Welcome to the group!

There is no "normal" when living with Fibromyalgia. Our symptoms change all of the time and vary from person to person. The same goes for pain levels. Not everyone experiences severe pain day in and day out. My pain level today is about a 5/6. Yesterday it was an 8. Tomorrow, who knows...lol

My best recommendation to you is to see a rheumatologist, neurologist and or a pain management specialist and get a firm diagnosis. Many of us did have ":growing pains" as a kid but that doesn't mean that you have Fibromyalgia (FMS). Same goes for sensitivity to artificial sweeteners (BTW - Try Stevia which is nontoxic and found in the baking aisle at the grocery store.). There are many things that can mimic some of our symptoms. You need a complete physical, a full bloodwork panel including Vitamin D levels and the tender point test.

Call your local hospital and ask for the physician referral department. See if they can match you up with someone who has an interest in FMS. Or, use Google. Enter the name of your metro area and Fibromyalgia to see what pops up.

It is very important that you act as your own best advocate and get to the bottom of your health issue. The longer a chronic pain cycle continues, the harder it becomes to manage or stop. Good luck to you and take care.

What the heck is normal? LOL

Hang in there. :-)

Ditto Fantod. The first step is to get a diagnosis. Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion, so there are many other conditions that need to be ruled out first. Also, fibromyalgia symptoms many mimic other diseases and illnesses, so a diagnosis is essential.

I found my doctor on the following site: http://www.co-cure.org/. I hope this helps.

Pain is pain. Suffering is suffering. Not going to get angry with you.
We are all at different levels at different times. I'm often at a 5 it's a constant pain all the time but will increase or decrease a level but never goes away. pain all the time is tiring and difficult to live with.
Whether it's fibro or not you have we don't know but it sounds like you are in need of answers and help.

The one thing I would say to consider is get off the artificial sweetener.
There are alternatives. There's so much information out there on aspartame and other artificial sweeteners to ignore.
I steer well away from them all. I can't stand the taste anyway. :)

Have you seen a rheumatologist. Had lab work done? Autoimmune disorders ruled out?
I hope you find answers and the help you need.

Good luck and I hope you improve and feel better soon.

*NOT to ignore.

Thanks, all. I stay WELL AWAY from the artificial sweeteners. :) I avoid them like poison - which to me at least, they are. When I had my really bad two-year flare-up during college (constant pain with the lowest intensity a 4), I saw a rheumatologist and a neurologist, among others. I had an EMG (coolest test ever - I loved hearing my muscles work) and a bunch of other tests. I was never given a diagnosis. When the nutritionist finally told me to stay away from artificial sweeteners, I got better. But it's still definitely there.

Last night I got off work and had to just lie down for an hour. I then got up and about for a bit, drove with my husband to Lowe's, and had a sudden really bad recurrence. Pain was at least an 8. I couldn't walk around. I had to sit on anything I could find - a step stool, the lumber cart, a chair where they talk to people about estimates. I wasn't in any fibro fog yesterday, but the pain was so bad.

Today I'm feeling quite a bit better, though I've already taken ibuprofen and I'm sitting at my desk with my hot pad at my back. I know there is a really reputable comprehensive pain specialist in my area. Honestly, I'm afraid of going to another doctor to have them run a lot of expensive tests and come to the same conclusion that they have no idea what is wrong with me. I don't want to spend thousands of dollars on "We don't know." I feel like I was a guinea pig for so long with first my fibro symptoms and then my severe depression that I really, really don't want to go back on meds of any kind. I hate what meds do to me. :(

You deserve a better quality of life and so does your family/husband . Get copies of your medical records to save time and money. Go and see that pain specialist. Most of us have seen a parade of doctors to get a diagnosis. And, none of us enjoy having to be dependant on medication. Personally, I would rather take it than be back where I was without it. Take care.

If you have had recent tests, get copies made. Maybe you could see a rheumatologist first before the $pain management clnic.

You really need a diagnosis or at least a ruling-out of other diseases.

Try looking up how to keep a pain journal for the appointment with a new doc. And do you have Obama care insurance yet? Maybe even a free-clinic would be a place to start. Get a copy of those records (labs, X-rays, exams).

Keep us posted! You will feel better when you get a handle on this.

Everyone of us has different degrees of pain at different times. I was diagnosed over 18 years ago and most of those 18 years have been in low pain. I do have my flare ups, one is going on right now, and eventhough I knew it was probably a flare up I still made an appointment and had bloodwork drawn up to make sure it wasn't anything else. I'm glad I did, this time the bloodwork showed that my hormones were way out of balance and that could be the trigger to my current flare. It is a good idea to get checked out if you can.