10 Things You Should Know About Fibromyalgia

10 Things You Should Know About Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is defined as a disease that causes widespread pain in all parts of the body, sleep problems and fatigue, and often emotional and mental distress. People with fibromyalgia may be more sensitive to pain than others. Symptoms often begin after an event such as physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms may build up gradually over time without a single trigger event. The incidence of fibromyalgia is higher in women than in men. What is fibromyalgia? Fibromyalgia is a type of rheumatic disease. Usually only one disease comes to mind when rheumatism is mentioned. However, there are nearly 200 rheumatic diseases that are analysed in two main groups: inflammatory and non-inflammatory. Fibromyalgia is the most common rheumatic disease. Fibromyalgia is usually seen in young women of childbearing age. It is rare in children and is not a genetically inherited disease. What are the symptoms of fibromyalgia? The symptom of fibromyalgia is usually widespread body or joint pain. In fibromyalgia, which is usually seen in young women, patients experience such severe pain that they feel that they will become disabled in the future. The severity of the pain suggests that the disease will progress further. In fact, it is a disease that does not progress, but there are pains felt all over the body. The following symptoms are also seen in fibromyalgia;

• Fatigue
• Quick fatigue
• Getting up in the morning without rest
• Go back to sleep
• Severe headache
• Abdominal pain
• Pain during menstrual periods
• Functional bowel diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome

How to identify pain in fibromyalgia? Most patients with fibromyalgia report that their bones hurt because they feel the pain deep inside. In fact, fibromyalgia is not a disease that develops in the joints. It is a disease that develops in the soft tissue (muscle). How fibromyalgia is diagnosed? Fibromyalgia can often be confused with other diseases. There is no standard test to detect fibromyalgia. It can be detected by a detailed examination by a rheumatologist. Although there is no test for fibromyalgia, some laboratory tests are performed to rule out other diseases in order to diagnose fibromyalgia. When other diseases are excluded with these tests, the diagnosis is made if the clinical examination of the specialist also points to fibromyalgia. How to treat fibromyalgia? After the diagnosis of fibromyalgia, the most important thing is to ensure that the patients are relieved because it is necessary to explain that fibromyalgia is not a progressive disease and will not lead to disability, despite the fact that fibromyalgia is so common. Fibromyalgia is treated with medication. Antidepressants that have been shown to be effective in fibromyalgia play an important role. However, not all antidepressants are used, especially drugs whose effectiveness has been shown in scientific studies are used. Sleep problems are at the forefront in fibromyalgia. Uyku düzeninin sağlanması hastanın konforu açısından önemlidir. Bunların dışında antiepileptik ilaçlardan faydalanılır. Bunlar daha çok nöropatik ağrı diye adlandırılan, sinirlerden kaynaklanan ağrılar için kullanılan ilaçlardır ve fibromiyaljide de etkilidir. Fibromiyalji tedavisinde ilaçlar tek başına yeterli değildir. Mutlaka hastaların aerobik egzersiz yapmaları önerilmektedir. Sports such as walking, jogging, cycling, tennis and swimming should be done every day if possible. Fibromyalgia causes? The cause of fibromyalgia is not known exactly. Some studies show that it may originate from the brain. Functional MR studies in fibromyalgia show that serotonin release in the brain is low. Therefore, serotonin has an important role in fibromyalgia. What are the risk factors in fibromyalgia?

• Exhaustion
• Depression
• Sleep problems
• Working in a stressful environment
• Working in jobs that cause excessive fatigue and require maximum capacity utilisation

What happens if fibromyalgia is not treated? Fibromyalgia is not a progressive disease, but if left untreated, unbearable pain may occur and the intensity of these pains may increase at intervals. This can lead to an uncomfortable life for the patient. Early treatment of all people with fibromyalgia symptoms allows people to spend their daily lives more comfortably. Is there a place for physiotherapy in fibromyalgia?? Physiotherapy is not very useful in fibromyalgia. However, exercise has a very important role. Does it help to pay attention to nutrition in fibromyalgia? Fibromyalgia has nothing to do with nutrition. It is possible to find unscientific information on the Internet, but no food, drink or vitamins have any effect on reducing complaints.