Recently I was looking at my social media accounts I came across accounts that I had chosen to hide either my content from. As I looked down the list I realized that many of those people were people that I knew for a significant amount of time in my life.
Most were people I had either worked with somewhere along the line since Nursing School Graduation, or I went to high school or college with. These were people who were a significant part of my life at one point or another. Not people who were trolls or people from my past that I didn’t want to think about again.
But as I sat and thought about it I couldn’t find a reason that any of them would have been on the hidden list. The more I thought about it I came to the realization that I must have hidden my posts because I didn’t want them to see my life or my journey.
But why? I spent a LOT of time thinking about this the next couple of days and the more I thought about it I realized that I had done it because I was embarrassed by what my life had become.
The people who knew me 10 or 15 years ago probably don’t know that I am no longer working in my chosen field. That my marriage didn’t work out, that is a whole story for a different day. Or that I am not living my best life with kids, a husband, and my dream job.
While I know most people are living their exact ideal life. Sometimes I still struggle with the path my life has taken. I know there are always going to be things that we want to change. But my life is FAR from what I ever imagined.
That being said, this is NO REASON to be embarrassed though. The things that have made such a change were nothing I did. Or bad decisions I made, for the most part anyway. A person can’t change their genetics. Or honestly in many cases like mine the hand they were dealt. So, what? I may not be at a patient’s bedside twelve hours a day.
Or working to teach future nurses. But I am still making a difference. I may not be calling Drs or drawing blood. But I am still touching people’s lives. Is it the way that I planned? Hell NO! But I have adjusted and found ways to share my knowledge and provide support in other ways.
Disability has a way of changing a person and their outlook on life. The things that once seemed so important no longer rank in the top five of the things we worry about. That isn’t a bad thing though. The version of me that was once embarrassed to let people from my past knew the person who I have become doesn’t exist anymore.
That person has learned to hold her head up high and be proud of the things she has accomplished. To be proud of the life she has built despite the truly crappy hand she has been dealt. In the end, it really doesn’t matter what any of those people think of me. Whether they knew the person I once was or the person that I am now. The only thing that really matters is how I feel about myself.
That is what should matter the most to all of us. The opinion of the eyes looking out. Not the eyes looking in. Paths change and so do people, and that’s okay. But we never should be ashamed or embarrassed about the person we became because of an illness.
Fibromyalgia takes so much away, but it shouldn’t take that. It changes our paths, our hopes, and our dreams. It changes how we look at life as a whole. But it should never change the way we look at ourselves. We all deserve to hold our heads up HIGH and be proud of the badass WARRIORS we have become.
Fibromyalgia a disorder that causes widespread chronic pain and tenderness affects 2 to 4 percent of women and men in the United States (women ages 20 to 50 are the most affected) and impacts patients in many different ways.
Thus, fibromyalgia remains mysterious, and questions still linger like why are more women affected by fibromyalgia than men? And why is fibromyalgia so hard to diagnose and treat? Why do some patients with fibromyalgia have more back pain than others?
“What causes fibromyalgia has puzzled many scientists for a long time,” says Elena Schiopu, MD, a rheumatologist and internist at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor. While the exact cause of fibromyalgia isn’t certain, doctors do know that the disorder can be triggered by an injury, surgery, infection, psychological trauma (like an extremely stressful period), or even just from an accumulation of symptoms that lead to the eventual classification of fibromyalgia.
The reason for the heightened pain? Fibromyalgia may affect the way your brain interprets pain signals. “Fibromyalgia is basically a miscommunication between the central, peripheral, and autonomic [vegetative] nervous system, which results in abnormal or amplified sensations,” says Dr. Schiopu. This is known as central pain sensitization. It causes your nervous system to become “wound up” and in a constant state of hyperactivity, which creates a lower threshold for experiencing pain.
When you poke someone without fibromyalgia, for example, it might be no big deal, but for someone with fibro, that same level of touch can cause significant pain or discomfort.
Unlike arthritis, in which pain occurs in specific joints, the pain that fibro patients experience is more in the muscles. It’s widespread pain, which means you feel pain all over your body. According to the latest diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia, patients must experience pain in four out of five general regions of the body. These include left upper, right upper, left lower, right lower, and low back.
People with fibromyalgia may experience long-term back pain along with a number of other symptoms. “Back pain that’s patient-reported and physician-observed — called paraspinal lumbar tenderness — is very common,” says Dr. Schiopu. “All the areas of the body that are being ‘used’ on a regular basis could hurt, like your hands, neck, or upper or lower back.”
“The back is a common area to have pain in fibromyalgia because muscles, in general, are often painful in fibromyalgia, and the human back has a large number of muscle fibers to support posture,” says Amanda Sammut, MD, a rheumatologist and assistant clinical professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.
