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Many real vampires often complain of various aches and pains. While it
can easily be chalked up to "overdoing it" with various strenuous
activities, sometimes a person will eventually be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.
Due to the number of people that seem to be diagnosed with it, others
have gotten an impression that Fibromyalgia is a vampire symptom - when
it's most definitely NOT.
This article will go into an overview of Fibromyalgia as well as list
some of the other conditions that doctors and other medical professionals
may get confused with Fibromyalgia, either accidentally or out of laziness.
WHAT IS FIBROMYALGIA?
Fibromyalgia is a condition that affects the joints, muscles, tendons
and other soft tissues with systemic long-term pain and "tender
points", sometimes called "trigger points", that are
even more painful with pressure. It has also been linked to fatigue,
sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, morning stiffness, and numbness
in the extremities. It may develop on it's own or along with conditions
such as Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis, but either way it severely impairs
daily activities.
Primarily, women are diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, however men and children
may also be affected. Most of the patients are diagnosed when they are
middle aged (30-50), though the symptoms may have been present for years
prior to the actual diagnosis.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF FIBROMYALGIA?
Widespread pain is the primary symptom. This means there is:
- Pain in the left side of the body
- Pain in the right side of the body
- Pain above the waist
- Pain below the waist
- Pain in the neck, front of your chest, mid-back, or low back
Many patients also experience fatigue, sleep issues, sensitivity to
touch/light/sound, and possible cognitive difficulties. (If you aren't
getting quality sleep, that can certainly be one cause of being unable
to think clearly.) Symptoms may include, but are not limited to:
- Anxiety / Depression
- Dizziness
- Pain
- Fatigue
- Headaches / migraines
- Impaired coordination
- Irritable bowel
- Memory / concentration issues, a/k/a "fibro fog"
- Overactive bladder
- "Restless legs syndrome"
- Ringing in the ears
- Sleep disturbances
- Stiff joints first thing in the morning
- Swelling, numbness, and tingling in the extremities
- Tenderness or pain in at least 11 of the 18 known "tender points"
- Vision problems
Stress from the chronic pain and chronic fatigue can cause anxiety,
especially when it interferes with daily activities and the patient's
ability to hold a job. This will lead to the patient becoming less active,
which can, in turn, lead to depression.
Sleep disturbances and poor sleep quality can lead to having memory
and concentration issues, as well as problems with coordination.
WHAT CAUSES FIBROMYALGIA?
The causes are currently unknown, but patients have reported a variety
of "triggering events" that may have lead to their Fibromyalgia
issues. Such events may include auto accidents, repetitive injuries,
recent serious illness and so on. For others it seems to occur with
no evident cause.
Researchers are looking at other theorized causes, such as issues with
the central nervous system and how it processes pain, whether the patient
has chemical sensitivities, whether the patient has genes that mean
they don't process pain properly, and so on.
HOW IS FIBROMYALGIA DIAGNOSED?
There is no definitive test for Fibromyalgia at this time; typical
objective laboratory tests don't reveal any physiological cause for
the pain.
As a result, patients often see many doctors before receiving the diagnosis;
one reason is that the pain and fatigue associated with Fibromyalgia
are common in many other diseases as well. Because most of the Fibromyalgia
patients are women, doctors are often quick to say the pain is all their
head, or that there is nothing they can do (since no specific cause
comes up on tests.)
Widespread pain is the primary symptom, so subjective diagnostic criteria
start with that. Pain is considered to be widespread when it affects
both the left and right sides, as well as above and below the waist.
There are 18 designated "tender points" on the body that
the American College of Rheumatology uses as criteria for classification.
The patient may have pain in OTHER areas as well, but the other areas
don't count for diagnostic criteria. Patients - especially men - may
not have any of those points being painfully tender, but they will be
more tender than those of a person who does not have Fibromyalgia
An interesting observation in sleep studies is that the deep sleep
most people experience is interrupted in Fibromyalgia patients by signals
that normally happen when the patient is awake. This disrupts the normal
sleep pattern, resulting in ineffective sleep, and leading to more pain
and thinking/memory issues. (It should be noted that there are other
things that can cause this problem besides Fibromyalgia, so this is
not a definitive test either.)
Some laboratory tests can be used to rule out other issues - such as
inflammatory problems - to at least rule out other causes of the symptoms.
HOW IS FIBROMYALGIA TREATED?
There are only three medications approved by the FDA specifically for
Fibromyalgia These are Cymbalta/duloxetine (an antidepressant), Lyrica/pregabalin
(for chronic pain caused by nervous system damage), and Savella/milnacipran
(similar to an antidepressant, but only approved for Fibromyalgia)
In general, other frequently used categories are:
- Analgesics (Tylenol, etc.)
- NSAIDs (Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Naproxen, etc.)
- Antidepressants (partly to promote restorative sleep)
- Benzodiazepines (Klonopin, Valium, etc.)
- Other medications as needed for specific symptoms
In addition, patients may be advised to:
- Get enough sleep
- Do low-impact Exercise
- Change work habits (cutting down on physical demands)
- Eat well (proper nutrition never hurts)
WHAT OTHER DISEASES CAN HAVE (SOME OF) THE SAME
SYMPTOMS?
Many other - sometimes life threatening - diseases can have at least
some of the same symptoms, especially pain. Things like irritable bowel
can lead to a variety of problems due in part to the digestive tract
not absorbing nutrients the way it should, potentially leading to various
nutritional deficiencies. The list of diseases with similar symptoms
includes, but is not limited to:
WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH REAL VAMPIRES?
Some real vampires have pain when they haven't fed in an extended period
of time - however, this pain will go away when they get to feed again.
Fibromyalgia pain will still be there and need to be dealt with, whether
they've fed or not, so Fibromyalgia is NOT a true symptom of real vampirism.
~SphynxCatVP, July 2010
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topics; however, no warranty whatsoever is made that any of the articles
are accurate - and even if a statement made about medical matters is
accurate, it may not apply to you or your symptoms. These
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Even though the authors may be capable of
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At best, you can use the article to strike
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