Looks like I fit the criteria now

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sandree

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I have had chronic pain and a host of other symptoms (flares of pain that moves around my body and gets stuck where I have any kind of strain, TMJ, pelvic floor issue, vertigo, insomnia, brain fog, blurry eyes, digestive issues etc.) for 15 years - I think post infectious and post extreme stress. I never asked my doctor to look for fibromyalgia because I didn’t have the pressure points that I thought indicated fibromyalgia. Doctors generally agreed I had chronic fatigue but never formally diagnosed it and told me I was doing what I could for it with pacing and self care. Now I am reading these new guidelines for fibro and I fit them better than CFS. Would being formally diagnosed lead to any help? So far, with all of this, my doctors have not offered much help and I feel that as I age, my pain gets worse and more frequent. I give each doctor a list of my symptoms and they don‘t offer much help. My son is taking Cymbalta for mental health issues and he keeps saying I should give it a trial. Maybe?
 
being formally diagnosed really does not make any difference, other than something to write down on forms.
in fact, it can actually make it harder to get checked for other things if it is listed in your medical files... have run into that myself just recently.

Cymbalta is one of those "maybe" things... it might help, it might not - every one is different. It did nothing for me. Most of the more common drugs used for fibro were of no help for me, or had some fairly nasty side effects, so something to be aware of.

I would suggest you read up on it, including potential side effects, and decide for yourself if you want to try it or not.
 
I am thinking one difference between the guidelines for CFS and fibromyalgia is on exercise. With CFS, the recommendation is to be very careful with exercise as it can lead to long flares. With fibro, it looks like there is more of an emphasis on pursuing exercise. Do you generally find that you are able to exercise and that it is beneficial?
 
I am thinking one difference between the guidelines for CFS and fibromyalgia is on exercise. With CFS, the recommendation is to be very careful with exercise as it can lead to long flares. With fibro, it looks like there is more of an emphasis on pursuing exercise. Do you generally find that you are able to exercise and that it is beneficial?
even very mild forms of exercise can be beneficial, just dont over do it - same as for CFS. Over doing will lead to longer flares in the same way, but it is very important to at least try to move... even just going for a walk can help.

For me personally, I tend to do more stretching type things than anything, mainly due to the spinal arthritis I also have to cope with (lumbar ans cervical), but lately even that is proving difficult - my neck is causing me major problems. Supposed to be going in tomorrow for an injection in the worst area to hopefully relieve some of the nerve pain.

you have to know yourself/your body, and how much you can tolerate before sending yourself into a flare. Do what you can, and try to slowly build up more tolerance, but dont push so hard that you end up in worse shape, if that makes sense.
 
Sandree, have you checked out the post I made of advice on things you can do yourself to help with managing fibromyalgia? If not, I encourage you to take a look at it and start trying some things. You don't necessarily have to use medication, and it is recommended that you try out other things you can do for yourself and use medication as a last resort, because so many of them have unwanted side effects and/or are addictive.

Exercise is definitely valuable, no matter what kind of disorder you have. You just need to determine carefully what kind and how much works beneficially for you. Everyone needs some form of exercise.

 
With CFS, the recommendation is to be very careful with exercise as it can lead to long flares. With fibro, it looks like there is more of an emphasis on pursuing exercise. Do you generally find that you are able to exercise and that it is beneficial?
If I didn't have severe "fatigue" (in my case quick exhaustion) as the most intense of my fibro symptoms, I'd certainly be able to exercise a bit more, without backlashes, I notice that on days with more pain but less fatigue, the pain doesn't seem that much of a problem. However my wife sees that I'm overdoing it by the colour of my face / eyes / lips (black/white/green/grey/yellow), so it's much more than just pushing thru pain.
So once again I agree with the others.
Same goes from duloxetine/Cymbalta: I'd try everything else first, and there are 100s of things, unless you are desperate for a short term "life belt" if you are under pressure not able to pace.
 
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