Can Fibromyalgia hide other illnesses?

[VPugh]

The obvious answer to this is 'Yes', but it struck me just how serious this can potentially be. At the weekend, I heard that someone I knew who I often used to chat to about our respective experiences had died. It was a real shock to the family and knocked me for six too. What is worrying - and I don't mean to depress anyone - is that she died of leukaemia and it was only diagnosed a week before her death! I was therefore wondering just how much our everyday experience can hide something underlying; if we get a new ache or pain, we chalk it up to Fibromyalgia. It's a bit like COVID - apart from the respiratory problems, most of the symptoms are ones we'll all be very familiar with.

Anyway, it's perhaps just a reminder for us all not to ignore new symptoms.

My thoughts go with her family.

 

[JayCS]

Hi - true, that's another reason why I've completely stopped asking or even thinking the question: "Could this be fibro?"
When I thought I was thru with lots of specialists, my GP by chance checked my blood pressure, seeing as pain can increase it.
Plus my alternative practitioner had the idea that the orange spots on my legs plus having to take breaks walking could be an artery problem.
"End" of that story: a great deal of potentially life endangering cardiovascular issues, which I can control by diet, 5 meds & checks.
Other specialist haven't found anything more than I knew of yet, apart from a centre for rare diseases: Hashimoto & praps Sjögren's.
Which I again think is good to know & check.
(The other reason is that I don't want to know the name of any of the diseases as an end in itself, I just want to find and am finding (self-)treatment possibilities. The suspected Sjögren's has pointed me to do something (natural) about my dry eyes and dry mouth, for instance.) Even with regular treatments or not finding treatments, I'm still on the lookout for things that will get rid of more for longer.
My back, skin and gut are severe problems I've had for 40 years and docs can't find why they are so severe, can't see or measure anything. So they don't really have a good name for them. But I manage them well. The Ache, exhaustion, tiredness, sleep & cold problems are just that.
And the first 2 keep getting the better of me... but not always...
But: Without the diagnosis I wouldn't have found you people to talk about it. So the Is-it?-question really means: Do you know what I'm talking about, am I right here. But the Can-It-Mask-question is (at least?) equally important, so thank you for sharing!