My Story! Please read and respond

[Ashleynoelle]

Hello all!
I've been reading some of your stories for a day or so and I figure I join up and share mine. However I don't know if what I have is fibro but I want to share what I been experiencing for quite a while.

Back in 2016 I work up one morning with lower back pain, it wasn't extremely painful it was pretty much only when I bent over. Along with morning stiffness that went on for a while. Than widespread pain
After X-rays , MRI and blood work I was diagnosed with scoliosis, which according to my doctor causes no pain whatsoever. baxk then I did mention fibro as I googled my symptoms and that's what showed up.and he said it was possible but left it at that.
Fast forward to now and things have gotten worst. I've dealt with the pain because I knew there wasn't much I could do and it never occurred to me of it being fibro again till now.
A few months ago I started experiencing very painful spasms in my back, shoulders and neck. Not paying attention I believed it was my back problems. This is where most of pain usually is, again I left it as that. but now ive been having recurring daily headaches. Along with ringing in my ears almost constant, again i left it at that, now I'm really starting to think if it's fibro. I've been forgetting quite a few things these last few months, but I thought it was because I'm a new mom!! But who knows.
I was in a lot of pain lastnight trying to put the pieces together I'm trying to remember my other pain and symptoms prior to now which includes
Dizziness which I remember having to go to the hospital for, thought it was my iron levels but everything showed up ok
Off balance, sometimes I stagger for no reason at all :s , when I close my eyes I don't stand still
I'm tired, but again I am a new mom
My bladder is another story.
I really can't remember most things, it scares me sometimes
I've had nights where I just can't sleep.
Night sweats, or freezing cold, but mostly sweats
I haven't been paying much attention to widespread pain, but my feet went numb three times today because I was paying attention.
Have I been going through this, this whole time without realizing it? It's confusing.
My arms were aching last week
And I've noticed over the last little bit that some parts of my body are tender to the touch, like the sides of my hips, some areas on my legs, I can't make sense of this anymore.

I'm not sure what I'm asking here...
Could this be fibro?
Does fibro worsten as time goes on?
Does it come and go?

Input please

 

[Nick]

Hi!
I can recommend you to make an appointment with a specialist (for example a physiatrist or rheumatologist) to find out if you have fibromyalgia. A general practitioner can diagnose fibromyalgia as well, but it’s not always guaranteed that a general practitioner has enough knowledge on fibromyalgia, so seeing a specialist might be a more secure option.

When I think about your symptoms, many of them are characteristical for fibromyalgia. You mentioned the tender areas in your legs and hips, tiredness, difficulties with memory, dizziness, headache, staggering, spasms, insomnia, night sweats, aching arms, and numbness of feet. All of them can be signs of fibromyalgia, but since they can also be signs of numerous other syndromes, conditions, or diseases, it’s important to let a doctor make a diagnosis, so that you can receive the correct treatments and any potentially dangerous conditions or illnesses can be excluded.

When a doctor makes a diagnosis for fibromyalgia, he/she asks you some questions (regarding your symptoms) that help to figure out if it could be fibromyalgia, and the doctor will also perform a physical examination, meaning that he/she will mainly check certain areas that can feel tender when being pressed moderately firmly by fingers. These areas include for example areas around the elbows, knees, hips, shoulders, and neck. The doctor can also order some blood tests, if he/she finds it necessary, or you may do some diagnostic imaging (for example MRI) to exclude all the other possible, or suspected diseases or conditions, but the methods and techniques of diagnosis depend on the doctor.

 

[iluvbreyers2018]

Ashleynoelle -

First of, congrats on being a new mom! I'm a mom to one beautiful baby, well now 4 yrs old but my pride and joy. (i'm not able to have anymore babies )

We all know 'googling' can be a a good thing and a bad thing. So be careful what symptoms/descriptions you get from googling.

Like Nick suggested - you really need to see a specialist or 2 or 3 so they can actually figure out if its fibro or something else.

