As My Fibro World Turns: Fibromyalgia Symptoms Checklist

Some of the following are noted as overlapping conditions, which means they commonly occur with fibromyalgia but actually are conditions that need to be diagnosed and treated separately.

People with fibromyalgia can have any combination of the following symptoms, and to varying degrees of severity.

I've highlighted the symptoms I have and where noted how long I've had these. I was amazed at how many symptoms there are. No wonder doctors have so much trouble figuring out if it's fibro or something else.

FIBROMYALGIA SYMPTOMS CHECKLIST

General Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Delayed reactions to physical exertion or stressful events my grandmother was also like this and people always commented on how cool I stayed when things go bad
Other family members with fibromyalgia (genetic predisposition) my maternal grandmother, my sister, my dad
Sweats I've had these for a few years now but the worst is this year. I keep a fan aimed at me wherever I sit otherwise I have rivers pouring off my face and body.I have to wear a bandanna when I cook or our food would be flavored with sweat.
Unexplained weight gain or loss I've had both over the years.
Cravings for carbohydrate and chocolate You mean that's not normal??
Headaches & migraines Thankfully, the amitriptylene I'm on keeps most of the migraines at bay. I still get that weird holy light feeling when one is starting though.
Vision changes, including rapidly worsening vision. In the past 3 years I've had to purchase reading glasses to wear in front of my regular glasses since if I try and walk with my reading glasses on (which mimics glasses with built in reading) I fall. So I stick with wearing 2 pairs when I need to read, and 1 pair for walking. I need to see the ground properly since I don't feel it very well. I also have some days that my eyes don't really want to focus on anything. Everything I look at including while I'm wearing my reading glasses has a blurred edge to it, like a shadow.

Muscle & Tissue-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Pain that ranges from mild to severe, and may move around the body (See The 7 Types of Fibromyalgia Pain) Oh hell, yes!
Morning stiffness - Every morning I have to take it slowly otherwise I may end up flat on my nose on the ground or I may end up dropping my cup because my hands feel like stumps.
Muscle twitches - if it's not an eyelid twitching, it's my little finger dancing on it's own or it's my toes doing a tango or it's my neck and upper shoulders boxing away or a drumstick beating on the back of my head.
Diffuse swelling - ankles, feet just behind the toes, hands, wrists since I became an adult
Fibrocystic (lumpy, tender) breasts (as an overlapping condition) since I grew breasts at 10

Sinus & Allergy-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Allergies - fish I get hives, corn pollen - my nose starts running non stop and I can't stop sneezing and eyes swell, unexplained thick scaly rashes that appear and disappear on my wrists and forearms - started in 2010, severe allergy to sulpha based drugs, severe allergy to active ingredient of most allergy medications, active ingredient in powder flea and tick for farm animals
Post nasal drip - Off and on, it usually hits my vocal chords which makes me half choke and I have to keep clearing my throat until it gets off my vocal chords.
Runny nose - Off and on, with or without a cold
Mold & yeast sensitivity - definitely, every time I went into the hay mow as a child and later an adult and moved bales of hay around I'd start sneezing, nose running, eyes burning and had to get out
Shortness of breath - I was diagnosed with COPD in 2005 but have always had problems even as a child with my breathing. Strong winds make me choke as does heavy snow falling (storm) I developed chronic bronchitis as a child and each year would end up getting pneumonia as well
Earaches & itchy ears All the time!
Ringing ears (tinitis) - In the past 2 years I've gone from having the high pitched whine to hearing a radio that's tuned just out of range. I hear the music and voices but can't hear definite words. The stations vary from different types of music to talk show types of sound.Sometimes I hear the sound in my head and other times it's my right ear. Previous to that I'd have the high pitched whine off and on but mostly on. I learned to ignore it on most days.
Thick secretions not sure from where these are suppose to emanate.... but if it's vaginal, yes indeed.

