Is this related?

Fibro is a diagnosis but it's not an actual disease in its own right, it just means you have all-over pain but no one knows why. If you look at many of the threads on this forum you'll see a lot of people are looking at their diet and food supplements rather than going down the 'pharmaceutical' road. This is because a doctor may well look at your pain, diagnose Fibro (making his life easier) and then offer you a range of painkillers and antidepressants. These may, or may not, help you in the short term but then you might be left with withdrawal problems or on a roundabout of ever- increasing doses. I'm not saying that you shouldn't try whatever the doc offers as sometimes it really will help, but do consider that there may be something in your lifestyle that is actively causing (and increasing) the problem.

It may be some kind of thing you were born with but are only just noticing now or it might be some type of food that your body is only just managing to tolerate and it's beginning to complain louder and louder. Many food intolerances give fibro-type symptoms of pain and also increasing feelings of fatigue and exhaustion (which is why Fibro is often diagnosed along with CFS/ME).

Gluten, dairy and sugar are usually big offenders but there are other groups of individual foods that can unknowingly be causing problems. Check out food intolerances and also how to eat to support your mitochondria (the powerhouses of your cells) theres's loads of info out there. Also try thinking back to when these aches and pains first started - did you have some kind of infection or trauma or accident that required medication such as antibiotics or antidepressants? These are the kind of things that make your body decide it's had enough and kicks off the Fibro symptoms.

Hope this helps.

Hi Emma,

I know this feeling all too well and completely get where you're coming from.

Whilst fibromyalgia isn't classified as an actual disease it is a medical syndrome which means it is a very real disorder which comes with real medical signs and symptoms. These signs and symptoms may be from varying aetiology (cause,origin) meaning that the symptoms we feel may not be solely caused by fibro but it is real non the less.

The sensation/pain that you describe is one that for me goes hand in hand with fibro. The first warning of an imminent flare is this exact sensation in my legs that builds and builds in intensity and starts to spread until I feel it in every single part of my body.

Its a vile feeling and so hard to describe, I physically feel the pain etc but its almost as if my legs/arms aren't attached to my body!?

It feels like millions of insects are crawling inside my body but awful pain too. When it comes I don't know what to do with myself or how to position myself, my legs are borderline refusing to hold me up and I feel void of every ounce of strength or energy.

It feels as though I'm a crawling, pain riddled blob of jelly!

I am only going on my own experience with fibro when I say that, yes I do think it highly likely that its a symptom of fibromyalgia syndrome that you are experiencing.

Leanne x