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Fibromyalgia is a difficult disease to live with. It causes chronic fatigue and pain all over the body. And people who have fibromyalgia often find it hard to find a treatment that works for them. That’s why it’s important to get a diagnosis early so you can get an effective treatment as soon as possible. There are a few early signs of fibromyalgia that you should look for to tell if you have fibromyalgia.
What Are The Early Signs Of Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia can be difficult to diagnose. And in the early stages, the first signs of fibromyalgia can be very different for different people. One of the best symptoms to look for early on is chronic fatigue. People with fibromyalgia often feel like they can’t seem to get a good rest no matter how much they sleep. And to make things worse, sleeping can be very difficult by itself.
Just feeling tired all the time is probably worth a trip to your doctor, as chronic fatigue is a symptom of many different conditions.
In addition, the most obvious symptom, and the one that doctors use to diagnose you is the widespread pain. Fibromyalgia pain is located along 18 different points on the body. These are usually in the joints of the limbs and back. A doctor will test you to see if you have pain in 11 of these points, which sufficient to prove that you have fibromyalgia.
This pain is typically what causes fibromyalgia patients to visit a doctor, as it is difficult to manage.
What Should You Do If You Think You Have Fibromyalgia?
If you have these early signs of fibromyalgia, it’s important to see a doctor as soon as possible. If possible, it’s best to see a doctor who specializes in fibromyalgia. You can contact the National Fibromyalgia Research Association for a list of fibromyalgia specialists in your area. And a doctor who treats fibromyalgia regularly will be more aware of the early signs of fibromyalgia and better equipped to recommend an effective treatment.
Be honest and thorough when describing your symptoms as it will help the doctor make the best diagnosis possible.
What Are Some Treatments For Fibromyalgia?
There are a number of drugs that doctors prescribe to treat fibromyalgia. Often these are anti-depressants, like Lyrica and Cymbalta, that increase the levels of serotonin in your brain. Serotonin helps calm the nerve pain associated with fibromyalgia.
But there are also other drugs that are new when it comes to treating fibromyalgia but show promise. Drugs like naltrexone offer new hope to people with treatment-resistant fibromyalgia.
And doctors are rapidly testing new drugs and making advancements in the study of what causes fibromyalgia. Meanwhile, many find that the standard treatments are at least partially effective.
It’s important to remember that you should be careful about paying attentions to possible early signs of fibromyalgia and seek medical help as soon as possible. Whenever you feel weak or tired and experience pain, it’s always worth a trip to the doctor. But let us know, how did you know you had fibromyalgia, and what did you do about it? Let us know in the comments.
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