Master Symptom List for CFS, FMS, CMP & Lyme Disease

Master Symptom List for CFS, FMS, CMP & Lyme Disease

By Sherry Hart Scoggins, Crispulo Hernansanz and Meg Neubauer in Fibromyalgia Awareness!

AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM/ENDOCRINE/IMMUNE/HORMONE

· Abnormal sensitivity to hot or cold

· Allergies (nasal, other; new, increased or worsening)

· Canker sores (frequent)

· Chills and/or shakes when hungry (may occur instead of feeling hungry)

· Cold hands and feet

· Feeling hot or cold often

· Flu-like symptoms, on-going or recurrent after initial gradual or acute onset; includes mild fever (99.5-101.5 F / 37.5-38.6 C), chills, extreme fatigue after minimal exertion

· Hair loss (alopecia)

· Herpes simplex or shingles rash

· Increased susceptibility to infections

· Low-grade fevers

· Low blood pressure (below 110/70)

· Low body temperature (below 97.5)

· Lymph nodes painful, swollen (in neck; under arms)

· Night sweats (not related to menopause or fever)

· Orthostatic Intolerance (neurally mediated hypotension)

· Reactive hypoglycemia and insulin resistance

· Thirst, increased

· Temperature irregularities; often feeling hot or cold irrespective of actual ambient temperature and body temperature; low body temperature (below 97.6 F / 36.4 C)

· Thyroid inflammation (acute thyroiditis; hypothyroidism; Hashimoto's thyroiditis)

CARDIOPULMONARY/RESPIRATORY/CIRCULATORY

· Cardiac abnormalities (mitral valve prolapse; myocarditis; tachycardia; palpitations; dysrhythmia)

· Cough

· Dyspnea (out of breath) or shortness of breath (air hunger) after minimal or no exertion

· Heart attack

· Heart palpitations

· Heart pounds so hard it shakes body, bed

· Pulse skips

· Serious rhythm disturbances of heart

· Sighing, frequent, not related to mental/emotional state

· Stroke

· Vasculitis

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM/NEUROLOGICAL/NEUROPATHIC/OTOLOGIC

· Abnormal CAT, MRI and/or SPECT scans

· Alcohol intolerance

· Aseptic meningitis

· "Brainfog"; inability to think clearly

· Difficulty moving tongue to speak

· Diminished or absent reflexes

· Fainting or blackouts; feeling like you might faint

· Headaches (frequent, severe, recurring)

· Hearing fluctuations (sounds fade then return)

· Hearing changes, often from day to day (need to turn up, then down, volume of radio, TV)

· Joint or arthritic pain not relieved by NSAIDs (ie, ibuprofen)

· Libido (decreased)

· Light-headedness, feeling spaced-out

· Migraine headaches

· Muscle twitching

· Noise intolerance

· Paralysis or severe weakness of limb

· Paresthesias (numbness, tingling, crawling, itching sensations) in face, head, torso, extremities

· Photosensitivity

· Radiculitis

· Seizures; seizure-like episodes

· Sensory alterations (hyper- or hyposensitivity) - smell, taste, hearing (noise intolerance)

· Severe muscle weakness

· Syncope (fainting)

· Tinnitus (ringing/noises in one or both ears)

· Touch or weight of clothing on or against body causes discomfort or pain

· Tremors, trembling

COGNITIVE FUNCTION

· Becoming lost in familiar locations when driving

· Difficulty with simple calculations (e.g., balancing chequebook)

· Difficulty expressing ideas in words

· Difficulty moving your mouth to speak

· Difficulty making decisions

· Difficulty following directions while driving

· Difficulty remembering names of objects

· Difficulty remembering names of people

· Difficulty recognising faces

· Difficulty following simple written instructions

· Difficulty following complicated written instructions

· Difficulty following simple oral (spoken) instructions

· Difficulty following complicated oral (spoken) instructions

· Difficulty integrating information (putting ideas together to form a complete picture or concept)

· Difficulty putting tasks or things in proper sequence

· Difficulty paying attention

· Difficulty following a conversation when background noise is present

· Difficulty making and/or retrieving memories (long/short-term memory deficits)

