Are you dealing with chronic pain but aren’t sure of the reason? If so, you may be wondering, ‘do I have Fibromyalgia?”. Living with chronic pain, regardless of the cause, is a frustrating challenge. But, identifying why you may be experiencing chronic pain can help you to better understand treatment options that can work to reduce symptoms. And, provide your body and mind with some much-needed relief and coping skills that you can use for the remainder of your life. So, if you think you may be living with a disorder that may be the cause of chronic pain like Fibromyalgia, it can be helpful to identify the signs and symptoms of this disorder.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that impacts the nervous system and results in musculoskeletal chronic pain. This pain can lead to other debilitating symptoms including sleep issues, exhaustion, memory problems, and mood swings. Essentially, this disorder is believed to be due to imperfections in how the brain stem sends data to the rest of the nervous system, resulting in the firing off of pain signals when there is no physical injury or reason for pain signals to be sent to the muscle.
Being able to identify signs and symptoms of Fibromyalgia can help people who may be dealing with these symptoms to clarify if they should get a diagnosis. And, determine the best methods of treatment in order to better manage symptoms. In most cases, the most identifying symptom of Fibromyalgia is experiencing chronic pain that’s primarily located in the muscles and between joints of the body. Furthermore, these symptoms of pain aren’t related to other issues that lead to pain, for example, arthritis.
Along with unexplained chronic pain, there are accompanying symptoms that can stem from living with pain on a long-term basis. Some of these accompanying signs and symptoms that can help to identify Fibromyalgia include:
It’s important to know that individuals dealing with chronic pain need to experience characterizing signifiers of Fybromyalgia before getting a diagnosis. This includes experiencing chronic pain in more than one part of the body and for a specific length of time (3 months or longer). Furthermore, pain needs to be relatively impactful and be debilitating to daily life.
To get an accurate diagnosis for Fibromyalgia, individuals can expect to undergo a physical and mental health evaluation. This will include asking questions about medical history, medications, previously used treatments, mental health, and more. Plus, the experience of continual symptoms that may be the result of Fibromyalgia. Once a diagnosis is confirmed, individuals can begin to research and identify treatments that may work best for them.
Think that you may be dealing with Fibromyalgia? Delray Brain Science can help provide an accurate diagnosis through assessment. Furthermore, we provide outpatient Fibromyalgia treatment that can help to reduce and better manage symptoms of chronic pain and other accompanying symptoms of this disorder. Learn more about our available treatment options and reach out to us to find out how to get started today.
