Blog Classic: Aug. 29, 2009
When you have fibromyalgia , the more you learn about your illness the better you can take care of yourself. While medical terminology can be overwhelming and hard to understand (especially on foggy days!), it can really help to know a few key terms. I went through my fibromyalgia glossary and picked out the ones I thought were most important:
- Allodynia
- Central Sensitization
- Cortisol
- Dopamine
- Glutamate
- HPA Axis
- Hyperalgesia
- Nociceptor
- Norepinephrine
- Pain Threshold
- Pain Tolerance
- Paresthesia
- Serotonin
- Substance P
- Tender Points
Have you come across any medical jargon that you're having trouble understanding? Leave a comment & I'll do what I can to answer your questions!
Also See: 15 Terms Everyone With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Should Know
Learn more or join the conversation!
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I think it is a fantastic Idea, Dr. Terms are bad enough to try to understand, but if we can just get some of the terms we most often use is soo Great!, I didn’t even know all these Fibro Terms, Thanks Adrienne!!!
Thank you so much for this list. I thought I was pretty well read on Fibro, but have learned quite a bit from this list. It is nice to have names for what we are feeling.
Blessings!
Thanks for the list. At the beginning of the discovery of my FMS (1980′s when it was called something totally different!) I was training and explaining to the Drs what I had and felt and could and could not do. I have had this for so long and thought I had a great handle on the terms BUT this shows I still have new stuff to learn Have everything written on a file card and ready to roll and teach the new Dr here!!!! Tahnks again
Thanks Adrienne, I’m kind of new to fibromyalgia (2 years) diagnosed. I thought I was at my lowest a few weeks ago when I was in so much pain, I couldn’t sleep on my sides. My hips ached so bad and the pain ran up and down the back of my legs. The Doctor gave my trigger point injections on both of my hips and I feel 100% better now. Thanks for your emails. I always look forward to reading your articles.
Dysautonomia should also be added to your terms to use with doctors. You had an excellent article on it last week, and it really helped me understand how the autonomic system (parrasympathetic and sympathetic) can go awry and the sx can be frightening when it does, such as in my case, increased heart rate (controlled by our autonomic system). I recommend everyone with Fibro read your article and the doctor who authored it.
hi there, I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia 3yrs now, but have suffered pain for many years, I understand about being woken in the night with extreme pain in hips and also knees,I take 50mg of amytriptylin at night but am still in alot of pain, cannot get proper sleep,and i have to be up at 5.30am 7 days a week to go to work, I only work part time now, I am always tired, got no energy, I find it hard to concentrate, you cannot make plans as you dont know how you are going to feel, I have made so many apologies to people, some understand and some dont., I am dreading the cold weather coming as that seems to make me worse, and this fibro fog seems to be getting worse, I feel like i have been drinking and got a hangover. but i know there is someone out there thats worse than me.
I knew most of them but forgot until I looked them up again – just another fun little symptom of FMS !!!!!
Thanks for the info !!!!!
hi just recentlw been dignosed with fibo and i 2 can not sleep with paints in my legs,hip.
i would like to no how to explain what fibo actually is.
in lay man tearms xx
i have been diagnosed app 2yrs ago, was not explained what it is, give amitriptiline and told to go home, diagnised again after a year and again not much explanation, what I know is what I read from this site and others. i have been a highly driven police officer for most of my live and now at 39 years of age am just in a state of being, not living, just being, no energy , no motivation, NOTHING, I am the mother of 2 beautiful teenage girls who are so used to their mother dragging herself in the house after work and going strainght to bed to sleep for 2 hours.Keep up a “normal” face for most of the time but just cannot cope with this constant tiredness, becomming extremely desperate and have a GP with no mercy. My life is fading away right infront of me and there is NOTHING I can do about it……………..
Madeleine in reading your comment i feel like i am reading about myself.I discovered 13 years ago i have Fibromyalgia,my life feels like a roller coaster.I had a good career,good pay ,i kept working in severe pain and exhaustion for 7 years.I finally had to admit to myself that i just could not do this anymore.Continue to work was not a life for me,my children or my husband.I was going around like a zombie.This illness is so unpredictable and i find it affects my social life.Giving up work causes one big piece of the social life to be gone and plans are too often changed due to how i am feeling on a particular day.Dealing with Fibromyalgia/Chronic Fatigue is not for the faint of heart!!!
DON’T UNDERSTAND ANY OF THAT TERMINOLOGY