· Difficulty understanding what you read

· Easily distracted during a task

· Feeling too disoriented to drive

· Forgetting how to do routine things

· Forgetting the use of common objects (such as, what to do with the shampoo when you are standing in the shower)

· Forgetting how to get to familiar places

· Impaired ability to concentrate

· Losing your train of thought in the middle of a sentence

· Losing track in the middle of a task (remembering what to do next)

· Poor judgment

· Switching left and right

· Slowed and/or slurred speech

· Stuttering; stammering

· Transposition (reversal) of numbers, words and/or letters when you speak and/or speak

· Word-finding difficulty

· Using the wrong word

DIGESTIVE/HEPATIC

· Bloating; intestinal gas

· Decreased appetite

· Digestive chemicals (acid, enzymes) reduced or absent

· Oesophagal reflux; heartburn

· Frequent constipation

· Frequent diarrhoea

· Food cravings (especially carbohydrates, sweets)

· Food/Substance intolerance

· IBS

· Liver function impaired; mild abnormalities

· Increased appetite

· Nausea

· Spleen tender or enlarged

· Stomach ache, cramps

· Vomiting

· Weight gain or loss

EQUILIBRIUM/PERCEPTION

· Bite your cheeks or tongue frequently

· Bump into things frequently

· Difficulty discriminating printed matter despite proper vision correction

· Distances (difficulty judging when driving; when putting things down on surfaces)

· Dizziness or vertigo

· Dropping things frequently

· Dysequilibrium (balance problems)

· Impaired coordination

· Loss of balance when standing with eyes closed

· Perception (not quite seeing what you are looking at)

· Some patterns (stripes, checks) cause dizziness

· Spatial disorientation

· Staggering gait (clumsy walking)

· Words on printed page appear to jump off page or disappear when staring at them

EYES/VISION

· Acuity changes not related to prescription changes

· Blind spots

· Blurred vision

· Conjunctivitis

· Diminished visual acuity in absence of actual vision change

· Drooping eyelid

· Double vision

· Eye pain

· Flashes of light perceived peripherally

· Optic neuritis or atrophy

· Oscillopsia (image jiggles)

· Prescription changes more frequently

· Pressure sensation behind eyes

· Red and/or tearing eyes

· Retinal damage

· Slowed accommodation (switching focus from far to near, near to far)

· Spots or floaters not related to migraines

· Swelling around eyes

· Uveitis and/or iritis

· Wandering or lazy eye

HEAD/NECK/MOUTH

· Bell's palsy (facial paralysis, one or both sides)

· Bruxism (grinding/clenching teeth)

· Canker sores

· Dizziness when you turn your head or move

· Dry chronic cough

· Dry eyes, nose and mouth (sicca syndrome)

· Pain in ears, palate, gums

· Periodontal disease

· Prickling pain along skin of jaw

· Problems swallowing, chewing

· Runny nose in absence of cold, allergies

· Sinus infections

· Sore spot on the top of your head

· Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJ)

· Unexplained toothaches

· Xerostomia (dry mouth)

MUSCULOSKELETAL

· Arthritic pain that migrates from joint to joint

· Carpal tunnel syndrome

· Frozen shoulder

· Intermittent joint swelling

· Joint aches (arthralgia)

· Joint pain, without redness or swelling

· Loss of tone

· "Lumpy, bumpy" long muscles

· Morning stiffness

· Muscle aches (myalgia)

· Muscle pain, stiffness, weakness

· Piriform muscle syndrome

· Reduced range of motion

· Stiff neck

· Writing causes pain in hand, arm shoulder

PAIN SYMPTOMS

· Abdominal pain

· *Chest pain*

· Generalised pain

· Joint Pain

· Pain that migrates from joint to joint

· Pain/stiffness at C1-C2 (top two vertebrae)

· Shooting or stabbing pains

· Painful tender points (FMS: 11 out of 18 tender points)

