Question about fibromyalgia?

For the past week I've been feeling just achy and stiff and just tired. It feels like I haven't slept. I go to bed at a reasonable time and I just wake up tired.

My husband seems to think that I may have fibromyalgia. He's a vocational rehab counselor and he has clients who have fibromyalgia so he knows how fibromyalgia works. I on the other hand don't know alot or anything about fibromyalgia so I don't know what the symptoms are. I guess I would like to know more about fibromyalgia and what it is. Please tell me what you know about fibromyalgia? I will include the symptoms I've been having in the additional details section so please be sure to read the additional details section for more details.

Here are the symptoms I've been having:
body ache and stiffness sometimes all over my body but sometimes just in the neck, elbows, hips & knees

Lately I've been waking up tired even though I have at least 8 hrs of sleep. Sometimes I feel fatigued all day.

I've been experiencing a lot of facial pain lately especially in the jaw area. My doctor thinks I may have a mild case of TMJ. Sometimes with the facial pain I experience headaches.

Sometimes I experience tenderness and/or stiffness in my neck and shoulders.

Sometimes I experience a tingling sensation in my feet.

Sometimes I'm sensitive when someone touches me

I usually have painful menstrual periods but some months aren't painful.

The body aches, stiffness, and pain didn't just start. I've always had this problem (It mostly started in my teenage years) but it seems that this problem has gotten worse.

Do these symptoms sound like fibromyalgia?

I was very recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia after 10 years of strange aches, pains, numbness ect. So many of your symptoms are those of fibro. You should really start with your primary physician who will more than likely send you to a rheumatologist and a neurologist. They will rule out things like the M.S., Lyme disease, thyroid problems and others. More than likely you will have a serious of blood tests, MRI's and CAT scans. What ever you do, do not let them push this under the table. Fibromyaglia is very real, very painful at times and very, very misunderstood. Get as many books as you can and dive in, there is also a great site on line call Fibromyalgia Network.

Go to www.webmd.com type in fibromyalgia or there is a place you can go where you can click on body parts and say what your symptoms are and it will give you possible conditions or you could go to your health care professional.

I suffered for years with fibromyalgia. I found that http://www.fibromyalgiasymptomstreatment... had all of the details of the condition and the treatments it had to offer.

fibromyalgia is a very specific disorder & many people get misdiagnosed- either not diagnosed when they have it, or told they have it when they only have arthritis.

There are specific tender points you have to have- not just achey knees or tight muscles. Read this:
http://www.fmnetnews.com/basics-criteria...

Also, they are now finding that people previously diagnosed with Fibro really have hypothyroid problems (that causes fatigue & muscle aches, constipation etc) and/ or Vitamin D deficiency. Nobody knows if one causes the other or not-- but treating the hypothyroid or Vit D problem often resolves the Fibro symptoms.
You can get the Vit D test done inexpensively at your doctors office.
You could also get tested to make sure you don't have Lupus, Lyme Disease or Rheumatoid arthritis, as sometimes those mimic Fibro. There is no test for Fibro, just a ruling out of other problems. A Rheumatologist would be the person to see.

yes it does sound like FMS
but it also sounds like a lot of otehr conditions from depression to vitamin deficiency to thyroid to lymes to ms-

the other conditions need to be ruled out--

then you need a tenderpoint exam-where teh doc checks fro tenderness at specific points---

most doctors-including most rheumatologists are INCOMPETANT when it comes to FMS-

to find a competant doc email kindness@fibrobetsy.com

FMS is believed to be a disorder of the central nervous system-NOT autoimmune, NOT musculoskeletal

My symptoms started when I was 5- 25 is a common age to notice symptoms....

All of your symptoms could be fibro. Could be other things. What you need to do is go to your doctor and get a full medical exam. Get a full panel of blood tests. Write down all your symptoms and how long you've had each one.

What makes them worse (standing, sitting, etc.), what makes them betters (rest, warm bath, etc), when they are worse, when they are better - morning, afternoon, night, after eating, before eating, whatever.

Yes, you are in the age group for fibro. And the age group for everything else. You really need to get a doctor sooner rather then later.

You say just the past week these have come up?
I would go get tested for Mono.
The Ep-stein bar virus right now is running around and infecting losts of folks in my area. My daughter and I just had it in April and it last about a month with the exact symptoms you are describing. I would just run to the doctor and have them test you for it real quick. It's a prick on the finger and they draw some blood and you ll know in a few minutes.
Good luck!

It seems like everyday a new and horrible disease is being discussed in the news. Unfortunately for every medical advance that is made, thousands more obstacles show up. It really isn鈥檛 as bad as all that, but the truth is there are risks to the general population鈥檚 health in a variety of ways. Let鈥檚 take the fibromyalgia disease for example. This relatively uncommon disorder is getting a lot of attention from the media currently and is certainly worth learning more about. Here is a brief look at what fibromyalgia is and how it can be treated.

* What is fibromyalgia?
* The common symptoms of fibromyalgia
* How to get fibromyalgia help

Explaining exactly what fibromyalgia is can be difficult. As of current study, the experts still don鈥檛 know what causes this illness. However it can be said that this disease often strikes people in their early or middle age adulthood years and happens in more women than men. Even children and older adults can be affected, though this is rarer. If a person has a family member that has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, they are at increased. It isn鈥檛 clear if sleep disorders are a cause or symptom of fibromyalgia, but people with those are at a higher risk as well.

Even if the direct cause of the disease is unknown, the fibromyalgia symptoms aren鈥檛. This disease is known to cause chronic fatigue, regardless of the amount of rest the patient received. It is also likely to cause intense, unexplained pain. Most of the time the pain is centered on the upper back and chest as well as in the neck, shoulders, and back of the head. The joints of the knees, hips, and elbows are problematic as well. People with fibromyalgia also often suffer from IBS and headaches with facial pain. Emotional issues like anxiety and depression aren鈥檛 unusual either.

It鈥檚 a brief explanation of what fibromyalgia is, but hopefully it helps. If you find you do have this illness, there is help out there. Naturally your doctor, along with your help, will work hard to find the necessary treatment plan or combination of therapies to provide fibromyalgia relief. You can also find emotional help with one of the fibromyalgia support groups. The important thing is to get the fibromyalgia relief you need regardless of the form it comes in. Medication, good health habits, and emotional support are vital to a fibromyalgia patient.

Source: http://www.fibrofruit.com/fibromyalgia/1...