbox

Official Fibromyalgia Blogs

Click here to Get the latest Chronic illness Updates

Fibromyalgia Stores

Click here to Visit Fibromyalgia Store

08/29/2022