To think I might have fibromyalgia?

[SweetMaryHell]

Doctor won’t take me seriously.

I have pains in both arms, legs, feet and sometimes hands - as well as my chest. I’m constantly fatigued, some days so tired I can barely function. Headaches, nausea, light headed, itchy skin … I have literally every symptom of it!!
AIbU to go back to GP AGAIN and tell them that really believe it’s fibromyalgia??

What does the GP think the issue is?

Anaemia (my ferritin is 6 but I’ve been on 3 iron tablets a day for over a month and the pain is worse now than it was to begin with)

They could well be right. I had low ferritin and felt bloody awful. Have they checked your b12 and vitamin d as well?

And do they know why your ferritin is so low?

I thought the same

I’m actually perimenopausal and now on HRT which is helping loads!

I have some of those symptoms but I know that they can vary massively

Remember that Fibro is diagnosed by ruling everything else out and there isn't a single test for it. If your symptoms continue, firmly insist you're referred on - it took me 20 years and going private to see a rheumatologist who diagnosed me within 10 minutes.

How long have you had your symptoms OP?

With a ferritin of 6 you're likely to feel terrible. When mine was 9 I could barely function. It took 3 months of 3 tablets a day plus extra red meat etc to get it up to an ok level. (Even then it was only ok, not great).

That's not to say you don't have anything else going on but I would really push to fix the iron issue as it's bound to help.

My mum has fibro and she had anaemia for years and many other symptoms you describe before she was diagnosed by a rheumatology consultant as she also had arthritis

Exactly what @Mamamamasaurus said.

I have many, many chronic illnesses and take a lot of tablets a day, a biologic injection a week, I’m under several different hospitals over different counties and have many different Consultants and healthcare teams…..a Fibromyalgia specialist will confirm diagnosis within 10 minutes BUT more often than not, a lot of other conditions have to be ruled out beforehand.

Coeliac disease?

It does sound like fibromyalgia. However, 3 iron tablets a day will still take ages to make an impact if your ferritin is that low. Your GP doesn't sound great. Make an appointment with a different one, ask for more active treatment for the anaemia - maybe an iron infusion or some of the super strength tablets - and then if there's no improvement in another month or so, push for a referral about the possible fibromyalgia - though as a pp said, it's a diagnosis of exclusion.

Ask for a rheumatology referral.

I would ask the GP to refer you to a rheumatologist and then rule out everything else out first.

Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion and basically a catch-all term for distributed pain, it's not a disease in itself as the source of the pain is unknown.

GP's are consultant grade clinicians. They are really experienced at what they do and have advanced training. Why dont you follow their advice for a while and see if things improve?

If you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia how will that diagnosis benefit you? There aren't many effective treatments available. Whereas with anaemia, the medications can make a huge difference.

My yd recently went to the gp as she feels she has fibro. She also has JIA/RA, hyper mobility, ET. The gp didn't want to diagnose her with fibro just in case there are other underlying issues causing her symptoms so she has referred her back to Rheumy who she is currently under for the other things.
As for anemia, I have this and struggle with the tablets. I could just take one a day as they affect my stomach. My ferritin was 3 and my hg was 83, and although both have gone up slightly, I still feel terrible. I have now had an iron infusion and have another one next week and hopefully I'll feel a bit better soon. It takes too long for the iron to do it's thing for some people, and if you feel it isn't helping you, you need to get back to your gp and get more help ie referral to Rheumy and an iron infusion. From my blood test to my infusion was under a week.

I had similar issues, GP did bloods but nothing showed up. Eventually he referred me to a rheumatologist who said they were fibromyalgic and or psoriatic arthritis symptoms. He put me on a low dose of methotrexate. I was like a different person after 6 weeks. Rheumatologist basically said it’s hard to be sure what it is but some class of inflammatory disease and they are generally treated with methotrexate to start. He said if it works, happy days, stay on it!