Also, says Dr. Schiopu, patients with fibromyalgia could have a degree of wear-and-tear arthritis of the lumbar spine, which is amplified by fibro. In fact, it’s common to have fibro at the same time as other diseases, such as inflammatory arthritis or osteoarthritis.
Lower back pain is an extremely common medical complaint — some 80 percent of Americans experience it at some point in their lives. So, if you have lower back pain, how do you know if it could be from fibromyalgia or something else?
The answer is complicated. If you’re experiencing back pain as well as other symptoms, it’s possible you could have a different health problem entirely — or a health problem plus fibromyalgia at the same time.
Misdiagnoses are common with fibromyalgia — both in terms of not being diagnosed with fibro when you really have it, or in terms of being diagnosed with fibro when you actually have a different health problem.
“Fibromyalgia is technically an exclusion diagnosis,” says Dr. Schiopu. This means you shouldn’t be diagnosed with fibromyalgia until a doctor has fully ruled out the possibility of having other diseases.
That’s why a thorough visit with a rheumatologist is critical. If you’ve already been diagnosed with fibromyalgia but find that your current treatment plan isn’t helping your back pain, you could have a different or additional diagnosis, such as one of the following:
Maybe you lifted a heavy box, strained to reach something in a high cabinet, or picked up your child or grandchild, which could have triggered a back muscle strain. A sudden movement can cause a strain, as well as constant use of your back (like doing repetitive motions), especially if you’re not in good physical shape.
If you have lower back pain as well as pain in other places — say, your knees, jaw, neck, or shoulders — it could be from the widespread aches of fibromyalgia, or it could be another condition you may not be familiar with: axial spondyloarthritis (AxSpA), which is an inflammatory type of arthritis in your spine and the area where your spine meets the pelvis (sacroiliac joints). Back pain is a primary symptom of AxSpA, though it can also affect other joints and areas around your body.
AxSpA is often divided into two categories. Radiographic AxSpA (which is often called ankylosing spondylitis), means that evidence of joint damage is visible on X-rays. Non-radiographic AxSpA (nr-AxSpA) is essentially the same condition, but without joint damage is visible on X-rays.
Fibromyalgia and axial spondyloarthritis are caused by very different things (AxSpA is inflammatory and due to an overactive immune system that’s attacking the joints) and thus have very different treatments. It’s important to get the right diagnosis so you can get on the right treatment and start feeling better.
You may have never realized it, but your spine could curve to the side, a condition known as scoliosis. The physical changes of scoliosis often start in childhood but the condition might not start causing back pain until middle age.
The cushiony discs between your vertebrae may bulge or rupture, which can then put pressure on a nerve in your spine. While some people may not feel any pain when this happens, others may find it excruciating.
A frustrating part about aging: The vertebrae in your spine may develop compression fractures if your bones become too brittle (a condition known as osteoporosis). These fractures can then lead to back pain.
While you may experience back pain if you have fibromyalgia if you’re experiencing back pain alone, and not other fibromyalgia symptoms, then your pain is likely, not due to fibromyalgia, says Dr. Schiopu.
In addition to pain, sleep problems are a big part of patients’ experience with fibromyalgia. Even if fibro patients sleep for hours, they still may wake up feeling unrefreshed. That could be due to pain waking people up at night, or they may experience other sleep issues, like restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea. This troubled sleep, in turn, can contribute to debilitating daytime fatigue.
Many patients with fibromyalgia complain of fibro fog, in which people feel like they can’t concentrate, hold conversations, or even remember certain things, like plans or where they placed objects. One reason for the fibro fog could be a lack of sleep. Another explanation is that there is potentially something happening in the brain that’s unique to people with fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia often co-exists with other ailments, like irritable bowel syndrome, migraine, interstitial cystitis (a painful bladder syndrome), and TMJ (a jaw disorder). “That’s all followed by a slew of hypersensitivity to cold, light, noises, smells,” adds Dr. Schiopu. Thus, it can seem like fibromyalgia patients have a laundry list of health woes, which can be incredibly frustrating.
Experiencing Fibro fog can make you feel like you’re lost in a maze. You might feel confused, alone, frustrated, disoriented, bewildered, unclear, and adrift. Fibro fog can also affect your emotional well-being. Being unable to think clearly may make you feel powerless, irritable, and downcast.
Constantly feeling this way can put a damper on your mental health. Having a mental illness can trigger Fibro fog, as can other conditions. Understanding Fibro fog, its causes, and how it relates to mental illness can help you better understand the relationship between Fibro health, mental capacity, and emotional well-being.
