fibromyalgia – Hello Doctor

Home remedies for fibromyalgia

May 13th, 2019 by Content Editor

Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes pain, tenderness, and fatigue in the muscles of specific parts of the body. It usually affects the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms, and legs. You experience pain whenever someone puts pressure on these areas.

Common symptoms include:

Tender and painful joints.
Sleep problems.
Fatigue.
Numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, legs and arms.
Body stiffness.
Anxiety or depression.
Headaches.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Doctors and researchers don’t fully understand what causes fibromyalgia. Those most affected by the condition are middle-aged men and women, and those with a history of rheumatoid arthritis.

Although there isn’t a cure for fibromyalgia, there are ways to manage it using specific lifestyle changes, natural remedies and certain medications.

Try to:

Wind down

Like most things, feeling stressed out can make you feel worse, so it’s important to manage your stress levels. Get to a good mental state with stress-busting techniques. Start writing in a journal to let go of your thoughts and feelings in a healthy way. Round up some friends and join a relaxing yoga class or go jogging. You could also join a fibromyalgia support group. Being around those who can relate to your condition can make you feel good and less alone.

Catch regular Zs 

Sleep is vital for everyone, but particularly those with conditions like fibromyalgia. The condition can make you feel drained, so a good night’s rest each night will help combat fatigue. To ensure you’ll have proper sleep you should:

Avoid napping during the day.
Limit light and noise before bed.
Leave two to three hours between eating a heavy meal and going to bed.
Avoid using screens (phones and laptops) before bed.
Don’t drink alcohol and caffeine before bed.

Move more 

If you have fibromyalgia, you may avoid exercise if you often experience pain with movement. At first, exercising may be difficult, but over time, it will get easier and you’ll reap the health benefits. It becomes easier because exercise provides a natural anti-inflammatory effect, as well as strengthening up muscles. Talk to your doctor before trying any new workouts, but swimming, walking and cycling are good choices.. What’s more is that these kinds of exercise can help reduce pain, stiffness and fatigue.

Try acupuncture 

Acupuncture therapy works by lowering your anxiety, pain and fatigue levels. Many people with fibromyalgia find relief with this technique.

Have a massage

A massage can help with the constant pain you feel with fibromyalgia. According to researchers from the Touch Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine, massage therapy can improve sleep, lower joint pain and keep stress hormones at bay. Book an appointment for a massage to help you cope with any pain. Why not have a couple’s massage with a loved one so it can be a fun, relaxing activity?

Talk to your doctor 

If home remedies aren’t helping to ease and manage your symptoms, talk to your doctor. He may prescribe certain medication. Common medications are muscle relaxants, fatigue medication and painkillers. Don’t try any medication or home remedy unless your doctor gives the go-ahead or prescribes it to you.

References:

What’s the difference between Multiple Sclerosis and Fibromyalgia?

October 22nd, 2018 by The Hello Doctor Team

Multiple sclerosis (MS) and fibromyalgia share many of the same symptoms and are often confused. Their commonalities include fatigue, pain, sleep disturbances, bladder, bowel and cognitive problems and most importantly, an impact on the ability to cope with daily life.

Although the common symptoms can cause a mix-up for the diagnosis of either disease, they’re actually very different. Let’s get to know these conditions.

What is fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a rheumatic condition that involves chronic muscle pain and tenderness that affects the entire body. The exact cause for fibromyalgia hasn’t been found but researchers believe that the condition makes the experience of natural pain sensations feel more severe.

Common fibromyalgia symptoms include:

Dull, aching pain on both sides of the body (above and below the waist) that lasts for at least three months.
Memory issues, also known as “fibro fog” which involves a difficulty in focusing, confusion and difficulty in remembering things.
Mood swings.
Sleep disorders are common in people with fibromyalgia. This includes fatigue, sleep apnoea and restless leg syndrome.

What is multiple sclerosis?

MS is a condition where the protective outer coating around the nerves, called myelin, is destroyed. Some nerves are destroyed while others are damaged. The damage done to these nerves causes them to lose the ability to feel and experience sensations. MS symptoms and severity depend on the amount of nerve damage and which nerves are affected.

Common symptoms of multiple sclerosis include:

Struggling with coordination and balance. This makes walking difficult.
Damaged nerves interfere with normal neural communication within the brain. This can cause slurred speech.
Vision problems and eye pain.

What’s the difference?

Diagnostic processes can be difficult, but if they’re carried out correctly, it can prevent a misdiagnosis in those cases where symptoms of diseases are similar.

