Free guide · Scarlet Beast En español →
Fibromyalgia: the symptoms, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with it
For anyone who hurts all over and is worn out, anyone just told they have fibromyalgia, anyone whose tests keep coming back normal, and the people beside them. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS, part of the NIH) says fibromyalgia is a long-lasting disorder that causes pain and tenderness throughout the body, as well as fatigue and trouble sleeping, and that people with it have an increased sensitivity to pain. This page passes on, by name, what NIAMS says: the symptoms, who gets it and what causes it, how it is diagnosed and who treats it, therapy and the kinds of medicine, and how to live with it: moving, support, sleep and pacing yourself. It puts first our own rule for when a pain may be something else, builds the words to say to a provider, and prints a card for the visit.
A word with a dotted line under it, like this, opens its official definition, quoted from a U.S. government glossary.
Right now
- Chest pain or pressure, or sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, a drooping face, or sudden trouble speaking or seeing: call 911 (ours). Do not drive yourself. See our pages on a heart attack and a stroke.
- Pain with a fever, a joint that is red, hot or swollen, weight loss without trying, or a pain that is new or different from your usual pain: see a doctor within a day or two (ours). NIAMS says fibromyalgia does not cause inflammation in the tissues, and that doctors try to rule out other causes.
- Thinking about suicide: call or text 988, any time.
More help
- Related: When pain doesn’t go away · Arthritis · Back pain · Insomnia · Depression · Anxiety · Pain, bones and joints: find the right page.
- Day to day: Energy budget · Sleep diary · Symptom diary.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · My medicines list · Get ready for your appointment.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
Pain, a bone or a joint, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for back pain, arthritis, pain that lasts, headaches, broken bones and sickle cell, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 15, 2026 on NIAMS’s Fibromyalgia page, both parts: Overview, Symptoms, & Causes and Diagnosis, Treatment, & Steps to Take (NIH, last reviewed May 2024). Ours: calling 911 for chest pain or pressure, or for sudden weakness or numbness on one side of the body, a drooping face, or sudden trouble speaking or seeing; seeing a doctor within a day or two for pain with a fever, a red, hot or swollen joint, weight loss without trying, or a pain that is new or different; calling or texting 988 for thoughts of suicide; that a normal test does not mean the pain is not real; not stopping or changing a medicine on your own; asking a pharmacist before adding anything; asking what a test or treatment would change and what it costs; and the order of the steps. What we left out: any brand or dose, any exercise program, and NIAMS’s research pages. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.