Symptom list
- To pinpoint/describe sensations & (eventually) look up likely treatments, not to diagnose FMS.
- Every symptom may be due to something else, so get checked if you want to be sure it isn’t.
- Ordered by relatedness/relevance to FMS (e.g. pain or sleep), which can suggest the order of treatment trials.
- All FMS-symptoms can be “treated” alone, whether locally or generally.
- This is trying to be the most helpful symptom list, not necessarily the longest. (But I’ve used and am improving some of the longest, and there are 200+ here at the moment.)
- Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR), 2009, Bennett et al
- New Clinical Fibromyalgia Diagnostic Criteria 2010 (ACR?)
To Do/Work in Progress
2021-07-14: Numbering (for navigation) may not be worth it.
Starting point: 200+ Symptoms of Fibromyalgia (Hard to Believe). What are Yours? - Fibromyalgia Resources from the thread Symptoms lists: 100, 200, full... ("64")
Being changed to alphabetical PLUS ordered by body parts, leaving out repetitions, things I’ve not heard of much or which are much too specific (e.g. everything “cognitive”!)and ordering things more sensibly (most important ones first…), adding specifications"]
The following symptom, dry eyes, is an example of just one "side-"symptom with about 15 characteristics, 20 causes/triggers and 20 treatments (just from 2 sites…). Most causes and treatments are very specific. Wind however also triggers core symptoms for me. Whilst such connections may be interesting & helpful they wdn’t generally justify a databank-overload. Maybe it’d make sense to sort symptoms.
Dry eyes: itchiness, hurting, stinging, burning, scratchy, stringy mucus, light sensitivity, eye redness, foreign-body sensation, contact lense difficulty, nighttime driving difficulty, watery eyes (as response), blurred vision, eye fatigue…
…**
Dry eyes: 15 treatments:
What Is Dry Eye Syndrome? - Optometrists.org
Warming by cupping warm hands, then Gua Sha, gently.
Dry eyes - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic Various therapies, 4 drop types, other things like intense-pulsed light therapy followed by massage of the eyelids, adding omega-3 fatty acids (flaxseed oil, castor oil eyedrops and acupuncture:
Dry eyes: 10s of triggers
Heating, wind,
Dry eyes - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic
Example of a symptom-group, ALSO an image to explain to others, like “run over by a truck/car/train/rhino” or “lead suit”…
Flu-like feeling: heaviness, Ache, fatigue, more pains, rest need, sleep need, sleep long. With or without fever-feeling, sinuses/runny nose (allergy?), headaches (migraines).
Docs that still don’t know, acknowledge, understand fibro
(Treatment:) If you doc doesn’t know fibro & doesn’t want to get educated by himself or by brochures (e.g. FMA UK, internet pages) or by you: Phone around, asking at the desk how many fibromites they treat. (Accurate descriptions of symptoms.)
Symptom groups: 0. ‘Invisibility’, Chronicity, Flares. 1. Pain 2. Fatigue, 3. Sleep, 4. Psychological, 5. Neurological, 6. Fibro Fog, 7. Body temperature sensation, 8. Sensitivities, 9. GI/IBS, 10. Vision, 11. Urogenital, 12. Skin, 13. Dryness, 14. Lungs, 15. Heart, Blood vessels (16. Hair, 17. Nails, 18. Mouth, 19. Weight)
0. 'Invisibility', Chronicity, Flares
Docs can’t find anything (scans, bloods) - core symptoms 1-4 below plus diagnosis of exclusion.
Docs often don’t know about, acknowledge or understand it.
People incl. friends & partners can’t see anything, don’t understand, see us smiling: “But you look OK.”
Chronic: Longer than 3 months is the definition for FM.
Flares: Phases where the symptoms get worse than usual, due to Fibromyalgia References: Causes, symptoms, treatments (to be intertwined).
1. PAIN & stiffness - all over / parts of the body - toe to top
Remember: “Pain caused by Fibromyalgia isn’t a threat” (‘radical acceptance’ - Jemimas psychologist).
Possible treatments: Everything, specifically Epsom salt-baths (magnesium sulfate)
1.0.1 All over at the same time
(Treatment: Overstraining something: Twist-stretch: twist limbs, back or neck & hold 10-20’’.)
