Fibromyalgia Research Paper

Fibromyalgia and Panic Disorder

Many studies have shown a link between fibromyalgia and generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder but the way they are linked is still not fully understood. While both are considered chronic conditions, both have no cure and neither of them are fully understood.

Fibromyalgia is a common disorder which causes widespread chronic pain and fatigue. People who have this condition typically have pain and tenderness in all four quadrants of the body, along with eighteen specific tender points in the neck, arms, shoulders, back, hips, and legs. Along with the pain and fatigue, people will also experience trouble sleeping, migraine and cluster headaches, nerve pain, allodynia, and cognitive difficulties that affect

thinking and short term memory. Alongside these symptoms, sufferers typically experience Irritable bowel syndrome and gastrointestinal reflux disease, or GERD. Affecting up to an estimated five million Americans, about ninety percent of those diagnosed with Fibromyalgia are women. It can present itself at any time in someone’s life, and the cause is still not known.
Panic disorder is a psychiatric disorder that includes sudden and severe attacks of irrational fear and anxiety.

It is different from normal fear or anxiety to a stressful situation or event, instead these panic attacks can happen without warning and for no reason at all. A person with panic disorder has developed anxiety or fear of having another panic attack, and will do whatever they can to avoid what they think causes them. Often times panic attacks are easily mistook for a heart attack because the symptoms are so similar. Difficulty breathing, pounding heart, chest pain, dizziness, shaking, choking sensation, tingling and numbness in the extremities accompanied by an intense fear that the person is losing control or about to die are characteristic signs of Panic

Disorder.
When the sufferer experiences chronic pain, such as patients with fibromyalgia, people with panic disorder can attribute leg pain for a condition as severe as DVT, a pain in their head as a brain tumor or twitching of muscles to be Multiple Sclerosis or ALS. The pain to them seems life threatening, and will often spend several hours of their life in different doctor’s offices and emergency rooms with little to no avail. Usually, bloodwork, lab tests and x-rays will prove to be quite normal. This can be extremely upsetting for the sufferer as this does not bring peace of mind but instead more questions and anxiety.
It is estimated that around twenty percent of people who have Fibromyalgia also have anxiety or Panic Disorder.

Depression is also common among those who have both Fibromyalgia and anxiety. Anxiety and depression can form in anyone who deals with chronic pain, because the symptoms are so sporadic and often no underlying cause can be found. Support from friends or loved ones can also be faint as the condition itself is hard to understand. This can make sufferers feel hopeless and has a detrimental impact on their lives, such as missing work, failing at school, financial problems and even substance abuse. Having both conditions can be debilitating, and finding ways to cope is a tiresome process as often the people who have been diagnosed are not ready to accept that its psychological in nature. There has been a slight breakthrough,

however.
For years Fibromyalgia was thought to be purely psychological, it was not considered a real physical condition until 1987. People overcome by the illness, most of them female, were thought to just be hypochondriacs or told it was “all in their head”. Once it gained its recognition medical professionals at first thought it was a disease affecting the fibrous tissues and muscles, since the most common complaint was muscular pain. However the tests that were conducted on the patients showed no muscle degeneration or damage, so it was inconclusive. It was also thought to possibly be an autoimmune disorder, but tests that were done also were inconclusive. In recent years, new studies have shown using various lab tests and brain-imaging procedures that there is a sensitization of the central nervous in people with Fibromyalgia. They express changes in their central nervous system that cranks up an intensified experience of pain for the patient. Why this happens has yet to be discovered.
There are a range of theories and controversy surrounding the issue. Some speculate the onset of Fibromyalgia is due to a traumatic experience, extreme stress, injury, and other psychological issues. Poor diet, obesity and physical activity have been considered to cause symptoms as well. Hormonal imbalances of cortisol, estrogen and progesterone have also been thought to contribute to the disorder. Even exposure to some viruses have been debated. While the question still remains unanswered, there is treatment options available. There have some success with prescription drugs such as Lyrica and Cymbalta, combined with therapy and lifestyle changes, such as eating healthier and being more active. Living in a healthier way and learning methods to cope can help to decrease symptoms. Unfortunately, there is no lab or blood test to distinguish who has Fibromyalgia and who doesn’t.