Can Fibromyalgia Cause You to Gain Weight?

fibromyalgia chest pain

Staying in shape and peak health is essential for everyone, especially during this pandemic. Many individuals have made losing weight a priority. They follow strict diet and workout plans, hoping to shed off excess weight and reach their set fitness goals. 

However, those with certain conditions that impact their weight might feel a bit frustrated. Fibromyalgia patients, for example, might find themselves gaining unaccounted weight because of their condition.

In this article, we’ll talk about the reasons why that happens after discussing essential details about fibromyalgia. We will also list down different methods that could help you deal with the physical and mental strains of this condition.

 

What Are the Signs of Fibromyalgia?

Constant, widespread pain is no stranger to those with fibromyalgia. If you have this condition yourself, you’re probably enduring symptoms that don’t seem to go away for some reason. Many patients often report having persistent aches throughout their bodies, among other tiring signs of this illness, like: 

  • fibromyalgia chest pain
  • extreme tiredness
  • digestive problems
  • sleep disorders
  • migraines
  • endometriosis
  • painful tender points

As you can see, fibromyalgia is nothing short of a debilitating condition; but the fight does not end with the physical impact.

For example, fibromyalgia fog is another symptom that affects the brain’s cognitive function. If you have fibromyalgia, you might have already experienced poor memory and concentration. 

To illustrate fibro fogs better, imagine not sleeping for three days before writing a 2000-word essay on a highly dull topic. Getting fibro fogs is stressful, demanding, and frustrating. 

Anyone who frequently experiences these physical and mental struggles might fall into depression, stress, and anxiety disorders.

 

How Does Fibromyalgia Cause Weight Gain?

Gaining weight is even more frustrating when you know that you’ve worked hard to reach your weight goal. In addition, unexplainable weight gain can be intimidating as it usually indicates an underlying illness, like fibromyalgia.

If you have fibromyalgia, gaining a few pounds over time is entirely normal. The chronic condition can cause hormonal imbalance, depression, sleeping disorders, and other factors leading to weight gain.

Also, if you notice the listed symptoms in the previous section, fibromyalgia takes a toll on an individuals’ energy. Suppose you are experiencing extreme tiredness. The idea of exercising would not appear in your mind. You’d rather sleep or rest to get your strength back.

Having fibromyalgia is weakening, but that does not mean that you are weak. On the contrary, living with chronic fatigue is an ongoing battle. Despite feeling fibromyalgia chest pain and other symptoms, you still have to push forward and live your life. Not giving up is a feat of strength.

 

How Can You Deal with Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia is a condition not to be taken lightly. People who have this disorder often have difficulties keeping jobs and relationships due to their daily symptoms. Hence, spreading awareness of this condition is crucial.

Along with awareness come different ways of coping with this chronic pain disorder. So, let’s talk about five different ways to deal with fibromyalgia

#1. Eat Healthy

As a person dealing with chronic pain, your priority would be to eliminate body aches, like fibromyalgia chest pain, before weight loss. However, why not hit two birds with one stone?

Try to avoid these foods that lead to inflammation:

  • processed foods
  • artificial sweeteners
  • vegetable oil
  • refined carbohydrates

These food items not only make joint pains worse but may also contribute to weight gain. Also, avoid drinking alcoholic beverages to prevent fibromyalgia flare-ups and weight gain.

#2. Workout Regularly

We know that working out may be a challenge for someone with chronic fatigue and pain. However, to lose weight and make yourself healthy, you must do your best to get some workouts. 

Start with light workouts like walking. You can even turn it up a notch and do some brisk walking or slow jog in the morning. Then, you can switch to yoga and other stretching exercises to strengthen your bones and enhance the flexibility of your muscles.

Exercising can promote better sleep and release happy chemicals to keep yourself from feeling down.

fibromyalgia chest pain

#3. Adjust Your Sleep

Did you know that quality sleep can bring plenty of benefits to your health? If you have fibromyalgia, you know how much energy this condition takes away from you. As a result, you might find yourself powerless to do anything other than sleep, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

When you get injured, sometimes, the only thing you can do is give your wound a rest. This same idea applies to the invisible pain that comes from fibromyalgia.

#4. Get Support

Seeking mental health support is as crucial as getting help for your physical symptoms if you have fibromyalgia. As mentioned above, chronic fatigue affects the body in other ways aside from physical. All of its symptoms can take a toll on your mental health and further impact your relationships with those you love and need.

So, it’s better that you ask for help from a trusted friend or family. Or you can even talk to a therapist to relieve some stress. Tell them your experiences so that they can understand your condition better. If they understand what you’re dealing with, perhaps, they’d know better how to support you.

#5. Upper Cervical Chiropractic Care

Did you know that neck adjustment can reduce fibromyalgia chest pain and other symptoms you might be experiencing right now? We’ll briefly explain how.

Fibromyalgia, simply put, is a condition that amplifies how the brain processes pain signals. The central nervous system (CNS) is mainly responsible for how our bodies “feel.” So, if you have a pain condition such as fibromyalgia, there is a chance that an issue in the CNS might have caused it.

The most prevalent form of injury to the CNS is a neck misalignment-- something an upper cervical chiropractor can correct.

 

How Can Upper Cervical Chiropractic Help?

Upper cervical chiropractic care focuses on misalignments in the topmost bones in the neck.

The two bones-- the atlas and the axis-- play an essential role in protecting the brainstem, not to mention that these bones support the head for movement. Pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and migraines can result from any form of misalignment in this region.

Upper cervical chiropractors deal with these misalignments in the gentlest and most precise way possible, allowing your body to recover from the pain.

Upper cervical doctors want you to wake up one day without the heavy, painful feeling of fibromyalgia. If you share the same goal, contact the nearest upper cervical chiropractor in your area today!

Find An Upper Cervical Doctor in Your Areato schedule a consultation today.

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