Hard to deal with diagnosis, yet at least some clarity. Joining a group like here is helpful indeed. Let's you know you're not alone.
I have found great support and made friends here, so I hope you get the same positive benefit by getting involved with others that know what you're going through

Hello! Welcome! I was dx'd in 1995, and this group has been a godsend. We whine, moan, post ideas, articles, weirdness, whatever it is, b/c here we can say it and it's *safe*. Or we can lurk and just say nothing.
We often recommend "Fibromyalgia for Dummies", not because we're dummies, but b/c the medical information changes, and eve medical people aren't always aware of what's going on. That said? I am glad you weren't dx'd off the bat. They ruled out everything else they could so far, by those tests, and that's *huge*. Fibro is the dx when they rule out whatever else they can imagine, and that's part of the nature of fibro. there's as yet no definite test or markers for it. They say "Ah, these points on the body! No, maybe not..." Right now, one study is looking at markers in spinal fluid that may be unique (enough) to be part of diagnostic screenign for fibro in the future... if it pans out that the study wasn't a fluke or a fake or a mess.
And no one treatment fits all. This is common, yet medical folks don't like to tell us that. I was pre-med, still a medical nerd, and the truth is.... It's pretty normal for things to only work for 1/3 of the people, as with SSRI/SNRI drugs and fibro (otherse find opiate drugs best, others had best luck with COX-2 NSAID drugs, I'm in that last group). So trial and error are the name of the game.
Which is why we're here. Collectively, we know that anger, that grief, that "oh God, my life cannot be this!" feeling, and we know about limits and acceptance and refusal and loved ones acting like utter twits and.... Yeah. We also know Life and Fibro don't mix, so we talk about Life a bit... B/c some of us? Our fibro is so readily triggered. Or like me you're on no fibro meds (ow) and have to find other ways to cope that are 1. legal and 2. safe and 3. affordable. Or or or...

In short, we don't know what makes fibro happen, what fixes it (if anything), but we've had a range of experiences and we are here to share support and anecdotes and whatever else we can.

Feel free to drop in our daily check-in. It's our "coffee klatsch". It's been around on this board longer than I've been here,a nd I'm on 7 years now. I'm the one posting check-ins these days. (I took over for a lovely woman called MyNameisD, who took over for someone else, who took over for...) It's a traditoin, so this board stays *active* and people dont' feel as if they'll come here and see nothing. We tend to center a lot of our daily stuff on check-in these days, as convenient, but several of us do try to reply to other posts if we have anything useful to say.

Again, welcome!

Aloha! Welcome to the group. Sad to say this, but your story isn't that uncommon among the fibro community. I'm glad the neurologist finally figured out what's going on with you. I hope your family and closest friends are supportive because you will need it. I hope you will read the book Leo mentioned and please have those closest to you read as well. I try to take my husband to my appts too so he will hear from the doctors what is going on and not accuse me of being lazy or dramatic, etc. And medications are often changed / adjusted, therapy programs added and what not, so he can stay in tune and in the know and be supportive of the daily struggles. In most cases, the more you know about fibro and once you know your limits and know how to listen to your body, the easier it gets to manage. Take care and hope to see you around! HUGS

HI I TOO AM NEW.
I CAN UNDERSTAND YOUR ANGER AT THE DOCTORS, BUT THEY ARE NOT AT FAULT.
OUR SYMPTOMS CAN BE DIFFERENT FOR EACH ONE OF US.
I HAVE HEAD INJURIES, BUT CAN STILL REMEMBER HOW SAD I WAS WHEN I WAS TOLD.
DIANOSED WITH LUPUS 25 YEARS AGO I LOOKED IT UP ON THE INTERNET & THOUGHT S... I AM NOT HAVING THIS HORRIBLE ILLNESS; AFTER A WEEK OF TAKING MEDICATION I COULDN'T FUNCTION, AND REFUSED MEDICATION. FOR LUPUS.
I AM ON PAIN MEDICATION FOR CHRONIC PAIN.
I WAS ON THIS SITE 13 YEARS AGO AND IT HELPED ME LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME.
TAKE YOUR MEDICATION AND I HOPE THAT YOU FEEL BETTER

CAN I ASK WHERE YOU HAVE IT & YOUR AGE.
SLEEP PEACEFULLY

I've had chronic pain in my hips, headaches, and I've already just been really sensitive to pain. If you poke me it feels like you bruised me. There are days I can't get out of bed because I'm just exhausted, and days that I just can't think clearly. I never really thought my symptoms were connected.
I'm 22 years old, but as I said this has been going on for 6 years, so I was 16 when this started.

Being told you have an illness that is going to be a lifelong battle is hard to take. We have all been there. I hope that being a part of this group of loving and supportive people will help. I would like to get to know more of your story and more about you in general. We are like a big pain filled family but we have our share of laughs too.