250+ Symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Common Co-Existing Conditions

250+ Symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Common Co-Existing ConditionsSymptoms of Fibromyalgia and Common Co-Existing Conditions

Fibromyalgia is a syndrome with many symptoms. Each individual with Fibromyalgia will have some of the symptoms. A few people will have all of the symptoms, but not everyone with Fibro has the same symptoms or even has symptoms all of the time.  Also, symptoms may vary from day to day, year to year, or even minute to minute for each person coping with Fibromyalgia and other common coexisting conditions as well.

How confusing is that? Well, it gets even more confusing! Fibromyalgia patients have reported more than 200 symptoms that I have been collecting in a list for quite some time.  This comprehensive list of Fibromyalgia symptoms may actually be symptoms of other conditions that happen to commonly coexist with Fibromyalgia or they may be something that only one person experienced. Some of these symptoms are related and may in fact be different ways of describing the same symptom from different perspectives.

Sources for the symptoms listed here include readers, friends with Fibro, doctors, websites, books, and more.  Every time I hear, read, experience, or learn of a new symptom, I write it down and add it to the list.  I try to update this list as more symptoms come in (or as you let me know when I have a repeat or should consider moving something to a different category and so forth.

All of the symptoms are being reported without prejudice. Meaning, no determination is being made to figure out if someone was talking about the same symptom in a different way or not. This is simply a list of symptoms organized by categories and then alphabetized within the category.

Additionally, these symptoms are not meant to diagnose! My purpose in compiling them is to help people be more aware of what people with Fibromyalgia may be dealing with at any given moment and to help people with Fibro track symptoms, so that you have as much information as possible for your doctor to help you.

 

GENERAL

1. Activity level decreased to less than 50% of pre-illness activity level

2. Cold hands and feet (extremities)

3. Cough

4. Craving carbohydrates

5. Delayed reaction to physical activity or stressful events

6. Dryness of eyes and/or mouth

7.  Edema

8. Family member(s) with Fibromyalgia

9. Fatigue, made worse by physical exertion or stress

10. Feeling cold often

11. Feeling hot often

12. Frequent sighing

13. Heart palpitations

14. Hoarseness

15. Hypoglycemia (blood sugar falls or low)

16. Increased thirst

17. Low blood pressure (below 110/70)

18. Low body temperature (below 97.6)

19. Low-grade fevers

20. Night sweats

21. Noisy joints – with or without pain

22. Poor circulation in hands/feet

23. Profuse sweating

24. Recurrent flu-like illness

25. Shortness of breath with little or no exertion

26. Severe nasal allergies (new or worsening allergies)

27. Sore throat

28. Subjective swelling of extremities – (feels swollen Bu can’t find anything)

29. Sweats

30. Symptoms worsened by air travel

31. Symptoms worsened by stress

32. Symptoms worsened by temperature changes

33. Tender or swollen lymph nodes, especially in neck and underarms

34. Tremor or trembling

35. Unexplained weight gain or loss

 

PAIN

36. Abdominal wall pain

37. Bad hip pain

38. Burning Nerve Pain

39. Chest pain

40. Collarbone pain

41. Diffuse swelling

42. Elbow pain

43. Exacerbated Plantar arch or heel pain

44. “Growing” pains that don’t go away once you are done growing

45. Headache – tension or migraine

46. Inflamed Rib Cartilage

47. Joint pain

48. Lumpy, tender breasts

49. Morning stiffness

50. Muscle pain

51. Muscle spasms

52. Muscle twitching

53. Muscle weakness

54. Pain that ranges from moderate to severe

55. Pain that moves around the body

56. Paralysis or severe weakness of an arm or leg

57. Restless Leg Syndrome

58. Rib Pain

59. Scalp Pain (like hair being pulled out)

60. Sciatica-like pain

61. Tender points or trigger points

62. TMJ syndrome

63. “Voodoo Doll” Poking Sensation in random places

 

NEUROLOGICAL

64. Blackouts

65. Brain fog

66. Carpal Tunnel

67. Feeling spaced out

68. Hallucinating smells

69. Inability to think clearly

70. Lightheadedness

71. Noise intolerance

72. Numbness or tingling sensations

73. Photophobia (sensitivity to light)

74. Seizures

75. Seizure-like episodes

76. Sensation that you might faint

77. Syncope (fainting)

78. Tinnitus (ringing in one or both ears)

79. Vertigo or dizziness

 