Diagnosing fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is mainly diagnosed using the Widespread Pain Index (WPI) Score and the Symptom Scale Score (SSS). The WPI ranges from 0 to 19 and is based on the number of places pain is reported to have been felt on the body. For example, pain in the abdomen, left hip, right lower leg, left lower leg and left jaw would be a score of 5. The SS score is the sum of how severe the scores are. Scores between 0 to 3 are given for symptoms like fatigue, waking up unrefreshed, cognitive symptoms and general body symptoms. These are then added up for a final score of between 0 to 12.

Diagnosing multiple sclerosis

For a multiple sclerosis diagnosis, an MRI scan checks for lesions (parts of organ or tissues which have suffered damage like a wound or ulcer). Lesions on the brain or spinal cord usually mean MS.

Fibromyalgia treatment

Unfortunately, there is no cure-all for fibromyalgia. Treatment focuses on a lifestyle approach, and medication like antidepressants or pain medication to help treat fatigue, depression or anxiety. Your doctor will probably also recommend regular exercise or physical therapy to boost your body’s endorphins (natural painkillers). Other treatments like cognitive-behavioural therapy may also be used to help you develop a sense of self-control in how to manage the disease.

MS treatment

Disease-modifying drugs can be used in MS treatment to slow down the progression of the disease and prevent flare-ups. These drugs work by retraining the immune system so that it doesn’t damage myelin. Other treatments include exercise to help with fatigue and physiotherapy to help with spasms, stiffness and mobility problems. The pain caused by the damage to nerves may be treated with antidepressants. Emotional, thinking and memory issues can also be treated with therapy. The kind of therapy depends on the diagnosis. For anxiety or excess worry, your doctor might suggest a tranquiliser.

References:

Could you have fibromyalgia?

December 8th, 2017 by The Hello Doctor Team

You finally crawl into bed after a long and taxing day, looking forward to nothing more than a few blissful hours of sleep. Except, it’s not. Your body and muscles ache in weird ways and you feel odd prickles of pain all through the night. What’s going on?

It could be fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition, but it’s not progressive or life-threatening. Nor does it have anything to do with muscle, nerve or joint injury, or any serious tissue damage or disease. People with fibromyalgia are not at greater risk for other musculoskeletal diseases.

Fibromyalgia is a muscular pain syndrome that results in back and muscle pain, fatigue, and specific tender areas on your body. You may have multiple tender spots where you feel pain. These include your neck, back, hips, shoulders, arms and legs.

Fibromyalgia pain causes your body to hurt all over, even when you’re not sick or injured. Studies suggest that it may be caused by the way your brain and spinal cord handle pain signals. This means that they may overreact to pain signals and cause exaggerated or unnecessary pain.

According to French researchers on the disease, fibromyalgia could be related to abnormal blood flow in specific areas of the brain. You may have more cells that carry pain signals than normal; and may also have fewer cells that slow down the pain signals. Think of music blasting on the highest volume… that’s your pain levels, they’re always up. Minor bumps and bruises may hurt more than they should; and you feel pain from things that shouldn’t hurt at all.

You may also experience:

Trouble sleeping
Sleeping for long periods without feeling rested
Headaches
Difficulty paying attention
Pain or dull aching
Depression
Anxiety

Although fibromyalgia symptoms will probably never disappear completely, they often improve with treatment. Medications that can alter the balance of pain-producing chemicals, (antidepressants); improve symptoms by about 30%.

With other forms of therapy and regular exercise, greater improvement can be expected. Sometimes too, if the initial stress that caused the condition is managed, fibromyalgia may improve spontaneously and you might not need medication.

Treatment combinations:

Medication
Low doses of antidepressant medication taken at bedtime may help you get that restful sleep you need. These meds may also perk up your mood, relax your muscles and reduce fatigue. Commonly prescribed antidepressants include amitriptyline (Tryptanol) and Imipramine (Tofranil).

Exercise
At least half an hour of aerobic exercise at least four times a week has been shown to improve muscle fitness and significantly reduce muscle pain and tenderness. The bonus: exercise induces deep restful sleep. Low-impact aerobic exercises – think walking, cycling, swimming and water aerobics – are practical options.

Coping with stress
Identifying stress factors and learning how to cope can significantly help improve fibromyalgia symptoms. Make it a priority to learn and use relaxation techniques daily to manage anxiety, nerves, fear, and feeling overwhelmed. Go to a stress therapist for professional advice and tips. Anxiety and depression are often major contributors to stress. Don’t leave these unchecked!

Contributing factors

Arthritis or an infection increases your chances of developing fibromyalgia.
Genetics play a role, as your parents may pass on genes that make you more sensitive to pain. Other genes may likely make you feel anxious or depressed, which can actually worsen pain.
Children who’ve been physically and emotionally abused are more likely to have the condition when they grow up. This is because abuse changes the way the brain handles pain and stress.
People who experience physical or emotional trauma may develop fibromyalgia. The condition has been linked with post-traumatic stress disorder.