Hi, I've only been posting on these boards for a week or so. Thanks for the opportunity to ask a question.
This is mainly for people who already have a fibromyalgia diagnosis and don't have any other known conditions that could be causing symptoms.
First, a bit about me. I've been healthy all my life, with very little to complain about. I went through a very rough time earlier this year, with chronic stress, a major loss, and decreased nutrition and sleep. About 6 months ago I started having pain all over, often for no good reason, and sometimes the pain came and went. It was in muscles, joints, and felt like it was running up and down my arms and legs. My feet became sensitive and painful, so that after standing for just a few seconds, I had to sit back down... but then my butt got sore from sitting, and so on. I also stopped being able to sleep well, my heart rate went up, my mood went down, my memory and concentration got impaired, I felt clumsy, I lost weight despite eating very well, I got heart palpitations, bladder symptoms, IBS, muscle twitches all over, and I was extremely fatigued from the smallest things like brushing my teeth. The ER found nothing wrong with my heart, but their limited tests didn't do much to reassure me. My GP brushed me off for the most part. A neurologist did an EMG (needle probe in my muscles) and noted the muscle twitches but said he saw no evidence of neurological disorder. He told me to get my stress level down. Ironically, that stressed me out, as I could tell SOMETHING was wrong, and everybody was just telling me to chill out.
As far as bloodwork, my thyroid is putting out a fair bit of T3 and T4, and my TSH is low but not low enough for a diagnosis. My TPOab is about 10 (despite being on a gluten-free diet). My blood sugar and cholesterol tends to be on the high side, perhaps pre-diabetes, but also not enough for diagnosis. Electrolytes are normal, red blood cells are a bit down, and there was no evidence of antibodies indicating lupus, Sjorgens, or connective tissue diseases. My B12 is normal. I'm negative for H Pylori, Lyme, Hep, and a few other nasty bugs.
Without much help from doctors, I've done a lot of research. I take Magnesium citrate and vitamins B, C, and D. I use acetaminiphen and ibuprofen for pain relief, just enough to take the edge off. Ashwaganda root powder before bed helps me sleep, and it's good for overall stress levels as well. I get a little bit of moderate exercise every day, careful not to push it, or I end up in worse pain and have to take a couple days to recover. My diet has improved greatly. I'm vegan (plus free range eggs), almost totally organic, gluten-free, and very little processed food or sugar.
I'm a little better than I was at the worst point, which was July and August. I need a little less pain meds, I'm sleeping a bit more at night, my energy level is quite improved (but still not normal), my mood is better, and my heart rate isn't as fast. I'm slowly gaining a little bit of the weight back. I still have some fatigue, some trouble sleeping, some anxiety, some bladder symptoms, some brain fog, and the muscle twitches continue unchanged.
My question is about muscle twitches (fasciculations). Do you also get them, and if so, what are they like? Mine are quick contractions of just part of a muscle, and can happen anywhere on my body. Anywhere I could contract a muscle voluntarily, a twitch can happen there. Some places seem to be "favourites" (like calves, under my eyes, shoulders) but they all end up twitching at some point. Sometimes they'll be quiet for a few minutes, sometimes I have about 1 per second. Sometimes the same muscle will repeat for a few minutes (or hours), other times it's totally random and spread out. They SEEM to be a little worse when I'm more stressed out or tired, but it's hard to be certain. Sometimes they're large and pronounced, other times they're smaller and faster, like a vibration. When in my fingers or thumb, they often come across as a hand tremor, which is unpleasant. Sometimes they keep me up, or wake me up too early.
I've read fasciculations are a part of Fibromyalgia, and I've also read that they aren't. In the absense of quality medical attention, or even a confirmed diagnosis, I'm left wondering if I've got FM, or something else (like a neurological disorder).
If you have FM, and nothing else that would cause fasciculations, could you please tell me about them?
Thank you! 