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starrynight96

Updated 10mo ago

Muscle Spasms with Fibromyalgia: Is it Common?

I have always experienced severe muscle spams with my Fibromyalgia. I'm currently on a muscle relaxer for them now, and I am not potassium deficient. Is this common for Fibromyalgia? I'm currently in the process of going to see a Rheumatologist to see if something deeper is going on - as I was diagnosed with Fibro at 15 years old with little to no differential diagnoses presented. I am just curious if this is related to fibro or is a symptom of something else.

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JustRachelle

2y

Do your muscle spasms hurt or are they more like twitching/jumping? This just started happening to me around November of last year as well as cramp like pain almost as if something was tightening around me… and then I started having numbness.. (the twitching/spasms started first.. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2016.. I feel like it’s always something else.. I think that anybody with fibromyalgia has something else.. there is no way I can feel the way I feel and there is “NOTHING” wrong
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anemone

2y

i'm sorry you've been made to feel like fibro is "nothing". it's a real condition, and the symptoms can include twitching and numbness (though the latter is supposedly rare). i have both with mine. that said, bring it up with a doctor when you can and maybe see a rheumatologist if you haven't.
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anemone

2y

dunno that i'd say it's common, but it's at least something some fibro patients experience. i have muscle spasms of moderate intensity, usually most noticeable as i'm falling asleep but when i think about it, i'm experiencing them now too ::v they're not super visible from the outside. but to be fair, i have a pretty positive ana and some other weird symptoms that i'm not sure are explained by fibro (meningitis caused by normal ibuprofen use anyone?) so i could also be experiencing some autoimmune fuckery. basically, i wouldn't rule out another diagnosis just yet, but it could very well be from fibro. good luck with your journey to see a rheumatologist! don't be too disappointed if you end up with a positive ana but no autoimmune dx... ana positivity seems to be decently common among fibro patients and some theorise that it's an autoimmune condition itself
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starrynight96

2y

my pcp actually did an ana test and it did come back positive speckled. And I have heard that about it as well, but figured it's worth investigating.
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Blinky

2y

yeah, if I do have spasms, they aren't super noticeable from the outside! I was diagnosed fairly recently and things that I thought were normal that everybody felt, like a quick twitch in my legs, could be FM and I had never considered it.
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starrynight96

2y

I get both kinds of muscles spams. Most of the time its the twitching/jumping kind but other times I get ones in my toes and under my shoulder blades that feel like my body is trying to rip itself apart. I've been dealing with the "extreme" ones for about 2-3 years now.
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anemone

2y

do the extreme ones seem to have any specific triggers? i know that my partner has some pretty intense and painful-looking spasms that are assumed to be related to autism and associated muscle tension (which... is frequently diagnosed as fibromyalgia. go figure) and they come on mainly during emotional distress (anxiety especially).
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starrynight96

2y

No, no triggers that I notice at least. They seem to occur randomly, though they are more common during higher pain days.
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anemone

2y

i'd also like to throw in the ring that fibro is a pretty common pre-diagnosis for multiple sclerosis, which has muscle spasms as one of the most common symptoms. numbness, fatigue, and chronic pain can also be symptoms. it is an autoimmune disorder. not sure if you're already aware of/suspecting this but i'd personally not be surprised if either or both of us find ourselves with a ms diagnosis at some point ;;P should have mentioned that sooner but it slipped my brain since i'd convinced myself that wasnt it haha
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JustRachelle

2y

I have both positive and negative Ana test as well …. My primary care doctor said the exact same thing about fibromyalgia.. it’s usually always something they just haven’t found it yet.. but when I say “nothing” I’m saying it comes from nothing.. it’s been said that fibromyalgia comes from trauma, injury, psychological issues, or surgery.. which I have none of lol so I always ask … “if I have fibromyalgia and it comes from these particular things and I don’t have ANY of these.. then where is mine coming from?” And my old doctors would say “idk” 😳😳 I was suppose to get a mri on my brain a few weeks ago but my insurance wouldn’t pay for my. The neurologist I went to has been fighting my insurance company but I’m over it so I’m just paying for it tomorrow to be done. Smh
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anemone

2y

bahaha, i have had trauma, psych issues, surgery, injury, and severe infections (another supposed cause) but none of them happened right before my symptoms started or anything and that's very much what everyone expects. the studies that say fibro is autoimmune might be a comfort to you there, because the idea that there was a genetic disposition was already pretty common - that's as much of a "reason" as anything else after all. good luck with the mri! let us know how it goes - would love to hear if you get any answers from it. i've had one, but it was long before my fibro dx and before my numbness and twitching started too so i've no advice there. glad to hear you're getting one even though your insurance is being a pain about it too, ive had my share of struggles with mine too
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JustRachelle

2y

I haven’t looked into anything about fibromyalgia lately I didn’t know about the autoimmune studies.. thanks for letting me know I’ll definitely look into that!
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sashstump

2y

I get that sometimes randomly. The other night my ankles kept having spasps, but it was after I stood in a weird position changing at diaper at 1am lol. My ankles ached like after a Charley horse the next day.

The content in this post is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

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