After having my baby in 2013 - I was able to notice ALOT more of my issues - (could just be the heightened sense from being a mom) I also had postpartum and was put on prozac (which caused some of my dizzy issues)( I got off the prozac May of 2017) :shock:

I finally gave in and went to a pain management doc end of 2015 beginning of 2016.
I've had lower back issues since i was 12 - and was just finally tired of all the the pain (not just of my back, but of everything)

Last Sept(2017) my doc said its probably fibro since I had been doing alot of testing through out the years with different specialists they sent me to. And everything came back negative or no result.

(side note: I was laid off in Sept and couldn't see the doc again until Jan of this year, which was an interesting experience because I had no access to meds until Jan(2018). Unfortunately I learned a TON about my body during those 3 months, all the aches and pains i didn't know about because i was on pain meds so long)

January - finally able to see my doc again - and the officially diagnosed me with fibro, especially after my 3 months of learning my body all over again.

As far as your comment of - "Have I been going through all of this the whole time without realizing it?" -
You probably have - I think everyone builds up some sort of tolerance, from the pain, or fatigue, or forgetfulness - just anything. Or like in my case tolerance of pain, then being on a med that blocked pain/nerve issues.

And as far as the other stuff - (personally i've always had wide spread pain, and tender in certain spots) - the intensity of the pain is on and off and the "flareups" that come and go - all of the forgetfulness, numbness, dizziness, night sweats, cold/heat sensitivity, aches and pains in random spots, and alot more symptoms that others experience - could be all part of fibro, or cfs or could be something else.

Most of us end up just shrugging it off because its happened for so long its just "a part of who we are"
Until that one day we give in and go see a doc that can actually help(i know alot of us see those docs that just don't understand or give up on us)

I was fortunate that the doc i've been seeing is familiar with the fibro issues, and has been careful to diagnose me until they have exhausted all other issues.

Don't give up! Try and see if you can find you a specialist, it may take awhile to diagnose, but hopefully you will find a doc that understands and helps!

 

[Mandylane]

Hey Ashleynoelle.... I've been where you have been many years ago after my first. Being pregnant with my second was a while new world of pain. Everything hurt so bad that a simple touch some days felt like being punched and getting out of bed in the morning with morning stiffness was a challenge all if it's own with a huge belly.

Like the last two commenters mentioned, it takes a lot of drama visits and tests before they can finally say, they can't pinpoint what's wrong, and it sounds a lot like fibro, so if it quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. If you get what I mean.

Here in Canada they don't test fibro with tender points anymore, because as my rheumatoidologist put it, not everyone has tender points all the time. My worst flares I can expirience pain everywhere including my skin, mostly in my arms and hands where they feel like a bad sunburn and clothes hurt brushing up against them.
I've also had pain in my joints of my fingers and toes but don't have arthritis, along with numbing down my arms, hands, and feet.
One thing you could look into as well is rls in the arms. Pregnant women and post natal experience rls like symptoms in their arms. It's a neurological symptom that can accompany fibro.

Pretty much all fibro patients have widespread pain that last for so long it becomes their new norm. I remember way before my diagnosis my family doctor put me on t3s when my sciatic was so bad for a period of time... The first one I took, once it kicked it dulled the moderate pain right away that I didn't even realize I was expiriencing till it was gone. I had jaw pain, a moderate headache, and what I like to call bone ache causes its the only way to describe it... It was all reduced, but not completely gone. It was the first time I realized what my new normal was.

Being a new mom has its bigger challenges when dealing with fibro. Adequate sleep can determine a so so day to an almost unbearable day without restorative sleep.

One last thing... The brain fog I had so bad it was like I lost a part of myself. My Dr said it would resolve itself.... Hard to hear at the time it was so bad... But it actually did.

Just hang in there and get a specialist appointment with a Dr who specializes in fibro! Don't give up till you get your answer