fibromyalgia?

Question

I have been sick for over a year now. I keep going to the doctor with no answers they keep treating the immediate problem and I am starting to think there is more of a major problem. Possibly Fibromyalgia. I have body ache, pain, disturbed sleep, exhaustion, stiffness when I wake up, tingling in my hands and legs. I know I need to see a Dr. I just want to know more about the disease and if there are any treatments to help it. Thanx Bunches!!!

Answer 1

My mom actually suffers from FMS. One of the tell tell signs is severe pain at certain pressure points, shoulders, arms, neck, all have these pressure points. From the symptoms you describe, it sounds like you may have it, but it seems like a lot of doctors are falsely diagnosing it. For example I used to work with a girl who was a hairdresser and she was told that she had it because she had stiff shoulders, but... she is a hairdresser, of course she had stiff shoulders. She had no other symptoms to go along with it. Another poster mentioned stress as a factor of flare up which is true. Sometimes the initial occurence happens after a severe injury, in my moms case, an almost fatal car accident 14 years ago. About a year after her wreck she started having unexplained symptoms and was diagnosed with chronic fatigue, depression, and others, but nothing covered all the symptoms until the past few years with the "discovery" of FMS. There are lots of doctors who don't know very much about it.
My mom has tried a couple of the medications used to treat it, with no relief. One medication gave her nightmares, which is not good if you already have a hard time getting restful sleep. She has decided not to be a guinea pig anymore and to wait until they have a proven treatment. I feel like you should express your opinion to a doctor and don't stop until you find an answer. It sounds to me like you have reasonable cause to suspect Fibro. Good Luck.

Answer 2

Wow. That sounds a lot like when I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 1982. If it's fibro, there is presently no "cure," but there are many ways to try to manage it. Each person with FMS is different as to what helps. See my site at www.fms-help.com for lots of good ideas and 100 Tips for Coping with Fibromyalgia and Insomnia. Sometimes if you can solve the insomnia problem (with sleep meds usually), some of the other problems go away. I really think mine began with a sleep disorder compounded by severe long-term stress.

Answer 3

Not much can be done for fibromyalgia, but you might not have it. Besides fibromyalgia, your symptoms could be caused by something as simple as displaced spinal vertebrae, or
an infection like lyme disease. It would be a good idea to systematically eliminate possible causes. An MRI of the spine would identify or rule out several possible spinal problems, including MS. Lyme disease is identified through a blood test.

I have degeneration of a couple vertebrae in my neck, and it causes all of the symptoms you are describing, although it seems to come and go. I see a chiropractor to treat this problem and it works great.

Answer 4

my girlfriend has it and she is turning 20 in exactly 1 week. from what ive seen, studied, and heard is that it is intense pain and weakness. probably caused by (in my opinion) stress. EVERY time she stresses out about something, usually finals, she gets uncontrolled spasms. these are intense spasms that she cannot control what so ever. she has seen EVERY specialist and doctor she can possibly see in the bay area, california. only 1 of those countless docs have deemed it fibromyalgia. do some research online. just type in fibromyalgia and find it online. there are countless sites that describe the condition. Everything that you have described is hers completely. And the only thing that helps is her cocktails of meds and one pain killer (Endocet). Endocet is an extremely protected drug. You have to be registered with the federal government for this medication. i believe it is just short of the strengh of a horse tranquilizer. And this takes an edge off the pain for her. so if you have any questions fruther, email me and we can talk. i can even give you my girlfriends email so you can talk to her. good luck. DONT STRESS. keep a journal of what you do everyday. this may help in pin pointing what you do in your life that may trigger a flare up. record what you did, how you did it, the amount of work you put into the activity, and any stress you went through. then once you pin point it, try to avoid that situation and see if that helps.

Answer 5

IANAD (I am not a doctor) but you need to go see one! They will help you tremendously. Be persistent. Go see a specialist. Get someone to help you! Also, it could be something more curable than fibromyalgia. The symptoms of fibromyalgia are also similar to:
* Chronic fatigue syndrome
* Depression
* Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome
* Gulf War syndrome
* Influenza
* Lead poisoning
* Lupus erythematosus (SLE)
* Lyme disease
* Mercury toxicity
* Myofascial pain syndrome
* Tendinitis
* Thyroid disease
* Vitamin B12 deficiency
* Vitamin D deficiency
* Whiplash-associated disorder

Get diagnosed and treated.

Answer 6

If you haven't already, you could try seeing a rheumatologist. They can make the diagnosis. You might also consider some alternative therapies, like acupuncture, chiropractic, massage. Be sure to eat healthy foods, drink water, do stretching (not when you first wake up), get exercise daily.

Answer 7

www.alpha-stim.com

the alpha-stim has been approved for treatment of fibromyalgia.

We use it all the time in the pain management clinic i work for.

Answer 8

LONG --- BUT well worth the reading.

Make the connection.

I am a nurse with over 25 years experience in this area and I have seen a lot of people with various illnesses caused from chemicals and fragranced products as well as VOC’s in their homes, schools and workplace. This problem is growing as more and more chemicals are being introduced and used on a daily basis.

We are now seeing more and more children with Asthma, Allergies, Hives, Eczema and many respiratory illnesses. I can not emphasize how important it is to educate yourself about MCS and the harm you may be doing to your health by using chemicals and fragranced products.

If you or a loved one suffers from Asthma, Allergies, Autism, chronic headaches, reproductive problems, Migraines, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia, you need to read further and learn about the signs and symptoms of MCS - Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Most doctors will not inform you about this because patients as a whole like to walk out of a doctors office with a prescription for some magical medicine and they do not want to be told that their expensive new perfume or newly installed carpet may be the culprit. So, the doctor will give you medications and many of these meds either do not work or cause other health problems.

Chemicals and fragranced products are often the root of all evil when it comes to your health. Many of the below mentioned items are common triggers to sinus, asthma, itching, headaches, Migraines and allergy problems amongst other health issues. Get rid of them and your lungs will thank you and you will breathe easier.

And, it is not only personal body or cleaning products causing havoc on your health….many people become ill after wearing brand new clothing, dry-cleaned clothes, installing new carpet, painting, buying a new mattress or after home renovations because of the Flame Retardants, Benzenes, Formaldehydes, etc. used in these products. So the answer is NO, you are not imagining that 2 weeks after your home, office or classroom got renovated you started to become ill, get dizzy or have headaches. This is happening more and more these days and adults as well as children are becoming sicker and sicker.

Unfortunately, too many doctors compound the problem by prescribing chemical medications to try to alleviate the symptoms of an already chemical overloaded body and they rarely tell the patient to eliminate the chemical offenders. How many times have I seen people in the grocery store with Bounce, Glade Plug-Ins and Febreeze in their shopping cart along with a bottle of Benadryl , Migraine Excedrin and a box of Allergy Tablets ? Why don’t they make the connection?

Here is a Brain Spect Scan Before and after a whiff of perfume:
http://www.ourlittleplace.com/spect.html

BIG NO-NO’s
No Bounce or dryer sheets
No Febreeze
No Glade Plug-ins
No scented candles
No Fragranced Products on Body, Hair or Clothing
No Smoke
No Dander
No Sprays

And remember, it is NOT the smell it is the Chemicals that make up the smell. So, even if something is "Fragrance Free" these products often mask the smell with another chemical !

More and more offices and schools are creating “Fragrance Free Zones”… why do you think this is?

Feel free to contact me on this subject.