In well detailed medical papers, the symptom overlap between fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue is obvious. The symptoms are well-known but bear repeating. Headaches, dizziness, blurring of vision, eye irritation or dryness, inappropriate flushing, sweating or sudden cold spells continue this list. Equally frequent are nasal congestion, abnormal taste varying from bad to metallic, ringing or other ear sounds, numbness or tingling in various locations. The irritable bowel syndrome, or spastic colon consisting of gas, bloating, constipation with or without diarrhea are commonplace.
Patients also note cyclic chipping, breaking or peeling of fingernails.
The restless leg syndrome and frequent foot or leg cramps are often present, usually at night. In fact, it is quite uncommon not to find symptoms suggesting fibromyalgia in other relatives. For example, my father, two sisters, and my three daughters all have this illness. A multigenetic disease is likely. We have treated patients as young as four and have seen onset in patients in their seventies.