Allodynia: Fibromyalgia Skin Pain

Published: // Updated: March 13, 2021

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Do you experience pain from a simple touch? Do you cringe when someone goes to give you a hug? Do these simple gestures result in excruciating pain? Skin pain is another one of those fibromyalgia symptoms that just doesn’t seem to make sense. This type of pain is called Allodynia and is usually felt as a burning sensation.

Allodynia: Fibromyalgia Skin PainPin

Allodynia is believed to be a hypersensitivity to stimuli that would normally not cause pain. The pain can be provoked by a light touch to the skin, pressure from clothing, showering, combing or brushing your hair. Even a light breeze blowing across your skin can feel like agony.

What Causes Allodynia?

Allodynia is considered to be the result of a process called central sensitization. The pain comes from a malfunction of specialized nerves, called nociceptors. These nociceptors sense information about things like temperature and painful stimuli right at the skin. For some reason, our nociceptors become chronically activated and send persistent pain signals. Any sensation felt by the skin becomes painful.

Allodynia is a fairly rare type of pain. It is only associated with a handful of conditions. These conditions include fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia (shingles) and migraine. Allodynia is also linked to the lack of restorative sleep.

There are three sub-types:

  • Tactile Allodynia: pain caused from something touching your skin.
  • Mechanical Allodynia: pain caused by movement such as your clothing brushing against your skin or the breeze from a fan or the wind blowing across your skin.
  • Thermal Allodynia: pain caused from mild heat or cold temperatures.

Allodynia often overlaps with hyperalgesia (abnormally heightened sensitivity to pain), which seems to be the case with fibromyalgia. So not only are we experiencing pain from stimuli that should not cause pain, the pain is amplified.

Treating Allodynia

The skin pain comes from a malfunction of specialized nerves. It is also related to a lack of restorative sleep. Standard treatments for fibromyalgia can also help ease allodynia. This includes eating healthy, exercising, reducing stress and improving your sleep.

Medications that work for some people include:

  • Tricyclic antidepressants (amitriptyline, desipramine, doxepin, imipramine, nortriptyline)
  • Lyrica (pregabalin)
  • Neurontin (gabapentin)
  • Lidocaine patches

Some people also get relief from topical pain creams. You may have to be careful about the way you dress, as well. Loose fitting clothing made from soft natural fibers are recommended.

If your skin itches, burns, tingles or you have numbness, it could be a condition called Paresthesia. It’s also seen in Fibromyalgia and migraine patients. The sensations are usually felt in the hands, arms, legs, or feet, but can also occur in other parts of the body.

Painful skin is a new symptom for me. It seems to be triggered by temperature. It doesn’t even have to be hot. When I feel a little warm, my skin starts stinging and burning, then anything touching or moving across my skin intensifies the pain. Being exposed to the sun makes it worse.

My doctor increased my dosage of amitriptyline and said if that doesn’t help we would try gabapentin. It’s been three weeks since the dosage increase and so far it hasn’t helped. Since summer is almost over, I am wondering if the skin pain will lessen when the weather gets cooler.

Or is that just wishful thinking?

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173 thoughts on “Allodynia: Fibromyalgia Skin Pain”

  1. I have had the pain do bad that just taking a shower and trying to dry off with a towel is agony!! Then putting on clothes is awful would rather not wear any!! My Dr prescribed Lyrica it has helped, but sensitivity to cold and hot is still terrible and the tips of my fingers and toes with the tingling sensation is awful too!

    Reply
    • I have stopped taking a shower and I am using no water based cleanser to clean myself. Mine is cold Allodynia and in the shower it is not painful only when my skin is exposed to the air when I step out the shower or wear cold clothing or nylon fabrics even cold sheets is downies a will cause pain for hours. This winter is terrible I have thermal blankets and underwear. This is three years now.

      Reply
  2. Omygoodness YES! I have complained of this symptom as being one of my worst fibromyalgia symptoms. I can bump my arm and it causes my body to feel as if it were on fire or severely burned. I can be stressed and have the same intense feelings of being burned. Not a symptom most understand. My husband remembers even before my fibromyalgia diagnosis, me constantly saying, “It burns!” He could never understand me describing pain as burning until after my diagnosis. I thank you kindly for this information. Sometimes putting a name on what you’ve known to exist but can’t explain, it helps 🙂

    Reply
    • Hi, Tressia. Thanks for leaving a comment. Until I started this blog, I kept a lot of my symptoms to myself because they sounded crazy and you often wonder if you are. It helps to realize that other people are experiencing the same thing. It may not make the symptoms lessen but it makes you feel a lot less crazy. I am much more open now and care a lot less what other people think. We know it’s real.

