Fibromyalgia ,,, anyone else ?

[roxyjazz]

Went to the hospital on my 47 th birthday,, only to come out in tears, the attending Dr. suspects Fibromyalgia. I thought I was having a stroke or something,, jaw was numb with pins and needles like. Both elbows and both knees were burning,, then the burning started on my lowers arms. I'm on meds now,,, only the 3rd day so not much change except still have the headache now and then. Just wondering if anyone else here suffers from any form of this ?? It explains alot of ailments I had and couldn't explain before.

[TaraF]

Ugh I know how you feel! I'm only 29 and have had Fibromyalgia for years, my Mother has it also. We have learned to cope with it, her with an array of meds myself with diet, exercise, Tylenol 3 and Topical Rubs like A535 for pain.

You will come to know what is Fibro pain and what isn't Fibro pain. It freaked me out when I first had a the pains in and around my heart and it turned out to be nothing but the Fibromyalgia, but like I said you will learn to know what pains are or are not Fibro pains.

I get it really bad in my legs and I want to die when it gets into my fingers and toes, it's the worst feeling ever. When you get the pains in your legs the best thing to do is stretch, yoga really helps with this. You will feel like wanting to sit around but it's the worse thing for it.

Stay away from the following as much as possible as they are triggers for Fibro:

- Aspartame
- MSG
- Sugar, fructose, and simple carbohydrates
- Caffeine -- including coffee, tea, colas, and chocolate
- Yeast and gluten
Nightshade Plants: Tomatoes, chili and bell peppers, potatoes, and eggplant

And it sucks because I love ALL of the above lol Here is a link to an article on Fibro that will tell you why to avoid the above things and also give you some information on managing it.

http://www.webmd.com/fibromyalgia/gu...iet-connection


I wish you the best with it.

[itsjustmebub]

rox...yjazz, is there a test they run to find out for sure?

Sorry you are going through this.

[TaraF]

Oh btw I thought your Original Post said you were diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, but I see that your Dr Suspects that's what it is. Ask him to send you to a specialist. I had to see 2 different specialist who will run tests to determine if that's what you have.

[Cheapnik]

I went through about 20 blood tests this winter - same symptoms and they thought I had Lupus but it turns out I have fribromyalgia. Mom has it too. It sucks.. I tried Voltaren pill form and it worked like a charm but has side effects I cannot live with (pm me if you want details - don't want to get that personal here). I tried the cream form that you can buy over the counter at Walmart but not nearly like the pill. Tried several anti-inflammatories but nothing works. I am now going from 5 days per week to 4 at work to see if I can get out of exhaustion mode (ok until 2pm then total complete shutdown). I feel fortunate....it is a disease that won't kill you and you have to learn how to live with it. Everyone has something these days it seems. I have a lot of hand tingling when symptoms are bad. Elbows, knees, hands, ankles and toes. None in my shoulders though which is a common area. There are 17 fibromyalgia points...I have about 11 but everytime I go to my Arthritis Dr she says I have a different inflamed area therefore she is 99% sure that is what it is. There is no 100% positive test though.

[DiamondLil]

Sorry to hear you are going through this - I was diagnosed with arthritis and the symptoms you are having are very similar to mine.

I hope they find the right course of treatment for you - it sucks in this day and age that we have to live with chronic pain and illness.

[mpbabes]

I don't but I know 2 people who do:

1) My BFF's DH. His mom has it to. It's affected the use of his arms
2) My cousin's wife.

[matrix82]

My grandmother has it. She goes through months of being in pain etc, and then some time without. It affects her legs and her back.

She blames it on quitting smoking.

Anyway, one of the medications that she was taking made her put on quite a bit of water weight, she was very bloated. Through months of working with the doctors they were able to lower her dosage of drugs. The side effects of the bloating went away. Now she has it semi under control.

I feel for you though. I know my grandmother is an active lady and once this started to flare up she has had to cut back on travelling, garden work etc. I wish that I could help her with her pain. I hate to see her in pain and missing out on life because of this.

Her brother, my great uncle also has it.

[Tuktu60]

I'm so sorry to hear you might have FM - my mom suffers with it, one of my best friends, my uncle, my friend's mom. Its all over the place now. Lots of people are being diagnosed with it. My best friend got diagnosed with it about 15 years ago - I had never heard of it - she went to a pain clinic in Ottawa where they taught her different methods of handling chronic pain. Different methods work for different people. The good news is it can come and go, hers flares up rarely now... but then again my Mom suffers almost daily with it. All the best of luck to you. Good thing now is there is alot more information out there about this condition and alot of support as well. Knowing you are not alone is a big help!

[matrix82]

I'm so sorry to hear you might have FM - my mom suffers with it, one of my best friends, my uncle, my friend's mom. Its all over the place now. Lots of people are being diagnosed with it. My best friend got diagnosed with it about 15 years ago - I had never heard of it - she went to a pain clinic in Ottawa where they taught her different methods of handling chronic pain. Different methods work for different people. The good news is it can come and go, hers flares up rarely now... but then again my Mom suffers almost daily with it. All the best of luck to you. Good thing now is there is alot more information out there about this condition and alot of support as well. Knowing you are not alone is a big help!

I completely agree. You may be able to find a support group in your area, to get some tips on how to lessen the pain.

[1764]

I'm so sorry... I work for a doctor specializing in rheumatology, and we have a lot of patients with fibro. It's really an "unexplainable occurrence" of muscle pain, but hopefully it is only a mild case and you won't be too affected by it!

[cdylan]

I feel your pain, I have been suffering with fibromyalgia for 12 years now, the past 3 or 4 years have been better as i now know that the best thing I can do when the pain and fatigue start is to listen to my body and go to bed. I try to get my walk in every day, I have good days and bad ones, I still have some flares, but not nearly as many as I did when I was fighting it and thinking I would win if I just kept going on with my life as it was despite the pain and fatigue. It took a lot of adjusting but I finally accepted that I have this thing.....and I learned to be grateful for the things I can do and not the things I can't. Online support groups really helped me when the pain and fatigue were overwhelming.....wishing you low pain days, as the pain is always there, somewhere. I love my hot baths......(:

[roxyjazz]

Thank you to everyone who posted. An update > I saw my own family Dr today,, he says I have tennis elbow ( right side) can't explain the burning sensations to my knees, thinks the facial numbness thing is my nerves ( yes I do suffer with anxiety). I bought a 50 dollar elbow brace today and am taking anti - inflammatory pills. Naproxen 500.... I am praying he is right,,, if this doesn't work in a month , then physio and a cortisone shot...... I feel for everyone who is suffering . I feel a bit relieved today but in the back of my mind thinking ER Doctors shouldn't scare people like that !! Side note, My 15 year old neice is visiting , summer vacation and I have almost all but given up my computer ( she sleeps in this room ). Thank you all for responding , what a great group of people here on SC.

[Cheapnik]

Thanks for the kind words. My next course of action: get in shape, maybe try yoga. If my brain and mental health are in order maybe I will feel better. It is difficult to exercise when you have no energy but I like the idea of the yoga...sounds peaceful but never tried it.

[matrix82]

Regarding your knee's, this probably sounds obvious but have you looked at your shoes? I went for almost a year with extreme pain in my knee's, finally after I saw a specialist as my blood has the markers for rheumatoid arthritis, he deduced that it was my shoes.

I was wearing sneakers and never thought my shoes could be the issue. A month after buying and wearing new sneakers I felt so much better.

I was on Naproxen for a while, almost a year. I find that it works great for me.