Sleep-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Light and/or broken sleep pattern with unrefreshing sleep - This has grown worse in the past year. As a child I had very light sleep but I think that was more because I never knew when the kitchen door would smash shut in the wee hours of the morning and it was my Dad looking for one of us to beat on.
Fatigue - waking up tired, like I just crawled into bed. Or halfway through the morning running out of steam or same for the afternoon. Actually have to fight falling asleep. Simply bringing out the recycling or trash finds me absolutely sapped of energy.
Sleep starts (falling sensations) - Ugh, I hate these. I've had these for as long as I can remember
Twitchy muscles at night - if leg muscles count, then it's a yes. I also get twitches in my fingers, hands, face.
Teeth grinding (bruxism)- My mother would get on my case as a child because I ground my teeth all the time. I still do as an adult, or at least grind what's left of my teeth.

Reproductive Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Menstrual problems - since I started menses at 14
PMS (as an overlapping condition)- yes, my whole life. Before I finally got some relief from this when I started taking amitriptylene, my husband had nicknamed me angelzilla since I would mutate into this angry, crying, painful facsimile of my normal self.
Loss of libido - sadly yes for the past 3 years or so.
Impotence lucky for me I don't get this one LOL

Abdominal & Digestive Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Bloating & nausea - since childhood
Abdominal cramps -since childhood
Pelvic pain - during sex
Irritable bowel syndrome (as an overlapping condition) yes for years and years.
Urinary frequency - that varies depending on how much liquid I've had to drink. But I have to go to the bathroom at least once every night sometimes more often. As a child/teenager I was embarrassingly incontinent and suffered from frequent bladder/kidney infections. We had a long driveway and many times I'd sneak into the house and go change because I had been unable to hold my urine after a 45 minute bus ride. I was also a bed-wetter as was my Dad. The bed-wetting finally stopped around the time I turned 15.

Cognitive/Neurological Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Difficulty speaking known words, other language impairments (dysphasia) - yes, has grown progressively worse in the past 5 or 6 years. I just call it stuttering since there's no other way I can explain that my jaw locks up and no sound comes out until I can find the word or figure out how to pronounce it. Somewhat embarrassing in a roomful of people you don't know.
Directional disorientation - inside a building, definitely. Outside I'm usually ok as I go by landmarks. I can visualise a map I've previously studied and overlay it on what I'm seeing on the street.
Poor balance and coordination - repeatedly scabby knees as a child, sprains, falls, broken fingers, foot, leg, bruises from simply bumping into something. Today I can trip over my own feet without trying too hard, also trip over sidewalk cracks.
Paresthesias in the upper limbs (tingling or burning sensations) - for most of my adult life
Loss of ability to distinguish some shades of colors - my husband says I've had this for a while and I only recently discovered that he was right. I could not tell the difference between 2 shades of the same color. I confuse moss green with grey.
Short-term memory impairment - I make lists otherwise I forget what I needed. Will also forget what I was doing just walking from the living room to the kitchen and stand there looking like an idiot while I retrace the last few minutes in my mind and even then I don't always remember what it was. My husband has taken to naming different things to help me remember. I've even seen discussing with my husband what we were going to eat for supper, pasta with a cream sauce and I go in the kitchen and make pasta with a tomato sauce.... 0_o
Confusion - when someone is explaining something, I don't always get it and just get more and more confused. I usually have to move away, give my head a chance to think through and sometimes I get it. This has been a somewhat recent development.
Trouble concentrating - yes, Have been having problems with this for the past 5 years at least. If I persist in continuing what I'm doing, I start falling asleep.
Staring into space before brain "kicks in" - ugh, yes more often than I care to remember.
Inability to recognize familiar surroundings - thankfully not this one.

