Time it took for DX

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kmpisces

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It seems that it really can take a long time to get a DX of Fibro. I know it took me quite some time for sure. What are your experiences? How long did it take before you actually received an solid diagnosis?
 
I was having neck, shoulder, and lower back pain for years. But I started getting massage therapy about 2 1/2 years ago with no long lasting positive results. Now in December of 2012 is when I started the doctor hop, so 7 months.
 
It actually took six years to be diagnosed with sjogrens (In same family as fibro). That is usual for this disease, I'm told. A blood test will do it. I suppose they don't always check for it because so many people suffer from pain and there are so many possibilities.
 
I am sorry to hear that it took you six years for a DX. It is like that for illnesses where there is no cut an dry test and so forth to diagnose. It is sad though when you are suffering and do not even have clear answers as to why you are suffering.
 
I've been suffering from chronic pain for a while, but all my doctors thought I was just being dramatic. So far I haven't been diagnosed yet, but I'm quite sure I have fibro :(
 
Re: Time it took for diagnosed

It actually took six years to be diagnosed with sjogrens (In same family as fibro). That is usual for this disease, I'm told. A blood test will do it. I suppose they don't always check for it because so many people suffer from pain and there are so many possibilities.

Sorry to hear that, may I ask what kind of doctor diagnosed you? I'm having a hard time getting a reliable diagnosis, but I'm not sure if I'm seeing the right professional :-( You're so right by the way, a lot people suffer from pain and there can be so many reasons behind that! That's what makes diagnosing this disease so hard!
 
It took approximately six years for the actual diagnosis--my condition wasn't terrible back then. Deteriorated esp in the past year.
Weird thing; yesterdayat a new rheumo appointment, I was told in addition to the sjogrens/fibro, I have spinal stenosis which contributes enormously to my pain. Former rheumo didn't even tell me! This guy may treat me entirely different. I am hoping for some relief and maybe a diagnosis more acceptable to disability. Right now, still on vicodin to survive.
 
It took several years for me to be diagnosed. During that time the doctors thought that I had Lupus so a whole string of tests were performed on me every three months. Honestly I almost wish it had been Lupus so that I could actually get something that would work to make it go into remission. This disease is horrible.
 
Re: Time it took for diagnosed

It took approximately six years for the actual diagnosis--my condition wasn't terrible back then. Deteriorated esp in the past year.
Weird thing; yesterdayat a new rheumo appointment, I was told in addition to the sjogrens/fibro, I have spinal stenosis which contributes enormously to my pain. Former rheumo didn't even tell me! This guy may treat me entirely different. I am hoping for some relief and maybe a diagnosis more acceptable to disability. Right now, still on vicodin to survive.

Best of luck, cinderr! I really hope you find some relief with this new doctor, because I know how bad it is to live with pain. I've had some bad experiences with doctors, I've learnt there are very few good ones that can be really trusted.
 
Re: Time it took for diagnosed

You're so right by the way, a lot people suffer from pain and there can be so many reasons behind that! That's what makes diagnosing this disease so hard!

I'm thinking that this is the reason why it actually takes so long in most cases... because it *is* hard, and I'm sure they need to rule everything else out first. It's easy to say they should think of that first, but I suppose if they just throw a quick "yep, it's fibro" diagnosis out, their liability would be really high if it would turn out to be something else that may or may not have ended up being life threatening and they hadn't tested for it.
 
Re: Time it took for diagnosed

I'm thinking that this is the reason why it actually takes so long in most cases... because it *is* hard, and I'm sure they need to rule everything else out first. It's easy to say they should think of that first, but I suppose if they just throw a quick "yep, it's fibro" diagnosis out, their liability would be really high if it would turn out to be something else that may or may not have ended up being life threatening and they hadn't tested for it.

I never said doctors should jump to that conclusion so fast, everything I just said it's really hard to diaglose fibro, because it really is. A lot people suffer from chronic pain, but there can be many reasons behind that pain. I do agree doctors should always act according to the usual procedures and rule every possible health problem out. I know a girl who had bone cancer, she suffered from chronic pain in her legs... one day she just collapsed...
 
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