Will you please describe your morning stiffness?

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athena_

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Joined
May 17, 2014
Messages
18
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
04/2014
Country
US
State
az
I get asked by doctors if I have morning stiffness and I tell them that I don't, then I get funny looks. And I wonder if I don't really have fibro because I don't have morning stiffness. But perhaps I don't understand what morning stiffness means. Would you guys be so kind as to describe what your morning stiffness is like? I really appreciate it.

Athena
 
My morning stiffness occurs, of course, in my joints. When I wake up in the morning, it feels like I have been struck by a mack truck or that I have been in a fight and lost horrendously. It hurts to get out of bed. My feet are stiff and cracks upon putting my weight on them. I am literally hobbling around until my feet adjusts. Any part of me that I have problems with such as my knees, my elbow, hands, shoulders, neck and back are stiff and painful. It is a must that I try and so some type of exercise to warm those areas up, painful or not. It shouldn't be hard for these doctors to understand a patient when they say they are stiff. You're like Tin Man off Wizard of Oz. You really need some kind of oil, or lubricant, to get your stiff joints moving. I hate when these doctors downplay what you are telling them as if you really want to take your time to come and sit in their offices just so they can tell you that you are not hurting at all. Then they will talk about you to their medical assistants, nurses, and so forth because I have heard conversations, on numerous occasions, outside the office door. Patient confidentiality my foot!
 
I am very off balance and sore when I first get out of bed. Once I move around for a few minutes the overall stiffness starts to subside. I do have places where I suffer from constant, chronic pain.
 
Athena, I was diagnosed with Fibro and arthritis, but never experienced "stiffness" in the morning either. When I was at my worst late last year I never felt "stiff," but I was in the same pain I had throughout the day. Mornings are rough for me, but it's because of low energy levels and a need to stretch and get my circulation moving. My muscles beg to be worked a little bit from being underused, but I certainly wouldn't call it "stiffness."

In the last month or so I've been waking up with way too much adrenaline. It isn't real energy, because if I try to do a chore or work out lightly I wear out super fast and hardly have the strength for it. But I'm jittery, talk fast, very dizzy, and really anxious. After I stretch, cook breakfast and eat, take my supplements, and start drinking a cup of tea I calm down (sometimes even crash.)
 
The tinman analogy pretty much sums it up for me, too. I stretch before I get out of bed, then hobble around until my feet stop aching and burning. Hurts incredibly to put weight on them. After a cup of tea, I finish stretching and do some gentle yoga. Then I rest with more tea. Then I make breakfast. And rest and head in for a warm shower. From the time I wake, it's two hours or more before I am dressed and ready to face the day.
 
My main issue is waking up with a stiff neck. It's painful to look to one side or another when I first wake up, the back of my head is also affected, so far this is the most problematic area for me. A lot wonder what a stiff neck feels like, well, it's quite painful, hard to describe the pain, but all I can say it's kinda hard to turn your head without your neck feeling a lot pain.
 
Thank you for responding so quickly. I do have that sore feet feeling when I get up in the morning and my first 100 steps are super painful until my feet realize it's time to get up and go. I had my first PT appointment today. My doctor sent me for aqua therapy and I hope it helps but I don't hold out a ton of hope. The therapist said it sounded more like I have MS than fibro but she said that was only her opinion as a therapist. I'm going to Mayo in just over a month and I'll pursue it there if they agree. You guys are great and all deserve to have your pain and symptoms diminished completely! A
 
I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia even before I got the morning stiffness, now I get it everyday when I wake up. I have to get up and slowly move around because I'm scared of falling because my legs do not work, and I look like a Baby learning to walk
 
I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia even before I got the morning stiffness, now I get it everyday when I wake up. I have to get up and slowly move around because I'm scared of falling because my legs do not work, and I look like a Baby learning to walk

Lana, do you also get that after sitting down for a while? I do, I was wondering if it was normal or not. If I sit for a bit my legs feel weird, I guess stiff... not so long ago I got up really fast and ended up falling on the floor. I hurt my ankle! Very dangerous, in the morning isn't that bad.
 
When my alarm first goes off and I roll over to hit the "snooze" button, I can feel extreme stiffness in the center of my back between the shoulder blades -- it's often excruciating. When my feet hit the floor, they burn and sting as soon as I put my weight on them (lately, I've noticed that the bottom of my left foot (at the arch) aches throughout most of the day when I'm walking around. I also have to be VERY careful about my sleeping posture, because I will also have stiffness and pain in the rib cage (costrochondritis), and usually one of my arms is completely numb until I get moving. The worst stiffness is in the mid-back, the knees and feet, the shoulders and occasionally my left arm feels weak because of the inflammation or nerve compression (or whatever causes this junk) and will radiate to my neck (not as common). Some days are blissfully better than others, but mornings generally suck. I'm just glad that I don't have something seriously debilitating and I can still work.
 
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