Fibromyalgia, is at best, a poorly understood medical condition and its proper name, Fibromyalgia Syndrome, or FMS, connotes this fact. A syndrome, of course, is a set of symptoms that occur together and seem interrelated, but whose origin is not entirely known.
What are the characteristics of Fibromyalgia? There are many. Chiefly, however, fibromyalgia is a disorder that results in the following: sleep difficulties and sleep disturbances; chronic and ongoing pain that is not confined to one localized area but, instead, is generalized throughout the human body; tender points at the epidermal level that are painful to the touch; persistent and chronic low energy levels and fatigue; headaches of varying intensity; stiffness that generally seems at its worst in the mornings but which can last for several hours afer waking up; and intermittent periods of confusion and memory loss (referred to as a a fibro fog).
And these are not the only characteristics of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia sufferers often suffer from dizziness, nausea, restless leg syndrome, swelling in the extremities, depression, irritable bowel syndrome, mood swings, and anxiety.
Other characteristics worth noting include the fact that the symptoms of fibromyalgia can be exacerbated by external stress, both physical and non-physical. This would include stress brought about by physical exertion and environmental factors (such as loud noises, odors, and bright lights), as well as emtional and psychological stress.
Furthermore, though fibromyalgia causes a significant amount of musculoskeletal pain, particularly in the back, neck, and hip areas, it does not result in damage to muscle tissue and connective tissue (tendons and ligaments).
Though poorly understood, and often poorly treated, fibromyalgia can be a debilitating condition that genuinely impairs an individual. What should you do if you have some, or all, of the symptoms of fibromyalgia syndrome? Visit your treating physician and possibly a pain specialist or orthopedist. Having the condition properly diagnosed is the first step to understanding the condition, and, hopefully, gaining a foothold against it. Having the condition properly diagnosed and treated can also be important from the standpoint of social security disability benefits which can be difficult to win on the basis of many impairments, but may be particularly difficult for an FMS patient due to the uncertain etiology of the condition.
The author of this article is Tim Moore, who, in addition to being a former food stamp caseworker, medicaid caseworker and AFDC caseworker, is a former disability claims examiner. He publishes a blog on the disability process which is titled the Social Security Disability and SSI blog
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