Sensory Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Sensitivity to odours - some odours have actually triggered asthma-like attacks.
Sensitivity to pressure changes, temperature & humidity - I get headaches when there's a change in the barometer. I have difficulty breathing when the humidity is high.
Sensitivity to light- some lights will trigger migraines ie: strobes, or riding in a car driving by a row of trees, the sun flashing in and out triggers migraines as well.
Sensitivity to noise - When there is a lot of noise and people in a room, I have difficulty finding my way out and cannot understand any words if someone speaks to me in the room
Night driving difficulty - oncoming car lights look like starbursts
Sensory overload - I avoid large crowded areas as much as possible. The noise and the crush of people around me make things very confusing and I tend to panic inside which only makes things worse.
Adding Sensitivity to sunlight. I feel like my skin is on fire even standing in the sunlight for only a few minutes. Using an umbrella to keep the sun off my skin helps a lot. I've had this symptom since 1995 after the surgery on my hand for the single cell tumour.

Emotional Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Panic attacks- I used to have these often. In the past 10 years I haven't had one but I think this is mostly because the cause of the panic attacks (first husband's abuse) has been removed from my life.
Depression (as an overlapping condition)- I don't feel like I'm depressed, but that may be because of the amitriptylene since my neurologist insists that with all the symptoms I have I should be depressed.
Tendency to cry easily - gawd yes, have had this for years (not sure if it's because of recent events in the past year ie: my sister dying). Since taking amitriptylene I don't cry as often, but there are days where I still cry much too easily.
Free-floating anxiety (not associated with situation or object) - yes, I get fierce bouts of heartburn when this symptom kicks in. I don't know what's causing it so difficult to resolve. I take Tums and it helps to at least reduce the amount of acid in my stomach.
Mood swings - yes, angelzilla, which has been mostly laid to rest since taking amitriptylene. The rest of my moods can go from very happy to very sad within minutes. Anyone sitting next to me in that minute would get emotional whiplash hehe.
Unaccountable irritability - same for this one. I would sit on the couch and just bawl because I couldn't figure out why I was so angry over nothing before the amitriptylene.

Heart-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Mitral valve prolapse (as an overlapping condition)thank goodness no
Rapid, fluttery, irregular heartbeat - have had this symptom for the past couple of years now. I always get my blood pressure checked and also go in for the EEG and they are always normal. I attribute this to nerves since it usually hits me when I'm worried about something and 99% of the time, this hits me at night. It wakes me up. No irregular heart beat though.
Pain that mimics heart attack, frequently from costochondritis (as an overlapping condition) I've had this since I was a teenager.

Skin, Hair & Nail-Related Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Pronounced nail ridges - since childhood my nails literally snap off.
Nails that curve under - since childhood
Mottled skin - since childhood, back, shoulders, face, arms
Bruising or scaring easily - since childhood
Hair loss (temporary)? - permanent for me since 1995, what's left is very thin and I still loose it by the handful every time I brush my hair. Although it hasn't grown any thinner so I must be growing some of it back.
Tissue overgrowth (non-cancerous tumors called lipomas, ingrown hairs, heavy and splitting cuticles, adhesions) - Any and all of the above over the years. I also have these nodules growing on my skin that are rough and scaly. I have them on my legs and arms. I also have ingrown hairs that if not taken dare of immediately turn into large infected sores. A trichilemmal cyst growing on my scalp. And lastly I've been growing a crop of colorless beauty marks on my face. So far I have 5 of those. Whoever called these beauty marks should have a whole raft of them growing on their face and see how much fun they are.

Miscellaneous Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Hemorrhoids- ugh, yes since childhood
Nose bleeds - as a child, I had a lot of nosebleeds.

_Sources:

_{And to that list, I add}

_{Carpal Tunnel syndrome - officially diagnosed in 1998. but already had it since I was a teenager}

_{COPD Congestive Obstructive Pulmonary Disease - officially diagnosed in 2005 but had chronic bronchitis since childhood}

_{Diabetes - (insulin dependant) since 2003}
_{TMJ Temporomandibular joint disorder - since childhood. Flares up on occasion. The worst flareup was earlier this year where I had to get a prescription to reduce the swelling. Everytime I chew, my jaw makes a loud popping sound. Very embarrassing in a quiet room.}

As My Fibro World Turns

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Fibromyalgia Symptoms Checklist