New member

Hello! I am new to this site and to fibromyalgia. Just got diagnosed two weeks ago after having the same pain in my neck and shoulders for three months. Just started taking medication for it yesterday.

Hi Groessler,
Welcome!
I have had a lot of pain in my neck and shoulders as well. It ranges from tightly clenched muscles, to intense sharp stabbing pain (in the shoulder socket or so I can't turn my head), to deep dull aching. Sometimes it goes away for a while which is really nice, and is only really really bad for a week or so at a time. What is your pain like? I've found massage helpful especially for my neck and shoulders. But I learned the hard way that deep therapeutic massage brought on worse problems, but light relaxation massage is just right for me and helps loosen things up. Everyone's bodies react so differently so it is really overwhelming to wade through treatment options, but it feels like such a victory when I find something that works. I hope you can find something that works for you and can give you hope.
-Sarah

srhalex said:

Hi Groessler,
Welcome!
I have had a lot of pain in my neck and shoulders as well. It ranges from tightly clenched muscles, to intense sharp stabbing pain (in the shoulder socket or so I can't turn my head), to deep dull aching. Sometimes it goes away for a while which is really nice, and is only really really bad for a week or so at a time. What is your pain like? I've found massage helpful especially for my neck and shoulders. But I learned the hard way that deep therapeutic massage brought on worse problems, but light relaxation massage is just right for me and helps loosen things up. Everyone's bodies react so differently so it is really overwhelming to wade through treatment options, but it feels like such a victory when I find something that works. I hope you can find something that works for you and can give you hope.
-Sarah

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Mine started back in late July. It was originally diagnosed as neck strain. Took naproxen and cyclobenzaprine for it as well as having physical therapy for it. After having pain for three months , and after talking with my older sister who also has fibromyalgia, was finally diagnosed with it on October 23. Was originally supposed to be on Savella, but insurance company would not cover it until I tried a bunch of other stuff. So I was put on Celexa, an anti-depressent. So far I do not think it is doing much good. So I will probably be refereed to a pain management specialist and get injections. My pain levels seem to change from day to day, even hour to hour. I am also having pain in other areas of back as well as legs and buttocck area. This is on top of fatigue, dizziness, overactive bladder, and irritable bowel syndrome. I also had my gallbladder out earlier this year after finding out I had gallstones. So it has been a long year!

Yes, it is all too much isn't it? I'm so sorry it has been such a hard year for you. And gallstones too? I've heard those are so painful, I hope you are healing from your surgery well. When my chronic pain first started I was such a mess...actually I still am on occasion But that first year was really dark, and I wish I could go back and tell myself that there would be good days too. I have most of the other things you mentioned as well, except the bladder and butt pain. My full body pain used to change minute by minute but now it's only my legs that change rapidly, and it's a lot less leg pain than a few months ago. The rest of my pain kind of goes in good weeks and bad weeks, except for my migraine that I have all the time...and the fatigue! oof. A lot of people here talk about heat helping their leg pain. I'd like to try a sauna next to see if it would work for me. I am getting a lot of ideas but it's hard to have the energy to follow through, you know? I think what I'm learning is that, well 1) not to overdue it and read my bodies signs better and 2) that my pain is always changing (I can look back and see the up and downs) and I hold onto hope that even though I'm in a bad year as well, that maybe I'll have some much better years ahead of me as well. The mental stuff is just as exhausting as the physical stuff sometimes. Do you have to be in bed a lot with your fatigue? Are you working? I can't work and I have to be mostly in bed for now... but working hard to take the best care I can so that I can hopefully return to the things I miss. In the mean time, I watch a lot of tv, and keep busy with hobbies when I can. Distraction has become my best coping skill. I hope you can stumble upon some things that work for you this winter. I will be trying new things as well.
p.s. there is a lot of good conversation on Fibro Man's new member post. It helped me to know what drugs other people are on and what things people are trying (like pool therapy!)
-sarah