Do You Have Fibromyalgia?___ Can You Share Your Symptoms with Me?

Yes, I have fibromyalgia, and everything you describe about yourself I go through (and more from time to time.) My acid reflux actually woke me up the middle of last night, ujhhh! My soon-to-be-ex husband laughed at me and said I was lazy :( Praise God I have had understanding doctors who never blew me off and took me seriously when I approached them with my feelings that I had fibro.

When I started seeing my symptoms for what they were I had just quit a job that had been downsized and benefits were no longer available. My sincere intention was to get some rest for a couple of weeks and then re-join the work force, but it got to the point i absolutely couldn't get out of bed some days as the pain was so bad, and I was scared. I sat at the computer when I could and started researching my symptoms and fibromyalgia, among other conditions like MS, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, etc., kept coming up. (They are all auto-immune disorders and related and sometimes symptoms overlap and it is possible to have more than one.) The first day I could get up, shower and get to the library i went and checked out 6 books dealing with fibro to actually rule it out in my mind. (What scared me about it was that there is no "cure.") But what I found out was that I seemed to be the person the books had been written about.

My husband was no support, he ridiculed me and criticized me, so I had that to deal with as well. His job provided no insurance coverage as mine had, so i couldn't go to a doctor for over a year, not until a low-cost neighborhood clinic opened up across the street from where I was now living with my parents (my husband and I were separated.) When I went in the doctor was very kind and understanding, and took all my complaints seriously, then surprised me by saying that while she was going to treat me as if I had fibromyalgia until she was sure, she was beginning treatment for my clinical depression that day...I hadn't realized i was depressed but she picked up on it immediately. She started me on a low dose anti-depressant and referred me to the psychologist on staff and my depression improved, and continued to have me come in every few weeks to see how I was doing, all the while documenting my symptoms.

Within 3 months she determined I had a "classic' case of fibromyalgia and referred me to a rheumatologist. The rheumatologist was kind and understanding as well, and was honest when she told me because it had been so long since I started exhibiting symptoms (around 10 years at that time) that there was likely not very much chance of improving my symptoms but that the focus would rather be treating them to minimize pain and discomfort. She added a muscle relaxant to my pain meds which has been a Godsend, I get horrendous muscle spasms in my legs, thighs and feet, and have even had one in my arm. (I don't need to take it every day, but when I need it I can usually take it as little as one or two times and get relief.)

The rheumatologist asked me if I had had any traumatic accidents or incidents, I found out later that they are thought to sometimes "trigger" fibromyalgia into action, and I had, I had fallen down an entire flight of stairs about 10 years earlier. In retrospect that was when my symptoms had begun manifesting themselves more obviously. Have you experienced anything physically or emotionally traumatic, gone through surgery, or had a major infection that you can recall? (In addition to my fall i have had four major surgeries...gallbladder removal, c-section, hysterectomy, and hernia repair, had my son kidnapped and gone for almost 11 years, any or all could have contributed to my fibro.)

Fibromyalgia IS hereditary. Also, in addition to the symptoms we share I have IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, something I was told I had a few years before my fibromyalgia diagnosis, and that is common with fibro sufferers. I also had severe periods from the day i started at 10 years of age to when I had to have an emergency hysterectomy at 38, due to hemorrhaging for nearly 2 months straight. My feet once in a blue moon burn on the soles of them, as if i had walked on burning coals. I have a friend who has 7 children, six of which have fibro as well, (the 7th child is adopted) and her feet burn practically every day :( Extreme changes in weather, from cold to warm/hot or warm/hot to cold always cause me more pain and grief, it typically takes my body a week or two to completely acclimate, and if the weather goes back to what it was after that I go through it all over again. Rain or even just humidity in the air particularly bother me as well :-/