EQUILIBRIUM/PERCEPTION

80. Bumping into things

81. Clumsy Walking

82. Difficulty balancing

83. Difficulty judging distances (when driving, etc.)

84. Directional disorientation

85. Dropping things frequently

86. Feeling spatially disoriented

87. Frequent tripping or stumbling

88. Not seeing what you’re looking at

89. Poor balance and coordination

90. Staggering gait

 

SLEEP

91. Alertness/energy best late at night

92. Altered sleep/wake schedule

93. Awakening frequently

94. Difficulty falling asleep

95. Difficulty staying asleep

96. Excessive sleeping

97.  Extreme alertness or energy levels late at night

98. Falling asleep at random and sometimes dangerous moments

99. Fatigue

100. Light or broken sleep pattern

101. Muscle spasms/twitches at night

102. Narcolepsy

103. Sleep disturbances

104. Sleep starts or falling sensations

105. Teeth grinding

106. Tossing and turning

107. Un-refreshing or non-restorative sleep

108. Vivid or disturbing dreams/nightmares

 

EYES/VISION

109. Blind spots in vision

110. Eye pain

111. Difficulty switching focus from one thing to another

112. Frequent changes in ability to see well

113. Night driving difficulty

114. Occasional Blurry vision

115. Poor night vision

116. Rapidly worsening vision

117. Vision changes

 

COGNITIVE

118. Becoming lost in familiar locations when driving

119. Confusion

120. Difficulty expressing ideas in words

121. Difficulty following conversation (especially if background noise present)

122. Difficulty following directions while driving

123. Difficulty following oral instructions

124. Difficulty following written instructions

125. Difficulty making decisions

126. Difficulty moving your mouth to speak

127. Difficulty paying attention

128. Difficulty putting ideas together to form a complete picture

129. Difficulty putting tasks or things in proper sequence

130. Difficulty recognizing faces

131. Difficulty speaking known words

132. Difficulty remembering names of objects

133.  Difficulty remembering names of people

134. Difficulty understanding what you read

135. Difficulty with long-term memory

136. Difficulty with simple calculations

137. Difficulty with short-term memory

138. Easily distracted during a task

139. Dyslexia-type symptoms occasionally

140. Feeling too disoriented to drive

141. Forgetting how to do routine things

142. Impaired ability to concentrate

143. Inability to recognize familiar surroundings

144. Losing track in the middle of a task (remembering what to do next)

145. Losing your train of thought in the middle of a sentence

146. Loss of ability to distinguish some colors

147. Poor judgment

148. Short term memory impairment

149. Slowed speech

150. Staring into space trying to think

151. Stuttering; stammering

152. Switching left and right

153. Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you speak

154. Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you write

155. Trouble concentrating

156. Using the wrong word

157. Word-finding difficulty

 

EMOTIONAL

158. Abrupt and/or unpredictable mood swings

159. Anger outbursts

160. Anxiety or fear when there is no obvious cause

161. Attacks of uncontrollable rage

162. Decreased appetite

163. Depressed mood

164. Feeling helpless and/or hopeless

165. Fear of someone knocking on the door

166. Fear of telephone ringing

167. Feeling worthless

168.  Frequent crying

169. Heightened awareness – of symptoms

170. Inability to enjoy previously enjoyed activities

171. Irrational fears

172. Irritability

173. Overreaction

174. Panic attacks

175. Personality changes –usually a worsening of pervious condition

176. Phobias

177. Suicide attempts

178. Suicidal thoughts

179. Tendency to cry easily

 

GASTROINTESTINAL

180. Abdominal cramps

181. Bloating

182. Decreased appetite

183. Food cravings

184. Frequent constipation

185. Frequent diarrhea

186. Gerd-like Symptoms

187. Heartburn

188. Increased appetite

189. Intestinal gas

190. Irritable bladder

191. Irritable bowel syndrome

192. Nausea

193. Regurgitation

194. Stomachache

195. Vomiting

196. Weight gain

197. Weight loss

 

UROGENITAL

198. Decreased libido (sex drive)

199. Endometriosis

200. Frequent urination

201. Impotence

202. Menstrual problems

203. Painful urination or bladder pain

204. Pelvic pain

205. Prostate pain

206. Worsening of (or severe) premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

 

