How Fibromyalgia Can Stop You in Your Tracks

As the 4 million adults in the United States who are living with fibromyalgia can tell you, the condition can be difficult under the best of circumstances, as it hijacks your ability to participate fully in life. From heightened pain perception to extreme fatigue, fibromyalgia can be all-consuming.

As integrative health specialists, the team here at Valiant Life Medical has considerable experience with fibromyalgia, and we’re here to help. One of the first hurdles we often find is that fibromyalgia is misunderstood, which can be frustrating for those who are dealing with the condition.

To combat this, we thought we’d outline the many ways fibromyalgia can stop you in your tracks.

Fibromyalgia 101

Before we get into the challenges of living with fibromyalgia, let’s start with some basic information about the condition.

As we mentioned, fibromyalgia affects about 4 million American adults, but we’re unsure as to what causes the condition. We do know that women are twice as likely as men to develop fibromyalgia, and we also know that people who have rheumatoid arthritis or lupus are also more susceptible.

Since we don't know what causes fibromyalgia, we don’t have a single diagnostic tool. Rather, we turn to symptoms, blood work, diagnostic imaging, a physical examination, and your medical history to determine whether you may have it.

The debilitating side effects of fibromyalgia

At the core of fibromyalgia is abnormal pain-processing perception — people with the condition often experience all-over pain. This pain is often described as aching, burning, or throbbing and can affect all areas of the body, though some are more prevalent than others, such as the arms, legs, head, back, and chest.

While the pain is often enough to stop anyone in their tracks, there’s much more to fibromyalgia than severe discomfort. For example, people with fibromyalgia often point to fatigue as one of the more serious symptoms. This fatigue is extreme and overwhelming, preventing those with the condition from accomplishing much when the symptoms flare.

Even if people try to push through the fatigue, the payoff can be even worse, as you’re left even more fatigued and uncomfortable the following day.

Whether directly related to the pain and fatigue or not, another significant side effect of fibromyalgia is what people refer to as “brain fog.” This fog may leave you confused or you may have trouble concentrating or remembering things.

Outside of pain, fatigue, and brain fog, people with fibromyalgia can also experience:

• Heightened sensitivity to sounds, smells, and touch
• Gastrointestinal issues, such as bloating
• Numbness or tingling in your extremities
• Trouble sleeping

When you put any combination of these symptoms together, it’s easy to see how fibromyalgia can bring even the strongest among us down.

Treating fibromyalgia

As integrative specialists, we take a multipronged approach to treating fibromyalgia, which might include:

• Lifestyle changes, such as exercising more
• Physical therapy
• Regenerative medicine
• Chiropractic care
• Stress management
• Medications to manage the pain
• Nutritional guidance

We also recommend support groups and psychotherapy to help you navigate fibromyalgia.

If you have more questions about fibromyalgia or you’d like to research treatment options for yourself or loved one, please contact our office in Fort Worth, Texas, to set up an appointment.