Do you have Fibromyalgia?

Question

Fibromyalgia affects the muscles and joints and can be a very painful, and sometimes disabling illness.
Not all Doctor's recognise Fibromyalgia and i would like to know what experiences you have had with your doctor and what medication you are receiving.
Also how did you get it, was it through a major illness or some sort of trauma in your life?

Answer 1

Hi Angel Shekina,
Rather than put a long message in here about fibro and all of this email me at [e-mail], I own a totally free chat room that deals with diseases like fibro,ra,ms,lupus etc and you could come and talk to others with fibro about the problems they face everyday and the different pains they have everyday,and how they deal with the pain, the chat is totally free and it will put you in touch with real people with this disease, sometimes it helps to talk to live people with the disease instead of searching for answers on the net, and we also have a totally free message board with all types of different health infomation including a fibromyalgia message area so just email me for the link and we will be glad to help, we look forward to hearing from you

Answer 2

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 3 yrs ago but have probably had it for a lot longer. At that time I was working as a RN but was exhausted all of the time. Then I crashed. The pain, fatigue, muscle weakness, dizziness, and a multitude of other symptoms left me unable to function. Since that pt I have been to 5 drs all of whom recognise fibromyalgia but have had limited success in controlling my symptoms. My pain levels range from 4-5 on a good day to 8-9 on a bad day. Most days are around 6. The fatigue is debilitating. I also have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Presently I am on Cymbalta for fibromyalgia caused depression & as a SSRI, Lyrica for neuropathic pain, Zanaflex for muscle spasms & to help with sleep disorder, & Topamax to prevent migraines. Then I take Mobic for arthritis. I also take B12 injections, am on a yeast reduction diet, take supplements, & drink lots of pure water.

The cause of fibromyalgia is unknown. 8 yrs ago I got a concussion. As a result I have a seizure disorder. That could be the reason I developed fibromyalgia. The newest research says that fibro is a neurological disease rather than a muscular disease so this link would make sense. But I also had encephalitis as a child, an illness that affect the nervous system. And I had mono when I was 16. I am Epstein-Barr virus positive & there is a correlation between it & fibro. So you can take your pick as to what caused my fibro. Stress is another supposed factor, and I was definitely a Type A personality.

It sounds like you are asking these questions for research purposes only. I hope you are. Fibro is a life-altering disease. It flips your life upside down. My activity level is very limited, and I have had to adjust not only physically to that but also emotionally & mentally. Fibro is not for the weak of spirit.

Answer 3

I was diagnosed with it seven years ago. My first doctor didn't believe in giving pain meds and I just got steadily worse. I developed high blood pressure from the pain before I finally got the nerve up to look for a doctor who knew how to treat fibromyalgia.
Since finding a better doctor I have improved. I still have fibromyalgia but now my life has better quality and its more of an annoyance that I need to be careful but its improved a 100% since the first diagnosis. I credit my doctors , medications, lifestyle changes , dietary changes and supplements with the improvements.

I take amitriptyline( sleep), tramadol(pain). I also have several other health issues, I have a total of 10 medications I take when needed. DRibose has made a huge difference in my life.

I developed fibromyalgia after I slipped and fell on a wet floor and hit the back of my head at the base of my skull on a concrete step. I was 44 years old at that time. Many people develope fibro after head injuries or whiplash.
I urge anyone reading this who has fibromyalgia/cfs to research DRibose and do a six week trial to see if it helps you. It works on the cellular level and could be the answer you are looking for. Please read my 360 blog for information on D Ribose. (Its used in heart patients to improve heart function..so those with heart problems...what do you have to lose?

http://360.yahoo.com/profile-u92l7DQ6crVz0iK_V6UhmESvJZsU

PS.... For the poster who says they dont dream, thats probably because you dont sleep deep enough to dream. That was one of the symptoms that improved as I improved. I started having dreams again, after years of not having any.

Answer 4

I have had Fibromyalgia for about 13 years. It has been a long hard road and I am still struggling. You are right when you say that a lot of doctors don't recognize Fibro as a "true" disease. Another "myth" is that Fibro is not the "host" of many other "sister" diseases like Interstitial Cystitis, IBS, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Migraine's, etc.
I have been unable to work since 1997. I was only 23. I was stricken with this horrific disease and many, many other chronic illnesses since such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Diabetes, Autonomic Neuropathy, Interstitial Cystitis, IBS, Spastic Colon, GERD, etc. I am too tired to list them all. I have had close to 20 surgeries in the past few years related to various diseases and illnesses. Including having to have a complete radical hysterectomy and bladder suspension surgery at the young age of 28.
This disease is misunderstood and often under medicated. I have seen people who have very mild Fibro and I have seen severe cases like mine. I have gone to doctor's who have treated me like I was a drug addict because I asked for pain medicine. I have been to doctor's who have believed that the pain "was all in my head".
As of now, I am going to a pain clinic. Because of all of the many surgeries that I have had and the years of pain, I am immune to most pain medications. I am now on the Fentanyl patch. I also take Zanaflex as a muscle relaxer and Ambien to try and help with sleep although I have tried everything you can for insomnia and now Ambien isn't working either.
This may sound like my pain is under control. It isn't. I have been in a "flare" for about a year now and am almost completely bed bound. The pain is excruciating every second of every day of my life. I pray for anyone that has this horrible disease and any of Fibro's "sister's".