Fibro fog isn’t a specific medical condition. Instead, Fibro fog is an “extremely common term used to describe changes that have occurred in the Fibro function over a period of time,” Dr. Christopher Calapai explained. “A decrease in focus, concentration, memory, alertness and word retrieval are all part of the description of ‘Fibro fog.’” Basically, Fibro fog happens when your Fibro doesn’t serve you as well as it can.
Also known as “mental fatigue,” Fibro fog is a symptom of cognitive dysfunction. The type of cognitive decline caused by Fibro fog can vary from person to person, but typically, Fibro fog causes one or more of the following challenges:
Despite what you may think, there isn’t a connection between Fibro fog and age. Teens, adolescents, and young adults can experience Fibro fog while healthy elderly adults can have strong cognitive ability and sharp thinking. When your Fibro is healthy, you can age with your cognitive functionality intact. Even though the Fibro does age, well-nourished Fibro’s can avoid most signs of cognitive decline. Malnourished Fibro’s, on the other hand, experience mental fatigue.
The causes of Fibro fog can be as diverse as the symptoms. But luckily, many of the causes of Fibro fog can be reduced with lifestyle changes, medication, or professional counseling.
Some of the most common causes of Fibro fog include:
Sleep deprivation. When you don’t get enough sleep, you may feel a little bewildered and have trouble concentrating. Poor sleep can also make the Fibro tired, which can make thinking clearly difficult.
Stress. Like poor quality sleep, prolonged stress can also exhaust the Fibro. When your mind is tired, thinking, reasoning, and focusing become difficult. Additionally, chronic stress can increase blood pressure, weaken your immune system, and trigger depression.
Hormonal changes. Hormonal changes can have a significant impact on your memory and ability to think clearly. When estrogen and progesterone increase during pregnancy, many women experience “pregnancy Fibro,” which can make remembering details, focusing on tasks, and concentrating hard to do. Menopause, which causes estrogen levels to drop, can also cause forgetfulness, poor concentration, and cloudy thinking.
Diet. The Fibro needs energy, proper nutrition, iron, and vitamin B-12 to function optimally. A poor diet and low B-12 levels can cause memory loss and hazy thoughts.
Physical inactivity. The Fibro and body work together. When your physical activity slows, activity in the Fibro also slows, which can lead to symptoms associated with Fibro fog.
Medication and certain medical conditions. Occasionally, medication can cause Fibro fog as a side effect. If you suspect this, talk with your doctor. They may be able to lower your dosage or switch out your medication. Medical conditions that cause inflammation, fatigue, or changes in blood glucose levels can also cause mental fatigue. Some of these conditions include anemia, depression, fibromyalgia, diabetes, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, migraines, arthritis, hypothyroidism, and diabetes.
How you feel and think are intricately connected to the health of your Fibro. As such, mental illness can increase your risk of Fibro fog. Similarly, living with cloudy thoughts and an inability to focus and concentrate can also increase your risk of depression, anxiety, mood disorders, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and other mental health conditions. Scientists continue to study the links between Fibro fog and mental illness, but they have discovered that:
By definition, mental illness is any condition that affects your mood, thinking, and behavior. One of the main symptoms of Fibro fog is an inability to think clearly. As mental health conditions develop, Fibro function changes. These changes prevent the Fibro from working as well as it should, which often leads to Fibro fog. In fact, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, PTSD, and schizophrenia can affect the brain in ways that lead to Fibro fog.
Mental illness and Fibro fog can be triggered by some of the same causes: lack of sleep, poor diet, unregulated stress, and hormonal and biochemical imbalances. Some scientists believe these similar causes may demonstrate a link between Fibro fog and mental illness.
Fibro inflammation is a common thread in both mental illness and Fibro fog. In most cases, Fibro states that produce mental illness also tend to activate inflammation. Likewise, inflammatory responses in the Fibro can cause depression, anxiety, fatigue, and social withdrawal. Ironically, the same inflammatory responses typically manifest in the Fibro as Fibro fog. Inflammation in the Fibro hinders the production of neurons, making neural communication difficult. This is what causes the Fibro to slow down which triggers forgetfulness, lack of concentration, and dull thinking.
Here at Stoneridge Centers, we believe that healthy Fibro’s help us live thriving, healthy lives. Our comprehensive treatment plans can help restore your fibro brain to health. Let us help you get there. Contact us today if you’re ready to overcome Fibro fog and live a healthy, happy, thriving, and purpose-filled life.
“Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Objective Medical Evidence Requirements …” was the subject of a memorandum from Social Security Deputy Commissioner, Susan M. Daniels, Ph. D., (“the Deputy Commissioner”) to a Social Security administrative law judge (ALJ) in May 1998. This memo has been widely circulated.
