I have been off work now for one year and i have most of if not all of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia, i am going to hospital Rhumatol next week #, my friend thinks i have Fibromyalgia and when i looked on your site i was amazed at the symptoms i have , i am so tired most times and in constant pain most days i have had a MRI scan but it said i just have a problem with my disks i also have achilies tendinapathy, my hand wrists and most muscles hurt daily and i have to stop and rest, i cannot concentrate and now cannot work, how can i say to m,y doctor or hospital that i think i may have Fibromyalgia with them thinking i am mad or have just looked it up on the net ?? please anyone help as living with this constant pain is making me so depressed.
Hi there Lady Bird
Sounds familiar!!! I have all the signs and symptoms of arthritis but no visable x-ray in my hips just spacing had narrowed, and I have degenerative discs in my spine too, its a nightmare!!!! My doctor says there is arthritis going on in my body, but no tests show as such, Liver function test HI, Sed rate 34 and signs of anemia My Occupational Health Doctor first suggested this condition, my doctor said Polymyalgia?, but when I went to see a rhuematologist she wasn't at all interested as she didn't have my file with her just assuming I had mechanical back strain, and I \"could\" have fibromyalgia no over all diagnosis and as far as Polymyalgia I am 35 so I was too young and my sed rate wasn't high enough as it was 32 at the time!!!!!
I have previously read this isn't so?:- The following Quote is from Arch intern Med:-
It is not uncommon to find a patient with PMR with an ESR lower than 40 mm/h. This syndrome is more frequent in men and it is clinically less severe than the classic form of PMR.
I am at my witts end!!!! My physio believes I have Fibromyalgia but he said that he can't particular treat this as I would have to be referred back to a Rhumotologist?????? I am at the pain clinic on Wednesday and I am not at all looking forward to this as I feel like I am banging my head against the wall as no-one wants to listen!!! My GP said it will be up to the pain specialist to see whether I will be referred back to another Rhuemotologist. I am seeing another pain doctor too as the previous one wasn't helpful neither as he said I had to get on with my life and get over it!!!!!!
Anyway I hope you get better answers than me, as I have been like his since Nov 06, been off work since march 2007, and My work are getting on my case now too, as I cant walk up the five flights of stairs due to the pain, at the beginning they were going to put our dept downstairs but nothing has come to light!!!! I offered to reduce my hours to 8 but they weren't interested so they will probably sack me soon!!!!
Take care x
Kind Regards
SES :roll:
Hi there, I don't know if my input will help, but I have suffered since my teenage years with all sorts of things and finally had got so fed up, I pleaded with my GP to refer me to a Rheumatologist. (This was only after I found out my Sister had been diagnosed with FMS)
I was convinced I had FMS like my sister, because I had all the sort of symptoms, even a Jaw Disorder (TMJ), I suffer aches, pains, extreme fatigue, headaches, stomache upsets, sensitivity to pain etc etc etc.
I was finally diagnosed this week with Ankylosing Spondylitis, which to be honest I had never heard of before and didnt have a clue about it.
There still could be a possibility of having FMS aswell I suppose, but it was a shock to find out I had something completely different. AS has similar characterisitcs to FMS. I would think that without x-rays and blood tests you could easily be misdiagnosed. It was only these tests that really confirmed the diagnosis, because of the inflammation found on the x-rays and I also tested positive for the HLA-B27 gene, which appears to be present in all AS sufferers.
There is a possibility that both my sisters have been misdiagnosed in the past, because one apparently has Fibromyalgia and the other has Osteoarthritis?
My message really is to try and get a referral back to the Rheumatologist to try and eliminate the possibilities and have some proper investigation done (if you haven't done already)
If you look at the symptoms of AS, you will see that it can affect spine, hips, knees, ankles, neck, shoulders, cause extreme fatigue, pain in chest, shallow breathing, eye infections, reduced kidney function, anemia, the list goes really, so there could be lots of similarities between AS and FMS.
(by the way AS is more common in men too, but I'm a woman with it and I'm 32 now. As far as I'm concerned it must have started in my teens)
I'm not trying to say you have AS, I just wanted to let you know that without proper tests and investigations I would never have found out what my problems were. :roll:
Hi there lynny 27
Yes I asked my GP to have the HLA B27 test as the medication I am on is for AS, Osteo and RA, he didn't seem interested? apparently you have to get this especially done at the hospital as your GP's Surgery can't do this test? I have dry eyes and some days the fatigue is so awful I need to lie down, even if I have had a good night sleep! It hurts in my back, hips, shoulders and knees when I am walking I am 35 (feel 95) I have had blood tests done yes! RF, C Protein, Sed Rate etc but my GP thinks that is sufficient!!!!! My blood tests showed inflammation since the beginning but because I have an under active thyroid the Rhumatologist wasn't interested in my results!!!! Some days the pain in my knees I cant put pressure on them and so are unable to walk, I told the doctor this and he did loads of pulling and rotating my legs and said \"Bursitis\" but after this I had more pain for days later.
I stopped taking my anti-inflammatories , as my liver function test was sky high but I have had to go back on them as my severe head aches have come back and my sinus type pain along my forehead!!!! Along with more pain all over. My GP said it was due to taking the anti-inflammatories why it was sky high, this cant be good surely as it is four times the amount it should be?
I have thought a number of times just turning up at A&E to get another opinion of someone other than my GP but due to my experiences I guess I will still be banging my head against the wall........I am just hoping this pain specialist may see something other than \"mechanical back strain\" I am so fed up of being in this pain, like I have said I am 35 and it was my sisters 30th birthday on Saturday, theres me turning up with a walking stick like some old dear with no get up and go!!!!! I just want a complete diagnosis, not speculations, my physio says I have Osteo in my hips but my Gp said he can't diagnose me as a Rhumo does this? My Physio said I have referred Fibromyalgia but again my GP didn't listen, unless he is waiting for my file to get back as I am still attending sessions \"when I can make it\" so unless he is waiting for his written notes I am not sure?????
I haven't got any faith in many doctors now to be honest as the last Rhumo just didn't want to know, she said I was \"hyper mobile\" in my hands or something, the point was I was having a really good day, my hands are so painful and I cant do normal activities as my hands seize up!!!! but anyway I could waffle on.......... thanks so much for reading this xx
Kind Regards
SES