Answer 5

Diet wealthy in darkish inexperienced leafy vegetables and prime in omega-three fatty acids coupled with activity may have a confident influence on Fibromyalgia while irritation is a aspect. Plus, it is simply undeniable healthful. eight~) Therapeutic therapeutic massage can generally minimize the severity of the aches related to Fibro. Acupuncturist in general deal with fibromyalgia with very well outcome.

Answer 6

I am going through the same thing you are. I can't see her name, but the nurse that wrote to you describes my life in a nutshell. A year and a half ago I was lively, funny, happy and virtually never worried about pain. I had some discomfort in my legs when it would rain and my fingers, but other than that..nothing. February 2007 my neck started hurting. I had not lifted, I had not done anything out of the ordinary. It was so painful that shingles broke out on my body. I finally had to quit my job because of all of the medical visits and the inability to perform. I was in so much pain and it felt like the flu. I had Physical Therapy, Nerve Blocks around my Cervical area (neck/spine), Chiropractic Visits and NOTHING eased the pain. No one can figure anything out. I'm sitting here typing battling the pain right now in both sides of my neck and back. I've had CT scans, MRI's, blood tests, lupus screening..EVERYTHING. No one will diagnose me with anything because...get this...I'm 24. I just turned 24 and all of this is going wrong. Today I sit here with swollen red feet, pain in my ankles and knees, knots forming in my neck and upper back and no one will help me. They gave me pain pills like candy and my body formed an addiction. I finally threw the bottle away and got help for that. Now I take Paxil for depression/anxiety, Xanax to fall asleep and stay asleep, Ibupropen for pain, Laxatives to stay regular, and Adderall because they think I have ADD. I cannot continue to pollute my body with all of this medicine. I decided a few weeks ago to start reasearching and I finally found out about a Rheumatologist and made an appointment. The soonest one was October 22nd. I made the appt a month in advance. I'm counting the days until I see this doctor. I hope you don't have FM, but there is no doubt in my mind that it could be anything else for me. I have every single symptom. I hope you find the help you are looking for.

Answer 7

Yes I have Fibro, along with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Psoriasis. While I was aware I had Arthritis, I did not know I had Fibro, so that came as a news. How was it diagnosed? Simple. I saw a Rheumatologist and he asked me how I slept and I replied like a log. I hit the bed and that is it. He then said 'So you are not sleeping then?' I am thinking, no I sleep like a log? He then exaimined me pressed several rather painful points on my back and said 'Fibromyalgia!' After the examination we sat and chatted about the sleep cycle and how people with Fibro do not enter the REM restorivative phase of sleep? Yeah right like how do you know and I am asleep so I just sleep. He prescribed one of the antidepresant drugs Tre.......... what ever but I never took it. One year later I got a Labrador and one morning woke up to find the dog fast asleep alongside me? Not on the floor but back to back in my double bed? Over the years I noticed that dog knows the instant I wake up, even if I pretend to be asleep dog knows I am awake! I go to bed sleep flat on my back, wake up flat on my back, I do not move whatsoever, which is why dog sleeps with me, no fear of being kicked during the night. Likewise my breathing pattern is slow and shallow, so when I wake up the pattern changes and dog knows I am awake. How did I get it? Well at 21 my ambition in life was X and I worked to reach X by the time I was 40, so could retire and do X. Life threw a curve ball and I reached my ambition at 32. That saying be careful what you dream for in case it comes true, well my dreams came true and once you have fulfilled your dreams, ambitions, you stop dreaming. Due to the Arthritis, well I am some what limited on another ambition, so have no ambition or anything to dream for. When I do dream and it is rare, it involves Mel Gibson but I wake up before I get him and boy do I feel refreshed, alive, ready to go! I found that a good bed with a egg crate mattress topper really helps and trying not to worry over having Fibro let alone Arthritis. Medication, they gave me 5mgs of Valium a muscle relaxant to take before bed and that knocked me out for three days. Therefore I cut it down to 2mgs and that helps. Recently I moved home and have noticed it really is all change again. I have gone from not dreaming to nightmares? Its as if a door opens and 30 years of dreams want to download in one go! If I could capture the dreams I would have the best Horror movie every made because the pictures are mixed up and nothing makes sense. Who knows, moving house might just cure the Fibro if I give it enough time?