The memo was in response to memoranda from the ALJ to the Deputy Commissioner, to an appeal judge, and to the general counsel for Social Security. The ALJ asserted that fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) are not “medically determinable impairments” under the Social Security Act and urged the Social Security Administration (SSA) to take a definitive position on this question.
The Deputy Commissioner responded that SSA had taken a position: that fibromyalgia and CFS can be medically determinable impairments under the statute.
She explained that a specific diagnosis is not necessary to prove a medically determinable impairment, especially where the medical community has not yet agreed on the diagnostic criteria. If there are anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities that can be objectively observed and reported apart from the claimant’s perceptions, a medically determinable impairment is shown even in the absence of a definitive diagnosis.
The “signs and the findings” required to prove the disability may include symptoms when appropriately reported by a physician or psychologist in a clinical setting.
CFS is “clinically evaluated, persistent or relapsing chronic fatigue that is of new or definite onset which cannot be explained by another diagnosed physical or mental disorder, or by the result of ongoing exertion” and which “is not substantially alleviated by rest and results in a substantial reduction in previous levels of occupational, educational, social, or personal activities.” It is a systemic disorder whose symptoms and signs may vary in incidence, duration, and severity.
Records reflecting ongoing medical assessment and treatment are needed to document objective physical and/or mental findings. SSA will recognize a medically determinable impairment if the records for at least six consecutive months show one or more of the following:
muscle wasting with no other direct cause identified.
While there are no specific laboratory findings that definitively document the presence of CFS, findings indicating chronic immune system activation, such as slight elevations in immune complexes, depressed natural killer cell activity, or atypical lymphocytes, may also be included in the evidentiary record of individuals alleging CFS.
Some CFS sufferers report problems with short-term memory, comprehension, concentration, speech, and/or calculation. Others may exhibit signs of mental or emotional disorders such as anxiety or depression. When documented by mental status examination and/or psychological testing, these findings mark the presence of a medically determinable impairment.
So, when your patient reports disabling fatigue, your thorough examination – at least looking for the signs noted above, scheduling follow-up visits to monitor persistence, referral (as needed), and comprehensive chart notes on your observations, even if a definitive diagnosis is not possible, will provide the medical documentation needed should this condition become so impairing as to force your patient to apply for Social Security disability benefits.
Your documentation is critical since symptoms alone cannot be the basis for finding a medically determinable impairment, which is necessary to prove disability under Social Security law.
The SSA recognizes fibromyalgia as medically determined if the tender points identified by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) are documented.
The ACR defines fibromyalgia as “widespread pain in all four quadrants of the body for a minimum duration of 3 months … in at least 11 of the 18 specified tender points which cluster around the neck and shoulder, chest, hip, knee, and elbow regions.”
Other typical symptoms which may help prove fibromyalgia if clinically documented over time are irritable bowel syndrome, chronic headaches, temporomandibular joint dysfunction, sleep disorder, severe fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction.
The Deputy Commissioner acknowledged that policies concerning the adjudication of claims involving impairments like fibromyalgia and CFS needed to be better explained and that policy guidelines were being drafted for that purpose.
We have noticed that fibromyalgia has been the subject of increasing numbers of articles in medical journals in recent years, including several by Robert M. Bennett, M.D., F.R.C.P., Professor of Medicine and Chairman, Division of Arthritis, and Rheumatic Diseases, Oregon Health Sciences University.
Recently, a victim of CFS represented by our office had to appeal her Social Security claim all the way to the Federal District Court. There, the Federal judge not only ordered that she be declared disabled and awarded benefits but also penalized the Commissioner of Social Security for unreasonably denying her claim. Our client’s medical record included the types of documentation described in the Deputy Commissioner’s memo.
The absence of definitive diagnostic criteria and the absence of the usual objective and observable findings make these conditions difficult and frustrating for physicians to identify. However, Social Security will evaluate these on an individual basis. Severe cases of fibromyalgia and CFS cannot just be rejected solely for lack of traditional objective findings.
We hope you find this summary useful as you record your observations, so your patients who qualify for Social Security disability may present the necessary medical documentation. The case study belongs to Social Security Disability Lawyer Articles.
Len Chung, MD Associate Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the UCLA/CURE Neuroenteric Disease Program, Director of the UCLA Motility Unit Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a very common gastrointestinal condition, which is present in 8- 20% of the general population.
Several population-based studies have demonstrated IBS symptoms to be more common in women, with prevalence ratios ranging from 2 to 3:1. It has been estimated to affect 14-24% of women and 5-19% of men. The classic gastrointestinal symptoms of IBS are chronic or recurrent abdominal pain and/or discomfort and associated alterations in bowel habits.
