Can anyone tell if it is possible to have fibromyalgia in your hands and feet? I have been diagnosed with chronic fm in both arms (from the shoulders down) and both legs (from thehipsdown) as well as my neck.
When I mentioned the severe pain in my hands and feet to my hydro thetherapist he said you do not get fm in hands and feet. Our GP seems to think it is fm. Can anyone enlighten me please. My hands lock into a claw over night and it is very pain to try opening them which can take many hours before I am able to use my fingers.
Hi Ruth, I was diagnosed with FM a few months ago and it affects both my hands and my feet as well as other areas. I can feel like my hands and feet are on fire at times and can't stand to even have socks on let alone blankets!! I also know a few people who also have it and they get pain in their hands too. My hands don't lock at night but just doing day to day things can be dificult some days. I hope this helps hon. xox
Thank you for info about hands and feet. I was affraid I had another health problem to solve but pleased to find out it's all down to fm. Best wishes to everyone. sleep tight.
Fibromyalgia affects the entire nervous system, not just specific areas of the body. Its cause is now known not to be muscle or joint related. The pain is caused by how the central nervous system interprets and transmit the signals between the nerve endings and the brain. That said, pain and burning in hands and feet is known to be a symptom of FMS - I wish I'd known this years ago. I thought that everyone had burning feet if they stood for more than a few minutes and that I was just a wuss.
So, if you have FMS it is in your entire body, not just in your arms or neck etc. It's just that sometimes, and for some lucky people, they may only get pain in one or two areas rather than everywhere. But if that is the case, then they really should be told by their doctors or specialist that the same symptoms can appear elsewhere in their body with no warning.
It seems some doctors are slow to catch up with discoveries over the last couple of years. It is not rheumatological, it is not related to arthritis or anything like that. It has been seen in MRI scans that the brain function during pain in FMS patients is different. We feel stronger pain with about half the stimuli of a non-FMS person. Current research is looking at whether it can be picked up with a new blood test; whether there is a genetic link; whether it might be an auto-immune syndrome akin to hypothyroidism; whether small electrical pulses help (the last double-blind trial in the US says it does). There's always something new going on. Unfortunately, almost none of it so far has come up with a treatment.
Good luck with your treatment. May your pain and fatigue never be worse than mine.
Thank you for your information it is very useful and interesting to know what is going on with research etc. My hands don't burn but my feet do. My hands lock in to a very painful claw every morning and can take all day to unlock. It's good to know that this is all FMS related.
My GP is still trying to juggle my treatment but he admits he needs to study FMS a bit more.