If a person finds that they are in constant pain, are tired all the time and are having a difficult time concentrating, they may have fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a condition in which a person suffers from musculoskeletal pain, along with fatigue and issues involving their memory and mood.
A person with fibromyalgia experiences widespread pain. In general, it is a dull ache that the person feels constantly for at least three months and that occurs on all sides of a person’s body, left, right, top and bottom. The fatigue a person with this condition experiences means that even though a person may sleep for a long time, they still wake up tired. Moreover, the pain can affect the quality of a person’s sleep. In addition, a person may have a hard time concentrating, a symptom which is often referred to as “fibro fog.”
Sometimes a person develops fibromyalgia after some sort of physical or psychological trauma. Other times, however, there is no event that seems to trigger the condition; it just develops over time. Women are much more prone to suffer from fibromyalgia than men. Those who suffer from fibromyalgia may also suffer from other conditions such as mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, irritable bowel syndrome, TMJ, and tension headaches.
Unfortunately, fibromyalgia has no cure. While there is much about fibromyalgia that is still not understood, according to researchers it is thought that the disorder affects how the person’s pain processes pain signals. In the end, what is apparent is that fibromyalgia can be so severe as to stop a person from being able to work. When that happens, a person may want to consider seeking Social Security disability benefits for injuries.