However, many individuals with IBS also suffer from non-gastrointestinal symptoms. Rheumatologic symptoms, such as skin rashes, muscle contraction headache, and myalgias, have been reported in two-thirds of IBS patients. Previous studies have found that IBS typically overlaps with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) in the same patient, suggesting a common cause.
FM occurs in up to 60% of patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Up to 70% of patients with a diagnosis of FM have symptoms of IBS. FM belongs to a general class of chronic musculoskeletal pain syndromes. It is a common pain disorder in which the presence of multiple muscular tender points is associated with characteristic symptoms of generalized muscle aching, stiffness, fatigue, and an abnormal sleep pattern.
Following osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, FM is the most common disorder seen in community rheumatologic practice. In rheumatology clinics, the proportion of new patients with FM syndrome ranges from 10% to 20%, while in non-specialized settings, the reported prevalence is less, 2.1% to 5.7%. FM affects 2% for both sexes, 3.4% for women and 0.5% for men.
The diagnosis of FM is presently defined by criteria, which consists of widespread pain and the presence of painful tender points established by the American College of Rheumatology in 1990. Although IBS is a chronic gastrointestinal pain condition and FM is a chronic muscular pain disorder, IBS and FM have common clinical characteristics:
both are functional pain disorders which cannot be explained by structural or biochemical abnormalities,
both occur predominantly in women,
the majority of patients associate stressful life events with the onset or exacerbation of symptoms,
the majority of patients complain of disturbed sleep and fatigue,
psychotherapy and behavioral therapies are efficacious in treating symptoms,
certain medications can treat symptoms of both conditions.
It has been suggested that IBS and FM have a common cause and that specific physiologic alterations may be responsible for the symptoms seen in these two conditions. While IBS is a condition characterized by visceral (intestinal) hypersensitivity, FM is a condition of somatic (skin and muscle) hypersensitivity.
There have been several studies, which have shown that IBS patients have normal or decreased somatic sensitivity. We have recently completed somatic perception studies in female patients with IBS alone, both IBS + FM, and healthy individuals.
The response to pressure that was placed on particular muscle tender points was measured. Like FM patients, patients with IBS + FM demonstrate somatic hyperalgesia (increased somatic pain sensation). However, patients with IBS alone have somatic hypoalgesia (decreased somatic pain sensation).
This study demonstrates that while IBS patients have increased sensitivity to visceral pain, they are less sensitive to somatic pain. Only a couple of studies have evaluated visceral sensation in FM patients using a balloon catheter placed in the rectum and lower large intestine (colon).
The balloon catheter is connected to a computerized pump which inflates the balloon and thus reaches specific pressure levels in the bowel. The patient’s sensations in response to the balloon inflation can be measured. These studies have reported that patients with FM with or without IBS have visceral perception in between that of healthy controls and IBS patients.
These data suggest that IBS has altered perceptual responses to visceral and somatic pain/discomfort and the coexistence of FM alters these perceptual responses. Recent studies using brain-imaging techniques have found alterations in how the brain processes visceral information in IBS.
To determine if similar altered responses to visceral and somatic pain information occur in patients with IBS and FM, we have compared the brain responses to visceral and somatic stimuli in patients with IBS alone, IBS + FM, and healthy individuals. Brain responses are assessed by positron emission tomography (PET), which can measure blood flow to brain areas in response to a particular stimulus.
Results have shown that patients with both IBS and FM have greater brain responses in areas that are involved in pain, memory retrieval of past painful experiences, and increased attention or awareness to a stimulus than the other subject groups. Recent functional brain imaging studies have suggested that alterations in the processing of sensations by the brain play an important role in IBS and FM.
In summary, clinical characteristics and significant overlap of symptoms suggest that the functional syndromes IBS and FM may have a common etiology. Visceral and somatic perception studies and brain imaging have demonstrated that each of these conditions has specific responses to painful stimuli and that patients with both IBS and FM may have responses to somatic and visceral stimuli that are uniquely different from that of IBS alone and FM alone.
Further studies are being performed in these common conditions to further our understanding of chronic visceral and somatic pain conditions and lead to more effective treatment.
Wrist Stuck is a condition that typically involves fibromyalgia pain. This fibro wrist stuck diagnosis can have many different manifestations. The fibromyalgia wrist stuck is generally considered to be centered around a heightened sensitivity of the veins system stuck, especially in the arm pain. Many people with fibromyalgia experience multiple wrist symptoms including:
While the cause of wrist stuck in fibromyalgia is not yet fully understood, many theories about the condition include its onset being triggered by different stressors. These triggers may include mental stress, having weight lifting causes, and other general medical health problems.
