Fibromyalgia
A common condition of widespread body pain, profound fatigue and unrefreshing sleep, thought to reflect how the nervous system processes pain rather than damage in the muscles or joints. Blood tests are normal — their role is to rule out conditions that mimic it.
What it is
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder of amplified pain processing: the nervous system becomes more sensitive to pain signals, so ordinary sensations are felt as painful (central sensitisation). It causes widespread pain across the body for months, along with fatigue, poor and unrefreshing sleep, and cognitive difficulty often called 'fibro fog'. It commonly overlaps with irritable bowel syndrome, headaches, and mood symptoms, and frequently starts after a period of physical or emotional stress. It affects women more than men and is genuinely common. Critically, it is not inflammatory and does not damage joints, so blood tests and scans are normal — which is exactly why testing matters: to confidently exclude the conditions that look similar (thyroid disease, low vitamin D, anaemia, inflammatory arthritis, autoimmune disease) rather than to 'prove' fibromyalgia, which is a clinical diagnosis.
Key lab markers
- TSH — hypothyroidism mimics the fatigue and aches.
- Vitamin D — deficiency causes diffuse muscle pain and is easily corrected.
- Full blood count, ferritin — anaemia and iron deficiency cause fatigue.
- ESR, CRP — normal in fibromyalgia; raised markers point instead to inflammatory or autoimmune disease.
- Calcium, creatine kinase — screen for metabolic and muscle causes of pain.
- ANA / rheumatoid factor — only if features suggest lupus or rheumatoid arthritis; not routine, as low-level positives can mislead. All of these are expected to be normal in fibromyalgia — the point is exclusion.
Symptoms
- Widespread pain on both sides of the body, above and below the waist, for 3+ months
- Profound fatigue, not relieved by rest
- Unrefreshing sleep, waking tired
- 'Fibro fog' — trouble with memory and concentration
- Heightened sensitivity to pressure, temperature, light or noise
- Headaches, migraines
- Irritable bowel symptoms
- Low mood, anxiety
- Stiffness, especially in the morning
Related symptoms
Related lab panels
When to discuss with a doctor
Persistent widespread pain with fatigue and poor sleep deserves a medical assessment — partly to make the diagnosis and partly to exclude the mimics with a basic blood panel (thyroid, vitamin D, blood count, inflammatory markers). Normal results are reassuring and consistent with fibromyalgia; abnormal inflammatory markers or a positive autoimmune screen redirect the work-up. Because there is no test that 'confirms' it, fibromyalgia is diagnosed clinically once mimics are excluded. Management is multi-pronged — graded exercise, sleep, pain-modulating medication, and addressing mood — and is led by your GP, sometimes with rheumatology or pain specialists. Mediora.AI can show that the thyroid, vitamin D, blood count and inflammatory markers are normal, supporting the exclusion; the diagnosis itself is clinical.