Fibromyalgia Signs – How to Manage and Relieve those symptoms

Fibromyalgia is a common, complex, chronic syndrome that causes aches and pain all over the body. The literal meaning of fibromyalgia is the pain in tendon muscles and ligaments but actually, it is widespread pain accompanied by mood, memory, and sleep issues. People suffering from fibromyalgia have “tender points” all over their bodies. A little pressure on these specific points (neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms, and legs) can cause severe pain

Fibromyalgia is more likely to develop in women than in men and around 5M adults in the US are suffering from this condition and 90 percent of them are women.

Symptoms:

Its symptoms can’t be measured and determined by test so they are considered subjective and is often misdiagnosed as some other disease.

• Jaw stiffness and widespread pain
• Symptoms of cold and flu
• Disturbed sleep pattern
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Numbness in hands and feet
• Fatigue/ headache
• Temperature sensitivity
• Nausea
• Disturbed menstrual cycle- weight gain
• Anxiety/ depression
• Gastrointestinal reflex disease (GERD)
• Pelvic pain
• Overactive bladder

Treatment:

• There is no cure for fibromyalgia just management. Multidisciplinary approaches are recommended to relief and reduce symptoms.
• Medication includes the prescription of pain relieving, anti-depressant and ant seizure drugs.
• Medication alone is not enough to tackle this complex condition. Cognitive behavioral therapy, self-management strategies exercises, diet and overall healthy lifestyle should be combined with medication.

Dietary guidelines:

You can relieve symptoms of fibromyalgia by following these dietary measures

• Avoid gluten-containing foods as it acts as the irritant
• Cut down on artificial sweeteners and added sugars
• Eat energy-dense foods (almonds, beans, oatmeal, nuts, and avocado)
• Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water.
• Maintain your healthy body weight or lose weight if obese. There is strong evidence of the direct relationship between fibromyalgia symptoms and weight.
• Incorporate fiber-rich foods in your diet rather than processed and refined ones.