The main symptom leading to a diagnosis of fibromyalgia wrist stuck is damaged veins pain. While all-over pain is common, the pain can also be more localized. It can be located exactly in the wrist joint of occasional or constant.
Other symptoms, such as numbness and tingling with fibromyalgia are also caused by wrist stuck, may be confused with veins damage conditions that affect the arms and hands. Often, the numbness and tingling of fibromyalgia are not to the same degree as we see with other veins damage conditions in the arm. It also does not always follow the typical patterns of veins and nerves in the limb.
Therefore, a careful sensory exam is needed to help find the actual cause of hand numbness or tingling. Special nerve testing (EMG/NCV) can help to clarify the causes of the wrist stuck symptoms in the elbow, forearm, or hand and can help determine whether the symptoms are coming from veins and nerve problems.
There are no common tests, such as x-rays or blood studies, to diagnose fibromyalgia wrist stuck pain, or the disease in general. The diagnosis is made primarily by physical examination and a review of all fibromyalgia arm symptoms (movement pain, weight lifting, veins damage, mental stress, sleepy hand problems, mental fogginess, arthritis problems, etc.).
The diagnosis can be confusing because people with stuck wrist fibromyalgia can also have other conditions in the arm which are unrelated to the fibromyalgia diagnosis, such as carpal tunnel syndrome.
There are no surgical treatments for wrist stuck in fibromyalgia hand pain or arm pain, but other conditions present at the same time may benefit from surgical treatment.
Arthritis specialists (rheumatologists) may assist with the diagnosis and management of wrist stuck in fibromyalgia. They may recommend medications, activity/exercises changes, and other treatments to help with the symptoms of wrist stuck in fibromyalgia.
You love your morning jogs. Watching the sunrise as the wind blows through your hair seems to center you for the day. But one day, your foot lands strangely slips out from under you, and you’re stuck on the sidewalk with a fibromyalgia ankle that’s just not right.
Are you rankled by fibromyalgia ankle pain symptoms? Fibromyalgia Ankle pain can be felt on the inner side of the ankle, on the outer area, in line with the Achilles tendon, and sometimes radiating near the upper part of the foot.
The fibromyalgia ankle is a tricky little thing. It also bears plenty of your body’s weight. Its health and ability to function are crucial to everyday activities and comfort.
The ankle is an important joint, connecting the lower leg bones to the foot bones. It is divided into the lower ankle and upper ankle. The lower ankle allows your foot to tilt to the side and turn outwards and inwards. The upper ankle lets you move your feet up and down.
Whether you injure the joint, a bone, the upper ankle, or the lower, the associated fibromyalgia pain can literally stop you in your tracks. Most causes of ankle pain are treatable though. With a little time, you can be back to your normal activities.
The duration of your ankle pain may vary depending on the cause.
Acute: Severe fibromyalgia ankle pain almost always starts suddenly, usually as the result of an injury.
Chronic: A chronic ankle condition can become acute if the disease causing it worsens, or there is wear-and-tear after an old injury and the damage suddenly gives way.
Fibro Ankle pain that is described as severe will likely require a consult with your physician if it persists.
Not serious: The pain subsides quickly after the fibromyalgia injury and any swelling responds to rest, ice, and over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Moderately serious: The fibromyalgia ankle pain continues for a few days, even without signs of fracture or infection.
Serious: If there is fibromyalgia ankle pain along with an obvious injury or deformity, and/or redness and swelling in the ankle, this is a medical emergency.
Breastfeeding may sound like the most natural thing in the world, but many women find it harder than expected. Mothers with fibromyalgia often have an especially tough time with breastfeeding, according to a new study.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain and fatigue. Its cause is not known, and it affects more women than men.
There is no cure for fibromyalgia. Patients often try physical therapy, counseling, and medication (including antidepressants, ibuprofen, and in some cases, morphine) for symptom relief.
Karen Schaefer, DNSc, RN, assistant professor of nursing at Temple University’s College of Health Professions, studied nine mothers aged 26-36 with fibromyalgia.
All of the women wanted to breastfeed and had birthed at least one baby before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Most had taken medication for their fibromyalgia before pregnancy.
Breastfeeding was not easy for any of the mothers in the study.
“All nine women felt that they were not successful in their attempts to breastfeed, and felt frustrated,” Schaefer writes.
Difficulties included muscle soreness, pain, and stiffness; fatigue; a perceived shortage of breast milk; and sore nipples.
Those problems are not uncommon among breastfeeding women. However, mothers with fibromyalgia may be particularly affected since they already face pain and fatigue.
