Fibromyalgia

[Winter7]

Posting here for traffic and not sure if my question is too personal. I have been experiencing a range of symptoms since the birth of my son which I believe could possibly be fibromyalgia. My question is, can anyone who has this condition give me an idea of their symptoms and daily living with this condition? I've put all My symptoms down to different various things but now wondering if they relate. My own symptoms are pain in various areas of my body, particularly pelvis, hips, chest, neck and limbs. Frequent headaches, very low mood, restless legs, oversleeping due to always being tired, stiffness and very sharp pin prick sensations in fingertips and balls of feet. Also painful skin on feet and underarm, poor bladder control. Thank you. I know people on mn can't diagnose medical conditions and I have an appointment with my go.

My mother and my aunt both have fibromyalgia, and they both have quite different symptoms to each other, so it would be very difficult to say.

Having said that your symptoms do sound like some of the problems my mother has. She has a lot of pain in nerve endings, which sound similar to some of the things you mention.

My mother is quite elderly now, she has good days and bad days, takes a variety of medication – always on pain killers. She is by nature very positive and I think that really helps. She doesn't let it get her down too much but there are some days when she's in too much pain to go and do the things she'd like to be doing. She has the odd depressed day, and no surprise, who wouldn't if you're constantly in pain. I'm so impressed with the way she handles it all though, she's amazing. She's not letting it beat her.

You're doing the right thing by going to the doctor. It's a horrible condition, hope they have some advice on managing it. you have my sympathies.

Thank you for sharing. I'm worried about sounding like a hypochondriac at the Dr but will brave it out.

Your mother sounds like an amazing lady. I hope I can muster some of her spirit should it turn out to be a long term condition.

Yes, she is amazing. She makes lists every morning of the the things she's grateful for. I am in awe of her.

Don't worry about appearing to be a hypochondriac, it is more recognised now, and it could of course, be something else, like a viral infection that causes those symptoms. If you've got all that pain then your doctor will need to investigate so don't be put off going.

I've had it for years. It's not as bad recently (tempting fate there) but I get flare ups that are pretty horrible. I've had massage therapy, which did nothing, and was on anti depressants, which also did nothing.

I have Fibromyalgia, and what you describe sounds very similar to the symptoms that I have. I was diagnosed 2 years ago and my Fibro is secondary to Psoriatic Arthritis.

My main symptom at the moment is allodynia (skin sensitisation) it drives me crazy, sometimes even just wearing clothes hurts, it's horrible. I'm on a lot of pain relief for my Arthritis which also is supposed to help the Fibro (it doesn't).

Good luck with your GP, a sympathetic GP is worth their weight in gold.

It's one of those conditions that need everything else to be ruled out before they will diagnose it. The difficulty is no two people have the same symptoms and of course the fact that many also have depression and anxiety. The other reasons many doctors are reluctant to diagnose are
a. Not much is known about cause let alone treatment.
b. As an "invisible" illness some try it on
c. Also as it's an invisible illness and there are no tests for it, many doctors don't even try to learn about it.
All that said if you have a sympathetic doctor they will do what they can to help you and some have success with certain antidepressants.
I'm only speaking from my experience here, but, it took several years for me to be diagnosed and I had symptoms since I was 19/20 (40 now and only diagnosed 7 years ago)
Trying to stay positive helps as does pacing, but, what works for one doesn't always work for another.
Big hugs x

I am not making a diagnosis but giving you information as a result of my own experiences.

The symptoms you describe could be related to underactive thyroid.

Also there is a condition called Sheehans Syndrome which is a disorder of the pituitary gland which happens as a result of blood loss to the pituitary gland during childbirth.

The pituitary gland regulates the thyroid and secretes many hormones. The symptoms you describe can be related to hormone imbalances.

Thank you all. Big hugs to those having a hard time

I have all you have mentioned and the gp thinks I have fibro. I also have an EDS diagnosis which explains a lot of the symptoms too. Def go and have a chat with your gp, it's probably worth having a range of blood tests done and if still no answers a referral to rheumatology. Good luck!

I have it.
Some days can be easy, like going to work with a slight cold.
Some days I use crutches, and a mobility scooter, max out on codeine and tramadol and everything still hurts.
If your pain has no physical cause, it could be chronic pain. Mine definitely escalated after a traumatic birth.