PSYCHOLOGICAL SYMPTOMS/MOOD/EMOTIONS

· Abrupt/Unpredictable mood swings

· Anxiety or fear for no obvious reason

· Appetite increase/decrease

· Decreased self-esteem

· Depression or depressed mood

· Feeling helpless and/or hopeless

· Feeling worthless

· Frequent crying for no reason

· Helpless/Hopeless feelings

· Inability to enjoy previously enjoyed activities

· Irritability; over-reaction

· New phobias/irrational fears

· Panic attacks

· Personality changes (labile, irritable, anxious, confused, forgetful)

· Phobias (irrational fears)

· Rage attacks; anger outbursts for little or no reason

· Suicidal thoughts or suicide attempts

SENSITIVITIES

· Acute or abnormal reactions to medications

· Alteration in taste, smell, and/or hearing

· Chemicals (alcohol, medications; lower tolerance for)

· Food sensitivities

· Increased perception of and sensitivity to noise

· Light sensitivity

· Sensitivity to odours (able to detect and/or react in concentrations far lower than before and that healthy people cannot smell)

· NOISE sensitivities

· Hypervigilance

SKIN/NAILS

· Abnormal scarring

· Acrodermatitis Chronica Atrophician

· Blotchy or mottled skin

· Bruise easily

· Bruises may take longer to appear, and/or longer to fade

· Bull's-eye (Erythema migrans) on light skin (resembles a bruise on dark skin)

· Dermographia (minor scratch pressure on skin leaves vivid red welts)

· Dry, itchy skin

· Easily scar

· Eczema or psoriasis

· Fragile nails

· Frequent skin irritations

· Lymphadenosis Benigna Cutis

· Nails that curve under or downward

· Overgrowing connective tissue (ingrown hair, adhesions, thickened/split cuticles, cysts, fibroids)

· Painful skin (abnormal/excessive pain when scratched or rubbed)

· "Paper" skin (feels fragile, tissue-thin when rubbed)

· Rashes on body, face

· Vertical ridges or beads in nails

SLEEP SYMPTOMS

· Abnormal brain activity in stage 4 sleep

· Altered sleep/wake patterns (alert/energetic late at night, sleepy during day

· Difficulty falling asleep

· Difficulty staying asleep (frequent and/or prolonged awakenings)

· Hypersomnia (excessive sleeping)

· Myoclonus (restless leg syndrome; occasional jerking of entire body)

· Nightmares (frequent, extremely vivid and/or disturbing)

· Unrefreshing/Non-restorative sleep

UROGENITAL/REPRODUCTIVE

· Decreased libido

· Discharge from breast or galactorrhea

· Endometriosis

· Frequent urination

· Incontinence

· Impotence

· Infant: premature; low birth weight; low muscle tone; failure to thrive

· Interstitial cystitis

· Miscarriage or stillbirth

· Painful intercourse

· Painful urination or bladder

· Pelvic and/or rectal pain

· Prostate pain

· Swollen testicles

· Other symptoms worsen before start of menstruation

· Worsening of PMS

OTHER

· Abnormal or other changes in sweating

· Activity level reduced to less than 50% of pre-onset level

· Burning sensation (internal or external)

· Changed voice

· Changes in sweat odour/body odour

· Delayed reaction to overactivity/exertion (onset 24-48 hours after exertion)

· Electromagnetic (EM) sensitivity (electrical storms, full moon, affect function of electrical devices)

· Fatigue, prolonged, disabling, made worse by exertion or stress

· Fibrocystic breasts

· "Galloping" cholesterol and triglycerides

· Hair loss (not related to age, hormones, diet, medication)

· Hands hurt excessively when put in cold water

· Handwriting changes, altering signature and/or other writing

· Hoarseness

· Painful, weak grasp that gives way/lets go

· Periods of concentrated thinking causes physical and mental exhaustion, increases pain

· Sore throat

· Swelling/Idiopathic oedema (fluid retention syndrome)

· Symptoms worsened by extremes of temperature (hot, cold), stress, and/or air travel

· Symptoms change focus from time to time, like infection is moving through the body

· Thickened mucus secretions (nose, bowel, vaginal)

· Thickened "sleep" around eyes in mornings

· Very attractive to biting flies and mosquitoes

· Weight changes (usually gain)