Just the pure symptoms of fibromyalgia are enough to make one’s life extremely difficult. Going to work or completing simple house chores can become a challenge and many people with fibromyalgia are forced to stay in bed for much of the day. Many people with fibromyalgia also lose their jobs and are forced to work from home.
There are many different symptoms of fibromyalgia, which all told make it very difficult to diagnose and treat. Many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia include muscles and joint pain and soreness throughout the body, severe headaches, the inability to think or remember clearly, and dizziness. This article will discuss dizziness as a symptom, and as we will find out, not only will it just make you dizzy, but it can cause even greater headaches, vomiting and nausea, and last for weeks or even longer.
What exactly is Dizziness?
We’ve all experienced some type of dizziness at points in our lives. Sometimes we just randomly feel dizzy, while other times we’ve had the flu, been sick, or experienced blurred vision. Dizziness is, generally speaking, having lightheadedness, and can include nearly everything that fits that description. The causes for feeling dizzy can range from suffering from an illness to having low levels of blood pressure.
It may not seem like a very big issue, but dizziness is one of the most common medical issues in America today. Roughly four out of ten Americans have claimed to have suffered extensively from dizziness at some points in their lives, and millions of people head to the doctor’s office each year for feeling dizzy.
While it’s easy to deal with dizziness if it only occurs off and on and not for very long periods of time, with fibromyalgia dizziness occurs nearly on a daily basis and happens for extended periods of time. It is estimated that nearly seventy percent of people who suffer from fibromyalgia simultaneously suffer from dizziness on a regular basis.
Why Does Dizziness Happen?
Our body actually relies on a balance system to keep us, well, balanced. Our brain takes messages that are received from various parts of our body, and when they are combined together, our brain is able to tell the direction that we are in. If this system did not exist, it would be very difficult to stand!
So think about this: when do you feel dizzy when you do? Is it when you’re just walking or standing around at home or at work, while you’re driving a vehicle and have motion sickness, or does it just hit you randomly? Our body senses different things for our balance system based on different activities. If you have motion sickness, chances are that you are going to feel dizzier while you are driving or on the road vs. if you were in your home.
So why do we feel dizzy sometimes? It’s really because of our body’s ability to circulate the blood flow through the body. When we feel dizzy, it’s because our body isn’t circulating enough blood flow, causing weakness, sweating and lightheadedness, all of which combine together to make us feel dizzy. If you are suffering from dizziness often, and especially if you also have fibromyalgia, then you should seek treatment immediately.
The condition of not getting enough blood flow through your body is called neurally mediated hypotension, and it will also make your body much more difficult at regulating your blood flow levels. When you stand, blood rushes down to your leg. When you run, your heart rate increases causing your blood vessels to tighten, meaning that your heart has to pump more blood through your body. But people who have neurally mediated hypotension means that it’s very difficult for your heart rate to increase, and it may actually drop while running or under similar exercises. This prevents the blood that your body needs from being pumped through your body, and in turn, leads to dizziness.
What Kinds of Dizziness Are There?
When you feel dizzy, you just feel dizzy, right? Actually, it’s not all that simple. There are many different types of dizziness, meaning that you can experience different symptoms. It’s when these symptoms persist that you should go to your doctor.
Lightheadedness is the type of dizziness that makes your head feel lighter. It leads to nausea that can in turn lead to vomiting and diarrhea. This is the most common form of dizziness.
Near Fainting is the kind of dizziness making you feel that you could pass out. You usually will feel this kind of dizziness when you stand up after sitting down for a long period of time, making your vision blurred or even blacked out all together, meaning that there hasn’t been enough blood flow to your brain.
Unsteadiness is the type of dizziness that makes you feel not-balanced. When you feel this kind of dizziness, you may feel that you could just topple over and fall down. Unsteadiness is most often caused from poor vision and arthritis in the joints and most often affects older people rather than the young.
Vertigo is the condition of dizziness that makes you feel like you are spinning or floating around. Vertigo is a very painful type of dizziness as it can go on for entire days without end, and often comes with nausea so you might suffer from vomiting and diarrhea at the same time. If you believe that you may be suffering from vertigo, you need to go to the doctor’s office as soon as you can (although you might want someone else to drive).
There are other common symptoms of dizziness too. These include feeling headaches, sweating excessively, having blurred or incoherent vision, having difficulty hearing, or fainting. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms in addition to your fibromyalgia, it’s important that you consult with your doctor or medical professional immediately.
Comments