Unsure whether my symptoms are due to Fibromyalgia

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Beckybecks

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Some years ago I was given a rather reluctant and vague diagnosis of Fibromyalgia but without any treatment suggestions or advice. I had blood tests for various illnesses like RA and vitamin deficiencies but nothing stood out at the time. I'm still unsure whether this is the condition I have.

For about 15 years now I have had "flare-ups" of what I can only describe as flu-like symptoms, aches and pains, a feeling of being unwell but not ill enough to go to bed. They used to happen about every six months but as I get older (I'm 63 now) they seem to be happening every 2 weeks and I hardly have any days where I feel completely well anymore.

Do others here have similar symptoms and flare-ups where you just feel generally un-well but can't put your finger on what's wrong?
How do you treat these flare-ups? I'd be interested to know your symptoms.

Thank you
 
Hi Becky, and welcome to the forum.

the only way to know for sure if you have fibromyalgia is to have all of the tests that would detect all the other things that your symptoms might be caused by, because FM is a diagnosis of elimination. My first suggestion is that you pursue getting those tests so that you can know what is going on.

FM has so many symptoms that it is really a sort of umbrella diagnosis, meaning that if they eliminate everything else they call it fibromyalgia which really means "we don't really know what is wrong with you". Don't misunderstand me: FM is real, and we all know that. But it's impossible to narrow it down because although millions of people have it, no two have the same exact symptoms.

As for advice, start with the post that is a "sticky" at the very top of the General forum. That lists a lot of things you can do to help yourself, and they are good things to get in the habit of doing whether it turns out you have FM or not. If you do those things, you will become healthier in general, which can only help you and may even lesson some symptoms. It's worked for me. I still have the problems, but to a lesser degree than I did previously.

For the flare-ups you are describing I would recommend treating them pretty much the same as you would if you did have the flu, but without flu medication, which probably won't help. Get lots of rest. Drink lots of water. Eat very healthy and only healthy foods. And so on.

I personally wake up some mornings with swollen glands and a sore throat, as if I am coming down with something. Usually gone by mid-day in my case. I also have a really interesting assortment of chronic pains and other symptoms. I treat everything the same, using the methods I outline in my post.

Best of luck to you!
 
flu-like symptoms, aches and pains, a feeling of being unwell but not ill enough to go to bed
This is a good description, especially differentiating aches and pains, if you are doing that deliberately. But as sunkacola says: it may be something autoimmune etc.. & lots needs to be checked. Flu-like I use to mean: muscular weakness, feverishness, Ache, feeling battered...
 
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