As Jonathan Ross’ daughter battles fibromyalgia – the 8 signs you should never ignore

JONATHAN Ross’ daughter revealed she has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

It’s a long-term condition that causes extreme tiredness and widespread pain.

Getty - Contributor

Fibromyalgia causes widespread pain and extreme tiredness[/caption]

But it can quite often be confused with other illnesses, with the family thinking Betty was suffering with long Covid until recently.

The symptoms can overlap with different conditions, so it’s important to know the red flag signs to look out for.

The TV star’s daughter previously opened up about the debilitating illness.

“Fibromyalgia? I hardly know her,” she wrote on Instagram.

“This is me letting y’all know I got a Fibromyalgia diagnosis. Shout out to the 4 people who all said they thought I had fibro, turns out y’all were right.”

“There’s always a lot of weird feelings that come with a new diagnosis, but this one overall feels like a relief. It feels like my pain being acknowledged, and that with this diagnosis I can better find ways of managing my pain.

“To all my fellow fibromyalgia baddies, feel free to drop your fave fibro tips in the comments (I’ll be putting some in there, but I’m still need to the game so idk how helpful mine will be).”

On top of widespread pain, people with fibromyalgia may also have:

• increased sensitivity to pain
• extreme tiredness
• muscle stiffness
• difficulty sleeping
• problems with memory and concentration
• headaches
• irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

It’s not clear why fibromyalgia develops, but it’s thought to be linked to abnormal levels of chemicals in the brain.

This then changes the way the central nervous system processes pain messages going round the body.

Some people might be more susceptible to develop the condition due to genes inherited from their parents.

There is no cure but there are treatments that can help relieve symptoms and make it easier to live with.

It tends to be a combination of medicine – such as antidepressants and painkillers – talking therapies and counselling and lifestyle changes.

Some experts think the condition appears to be triggered by a physically or emotionally stressful event like an injury, grief, giving birth or having an operation.

Anyone can develop it, but it affects around seven times as many women as men.

It tends to develop between the ages of 30 and 50, although can occur in people of any age including kids and the elderly.