I am new, not sure I have fibromyalgia. Had knee replacement one year ago, pretty much healed but still have tight muscle pain in thigh (had this before surgery, was told it was from arthritic knee but replacement hasn’t helped) and now upper arm. GP and surgeon suggest fibromyalgia. Pain is limiting my activities, exercise is not helping. Surgeon suggested I see physiatrist, GP sent me to sports medicine clinic who said I had inflamed IT band. Where should I go to get a diagnosis?
Greetings, and welcome to the forum.
Generally, fibromyalgia is not diagnosed unless the pain a person experiences is widespread and unilateral, meaning on both sides of the body, and is not attributable to any other cause.
If you have an inflamed IT band, then that is what should receive treatment. If you get treatment for that and it doesn't relieve the pain after the proscribed amount of time has passed, then you want to start looking at all of the other things which could be causing your pain.
There are many different conditions that cause widespread pain, and it is a very good idea to get tested for all of those things before you come to the conclusion that you have fibromyalgia, because some of those things are more easily treated than fibromyalgia is, and some require different treatment from what fibro gets. You can find a complete list of these conditions online if you search for it.
If your doctor recommends a physiatrist, then I suggest you go to one, since they are specifically trained to treat pain conditions. This doctor can also probably order the different tests that you should consider getting. Another place you can consider is a rheumatologist.
Best of luck to you and feel free to stick around here and ask questions. We are here to help.
am pretty new here but so glad I found this forum. Wealth of knowledge and support.