The problems were bad enough that some participants felt they needed to resume medication, which meant giving up breastfeeding to avoid passing the drugs to the babies through breast milk.
Others stopped breastfeeding after being diagnosed with other health problems, such as hypothyroidism or hepatitis B.
Feeling “forced” to wean their babies earlier than planned, the mothers were sad and depressed, Schaefer writes.
Fibromyalgia is primarily a neurological brain disorder. It is seven times more likely to strike women than men, and it doesn’t matter what nationality you are. The hypothalamus part of the brain acts as a circuit breaker/fuse box for the rest of the brain and body. It’s like the battery for the entire body.
There are several things that typically cause Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome to manifest, but basically high amounts of stress are what cause the hypothalamus to blow its fuse, creating a host of neurological problems, like hormone imbalances, increased pain sensitivity, fatigue, and “brain fog“. Essentially, you’ve got a dead battery that won’t hold a charge, which is why so many people experience debilitating fatigue. The blown fuse can happen in an instant, and you get no say in if or when it happens.
The hypothalamus has done a system-wide “shutting down” and tried to reboot, in an effort to protect your body and brain from further stress and damage. Like when you turn off your computer and restart it because using Ctrl +Alt +Delete hasn’t worked. Only, by doing this, the brain is permanently altered, like a computer virus that can’t be repaired.
A person can quite literally be fine one day and wake up the next morning feeling so completely different, and your entire life has changed because your brain no longer functions the way it used to. Many Fibro/CFS patients can pinpoint the exact day/week/month everything changed for them. The most common “triggers” fibromyalgia patients report are:
A sudden traumatic event A house fire, abusive situations, physical attacks, etc. Similar to PTSD, or Dissociation disorders, the brain is trying to cope and process the additional shock and stress, triggering the hypothalamus to “protect” the rest of the brain by flipping a switch.
An accident Car accidents, drowning, severe falling, etc. can cause the hypothalamus to be trying to “protect” by flipping the switch.
Medical or dental surgery Any time you have surgery, it puts the body under huge increases in stress, because cutting into your body sends the brain “we are under attack!” signals.
Pregnancy Because of the drastic hormonal shifts, joint stress, depleted vitamins and minerals, and the physical trauma of the birth process, pregnancy creates so much stress that for whatever reason the mother’s body just can’t handle it. Fibromyalgia develops during pregnancy or soon after birth. For many women, their Fibromyalgia symptoms and Chronic Fatigue are ignored as simple “hormone shifts” or ” new mommy fatigue”, when in fact her body will never really readjust back to normal.
High-pressure lifestyles/stressful jobs/major anxiety Workaholics, or people who don’t take enough time off, or just can’t relax and rest. In school-age students, the stress of studies, trying to get good grades, fears of the future, or even too many activities can cause an abundance of stress the body can’t handle.
For some adults, this means they get sick in the form of common things like high blood pressure, heart attacks, or stroke. Others can develop Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or other random “stress-related” illnesses.
Many people are able to live completely normal, energetic, and happy lives BEFORE these stressful, triggering events. Any of these things can cause the hypothalamus fuse to blow like a light bulb that goes out. Once that fuse blows, basically your “brain is broken“. It doesn’t matter how old you are, or what gender. Even children and teenagers can (and do) develop Fibro and CFS, especially if they have had an accident, undergone serious trauma, or had to have surgery. Being young doesn’t automatically mean someone is healthy, even if they “look healthy”.
This can happen to anyone, at any time, and once it does, there is no way to change that. You can’t just flip the switch back to fix it. The hypothalamus begins sending the wrong signals to the rest of the brain and to the nerves, causing the super sensitive fascia, painful joints and muscles, sensitivity to touch, and intolerance to certain foods and weather changes, causing thyroid and metabolic changes, and cognitive disruptions.
Ironically, the brain’s fuse box blows in an effort to protect your brain and body from further damage because of the prolonged stress you have already been under. This is the chief reason why so many Fibromyalgia patients experience a “Flair Up” of pain and other symptoms when they are under high amounts of additional life stress, like family conflict or having to pack and move. Things like exercise and many mundane physical activities are just too stressful for an already constantly stressed out body, so these things cause a flair-up of symptoms.
The body is already so stressed out from whatever life has thrown at you and being in pain 24/7 that you just can’t handle it anymore. The “Flare Up” will force you to slow down and rest, even when you have things you need to do. This is why a Fibro/CFS patient can feel okay enough to go out and do things one day (feeling “normal“) and be utterly exhausted for the days or weeks after, in a “Flair up”.
