Fibromyalgia Symptoms - Often Confused As Flu | What is fibromyalgia? Fibromyalgia symptom checklist, fibromyalgia treatment information.

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Fibromyalgia Symptoms - Often Confused As Flu

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by Pat Colapinto

Fibromyalgia afflicts approximately 5% of the population. The majority of these are women. Fibromyalgia is a syndrome. The most common Fibromyalgia symptoms and diagnostic tool are the widespread pain. The pain associated with fibromyalgia can range in intensity from mild to severe. The severe end of the spectrum can be debilitating and disabling. In its milder forms, fibromyalgia is similar to the flu. The muscles and other soft tissues of the body just ache constantly.

Although pain is the main symptom of fibromyalgia, it is by no means the only symptom. Fibromyalgia, like other chronic pain syndromes, has a variety of symptoms associated with it. The first of these is fatigue. People afflicted with fibromyalgia often feel tired all the time. Upon waking from a night’s sleep, they do not feel rested. Sleep is the body’s way of regenerating. However, if the sleep is disturbed too often and the body is never allowed to enter into the deep restorative stage, then fatigue is inevitable.

Another common symptom of fibromyalgia is chronic headaches. Fibromyalgia headaches come in three forms - tension headaches, migraines or combination headaches. Tension headaches are caused by muscle contractions in the neck, shoulders and jaw. The continuous contractions cause the muscles to tense and eventually lead to a headache beginning at the base of the skull and spreading towards the temples. Migraines are caused by the constriction and dilation of the blood vessels in the brain. Similar to the muscle contractions, the blood vessels constrict slowing circulation in the brain and then suddenly dilate causing extreme pain.

Costochondritis is a less common, yet scary, symptom of fibromyalgia. Costochondritis causes chest pains that mimic a heart attack. These pains are caused by the inflammation of the cartilage between the rib cage and the sternum.

However, it can be a frightening symptom since the pain associated with costochondritis is similar to that of a heart attack or stroke.

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