Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
Hi everyone,
It's been a long time since I've been around here and I'm sorry about that. I've had a lot of family issues and I unfortunately haven't had a lot of free time to talk. I hope to remedy that situation and chat more often on here though, especially since I've developed a new symptom that may be Fibro related.
I've always had stomach issues, even when I was little, but it was part of my normal so I never really gave it much thought. Most of the time my issues were infrequent or didn't bother me too much. Lately though, it's been a completely different story.
About once a month for the past four months I've had awful bloating and gas to the point where I had to cancel daily activities. I don't eat out often due to my fibro issues. However, hectic schedules have forced me to eat out a little more frequently and I thought that might have had something to do with it. But this week seems completely different because anytime I eat something with the exception of vegetables, I've had terrible cramps.
I've had a lot of stress lately in my life since I have two very ill family members and several family deaths these past couple of years too. My stress levels have hit the roof and my symptoms could have something to do with it I'm sure.
But I'm also wondering if IBS could be the culprit. I remember reading once that many fibro patients come down with IBS too. I was diagnosed in 2005 with fibro and had gotten most of my symptoms controlled pretty well through diet and lifestyle change. I still have bad days and some really bad days-- don't get me wrong, but most of the time things are okay so these new symptoms are kind of throwing me for a loop.
The thing is I've read that wheat may aggravate IBS and I know I've had a problem with gluten because I have eczema (it's seems to clear when I'm off of gluten). Could my stomach just be reacting to gluten-- hence giving my IBS? Gluten is a tough thing to avoid. I'm trying but I don't have it down pat yet. I eat things without thinking sometimes. But when I'm gluten free I don't seem to have a stomach issue either. Still, it could be something else more serious?
Can anyone guide me in the right direction so I can better understand what's going on? I have a doctor's visit soon but it's not for about a month (annual). I'd hate to go in for this issue before hand since it's still infrequent enough to not totally ruin my life, yet it's still a problem-- you know?
It's been a long time since I've been around here and I'm sorry about that. I've had a lot of family issues and I unfortunately haven't had a lot of free time to talk. I hope to remedy that situation and chat more often on here though, especially since I've developed a new symptom that may be Fibro related.
I've always had stomach issues, even when I was little, but it was part of my normal so I never really gave it much thought. Most of the time my issues were infrequent or didn't bother me too much. Lately though, it's been a completely different story.
About once a month for the past four months I've had awful bloating and gas to the point where I had to cancel daily activities. I don't eat out often due to my fibro issues. However, hectic schedules have forced me to eat out a little more frequently and I thought that might have had something to do with it. But this week seems completely different because anytime I eat something with the exception of vegetables, I've had terrible cramps.
I've had a lot of stress lately in my life since I have two very ill family members and several family deaths these past couple of years too. My stress levels have hit the roof and my symptoms could have something to do with it I'm sure.
But I'm also wondering if IBS could be the culprit. I remember reading once that many fibro patients come down with IBS too. I was diagnosed in 2005 with fibro and had gotten most of my symptoms controlled pretty well through diet and lifestyle change. I still have bad days and some really bad days-- don't get me wrong, but most of the time things are okay so these new symptoms are kind of throwing me for a loop.
The thing is I've read that wheat may aggravate IBS and I know I've had a problem with gluten because I have eczema (it's seems to clear when I'm off of gluten). Could my stomach just be reacting to gluten-- hence giving my IBS? Gluten is a tough thing to avoid. I'm trying but I don't have it down pat yet. I eat things without thinking sometimes. But when I'm gluten free I don't seem to have a stomach issue either. Still, it could be something else more serious?
Can anyone guide me in the right direction so I can better understand what's going on? I have a doctor's visit soon but it's not for about a month (annual). I'd hate to go in for this issue before hand since it's still infrequent enough to not totally ruin my life, yet it's still a problem-- you know?
I think most of us with fibro have IBS, seem to go together
I used to have a similar pattern connected to my menstrual cycles. I'm not sure what the hormone relationship is exactly, but the symptoms would reoccur at a specific time in my cycle every month.