Because Fibromyalgia is so physically debilitating, in this way your body is forcing you to rest and slow down, so it can make an effort to heal itself and relax. This is why people with Fibro need to take steps to simplify their life and be as stress-free as possible. Medicine and Science is just now figuring this out, and it might take another couple of decades for them to agree on a treatment plan that will actually cure the hypothalamus and flip the switch back on.
Please note that this is an extremely simplified explanation of brain functions and responses. There has been tons of research by the medical community that can go into even greater details. I simply tried toput my understanding of their complex (and complicated) research discoveries into common terms and phrases people can easily relate to. I am not a doctor, but I have spent the last decade researching and learning about my diagnosis.
Among patients who developed post-acute COVID-19 — so-called “long COVID” — almost one-third reported clinical features of fibromyalgia, Italian researchers reported.
In a web-based survey that included more than 600 patients, 30.7% met the American College of Rheumatology criteria for a fibromyalgia diagnosis at a mean of 6 months after having had COVID-19, said Francesco Ursini, MD, Ph.D., of the University of Bologna, and colleagues.
“In light of the overwhelming numbers of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, it is reasonable to forecast that rheumatologists will face a sharp rise in cases of a new entity that we defined as ‘FibroCOVID,’”
Aside from the potentially lethal acute viral infection of SARS-CoV-2, a post-acute syndrome with myriad symptoms including not only pulmonary sequelae but also endocrine, cardiovascular, neuropsychiatric, and musculoskeletal manifestations is now widely recognized.
The current definition of fibromyalgia requires a score of 13 or higher on the Fibromyalgia Symptom Scale, which combines scores on the Widespread Pain Index and Symptom Severity Scale.
The pathogenesis of fibromyalgia is not completely understood. “Pain augmentation/dysperception seems associated with exquisite neuron morphological modifications and imbalance between pronociceptive and antinociceptive pathways arising from an intricate interplay between genetic predisposition, stressful life events, psychological characteristics, and emerging peripheral mechanisms, such as small fiber neuropathy or neuroinflammation,” Ursini and colleagues explained.
In addition, viral triggers have been linked with the development of fibromyalgia. Therefore, to investigate the prevalence of fibromyalgia following acute COVID-19, the researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey during April 2021, in which participants completed a survey that included information on demographics, symptoms, and duration of COVID-19, and comorbidities.
A total of 616 patients were included, with 189 diagnosed with fibromyalgia. More than three-quarters were women whose mean age was 45. The median duration of acute COVID-19 was 13 days, and 10.7% were hospitalized. Among the symptoms reported during the acute viral illness were anosmia/ageusia in 70.9%, myalgia in 70.4%, fever in 67.7%, and arthralgia in 64.6%.
Comorbidities included anxiety and chronic pulmonary disease in patients both with and without fibromyalgia. In contrast, hypertension was significantly higher among fibromyalgia patients (27% vs 10.8%, P<0.0001), as was the mean body mass index (30.4 vs 23, P<0.0001) and the prevalence of obesity (49.2% vs 2.1%, P<0.0001).
Among the survey respondents who had fibromyalgia, 57% were women, a percentage that was lower than the 77.4% of women in the cohort overall, suggesting that men more often developed the musculoskeletal sequelae, the researchers explained.
Those with fibromyalgia also were significantly more likely to be hospitalized (19% vs 7%, P<0.0001). During the acute phase of the disease, patients who subsequently developed fibromyalgia more often reported cough (52.9% vs 45%, P=0.046) and dyspnea (45.5% vs 35.4%, P=0.017), and also more often required supplemental oxygen (18% vs 7.5%, P<0.0001).
On univariate analysis, factors associated with fibromyalgia included age, male sex, cough, dyspnea, hypertension, obesity, and treatment with antibiotics, low molecular weight heparin, or oxygen.
On multivariate analysis, the only independent predictors were male sex, with an odds ratio of 9.951 (95% CI 6.025-16.435, P<0.0001) and obesity, with an odds ratio of 82.823 (95% CI 32.192-213.084, P<0.0001).
Overall, patients who developed fibromyalgia appeared to have a more serious phenotype of COVID-19, more often requiring hospitalization and supplemental oxygen, the researchers reported. “Notably, both male gender and obesity have been consistently associated with a more severe clinical course in patients with COVID-19, including a significantly increased mortality rate.”
Potential mechanisms by which the coronavirus could trigger fibromyalgia, the team speculated, are epithelial injury or damage to the neuromuscular, immune dysfunction, and upregulation of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukins 1 and 6.
Prospective studies will be needed to further elucidate the clinical course and outcomes of the post-acute COVID-19 musculoskeletal disease manifestations, the authors cautioned.
A potential limitation of the study, they said, was the possibility of self-selection bias.
