Learn how Fibromyalgia is diagnosed, including key symptoms, diagnostic criteria, and the tests used to rule out other conditions.
Introduction: Shifting the Lens on Fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia often feels like a confusing and painful mystery. For many people living with it, one haunting thought keeps resurfacing — If I feel this much pain, there must be something seriously wrong inside my body. But here’s a powerful truth worth exploring: Fibromyalgia does not mean your body is broken. In fact, fibromyalgia is proof that pain can exist without structural damage. In this article, we explore the…
Introduction: When Life Indoors Becomes an Unchosen Reality Fibromyalgia is not just about pain; it is about limitation, isolation, and the invisible boundaries it builds around those living with it. I was trapped at home because the flip side – fibromyalgia – is rarely spoken about openly. This is not just a story; it is a reflection of the emotional, physical, and mental impact of fibromyalgia’s lesser-known side. This article unfolds the hidden struggles behind…
Fibromyalgia is widely known for its chronic pain, fatigue, and cognitive dysfunction, but its impact on mental health is often overlooked. Many individuals with fibromyalgia also experience mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, and mood swings. This raises an important question: Does fibromyalgia cause mood disorders, or do mood disorders trigger fibromyalgia? Emerging research suggests that fibromyalgia plays a direct role in the development of mood disorders, rather than simply being a consequence of chronic…
Dear Doctor: What Not to Say to Me and Other Fibromyalgia Patients Dear doctor, we understand your job isn’t easy. We know you face long hours, mounting pressure, and endless patient charts. But we also know what it feels like to walk into your exam room carrying pain that never fully goes away. To describe symptoms we barely understand ourselves, only to leave feeling unheard, unseen, or worse—blamed. For those of us living with fibromyalgia,…
What It’s Like to Be an Empath With Fibromyalgia To be an empath is to feel the emotions of others as if they are your own. To live with fibromyalgia is to endure chronic, often invisible pain that touches every part of life. When these two identities coexist within one person, the experience becomes more than just difficult—it becomes a delicate balancing act of emotional and physical survival. Being an empath with fibromyalgia is living…
Why I Haven’t ‘Gotten Used to’ My Fibromyalgia When people hear that I’ve been living with fibromyalgia for years, their reaction is often rooted in misunderstanding. They assume that with time, I must have adjusted to the pain, adapted to the fatigue, and learned to carry on like nothing happened. They ask, “Haven’t you gotten used to it by now?” with the kind of casual expectation reserved for everyday inconveniences. But fibromyalgia is not something…
When the Brain Fog Comes Before Your Fibro Diagnosis Before the widespread pain, before the chronic fatigue, and before any doctor uttered the word fibromyalgia, there was brain fog. Not a little forgetfulness, not occasional distraction, but an all-consuming mental haze that made everyday thinking feel like pushing through wet concrete. For many, this brain fog begins long before a formal diagnosis, making it one of the most unsettling and often overlooked symptoms in the…
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition that affects millions of people worldwide, causing widespread pain, fatigue, and sensitivity to stimuli. While exercise is often recommended as a management strategy, overdoing exercise can actually become a root cause of fibromyalgia flare-ups, worsening symptoms rather than alleviating them. Many fibromyalgia patients struggle to find the right balance between staying active and pushing too hard, leading to increased pain, fatigue, and long recovery times. In this article, we…
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain, fatigue, and heightened sensitivity to stimuli. However, many people with fibromyalgia also experience heart palpitations, which can be alarming and uncomfortable. Heart palpitations feel like rapid, irregular, or pounding heartbeats and can create anxiety, dizziness, or shortness of breath. While these episodes may not always signal a serious heart condition, they can significantly impact a fibromyalgia patient’s quality of life. This article explores the link between…
Fibromyalgia is a complex chronic condition that causes widespread pain, fatigue, and nervous system dysfunction. However, many people with fibromyalgia also experience irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia)—a sensation that the heart is skipping beats, beating too fast, or fluttering unpredictably. While these heart rhythm disturbances can be concerning, they are not always linked to heart disease. Instead, they may result from autonomic nervous system dysfunction, stress, medication side effects, or fibromyalgia-related physiological changes. This article explores the…