And while I have the same symptoms you suffer from I rarely have them all at the same time or all the time. For instance, if I am having a migraine my body is usually not hurting as much all over, or if my body is in excruciating pain my mind is usually clear (no "fibro fog"), or if my IBS is flaring something else is not...when I have ALL or most of my symptoms at the same time that is a REALLY bad day or days. My point being is that while I have flares (when symptoms are particularly bad) the majority of the time it is bearable. Oh, and I no longer have the need to take an anti-depressant, I was able to wean myself off of it almost 2 years ago, and stopped seeing a therapist a little over 2 years ago with no relapse into depression : )

I am raising my youngest grandchild, an almost 3 year old boy, and he keeps me on my toes ; ) I believe God put him in my life so I wouldn't just give up, I HAVE to keep going! (It is rough at times when he wants to hug me and my muscles are hurting badly and every inch of me is tender to the touch, but I still let him and ask him to be gentle because Grandma is hurting. He is very sweet about it and understanding.) I spend time with my other grandchildren as well, we all, including my little guy, went to Disneyland last August, and the walking in the heat was over the top for me, but within a couple of days of resting I was OK. And I have been able to do some things I wouldn't or didn't think I could...my family and I just finished in-home hospice for our Dad, he passed a week ago last Friday, and I did things I thought I was physically incapable of, like changing his diaper by myself at times, turning all over 200 lbs of his body from side to side to do this, or waking up every four, then down to two hours throughout the night to administer his pain meds. So my hope is to encourage you that IF you do indeed have fibromyalgia your life isn't over.

Here are some links you may find helpful in researching fibromyalgia, you can find others simply by doing a search for "Fibromyalgia Symptoms" or "Fibromyalgia Treatments" or simply "Fibromyalgia":

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001463/
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079
http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/default.htm ~ Very informative site with many relevant links
http://fmaware.org/PageServerded3.html?pagename=fibromyalgia
http://www.rheumatology.org/practice/clinical/patients/di...

And this is a Facebook page I "like" and get updates from:
https://www.facebook.com/Fibro360

Find yourself a new doctor, the one you went to needs some sensitivity training. Ask to be referred to a rheumatologist, and for physical therapy, PT can help minimize or ease symptoms, exercise is great for us. Also request to see a nutritionist, some foods exacerbate our symptoms and he or she can help you come up with a food plan. Educate yourself as much as you possibly can, you are the most important member of your care team. Learn to recognize what you can do without overtiring, or when you are beginning to, learn to pace yourself, and take a nap or at least sit down and rest. I don't know about acupuncture being beneficial, I personally have never tried it.

And no need to apologize for your questions, asking them is the best way to learn : )

Please feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or concerns, gentle {hugs}

It sounds as if you do have it. Definitely go to your general practice doctor to get a referral for a rheumatologist. They are usually the best to see in order to get a diagnosis.

Here are my symptoms: extreme exhaustion, insomnia, dizziness, constant pain all over entire body, tingling of various areas from face down to toes constantly, muscle weakness and soreness, joint pain, nausea, tenderness overall like you being touched hurts.

Definitely know this is NOT NOT NOT in your head. You do most likely have a true medical condition. Please seek out another doctor. I don't know about the effectiveness of acupuncture for fibro but know that there are many things outside of medications that can help. Don't hesitate to message me if you just want to talk or have questions. :)

It sounds like you have it yes. I do, and it is a lot like what you go through. Pain, tenderness, fatigue etc etc etc.

Its NOT in your head, that doctor was a jerk. I have gone through sooo many doctors and finally was referred to the Rheumetologist so if you can self refer to a specialist then you should. They take you more seriously and will help you.

There is a Fibromyalgia website that I love and there is a survey on there that will give you symptoms and see if you have it. You should take it and also take a look at the website itself.

http://www.fmnetnews.com/coping-resources/patient-surveys

So sorry that you are going through this, your not alone! Just keep fighting to be taken seriously! Its not in your head.