Allodynia = touching pain, cf. hyperalgesia
Ache (esp. limbs)
Feeling run over by a truck=lorry/car/train/rhino/plane/whatever
Feeling like walking in a lead suit… / like the tin can man
Hyperalgesia = amplified pain, cf. allodynia
Stiffness, morning
Stiffness, all day, after not moving for a while, after overexertion. Cf. stiff person’s/man syndrome (not nec. combined with to pain)
Muscle weakness
Pain moderate to severe
Tender points (≠ trigger points)
Trigger points (≠ tender points)
1.0.2 Certain areas all over, maybe alternating
“Joint” pain (probably tendons, i.e. tendinomyopathy)***
Muscle cramps (bigger area)
Muscle spasms (smaller area)
Muscle pain
Muscle twitching
Pains alternate, seem to move
Sighing, breathing in, etc. frequently (also fatigue, also psychological)
Tensed muscles, unconsciously
Voodoo doll-poking sensation, random places
Weakness (severe) or paralysis of an arm or leg
1.1. Legs
Feet - Plantar arch or heel pain
Thighs
Restless Leg Syndrome = RLS
Hip
Sciatica-like pain (from back down the legs)
1.2. Torso/Trunk
Back pain:
Disk/Discs Degeneration, DDD = Degenerative Disc/Disk Disease
Lower back pain = SI-joint = sacroilial joint = sacrum and coccyx)
Abdomen/belly
Scoliosis (sideways curve)
Hunchback (kyphosis)
Chest
Chest, mimicking heart attack
Ribs - Inflamed Rib Cartilage = Costochondritis
Breasts, lumpy & tender
Collarbone = clavicula
Neck pain: Epsom salt-baths (magnesium sulfate)
1.3. Arms
Elbow
Weak achy muscles
1.4. Head
Jaw, TMJ syndrome (= temporomandibular joints)
Teeth / tooth / gums
Head - Headache
Scalp Pain (like hair being pulled out)
2. FATIGUE, slowdown of activity
Activity level significantly decreased
Fatigue from physical exertion, pain, stress etc.: 11 types of fatigue: esp. tiredness, ache, lack of energy, mental; Spoon theory
Sighing, breathing in, etc. frequently (also pain, also psychological)
3. SLEEP
sleep lab psychiatrist, sleep lab neurologist, sleep lab pneumologist, multi-disciplinary
Alertness/energy best late at night
Sleep/wake schedule altered
Awakening frequently
Falling asleep difficult
Staying asleep difficult
Excessive sleeping = Hypersomnia
Hypersomnia = Excessive sleeping
Narcolepsy / Falling asleep at random and sometimes dangerous moments
Sleep pattern light or broken
Muscle spasms/twitches at night
Sleep disturbances
Teeth grinding
Tossing and turning
Un-refreshing or non-restorative sleep
Vivid or disturbing dreams/nightmares
4. PSYCHOLOGICAL / MIND / EMOTIONAL
Doubting it / “Imposter syndrome”
Not accepting it
Overdoing it (dilemma of feeling better & normal during & perhaps for a time directly after it)
Sighing, breathing in, etc. frequently (also fatigue, also pain)
EMOTIONAL, esp. depression (part or consequence), anxiety, incl. PTDS
Depression:
Appetite decreased
Crying frequently / easily
Helpless feeling
Hopeless feeling
Enjoyment, inability to previously enjoyed activities
Mood depressed
Suicidal thoughts / Suicide attempts
Anxiety:
Anxiety or fear when there is no obvious cause
Fear of someone knocking on the door / telephone ringing
Fears, irrational
Panic attacks
Phobias
Self-confidence, lacking; feeling worthless
Social anxiety
Mood:
Awareness of symptoms heightened
Irritability
Mood swings, like anger outbursts, uncontrollable rage, abrupt and/or unpredictable
Overreaction
Personality changes
5. NEUROLOGICAL
Nerves:
Burning nerves
Numbness sensations
Tingling sensations
Tinnitus (ringing in one or both ears)
Trembling, tremor
Wrist: Tendons swell & press on nerves: carpal tunnel syndrome, CTS
Not that close to fibro:
Seizures and Seizure-like episodes aren’t FMS (I have them myself)
6. "FIBRO FOG": 1. Sensations, 2. Cognitive, 3. Speech, 4. Balance, 5. Perception, 6. Coordination
Not easy to separate these areas from one another.
Neurologist, opthalmologist, neuro-ophthalmologist
Fibro-Fog / Brain fog: Delayed reaction to physical activity or stressful events. Appears like but ≠ adult ADHD.
