Fibro Caused by PTSD?

[EHPrybylski]

I was reading the information on the site and it said that fibro can actually be caused (they think) by trauma. I find this fascinating because I have a long history of trauma in my life, and no one else in my family has fibro. There seems to be no basis for where or how I contracted it. However, I can connect the onset of the severe pain (it started with incredible stiffness in my hips in high school when some of my worst trauma occurred).

Are there other documented cases of this? I'm asking because I may be able to talk to my doctor about it. If I can understand where/how/why it started maybe I can work on the source of the problem rather than just suffering along in blind confusion.

 

[twiztc]

I had Fibro years before my trauma but my new clinic Dr pointed out that I have got a lot worse since I faced the possibility of death especially as I wasnt really treated properly for my PTSD and may still be suffering from it on some level. I'm supposed to go to a psychologist but it's like two hundred Bucks a pop and my insurance only covers five.
There seems to be trauma, physical or mental plays a big part in Fibro for some people.

 

[EHPrybylski]

It's possible that I had the problem before the trauma, but honestly the trauma started so young that it's hard to tell. I don't have a baseline that I can remember which complicates my ability to see if it started or became worse as a result of trauma or was just exacerbated by it.

 

[Takedon]

I'm not sure. It's not been researched yet, but it seems like a very plausible thing.

 

[EHPrybylski]

Well, I saw in the literature here that it can be related, so I'm interested to look into the connection.

 

[Trellum]

I have a trauma story, but I don't think any of us here can tell for sure whether fibro is caused by trauma or not. But we can surely share our stories with you (some members already did it). I believe I had my first fibro symptoms when I was a teen, I never paid a lot attention then because I was so young and carefree! I already had a long story of trauma back then... So there is a big chance that might have caused this, guess I will never know for sure.

 

[Takedon]

I haven't heard about a lot of soldier with PTSD to have something like this, though.

 

[1sweed]

It might be that having experienced trauma makes us more likely to develop it. We have talked about this many times on the forum but I guess until a doctor decides it is possible it is only a guessing game. Having experienced a lot of trauma and stressful events myself, it might be the shock to our systems makes the opening for developing fibro easier for us. ?

 

[EHPrybylski]

I haven't heard about a lot of soldier with PTSD to have something like this, though.

Soldiers aren't the only people who can develop PTSD. Many people have it. Abuse victims, people who have been in a car crash... anyone who has experienced a severe trauma. It's more common than most people realize. I don't know anything about soldiers who develop PTSD developing fibromyalgia, but I'd be interested to see if there are any studies about other people developing it.

I have a trauma story, but I don't think any of us here can tell for sure whether fibro is caused by trauma or not. But we can surely share our stories with you (some members already did it). I believe I had my first fibro symptoms when I was a teen, I never paid a lot attention then because I was so young and carefree! I already had a long story of trauma back then... So there is a big chance that might have caused this, guess I will never know for sure.

Sounds like we have a lot in common. I started having a great deal of pain when I was a teen which was when the trauma was getting worse, though my trauma began at about nine years old, so it's hard to separate the two from each other.

 

[katydid]

I was in two terrible car accidents about a year and a half apart, both times rear ended. I watched them both hit me in my rear view mirror.... The first accident caused me some injuries and anxiety for a few months, however, the second accident, caused my existing injuries to become worse and added a slew of new injuries to the list. It also caused PTSD.
I know my injuries and fibro are not caused by my PTSD, unfortunately they are all results of the car accidents...
I do however believe my PTSD can make my pain more intense sometimes, ie: if I am driving and someone is tailgating me or cuts me off, I tense up and start having bad anxiety and panic attacks, my body tenses up and can make my pain levels increase. I have to pull over and park until I can calm down enough to either finish driving to where I have to be or turn around and go home because it's too overwhelming. I've had to call family members before to come pick me up and have another drive my truck home because I knew I couldn't drive after whatever happened.....
The sad part is, I know I'm a great driver, but others are not, and I'm terrified of being hit again....

 

[Takedon]

Soldiers aren't the only people who can develop PTSD. Many people have it. Abuse victims, people who have been in a car crash... anyone who has experienced a severe trauma. It's more common than most people realize. I don't know anything about soldiers who develop PTSD developing fibromyalgia, but I'd be interested to see if there are any studies about other people developing it.



Sounds like we have a lot in common. I started having a great deal of pain when I was a teen which was when the trauma was getting worse, though my trauma began at about nine years old, so it's hard to separate the two from each other.

So is this plausible? Are the people with this post traumatic shock more exposed to this kind of disease?

 

[NewToFibro]

I have not been diagnosed with PTSD. But, I can say that my symptoms started immediately after a traumatic (emotionally, not physically) event. This caused the doctors to ignore the condition and call it depression for years (and just about every anti-depressant) before I finally got a real diagnoses. I have also read that Fibro and traumatic stress can be linked and based on my experiences I believe it.

 

[Takedon]

So we have a lot of examples of how it can be affected by PTSD. However, I am afraid nothing's been proven yet.

 

[Andrei]

It has been proven and I must say that PTSD is among the worst causes of fibromyalgia. However, I have never experienced such a thing, so I'm not sure what to advise you all.