Good luck!

updated I looked on the site and it seems you have all of the symptoms. Its funny but it seems most autoimmune dieseases have the same symptoms since my prognosis has a lot of similar things as yours but J. a few diferences , granted they are major diferences but still odd. It also seems fibromyalgia and arthritis seem to run together a lot...odd

My friend has it with arthritis...maybe the 2 run together a lot but it sounds like more arthritis to M. if all of your joints are hurting and weather makes it worse. I have similar symptoms but have (general doctors diagnosed but not the official specialist until next week) ankolosing spondalitis and I have a lot of those symptoms
You start with a family doctor and they should do several other blood and phyiscal tests and then go to a specialist. I believe it is diagnosed but first ruling out all other diseases so you wouldnt see a specialist until other things were rules out

I feel your pain!!!!!!! I've been dealing with a lot of weird symptoms over the past 18 months, that I'm still going through...
-EXHAUSTED
-headaches
-numbness/tingling in my right leg
-pain in my left leg (if I sit on my legs, it's really painful to stretch them out)
-dizziness
- low in vit. D
-neck pain (bulging disks C3,4,5,6)
-cognitive issues (my biggest complaint)

I've been to MANY different doctors... I'll be interested to see what others say...

First a family doctor, then you can get in with a specialist.
If you do have it, you can get on disability which doesn't pay as much as working, but allows you to buy Medicare insurance. Once you have a disease, it is hard to get insurance and it is very expensive.

I've never been told I have fibromylagia but I have had bad leg pain in the past. Sorry you have toxic relatives, unfortunately I know what that is like too. Some people think that extreme stress in early childhood can throw off your whole neuroendocrine system and contribute to auto-immune disorders later in life.

You said that you had your thyroid checked, but do you know what your TSH was? More recent research is indicating that a truly "normal" TSH is between 0.4 and 2.5 mIU/L even though the current labratory range is broader. Some docs won't treat unless your TSH is above 5 but I personally had terrible leg pain- sometimes to where I couldn't sleep- when my TSH was 2.5 mIU/L.

The first doc I saw was terrible- she didn't even physically check my neck when I came in complaining of possible thyroid problems, even with symptoms and a strong family history. I found a better doctor and once I started on thyroid meds the leg pain went away.

I've also been tired and had neck/upper body pain when my vitamin D levels were low. Vitamin D deficiency is more common now since we are indoors more and use sunblock. It is also a simple blood test to check your vitamin D status.

Besides thyroid problems, gluten intolerance and celiac runs in my family. My sister had fatigue & bad reflux that cleared up on a gluten free diet. Someone else I know had stomach pain due to h. pylori infection. I don't have any stomach problems but my migraines improved on a gluten free diet. My mother's migraines improved when she was put on the right dose of thyroid meds.

If I were you I'd start with a general practioner to talk about your concerns. They can order labs such as thyroid and vitamin D and see if anything turns up. If they can't help you keep being persistent. Try a new doctor and if that doesn't work maybe see a rheumatologist (to check for fibromylagia) or an internal medicine doctor they tend to specialize in more difficult cases. Good luck!

There are a couple of different routes you could take to see if it's a musculus-skeletal and immune-compromised problem like Fibromyalgia. I had been having gradually increasing digestive problems on top of various all-over health issues and was seeing a really good gastroenterologist who did the joint compression exam on me and hit all 12 points with a "positive" result. Of course we went over my entire health history and went through patterns and symptoms.

The diagnosis was confirmed by a neurologist.

I'm trying to get in to a rheumatologist for treatment, but my husband just lost his job and we just lost our insurance so that's going to have to wait.

For now I'm avoiding trigger foods (foods that typically worsen diverticulitis) and am eating a modified Feingold Diet. I do yoga, which can help amazingly well. On high pain days I'm gentle with myself, and I pay attention to what my triggers are by keeping a journal. That also helps when it's time to go see a doctor. Heat therapy can help. Hydrotherapy can help.

I've been having trouble losing weight, but I've managed to recently lose 8 lbs. That puts me at a 43 lb weight loss over the past couple of years, which has helped. I try to stay hydrated and I have to really, really manage my stress levels.