Fibromyalgia can be a strange disease. Your doctor may say that fatigue and pain are the only real symptoms of fibro, but you can’t help but ask yourself if your recent uncomfortable symptoms are due to your illness. Here are some of the rare symptoms of fibromyalgia you may experience.

Rare Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

non-cardiac chest pain 

This is one of the scariest of the rare symptoms of fibromyalgia. Whenever you experience severe chest pain, it’s normal that your first concern is that you’re having a heart attack. Many fibro patients treat chest pain for non-cardiac causes, also called angina. When you experience this, it will feel like a squeezing, squeezing pressure in your chest. Attacking this symptom can be very scary and will likely send you to an emergency room only to be told you are fine. Fibromyalgia sufferers, however, can have heart disease the same as anyone else can, and it’s the number one killer of Americans. If you have chest pains, get it checked out because it’s a lot better to be safe than sorry.

Sensitivity to noise and light

If the table near squealing young children in a restaurant seems to bother you more than everyone else, it’s likely a fibroid symptom. Although most doctors will tell you that sensitivity to noise, especially high-pitched or very loud sounds, is not a fibromyalgia symptom, enough fibro sufferers have this problem that it shouldn’t be considered uncommon. Many fibro patients are also extremely sensitive to bright light.

Alcohol intolerance and increased side effects of drugs

You start to feel like you’ve had way too much alcohol after a glass or two of wine while your friends can drink all night long. Or you get every possible bad side effect from the medications and lead your doctor to be suspicious about why drugs never seem to help you. This is actually not uncommon in people with fibromyalgia, although no one knows why.

difficulties with your senses

Many fibromyalgia sufferers feel that their vision is not quite right. You may have trouble driving at night or you may lose the ability to tell the difference between colors. Some people are more sensitive to strong smells, which is not the same as being allergic to certain scents. Some fibro patients even lose their hearing.

skin problems

Fibromyalgia sufferers often have problems with their skin. You may feel your skin crawling, itching, tingling, or burning, a symptom called paresthesia. Some fibro patients treat acne well into adolescence. Still other people with fibromyalgia have mottled skin that looks like it has red blotchy patches.

tissue overgrowth

Obesity of body tissues can affect you both internally and externally. In women, the internal overgrowth of tissue leads to a painful condition called fibroids, which causes benign tumors to grow in the uterus. The most common symptoms of fibroids are heavy bleeding and extremely painful periods. Fibroids can also cause pelvic pain. Other forms of tissue overgrowth often include ingrown hairs, adhesions, and heavy, splitting cuticles. For unknown reasons, tissue overgrowth may be more common in fibromyalgia.

Because the medical community still doesn’t have a great understanding of fibromyalgia, it’s entirely possible that the rare symptoms of fibromyalgia that your doctor dismisses may actually be part of your illness. Regardless of the cause of your symptoms, it’s important to be open-minded with your doctor and willing to take care of yourself.