If you have typical symptoms of fibromyalgia, such as widespread body pain and tenderness, fatigue and insomnia, but also others, such as rash, fever, wheezing, nausea or mouth ulcers, you may have an additional condition (see Chart 1) or an entirely different condition.
Certain conditions appear together with fibromyalgia because they are all caused by stress, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, temporomandibular joint disorder, myofascial pain syndrome, migraine and interstitial cystitis [1,8].
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Various autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis [10], Hashimoto thyroiditis [16], inflammatory bowel disease [8] and diabetes mellitus [28], also commonly appear together with fibromyalgia.
Often, the relationship between fibromyalgia and other conditions is not clear.
Chart 1. Conditions Related to Fibromyalgia |
|
| CONDITION | SYMPTOMS |
| Arthritis: ankylosing spondylitis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus [8] | Swollen joints, skin rash, hair loss, swollen lymph nodes |
| Atypical facial pain [23] | Continuous unilateral facial pain |
| Bipolar disorder [34] | Alternating euphoria and depression |
| Dercum’s disease or adiposis dolorosa [15] | Obesity and multiple painful lipomas |
| Diabetes mellitus [4,28] | Burning hands and feet or no symptoms |
| Endometriosis [10,25] | Pelvic pain, menstrual cramps |
| Functional somatic or affective spectrum disorders [2,3,26,27] |
|
| Gastrointestinal disorders |
|
Genitourinary problems [9,10,11]:
|
Pain in the bladder, perineum or genitalia, frequent urination |
| Hashimoto thyroiditis [8,16] | Goiter, sensitivity to cold, leg swelling (edema) |
Infections:
|
Dry cough, low-grade fever, nausea, jaundice, fatigue |
| Iron-deficiency anemia [17] | Paleness, shortness of breath, exercise intolerance |
| Mitral valve prolapse [2,18] | Fatigue, shortness of breath or no symptoms |
| Myofascial pain syndrome [20] | Muscle knots with trigger points, pain or decreased ability to open the mouth |
| Raynaud’s phenomenon [9] | Numbness and color changes in fingers triggered by cold |
| Sick building syndrome with asthma, multiple chemical sensitivities, food allergies and intolerances [1] | Cough, difficulty breathing, wheezing, nosebleeds, itch, flu-like symptoms |
- References
- Fleming KC et al, 2015, Central Sensitization Syndrome and the Initial Evaluation of a Patient with Fibromyalgia: A Review PubMed Central
- Coplan J et al, 2015, A Novel Anxiety and Affective Spectrum Disorder of Mind and Body—The ALPIM (Anxiety-Laxity-Pain-Immune-Mood) Syndrome: A Preliminary Report Psychiatry Online
- Bradley LA, 2009, Pathophysiology of fibromyalgia PubMed Central
- Ghaly S et al, 2012, Prevalence of Juvenile Fibromyalgia Among Children with Type1 Diabetes Mellitus in Ismailia-Egypt ScopeMed
- Triadafilopoulos G et al, 1991, Bowel dysfunction in fibromyalgia syndrome PubMed
- Wolfe F et al, 2010, Fibromyalgia, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and the Evaluation of SLE Activity PubMed Central
- Bennet RM et al 2007, An internet survey of 2,596 people with fibromyalgia PubMed Central
- Yunus MB, 2012, The Prevalence of Fibromyalgia in Other Chronic Pain Conditions PubMed Central
- Bennet R, Clinical features of fibromyalgia Myalgia.com
- Fibromyalgia facts sheet The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention
- Pontari M et al, 2013, New developments in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome PubMed
- Isasi C et al, 2014, Fibromyalgia and non-celiac gluten sensitivity: a description with remission of fibromyalgia PubMed Central
- Isasi C et al, 2016, Non-celiac Gluten Sensitivity and Rheumatic Diseases Rheumatología Clínica
- Caro XJ et al, 2008, A subset of fibromyalgia patients have findings suggestive of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy and appear to respond to IVIg PubMed
- Hanson E et al, 2012, Review of Dercum’s disease and proposal of diagnostic criteria, diagnostic methods, classification and management PubMed
- Haliloglu S et al, 2017, Fibromyalgia in patients with thyroid autoimmunity: prevalence and relationship with disease activity PubMed
- Pamuk GE et al, 2008, An increased prevalence of fibromyalgia in iron deficiency anemia and thalassemia minor and associated factors PubMed
- Pellegrino MJ et al, 1989, Prevalence of mitral valve prolapse in primary fibromyalgia: a pilot investigation PubMed
- Endresen GK, 2003, Mycoplasma blood infection in chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia syndromes PubMed
- Chandola HC et al, 2009, Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome-A Dilemma PubMed
- Levine TD et al, Routine use of punch biopsy to diagnose small fiber neuropathy in fibromyalgia patients PubMed Central
- Pimentel M et al, 2004, A link between irritable bowel syndrome and fibromyalgia may be related to findings on lactulose breath testing PubMed Central
- Krolczyk SJ, Persistent idiopathic facial pain Emedicine
- Burning mouth syndrome NIDCR
- Endometriosis WomensHealth.gov
- Hudson JI et al, 2003, Family study of affective spectrum disorder PubMed
- Barsky AJ et al, 1999, Functional somatic syndromes PubMed
- Tishler M et al, 2003, Fibromyalgia in diabetes mellitus PubMed
- Boomershine CS, Fibromyalgia Emedicine
- Clauw DJ, 2014, Fibromyalgia clinical review CiteSeerX
- Lantos PM et al, Chronic Lyme disease PubMed Central
- Sigal LH et al, 1992, Lyme arthritis as the incorrect diagnosis in pediatric and adolescent fibromyalgia PubMed
- Cassisi G et al, 2011, Chronic widespread pain and fibromyalgia: could there be some relationships with infections and vaccinations? PubMed
- Kudlow PA et al, 2015, Prevalence of fibromyalgia and co-morbid bipolar disorder: A systematic review and meta-analysis PubMed