SENSITIVITIES

207. Alcohol intolerance

208. Allodynia (hypersensitive to touch)

209. Alteration of taste, smell, and/or hearing

210. Sensitivity to chemicals in cleaning products, perfumes, etc.

211. Sensitivities to foods

212. Sensitivity to light

213. Sensitivity to mold

214. Sensitivity to noise

215. Sensitivity to odors

216. Sensitivity to yeast (getting yeast infections frequently on skin, etc.)

217. Sensory overload

218. Sensitivity to pressure & humidity changes

219. Sensitivity to extreme temperature changes

220. Vulvodynia

 

SKIN

221. Able to “write” on skin with finger

222. Bruising easily

223. Bumps and lumps

224. Eczema or psoriasis

225. Hot/dry skin

226. Ingrown hairs

227. Itchy/Irritable skin

228. Mottled skin

229. Rashes or sores

230. Scarring easily

231. Sensitivity to the sun

232. Skin suddenly turns bright red

 

Cardiovascular (Heart)

233. “Click-murmur” sounds through stethoscope

234. Fluttery heartbeat

235. Heart palpitations

236. Irregular heartbeat

237. Loud pulse in ear

238. Pain that mimics heart attack

239. Rapid heartbeat

 

HAIR/NAILS

240. Dull, listless hair

241. Heavy and splitting cuticles

242. Irritated nail beds

243. Nails that curve under

244. Pronounced nail ridges

245. Temporary hair loss

 

OTHER

246. Canker sores

247. Dental problems

248. Disk Degeneration

249. Hemorrhoids

250. Nose bleeds

251. Periodontal (gum) disease

 

For those of you with Fibromyalgia, it probably isn’t much of a surprise how many symptoms can occur.  Many people believe that pain, depression, and fatigue are the ONLY Fibromyalgia symptoms.  Unfortunately, this is not the case and hopefully this list will help clarify that point of contention.

 

To be honest, even a perfectly healthy person will have some of these symptoms sometimes. The difference is a person with Fibromyalgia will have many of these symptoms ALL of the time or frequently enough that it interferes with typical daily activities.  However, this list is not intended to diagnose, simply to help people be aware of the many symptoms someone with Fibromyalgia MAY be coping with at any given time and to help people with Fibromyalgia track their symptoms.

 

If I missed a symptom of Fibromyalgia (or a common coexisting or overlapping condition), please let me know or even something that you, if you have Fibromyalgia, also have that isn’t currently on this list.

 

Also, if I listed the same thing twice (with the exact same words) and you catch it please let me know. This was a long list and I am human, so mistakes may happen.

 

Symptoms List Update Log

Updated again on 8/18/2013   

Added: Heart palpitations, Loud pulse in ear, Profuse Sweating, Fear of phone ringing, Fear of someone knocking on the door, Dyslexia occasionally, Personality changes –usually a worsening of pervious condition, Heightened awareness – of symptoms, Hallucinating smells, tension or migraine to existing headache symptom, Sciatica-like pain, Elbow pain, Bad hip pain, Exacerbated Plantar arch or heel pain, Collarbone pain, Abdominal wall pain, Noisy joints –with or without pain, Sensitivity to extreme temperature changes, (or severe) – added to worsening of premenstrual syndrome, Hypoglycemia (blood sugar falls or low), Edema, Subjective swelling of extremities – (feels swollen Bu can’t find anything), Carpal tunnel, GERD-like symptoms, Regurgitation, Burning Nerve Pain

Removed: Urinary frequency (was listed twice), Odor Sensitivity (was listed twice)

Found: Suggestion was made to add mood swings, but it already listed under emotional section. Suggestion to add pelvic pain-already listed under urogenital

Changed: Numbering to reflect the additions and removals of symptoms, minor changes to the text.

Updated again on  to add: narcolepsy, vulvodynia, poor circulation in hands/feet, inflamed rib cartilage, pain in rib cage, “growing” pains that never go away, yeast infections (on skin, etc.), and irritable bladder. Remove: one instance of increased appetite (was listed twice). Found: Suggestion was made to add low blood pressure, but did find it on the list, so didn’t add it. Change: Order of the list (to match the pretty and printable text version that is coming soon)

Updated again to add Restless Leg Syndrome.

Updated  to include disk degeneration and scalp pain. Also removed excessive sleeping (as it was listed twice). Thank you for catching these!

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