Fibromyalgia

[Maddiea]

Hi hopefully I'm doing this correct, for many yrs I've had sciatica, two years ago I was laid up, normally I would try and put on a brave face. I've always felt alot of pain in my body but put it down to getting older. I've since had a nerve conduction test and that was all OK.. Muskelskeltor have sent me exercises but not helping. One doctor was 90% I have fibromyalgia but has since left. So I've been put on ampatripalin for pain and sleep which is helping a little, the thing is I don't know who to turn to now. I'm still in full time work and struggle badly everyday.

 

[sunkacola]

Hi Maddiea, and welcome to you.

You are in one of the very difficult places many of us pass through on the way to a diagnosis. If you are seeking a diagnosis you have no choice but to start again with a new doctor since yours is gone. See if you can get an appointment with a rheumatologist, and do your best to research the doctor ahead of time so that you know if he or she is one of the ones who don't believe fibro exists, so you don't waste your time. You may need to have a bundle of tests for the other things that could be causing this before getting a formal diagnosis.

In the meantime, you might find something interesting in this post I made a while back. It's just ideas for things that could help with the management of fibro. I wish you the best.

My advice for managing fibromyalgia (especially for newcomers)

I am not a doctor or anything, just a person who has lived with fibromyalgia for several years now and has done a lot of research and trial and error experimentation. What follows is just basics. There are a lot of variations. You will find your own versions of everything I say, as this is not a...

www.fibromyalgiaforums.org

 

[Maddiea]

Hi im seeing a new doctor now and I'm just waiting to see what muskelskeltor has written, I'm then going to ask about seeing a rheumatologist as this was suggested. This has been going on for a number of years and now they are looking into things, it just annoys me that I have to take ampatripalin to sleep and help with pain especially when I don't know what's wrong with mr

 

[sunkacola]

That is, indeed, the annoying part. All of us here have gone through that in one way or another.

 

[Jemima]

Hi im seeing a new doctor now and I'm just waiting to see what muskelskeltor has written, I'm then going to ask about seeing a rheumatologist as this was suggested. This has been going on for a number of years and now they are looking into things, it just annoys me that I have to take ampatripalin to sleep and help with pain especially when I don't know what's wrong with mr

Hi Maddiea,

Welcome to the forum. Yep, the process of trying to get in front of the right doctor and know for certain what's going on is really tough - and would probably qualify as a saga for a lot of the people here - but keep on pushing, so that you can rule out anything else, and experience a bit more clarity. We really have to be our own advocates with this condition, and while that's insanely frustrating sometimes, it can also be kind of empowering.

Speaking of empowerment, if I were you, I'd get straight on adopting all of the self-management lifestyle changes that can help with fibromyalgia. The post that Sunkacola shared above is a fantastic place to start - it might all seem trivial at first glance, but with dedication, these things can make a huge difference to symptoms. The advantage is that, no matter what is wrong with you, doing things like stress management, pacing, improving your diet, working on sleep hygiene, and so on, will all benefit your wellbeing. Certainly with fibromyalgia, the more we can tune into our body and take control where we're able, the better. There are sadly no quick "do this to be cured" fixes, but there are little layers of improvement that we can stack up towards feeling a lot better.

Good luck with everything - please do let us know how you get on with your diagnosis process, and ask any time if you have any questions, or just need to vent!

 

[Maddiea]

Many thanks

 

[Maddiea]

Hi Maddiea,

Welcome to the forum. Yep, the process of trying to get in front of the right doctor and know for certain what's going on is really tough - and would probably qualify as a saga for a lot of the people here - but keep on pushing, so that you can rule out anything else, and experience a bit more clarity. We really have to be our own advocates with this condition, and while that's insanely frustrating sometimes, it can also be kind of empowering.

Speaking of empowerment, if I were you, I'd get straight on adopting all of the self-management lifestyle changes that can help with fibromyalgia. The post that Sunkacola shared above is a fantastic place to start - it might all seem trivial at first glance, but with dedication, these things can make a huge difference to symptoms. The advantage is that, no matter what is wrong with you, doing things like stress management, pacing, improving your diet, working on sleep hygiene, and so on, will all benefit your wellbeing. Certainly with fibromyalgia, the more we can tune into our body and take control where we're able, the better. There are sadly no quick "do this to be cured" fixes, but there are little layers of improvement that we can stack up towards feeling a lot better.

Good luck with everything - please do let us know how you get on with your diagnosis process, and ask any time if you have any questions, or just need to vent!

Hi been seen by the rheumatologist she has stated I've got osteoarthritis, on the fibromyalgia side its best to speak with a doctor as this

 

[Maddiea]

Hi been seen by the rheumatologist she has stated I've got osteoarthritis, on the fibromyalgia side its best to speak with a doctor as this can be the case aswell as to why I have some much pain and tiredness. I've had loads of blood tests and only vitamin d was very low so on a high dose of tablet for 6 weeks, also I'm now on 4 ampatripline a day. They still haven't put it on my doctors records as fibromyalgia maybe they are waiting to see all my results back. To get an explanation would be good as cannot be like this for no reason.

 

[Jemima]

Hi been seen by the rheumatologist she has stated I've got osteoarthritis, on the fibromyalgia side its best to speak with a doctor as this can be the case aswell as to why I have some much pain and tiredness. I've had loads of blood tests and only vitamin d was very low so on a high dose of tablet for 6 weeks, also I'm now on 4 ampatripline a day. They still haven't put it on my doctors records as fibromyalgia maybe they are waiting to see all my results back. To get an explanation would be good as cannot be like this for no reason.

Hi Maddiea,

I'm sorry for the diagnosis, but at the same time I'm glad you're making progress! Fingers crossed things will keep getting clearer for you, and you'll find success with treatments. Good luck