Fibromyalgia?
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It all started about 2 months ago, I started getting a weird headache that radiated down my neck. It lasted about a week then went away. Now its back and my head, neck, shoulders, back and arms ache like i have the flu but i don't. It's been over a week this time, and my feet have been burning and I've also had strange crawling sensations on my back. My pain won't ease up and im worried... what if it's something bad? Im also extemely fatigued always and have stomache issues. What were some of your fibromyalgia symptoms? Could it be something else? Thank you for reading.
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gaz90368 wynter88828
Posted
Cheers Paul. Some good information there. But to answer your question, my stools were one of the first things tested, and they were totally clear. The pain originally started as a sharp strong stab in my stomach followed by months and months of loose stools. (this is when I panicked myself sick over a very unlikely HIV diagnosis). I didn't have one normal episode for about 5 months. It wasn't until the Doctor told me that my first set of bloods were clear that the following day I had a normal toilet break. That didn't last long though, (about two days) as another worry come into my head, another 'what if', and the totally loose stools came back. This particular 'what if' was realising that HIV doesn't show in a routine blood test. Doctor after Doctor told me its extremely unlikely to contract, and didn't believe my symptoms could be HIV. My head, symptoms (I googled) and the 'it cant just be coincidence' told me different. Could this be classed as a traumatic experience that could trigger or heighten symptoms of fibro??
Anyway, as I've said, I had the test and it come back negative. When that worry went, my stools turned a lot more normal. I originally didn't believe the Doctors results were correct but hey ho, they proved me wrong. After all that time of loose stools and weight loss I woke up one morning to normality. Still not 100% though, now suffer bouts of looseness and constipation/stomach pains and finally got diagnosed with IBS.
?I've also, in the past, been through what your going through Paul, yet not as extensive. I did have ultrasounds and samples taken back then also, and they found nothing....I was still in pain though. They put it down as anxiety, and they were probably right because when I learned to control it, the pain disappeared. That was then......seems a whole lot worse this time around as all symptoms are different to the symptoms I had all them years ago.
?Yet the process of probing me with no results is the same.
?I'm hoping the hair loss, and white tongue are IBS related, cause I'm sick of the 'what ifs'. And assuming the stress has triggered Fibro maybe. Only time will tell.......
Good luck with everything.
paul75665 gaz90368
Posted
From my point of view Gaz, I would most definitely have found the HIV scare a traumatic experience, even though people now who have been diagnosed with HIV can live just as long lives as a HIV negative person with the right treatment and lifestyle. It certainly would have been traumatic enough to exasperate / trigger Fibromyalgia and / or CFS/ME.
You are totally correct concerning the fact that controlling anxiety and making the symptoms less intense and easier to deal with. In the beginning of my problems, I would literally freak out and panic at the slightest change in my body, this in turn would produce the adrenaline I mentioned before, which in turn would increase heart rate, blood pressure and have physical effects on me like shaking, sweating, difficulty breathing. Once these had calmed down I was then left with my digestive system going nuts for days, alternating diarrhoea and constipation, bloating, pain, amongst others. Now I hardly ever panic as I have taken note of all my clear test results, which in turn makes my diagnosis of Fibromyalgia, CFS/ME and IBS more believable. I've also found talking to people who have these conditions very helpful, as beforehand if someone had mentioned they had IBS I would have thought something like 'it can't be all that bad'. After talking to sufferers I've realised it really can be that bad and debilitating for some at times, talking to others has been a real eye opener for me, and made me realise that IBS, Fibromyalgia and CFS/ME really can make you seriously ill.
It's good you've had your stools tested, I'm a bit worried about my high faecal calprotectin levels, as I said I'm now under investigation for Crohn's of the small bowel. But I think I'm correct in remembering something I read concerning Fibromyalgia that it can actually cause random inflammation in the body, I'll have to see if I can find that info again but I'm pretty sure I've read it somewhere. If that is true then there is every possibility that the positive levels of faecal calprotectin could be contributed to Fibro. I have heard others have had positive faecal calprotectin results and there be nothing wrong with their digestive systems at all, I'm sort of hoping that's me, it'll certainly make my current diagnosis even easier to accept.
Maybe ask around concerning the white tongue and hair loss thing you are having Gaz, you might well find someone who experiences the same and may help enlighten you. In the meantime good luck with any further investigations you might have and I hope you get your diagnosis soon.
All the best and take care.
Mom44 wynter88828
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Mom44 wynter88828
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wynter88828 Mom44
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I haven't been bitten or scratched, but definitely came across info regarding this in my searches. Thank you so much for replying.
wynter88828 Mom44
Posted
wynter88828
Posted
Sorry i haven't been on a while, there's been so much going on lately, and I did end up going to that doctors appt. They did blood tests and a urinalysis and I'm waiting for results. My doc is suspecting lupus..... just wonderful news. I hope she's wrong, but I'll know by next Thursday. I too have a white tongue and also suspected hiv, but all was clear. I also have recently had stool tests and everything was fine there. This last week my back kidney area has been throbbing, so now I'm thinking what if it's Lupus and I now have kidney damage. Most days are spent googling symptoms and now im just a wreck. I don't want to be on steroids, which is pretty much the universal treatment for lupus inflammation.
wynter88828
Posted
Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, but it's hard not to when you feel like crap. Can back inflammation mimic kidney back pain? I'm so grateful I have people like you guys to share with. Sorry about the selfish rant. I'm just really worried
gaz90368 wynter88828
Posted
Hi Wynter.
?You sound fed up. And I understand why. (I also just wrote a huge reply then accidentally deleted it....arghhhh).
?I too suspected Lupus, all symptoms except the "butterfly" rash across my face. Negative. In fact, that prompted me to get tested for autoimmune diseases, (I was positive I had lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. I was actually annoyed when they came back negative. Due to the fact that after a year of worry, anxiety and physical pain, I wanted a diagnosis to go with the symptoms. You'd think by now that the doctors would be able to narrow it down massively after bloods, stools, urine tests etc, but still nowhere! That's why I think Fibro. I could be wrong. I'm starting to think I may have a mixture of problems but I'm probably just trying to relate everything to one condition. Google....I love and hate it! It seriously made me think I had hiv, anxiety here didn't help. Even though I had the all clear, and followed up a few months later with an immunology blood test, the anxiety always still makes me think "they got it wrong". The white tongue....have you checked for Candida? That's where I'm going next on this 'nasty journey'. That, believe it or not, can affect the body in many ways.
?As for your kidney pain/lower back pain, I've been there, and still visit occasionally haha. Had to have a urine test. Negative. Strange, because my urine can be quite dark and very yellow most of the time, yet still nothing. Fibromyalgia??? Citalopram? God knows.
?But to make you feel a little better, just remember theres always someone with every condition you have, and more. But your constant worry and anxiety doesn't help. It makes things, even small issues (physical and mental) a million times worse,
?For example, I once coughed up so much blood, had a strong pain deep in my chest, ended up being anxiety..i couldn't believe it. Had xrays, ultrasounds, the works. All clear..
?Now, my chest hair can come away in clumps, hair thinning, skin is ABSOLUTELY awful, wounds take ages to heal, muscles twitch like crazy, pins and needles in my hands daily (to the point I cant always grip properly), itchy, blurry vision, headaches, cracked feet, a different pain daily ,white tongue, extreme ache in certain joints, IBS, tinnitus, nausea, vertigo.... I could go on. Don't be surprised if you don't have lupus even if your doc at the moment suspects it. Best of luck. Keep us updated. Hi to Paul too. Hope all is well.