Fibromyalgia syndrome is somewhat similar to chronic fatigue syndrome in the sense that both are chronic diseases. However, Fibromyalgia is characterized by severe pain in specific areas of the body such as neck, shoulders, spine and hips. This disease, unlike chronic fatigue that centers mostly in the joints or muscles and nerves, affects all the pressure points in the body. It also affects the bowel movements in a patient to a large extent. Also, most affected parts in Fibromyalgia syndrome are the chest, ribcage, thighs, knees, hips, lower back, and spine, along with the neck, shoulders, elbow joints, knee joints and arms.
Fibromyalgia syndrome is sometimes used synonymously to chronic fatigue syndrome, although they are both not exactly the same kind of disease. The reason for this error is the similar symptoms faced in both these complications. Just as in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, patients suffering from Fibromyalgia syndrome tend to face extreme tiredness, fatigue, lack of concentration, restlessness, inability to recollect certain events, and so on. Along with this, soreness in certain pressure points; muscular cramps; spasms; weakness in the whole body or specific joints; severe headaches; numbness in certain areas such as hands and feet; tingles throughout the body like the kind that occur right after a cramp release or release from numbness; and more are also frequently observed in patients suffering from Fibromyalgia. Slight fever might be noticed in most of the cases, just like in patients suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Other symptoms that are frequently found in Fibromyalgia syndrome patients are severe depression and anxiety attacks. Although the same can be found in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients, the severity is considerably more in the Fibromyalgia syndrome patients due to more suffering because of this disease.
In Fibromyalgia syndrome severe shooting or radiating pain can be observed in certain pressure points, unlike in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome wherein the patient has a constant niggling pain in most of the body parts. The pain can be bone deep and palpations of those pressure points increase the pain to extreme levels, causing anxiety and depression attacks in the patient. Stiffness and aches in the body soon after the person wakes up can be related to this disease. However, some patients might even face the pain in the evenings or throughout the day and the severity can range from mild to extremely severe depending on the weather, stress and anxiety in all these patients. Fibromyalgia syndrome patients experience pain similar to the one noticed in rheumatoid arthritis patients, with no external swelling in spite of severe pain.
Since no specific reason has been detected for Fibromyalgia syndrome attacks, treatment can vary from case to case. Usually, treatment with altered lifestyle, counseling, education about the disease and physiotherapy can help the patient get rid of this disease completely. But this could work only in the initial stages when the disease is still mild. In other cases the treatment is similar to that of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, in which the patient is often given various medications to counter all the symptoms faced instead of the actual disease.