Answer 8

Hello, and if you do infact have thissyndrome may I offer my sincere regrets and wish you days with smiles.I sufered with Fibromyalga for years before the medical community had a name for it. I began doing research mysef about 6 years ago because I went from being a vibrant, focused , multitasking, "encyclopedia" ( a nickname given to me others,not myself) RN that never lost her cool, to a distracted, tired, unfocussed, nurse that hada difficult time setting goals and achieving them, glob of pain sitting behind a desk that kept getting higher and higher of unfinished work. Oh, most projects had been started but then another task would seem more important and I would start on it. I would be so tired that the computer screen would become blurry and I would get so sleepy that I would go to the bathroom to close my eyes for a bit and before leaving the confines of the small private room, I would was my neck, my wrist, and splas cold water on my face and do stetches and other things to get blood pumping. I hurt daily and was diagnosed with mild arthrtic changes associated with my age (42 at the time) I would get physical therapy at times because the pain became all I could focus on at times. I asked my Doctor if he thought it might be fibomyalga because I had so many of the symptoms listed in the research that I had done. He assurred me that there was no such thing, that it was a myth that the varried symptoms were related and that he would treat my symptoms which he did one by one. I had chronic and terrible migraines, I have a pacemaker because of a wide varrience in my puls rate and take medicine for the times when it goes sky high ( 260). I have had such terrible pain with diarrhea that I wasso sure Iwas dying that I would have my husband sleep on the floor in front of the bathroom because I didn't want my young sons to be the ones to find me dead on the toilet. I would get oral thrush for unknown reasons or know usual reason that you generally see in order to get thrush. I became terribly depressed, largly in part due to the pain that varried in intensity, but never left me, and in part because I could see myself deteriating, becoming unable to what I was somewhat of an expert at and had been doing well for years. My MD moved and the new physician that took over his practice, also assured me that Fibromylaga was a myth and that my symptoms were individual, unrelated....migrains,IBS, and arthritis. He said the change in my ability to focus was due to anxiety. He sent me to neurologist for my migraines, which in turn ran tests, put me on Provigil to increase my daytime alertness, and when nothing could be found he sent me to a pain specialist that wanted to dole out drugs. He in turn sent me to an oncologist to rule out CAncer. Back and forth to my Doc who ran test after test after test. Ya know, I looked great on paper so it must be stress. My pacemaker was showing wild and wacky rhythms and strange beats without showing damage to the muscle itself.From Sept of 06 to dec of 06, I had a migraine. If you have ever had a migraine, imagine having one for 8 weeks. I literly thought I was dying and eventually became ok with that fact. I would never be suicidal, but I knew I was dying and at least with death came rest, came peace.They drugs to releive the pain, but if I was awake which was most of the time, I was throbbing. This basically took what little function I had left. My Doc started me on Cymbalta and Klonopin for depression and restless leg.It took about 7 weeks but I began to feel like fighting to hold on to life again. I had a Rhyzotomy done on my spine which helped with the pain significantly and was told of a doctor that specialized in the "myth" of Fibromyalgia. From my first visit I knew I had found the answer to my prayers. He said he beleived it because he lived with it. His wife and one of his daughters had it. He said it could have been triggered by an infection earlier in life that stayed dormant in my bones or by a painfull injury that altered the brain's chemical make up that affects the body's ability to function normally and that while Fibromyalgie in and of itself was not a disease, it was a syndrome that included all my symptoms and a few more. He put me Lamictal and said that if I was not already on the Cymbalta, he would have put me on that. While there is no cure, there is treatment and he said that he would not throw me away, he would continue to work and find treatments to help manage the complications. He would alter treatment as needed but the reason that I was crying when I left his office, was that I had a name to put on my suffering. I had a stack of over a hundred pieces of paper telling me what I did not have. I walked out of his office with one piece that told me what I did have and that he would not farm me out. He would help me manage the best he could. He has had to "play" with the medicine a little and I only regained about 75% of my prior self but, I will take it. I have rejoined the living! I will be on medication as long asI live, but look at how many people do that to manage other disease process. I hope you find answers, don't allow your self to thrown around like a rag doll. Find a good rheumotologist and keep the lines of communication open. I see him every 6 months but if something isn't working after a month, I call him. He is always there for me. What a special person he is first and amazing physian 2nd. Best of luck to you!

Answer 9

check out the what is it, do I have it etc pages of this web portal http://www.fibromyalgia-support.net