I wasn't..I was just wondering something too..if you don't mind, where your symptoms for f.m. the same as with ms or different..I have a prior undiagnosed medical problem that isn't related to ms..it involved muscle deterioration, loss of strength and mobility..and ouch, severe pain..so I dunno, they've stopped testing me for this problem since my dx of ms..but I've had people mention fibromyalgia to me..I just don't know if I would have that and ms..I guess that's not unrealistic, but was just curious if you could share your symptoms, if it's not too personal...ty

I have been doing a great deal of research on MS and found a website that gives in depth info on MS symptoms (http://mult-sclerosis.org/mssymptoms.html) I have so many of them it is scary. I talked to my doc and since I live in GA went to a Neuro in Atlanta who specializes in MS and similar diseases. He did an exam and spent some time with me telling him about what I have been going thru (unfortunately my list I made to help me remember everything was forgotten in my hotel room-figures) He felt like it was FM but said he still wanted to do lots of bllod tests and another MRI on brain. Unfortunately FM and MS symptoms are very similar. Look on the website i put in this reply and you will see that loss of muscle strength and tone is part of ms too. That's why im so - frustrated. I guess im worried that if it really is ms and im not diagnosed so i can take meds to slow progress things will continue to get worse and right now there are many days when i already feel at the end of my rope. My mri is scheduled for the first week in jan. Guess i'll find out more info. then. ms and fm have such similar symptoms that it makes me wonder how often fm is just a precursor to ms. That's why i wondered if it was common for people to be diag. with fm and then find out later they had ms. Sorry this turned out so long i just really need input from others. THANKS!!!

i was but don't know if its common

This might seem like it is coming from out of the blue, but I just had to respond. My husband has fibro. symptoms and I have a diagnosis of MS. We realized over the past few years that we have a lot of similar health problems. To make a long story shorter, we realized we both had neck injuries at one time which we never connected to our current symptoms. Looking back though, both of our symptoms slowly came on since the injury. We did some research and found that when the first two vertebrae of the spine are even slightly out of line, they can cause numerous muscle and nervous system problems that only get worse over the years if not corrected. We have really had some "aha!" moments and are looking into this with a Chiropractor that specializes in precise neck adjustments. There is actually some studies on the successes with people with a diagnosis of MS.... although you would not likely hear this from a neuro. I know I didn't even have a neuro ask me if I had a neck injury. Even if you don't ever remember having such an injury, I now think that it would be worth it for anyone with such symptoms to look into it. I have my first appointment on Wednesday. We'll see how it goes, but wouldn't it be amazing if I have suffered for 20 years and what I needed all along was to "get my head on straight"!

well Ronnie, it would be nice if it could be something a chiropractor could fix for ya..I wish you the best with that as with everyone else here..hopefully you can get some answers, blusky..I know how frustrating it is to be in limbo or just confused over the whole situation..sorry I couldn't be of any assistance..best of luck to all..take care

I was dx with fibro. I havent been dx yet with MS. Though my primary physician thinks it is MS. I dont have all the symptoms for Fibro. I was also told that I might have Lupus but that came out negative as well. I have heard that fibro is similar to the MS but not sure how many are dx with it before MS.

Absolutely..i have both..but i think the ms was there before the fibro but diagnosed later ...fun having both, huh
lol, u don't know where the pain is coming from...

i was for about 8 trs before that it was cfs from about 18 on

Thanks for the input. I honestly believe that often they aren't sure about the MS so FM is the next best thing. They tell you have that until they can totally prove the MS. So-o-o frustrating!

YES I WAS TESTED POSITIVE ON 11 POINTS.

Not sure how I missed this topic, but wanted to add my 2 cents. I'd started a topic on this same subject back in the summer, b/c I had the same question as you blusky.

I've been dx with Fibro, and am now still undergoing testing for MS. They do seem to be related. If I remember correctly, there seemed to be more responses (don't recognize any of these names as ones who responded then) other than these here, who had Fibro Dx prior to MS Dx. My couscin was dx with Fibro prior to MS also. Definately an interesting subject!! I'm sure the medical field thinks so too, especially since they don't seem to know the difference between the two!!
~Tonya

nope, never heard of fibro until after my DX

I was Dx with Fm 4 years ago and MS 2 years ago.

I was diagnosed with Fibro AFTER MS which my MS specialist said was not how it works? She said it is very common the other way around Fibro first. Some docs feel Fibro is a catch all term for docs who have no idea what else to do for you. I personally believe Fibro is a real diagnosis, having met with a Rheum. Arthritis doc and he really made me understand this is a real illness. Just my thought?