      Reply
      • I’m so glad I found this website ,helps a lot , I don’t get as much pain as many on here have , but it’s tiredness and fatigue for me and the painful skin and legs , with alodynia , my doc had never heard of it until I said..people are cruel because they don’t know the half of it, the expression of”mothers always I’ll”is awful when you are genuinely suffering but look well..wrong..I had two full health checks , only to be told both times , I was A1..but I knew that wasn’t so, every so often I would suddenly implode , without warning , trying to keep a job was hopeless , to keep going , with a 8 yr old to care for ..but 2 grown kids , both married , yet neither asked if I needed help..I think that losing my hubby and a son in two different accidents in a short space of time ..was the catalyst for my fibro ..that was a good few years ago , and it just got worse and worse , ..now the doctor has recognised my problem, he went thro my whole med history , THEN realised I was telling the truth ..I wish all on this site , strength and courage..to deal with this rotten problem ..you will need it ..m

        Reply
        • Hi, Maureen. I am so sorry for your loss. No doubt that would contribute to fibromyalgia. I am so glad you found a doctor that was able to look past your normal health checks and realize you were telling the truth. Fibromyalgia is a test of our strength, that’s for sure. I wish you well.

          Reply
  3. I have FMS and CFS dx 20yrs ago and 2 buldging discs! The sensitivity I suffer affects most if not all of my extremities! However recently my back and soles of my feet are causing me excruciating pain!
    The water hitting my back in shower is causing me to fear having one!
    When i walk from my first step it’s like walking on pebbles! Don’t know where to turn as the overwhelming fatique is more than enough to deal with!
    I would welcome any views or suggestions.

    Reply
    • Hi, Joy. I am so sorry to hear how bad you are suffering. Have you tried soaking in an epsom salt bath or using a tens unit? The magnesium in the epsom salt will relax your muscles. If getting in the tub is too uncomfortable you can just soak your feet in epsom salt. And a tens unit might help with the back pain.

      Because of the bulging discs I am hestitant to suggest anything that might make it worse. I had disc surgery on my neck but I still have a lot of pain from the middle of my back up to my shoulders and neck. Every so often I go to physical therapy and I use a foam roller to massage my back and neck almost every day.

      Showers used to be painful until I replaced the shower nozzle with one that conserves water. It made a big difference. Now the shower feels good instead of causing pain. Bless you.

      Reply
  4. Stay out of direct sunlight. Even riding in a car if my skin gets in the sun it’s starts feeling like it’s burning. I have my windows tinted as dark as legally possible. It does help. Except my hands on the steering wheel. Going to try light gloves.

    Reply
    • Hi Kathy. The sun is a killer. I want to a white long-sleeve cover up I can throw on when I am exposed to the sun. It has to be the right material because if I start to feel too warm, even without the sun, my skin stings. Lately my hands and feet feel hot all the so gloves would probably make it worse. Hope the gloves work for you.

      Reply
      • Hi Sue, It is so good to hear of someone who understands what I have been struggling with for 30 years. Most think I’m nuts! But I’ve always known that something had to be causing my pain. I have things that cause my skin to burn instantly: chocolate, chlorine, polyester, and stress. But the sun is the worst!! As of last October, I can no longer tolerate sunlight at all. I’ve covered up to go from shade to shade, but now going outside is no longer an option. I know it isn’t any other disease, because I have been tested for them all and everything comes back negative. My fibromyalgia treatments helped a lot, but now Flexeril keeps it at bay unless I see sunlight. Is yours this bad? How much sun can you tolerate?And is there anything you’ve found to help?
        Thanks!
        Amber

        Reply
        • Hi, Amber. The sun only bothers me in the summer. Any other time of the year it doesn’t bother my skin at all (so far anyway). High humidity also causes my skin pain even without the sun. I never know how much I can tolerate. So if my skin starts burning as soon as I walk out the door, I know I might as well go back inside, cancel my plans and stay indoors. Other than staying in air conditioning, I haven’t found anything that really helps. If you are nuts I am right there with you. LOL

          Reply
  5. Would love to hear more about this. I have several other conditions, as I’m sure most of you do, that have similar experiences.

