Widespread pain in a nervous system that has become sensitized. It is a real condition with real mechanisms, and it is not a diagnosis of exclusion made in exasperation.
What it is
The central nervous system amplifies pain signals — the volume control is turned up, and normal sensation is registered as painful.
It coexists with disturbed sleep, fatigue and cognitive fog, and those are not separate problems but part of the same picture.
Metabolic factors, sleep disorders and untreated structural pain all feed it, which is why we look for them rather than stopping at the label.
How it usually presents
- Widespread pain lasting months, on both sides and above and below the waist.
- Profound fatigue not relieved by sleep.
- Cognitive fog.
- Sensitivity to touch, noise, light and temperature.
- Frequently coexisting headache and bowel symptoms.
How we treat it
- Looking hard for treatable contributors first — sleep apnoea, thyroid disease, glucose dysregulation, and any untreated structural pain generator.
- Metabolic and sleep treatment, which is where the most durable improvement usually comes from.
- Medication aimed at central sensitization rather than at inflammation.
- Graded activity, built up slowly enough to avoid the boom-and-bust cycle.
To be assessed, call (314) 310-5577 or request an appointment. If this began with a crash or a fall, see accident and injury care.
Common questions
Is fibromyalgia real?
Yes. The mechanism — central sensitization — is well described. Being told otherwise is a failure of the clinician, not of the patient.
Will painkillers help?
Ordinary anti-inflammatories and opioids work poorly here, because the problem is signal amplification rather than tissue inflammation. That is why the approach is different.
Hurt in an accident? Start here.
You do not need a lawyer, a police report or a referral to be seen. Bring your symptoms and we will work out the rest.
Monday–Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Same-day appointments are often available for new accident and injury patients.