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.

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Muscles & Bones
/ Fibromyalgia Support Group

What does it feel like?

megsmom8816
megsmom8816
I have been in pain for a few years....legs, arms, shoulders, back, etc. Primarily I have very tight muscles that are always knotted and no amount of chiropractic adjustments or massage seem to relieve it. I take pain meds every day, and occasionally muscle relaxers. I know supposedly there are trigger points which indicate if it is fibromyalgia, and my doctor tells me that this fibro is a diagosis when they can't explain why you hurt all the time. Is this true??
Shakota6
Shakota6
A rheumatologist should do blood work to rule out such things as

Rheumatoid arthritis
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Lupus
etc.
you'll have a sedimentation rate to look for signs of inflammatory disease like all of the above, an ANA for lupus, etc. etc.

After excluding all the other possibilities, a diagnosis of fibro can be made.

You may want to keep a careful diary of all symptoms and the pain areas and the severity (on a scale of 1-10) and what helps.

Good luck!
Fantod
Fantod
Yes, a diagnosis of Fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion. When every other possible source of pain has been eliminated than Fibromyalgia is the culprit. Fibromyalgia is a valid diagnosis. It is recognised by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Arthritis Foundation and the World Health Organization to name a few. The mechanism that causes it is not understood. In some people, it can be triggered by high levels of stress, an accident, emotional abuse, surgery or childbirth. The three primary medications used to treat it are Cymbalta, Savella or Lyrica. Take care.
deleted_user
deleted_user
This might be helpful to you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fibromyalgia
PeaceN2You
PeaceN2You
You might also want to Google myofascial pain syndrome, as what you're describing sounds like that might be a better fit.

Fibromyalgia has its own diagnostic criteria, but it is important to rule out other conditions with similar symptoms before making the diagnosis, as some of the other conditions are easily treatable, and others, left untreated, could be serious in terms of ongoing damage.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Myofascial pain syndrome:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myofascial_pain_syndrome
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