General sensations:
Confusion
Dizziness, e.g. vertigo
Light-headedness
Spaced out feeling
Cognitive / Thinking unclear, difficulties:
Attention/concentration difficult, easily distraction
Decision-making difficult
Distance-judging difficult (when driving, etc.)
Judging difficult
Orientation (Disorientation) (directional or spatial, really or feeling)
Recognizing (routines, left/right, number/word orders)
Remembering (difficulty remembering, short-term or long-term, losing things, forgetting)
Speech:
Expression difficult (words, numbers)
Speech slowed, stuttering, stammering
Understanding difficult (words, numbers)
Word-finding difficulty/using wrong words.
Perception (Seeing, hearing, smelling):
Not seeing what you’re looking at
Smell hallucinations
Sensitivities → there.
Balance:
Balancing difficult
Walking wobbly
Coordination poor:
Bumping into things
Dropping things frequently
Staggering gait
Stumbling, tripping frequently
Walking clumsily
7. BODY TEMPERATURE SENSATION
Cold or hot feeling, or alternating
Flu-feeling, cf. Ache, Allodynia (touch pain), Feverishness, Hyperalgesia (amplified pain)
Hands/feet, poor circulation there: Raynaud Syndrome.
Hot flashes = hot flushes
Sweats → Skin
8. SENSITIVITIES / INTOLERANCES
Alcohol
Allodynia (hypersensitive to touch)
Chemicals in cleaning products, perfumes, etc.
Cold
Foods
Heat
Light sensitivity = photophobia
Noise intolerance
Odors = smells
Sensory overload
Pressure & humidity changes
Sun
Temperature changes
Weather changes
Wind
9. GASTROINTESTINAL (gut: IBS = Irritable Bowel Syndrome & stomach: hyperacidity or hypoacidity?)
Abdominal cramps
Appetite decreased
Appetite increased
Bloating
Food cravings (e.g. for carbs)
Constipation frequent (e.g. IBS-C)
Diarrhea frequent (e.g. IBS-D)
GERD = Gastroesophageal reflux disease = Reflux
Heartburn
Intestinal gas
Irritable bowel syndrome = IBS
Nausea
Rectum burning irritation (foods?)
Reflux see GERD
Regurgitation
Stomachache
Stomach burning
Vomiting
Weight gain
Weight loss
10. EYES / VISION poor
eye specialist, oculist, ophthalmologist
Eye pain
Vision blurry, difficulty switching focus
Vision ability changes, frequent changes in ability to see well
Vision poor at night, e.g. driving
11. UROGENITAL pain
Bladder pain
Endometriosis
Urination frequent
Impotence / Libido (sex drive) decreased
Irritable bladder, Overactive Bladder (OAB)
Menstrual problems
Pelvic pain
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) worse
Prostate pain
Urination painful, altho no UTI (= Urinary tract infection)
Vulvodynia
12. SKIN
Bruising easily
Eczema/Dermatitis
Itchy/irritable skin
Psoriasis
Rashes
Scalp pain cf. pain: head.
Scarring easily
Skin hot/dry
Sores
Swellings:
Bumps
Edema
Lipoma
Lumps
Lymph nodes swollen, esp. neck & underarms
Swollen feeling
Sensitivity to the sun
Sweating
13. DRYNESS (Sicca syndrome?)
Eyes dry (Sjögren’s?)
Mouth dry (Sjögren’s?)
Teeth & gum problems
Throat dry (sore, hoarse, speaking, singing, thirst increased),
Stomach dry (hyperacidic)
Gut dry (constipation),
Skin dry
14. LUNGS
Air hungriness/hunger
Breath short with little or no exertion (esp. using arms above the head)
Breathlessness
Gasping for breath
15. "CARDIOVASCULAR" (Heart, blood vessels):
Blood pressure increased (due to pain?)
Hemorrhoids (piles)
Heart attack-like pain that mimics (costochondritis?)
Heartbeat fluttery
Heartbeat irregular
Heart palpitations
Heartbeat rapid
Pulse loud in ear
16. HAIR
Hair dull, listless
Hair: heavy and splitting cuticles
Hair: temporary loss
17. NAILS (praps Psoriatic Arthritis = PsA)
Nail beds irritated
Nail ridges pronounced
Nails that curve under
18. MOUTH cf. 13. Sicca
Dental problems
Periodontal (gum) disease
Canker sores, mouth ulcers, e.g. aphthous stomatitis
19. WEIGHT
Weight gain, unexplained,
Weight loss, unexplained
Version starting 2021-08-11 = August 11th