250+ Symptoms of Fibromyalgia and Common Co-Existing Conditions
Symptoms 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!
Thank you for taking time out of your daily life to do this!
Thanks for the comment. I have to start working on these posts again, life has gotten so busy I haven’t been updating the site recently.
Your list is very valuable when it comes to trying to get my family. One thing I didn’t see that I experience, is isolation. That could fall under depression, but thought I’d throw it out there.
Thanks!
Totally agree with you.
Thank you for doing this and supporting your wife in such a loving way. How can I get a copy of this list? My family really needs to see it!
K Long
Thanks for the comment. You could email your family this link, or copy and past the 250 symptoms into a word document. I can create a word doc or pdf for you if you like with them and email it to you.
I would extremely appreciate it if I could receive this in an email. A PDF of this would be very helpful. Thank you.
Is it possible to have this in a PDF to save and use for others, including my doctor, to have for reference? If you wouldn’t mind my using this resource. If not, I have bookmarked this page and Pinned it to give to others who could find it useful. Thank you for compiling this list!! .
Numbers 162 and 182, Decreased appetite, listed twice.
I can check off almost 90% of those symptoms! I just want my life back, this fibromyalgia has taken over! Thank you for providing this website Ryan Tomlinson, maybe I can show the judge this list when I go up for disability since I was denied twice after 2 unsuccessful hip surgeries and physical therapy!
Jilly
What a great list!! Thank you so much for providing us with this. I also wanted to add high blood pressure, depression, anxiety and poor eyesight if possible.
Please create a PDF if possible and please email to me, thanks.
162 and 182 decreased appetite. Thanks for this list. Its really useful!
Thank you for taking the time to make this list. I have almost everything listed here. Maybe only 6 or 7 small things I don’t have. Very helpful to use for my Drs. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Very hard on a daily basis.
Can you please add to the list chronic costochondritis, chronic sinusitis, chronic rhinitis, chronic hives, eye swelling, lip swelling, DYSPNEA, ulcerative colitis, proctitis, facial pain, jaw pain, teeth pain, jaw and chin cramping, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, chronic inflammation, feeling of extreme heat in normal room temperature, chronic infections, immume disorders, CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome), Raynauds syndrome,
These are all things I have been diagnosed with as well that I did not see on the list. Thank you!
Thanks for all your help, for all of us suffering from firbro. We appreciate all the support.
Aiden Lucas
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia for 3 years, and it was very painful some days. I was taken methocarbamol to relieve the pain. Sometimes it helps and other days it doesn’t. it was killing me for 3 years, doctor said there was no cure. So I tried to live with it and it wasn’t easy.My childhood friend introduced me to Dr George (Good health herbs home),Dr George fibromyalgia herbal remedy cured me within 6 weeks of usage ,am fibromyalgia free now 100%.for more information visit www goodhealthherbshome com