    Thank you, all.

    Reply
  6. Gabapentin really helps with symptoms. I am currently on it 300 mg/ 3 times a day. I don’t have as many painful days while on it. Acupuncture also really helped but was pretty expensive. Good luck in finding what works

    Reply
    • Hi Kristen. I am glad to hear that gabapentin helps you. It’s too bad alternative treatments like acupuncture are not covered by insurance. I am keeping an open mind when it comes to gabapentin. I just don’t want to be over-medicated like I was in the past. Take care.

      Reply
      • I am a paraplegic with many of the symptoms many of you have discussed above. I am excited to try the dietary changes suggested to see if they will help relieve my almost constant, severe neurological pain. Some have talked about benefits with but problems associated with taking gabapentin. I too have tried it without being able to tolerate the side-effects. Fairly recently my doctor prescribed Gralise, which is a timed release version of gabapentin but has almost none of the negatives. You might want to try this if gabapentin, in its older form, both helps and hurts you.

        Reply
  7. January 2016, I woke up with a burning scalp which subsequently spread to all over my skin. I can’t sit or have any pressure on my skin without burning, tingling, itching and/or scraping. Heat is also a trigger. Dr.’s posit that this was a result of prolonged head lice from my daughter (which I didn’t know I have for 2 months) and that I am in a reactive inflammation response that continues despite the trigger being gone. I have tried all of the neuropathic drugs which have not done anything except side effects. A new dermatologist from UCSF has recommended Doxipene and a ketamine cream. I have decided not to use due to the side effects. I was able to get him to order low-dose naltrexone used for pain conditions. I understand it is free of side effects and is prescribed by many functional medicine Dr.’s. I am particularly interested in the article posted about the possible role of nerve growth factor (NGF) and am researching this and wondering if the person who posted this has taken any medications to treat her condition other than addressing through diet changes, no nuts or seeds. I am also curious to know if anyone knows of a Dr. of health care practitioner who has some expertise in tactile allodynia. Thank you.

    Reply
  8. I have all the symptoms you all talk about but I also have swelling in my hands and feet cant bend my fingers. I have extreme pain in my hands and feet especially in my fingers and toes. I think I have arthritis to. I’ve been dealing with this for 8 years. I cant write anymore due to the swelling. Some days I cant walk due to swelling and severe pain. I’ve tried everything finally a year ago they put me on lyrica which was a god send but now im up to 150mg three times a day, the lidocaine ointment seems to help a lot and believe it or not the migraines I get I cut the lidocaine patches up and put them on my forehead and cheeks that helps too. So if you don’t have it ask your Dr. for lidocaine patches and ointment. Trust me it helps. Any relief is welcomed. I cant live like this anymore my hands and feet get so numb, painful and tinges so bad it forces me to get out of bed in the early morning. I miss my walks with my daughter, I cant do that much. Mine stems from severe uncontrolled type 1 diabetes. I’m so afraid I’m gonna loose my hands and feet or fingers and toes. I’ve developed ulcers on the heels of my feet and on my thumbs. It hurts so bad and I’m so embarrassed when I go out by the looks of the ulcers on my fingers and palms of my hands .I’ve been to so many doctors I love my foot Dr. but cant find a good dermatologist. I have my neurologist helping ,me now. have to go for and MRI on my hands and feet next. Does anyone know of any other types of tests? Just in case I haven’t had it yet.Well I hooe everyone here gets better!

    Reply
    • I hope you get better too, Dawn. I know the ulcers are from having diabetes but did you have the swelling in your hands and feet before you started taking Lyrica? Because swelling of the hands and feet is a side effect of Lyrica. I am not sure about the numbness. I will ask my doctor about the lidocaine. Thanks for the tip. I bet they do help migraines. Sometimes I use capsaicin on my forehead. I really hope the neurologists finds a way to help you. Good luck and bless you.

      Reply
  9. Hi Fibrodaze,

    I do not have fibro but I do have MS which has some strong similarities.

    I have never experiences skin pain, although I do have many other inexplicable pains.

    Keep up the good work, I love your blog.

    Reply

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