Fibromyalgia or something else?

[MyLittleJellyBaby]

I don't want to come across ignorant or insensitive in this message, I just need to know what I might be dealing with so please be kind.

I've recently been rediagnosed with depression and prescribed Citalopram. I've dealt with depression and anxiety for about 4 years now and since then I've had a lot of bereavement and trauma so it's been a rollercoaster. I've recently started to notice that I've been having physical symptoms for a while that I didn't connect together until now. I'm going to list the things I've noticed. Some of these I've had within the last month, some I've had for 2 or more years.

Frequent headaches, every other day or so. A foggy feeling like I can't multitask because I have to work really hard to concentrate on one thing. Trouble getting to sleep (it's worth noting I have a toddler so my sleep is broken at least 4 times a night) and I wake up feeling as though I've not slept. Pain in a few places, mainly joints, including my neck, shoulders, the bottom of my back, hips, right knee, right wrist (none of the pain is constant, it all comes and goes. It is never severe enough that it stops me from doing normal daily tasks but I have had to start stopping half way on the stairs in the morning because my hips and legs feel like I need to really stretch them - like a stiff feeling). A really clicky painful jaw that started when I was about 11 but has got loads worse in the last 3 years. Really itchy eyes in the evenings. I can often smell garlic but it's like a phantom smell (?) - nobody else can smell it.

The reason I'm so unsure though is because none of the symptoms have ever been bad enough to have a huge impact on my life except the depression & anxiety. I just feel like I need to stretch all the time or change my position when my joints ache. I feel really silly going to the doctor about this because I feel like I'm just going to be wasting their time and in the current climate that seems selfish. But I'm only 23 and I feel like a 60 year old!

Any words of wisdom from you lovely mums & dads?
Thanks in advance!

Bump

Hi OP ,
some of those are classic symptoms for vitamin D deficiency. I wonder if you have been tested for any vitamin deficiencies ?
Quite often ranges for blood results are very wide , and although you might be told it is normal, it might not be optimum. Just because 95% of people fall within a particular range , it is not necessarily normal. Vitamin D is a case in point.

Very often , you will be told that anything between 50 and 200 , is normal. Well yes it is normal, but 50 is definitely not optimal. The same situation can probably be said for B12.

IF you can get some results, then look for a vitamin D level over 100 , not 50 , this will be much better for you.

Here's a thread , which may have some useful info for you. Many people with some similar symptoms. I posted a lot there , and on quite a few other threads here on Mumsnet
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2841497-If-you-are-vitamin-D-deficient-what-have-you-been-prescribed

IF you are interested, have a look, or if you need any more info re Vit D, just search my nick, or just get back to me.

Best of luck with it all.

BTBH

ALSO ... this may be useful
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/general_health/2377129-Quick-Self-Check-for-Vitamin-D-deficiency

BTBH

I had all of these; down to the weird jaw - although not the garlic smell, in my early 20s. I was eventually diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which was rubbish because it’s a catch-all diagnosis that not many people take seriously, and it just means the doctors won’t try much to help you as there’s no treatment. Weirdly it all stopped when my anxiety was under control, and I’m absolutely fine now. The fibro has been struck from my record now, and I’ve been told by a few good doctors that it’s not uncommon at all for anxiety to have very physical symptoms.

Sadly medication did little for my anxiety overall and I had to make some big life changes, but I’m happier than ever now, so it all worked out!

I had the same thing after i went through a very stressful period. All of my joints hurt i.e. fingers, wrists, collar bones, hips, knees, ankles, i felt like electricity was going through my body and face. The symptoms have gone now after i got rid of the stress and anxiety. Check with a rheumatologist. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia but really it was stress and anxiety

To keep the fibro at bay i've had to keep to a strict bed time, cycle, yoga, deep breathing, massage, green juices in the morning, meditation, an anti-inflammatory diet and keep the stress at bay. This helped to bring my body back to normal

Also vitamin D, B and tumeric helped to restore.

Get vitamin b12 tested

I am diagnosed with fibromyalgia. It's a burning pain in the muscles and connective tissues, more than joints for me. Stiffness if you've been still for a while is a symptom. Having to stretch to ease the pain. Being unable to sleep all night sometimes and walking up unrested are common. As is TMJ pain. It often follows extreme stress. But I would agree with others here to get your vitamin D level tested and treated if low, as the symptoms are similar. Try that first.

Depression, anxiety and poor sleep can explain all your symptoms. Poor sleep and lacking in deep sleep means your body doesn't repair physically as it should. Add to that that anxiety makes you tense up without awareness most of the time and you end up with a hrs and pains that the might doesn't repair.

A lot of fibro symptoms are similar to under active thyroid, especially as you have a toddler, as it can often onset after childbirth - mine was eventually diagnosed about 9 months after having DS1.

Ask your GP for blood tests to rule out thyroid and vitamin deficiencies. Those symptoms together are certainly not silly - it’s a list of things that even at a low level will be decreasing your quality of life - you may not even realise how much it’s impacting you until it’s treated.

Women after pregnancy are often very deficient in vitamin D. If you haven't had a recent blood test with your GP, with access to the number (don't let them fob you off with 'ok, 'normal') you can have a private test online at places like Thriva for around £35. Thyroid tests too. Sometimes you just want to know quickly. Are you taking 3,000iu Vitamin D daily? Best to take it with K2 and zinc.