Dr. Abhrajit Ray

Other symptoms of fibromyalgia that patients most often have are:
1) Tenderness to touch or pressure affecting muscles and sometimes joints or even the skin
2) Severe fatigue
4) Sleep problems (waking up unrefreshed)
5) Problems with memory or thinking clearly
Symptoms of fibromyalgia and its related problems can vary in intensity, and will wax and wane over time. Stress often worsens the symptoms.
What causes Fibromyalgia?
The causes of fibromyalgia are unclear. They may be different in different people. Fibromyalgia may run in families. There likely are certain genes that can make people more prone to getting fibromyalgia and the other health problems that can occur with it. Genes alone, though, do not cause fibromyalgia.
There is most often some triggering factor that sets off fibromyalgia. It may be spine problems, arthritis, injury, or other type of physical stress. Emotional stress also may trigger this illness. The result is a change in the way the body "talks" with the spinal cord and brain. Levels of brain chemicals and proteins may change. For the person with fibromyalgia, it is as though the "volume control" is turned up too high in the brain's pain processing centers.

How is Fibromyalgia diagnosed?

1) Pain and symptoms over the past week, based on the total of: Number of painful areas out of 19 parts of the body Plus level of severity of these symptoms: a. Fatigue b. Waking unrefreshed c. Cognitive (memory or thought) problems Plus number of other general physical symptoms
2) Symptoms lasting at least three months at a similar level
3)No other health problem that would explain the pain and other symptoms.