Could I have Fibromyalgia?

Well you could very well have Fibromyalgia my dear since your symptoms correspond with many who suffer from this condition. You could ask your GP to refer you to a Rheumatologist who can diagnose it accurately for you. If you do have this then you can certainly learn how to cope with the condition and manage the symptoms. I myself approach it with a Holistic outlook. I treat it mainly with nutrition and certain supplements. I am not one to give you advice on medication since I only resort to it when I have a bad migraine or acute insomnia. Even then I only take a very mild dosage. Other ladies here will be able to help you more in that department. But by all means, mention your suspicions to your Doctor. Chronic pain is a real challenge but it is manageable Janie. Best wishes to you sweetie! Maggie xx

It doesn't hurt to ask about it, I went looking for help for my Spinal OA and got told Fibro the last thing I was even thinking of for what was going on with me over the past decade that things have been happening. 

Hello. Like you I find other people'e experiences very helpful, and I wish I had discovered this forum years ago, it would have saved me years of pain before I got a proper diagnosis. I have been diagnosed with several different things over the past thirty years, and have to take a variety of treatments longterm, but when everything is put together it was obvious to me that it could be fibromalgia. When I asked my doctor if this could be the case he said that fibromalgia did not exist. I had to insist that he sent me to a pain clinique to be properly diasgnosed, because I was taking such a variety of medicines each day many of them with unpleasant side effects, and despite 150 grms of morphine each day I could not move without excruciating pain. Even turning over in bed was a major exercise and had to be made in four stages. I had constant nausea and vomited almost as soon as I ate something. That lasted for 18 months. I had to wait another 6 months for my appointment at the pain clinique, but within five minutes of testing my pressure points and me screaming when she touched certain spots the doctor said "You have fibromalgia, there is no doubt at all" when I reported this to my GP he said Yes I know it exists but so many people use the word to get a pension. I was very angry because I am retired and have no need to make excuses to stop working, and I had suffered with this illness for so many years. I bought several books on Frbromalgia, and they all list the symptoms of all of the illnesses I have had for years. My doctors have treated each illness independently, without ever putting them all together and realising that it was obviously all different facets of the same illness. I think doctors need to be better informed, then we could get treatment much earlier. The specialist at the hospital said that if fibromalgia is diagnosed early, the correct treatment can prevent it getting worse, but that after several years of constant pain the body becomes so used to it that it is almost impossible to eradicate. Now I take 60 mg of Oxycontin each day, and the pain is more bearable, but the tiredness is VERY difficult to live with. I need to sleep for at least 30 minutes every 2 hours during the day, it's impossible to keep my eyes open. That makes a normal life very difficult. How do other patients cope with that? I think that you should definately ask to see a specialist at a pain clinic without delay. The longer you wait the worse it will be. I don't have soreness like you, but I have two areas on my body that itch constantly, lower leg and one shoulder. That drives me mad also. I think our bodies become over sensitive when we have fibromalgia, pain is more intense, but itching also is unbearable. I feel like scratching until my skin bleeds. Ask to see a specialist at a pain clinic it is the only way to get a proper diagnosis, and the correct treatment.