Fibromyalgia - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dkveuro · #1 06-29-2005, 01:29 PM

Been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia...felt like this for 15 months...finally gave in and had some blood tests/x-rays.....nada, zip, zero..everything looks normal, Doc' says.

There's a few www support sites, but I thought I'd get a little feed back here.

What do you do to get through your day?

'They' say...2.5 million Americans suffer from this.

MTI · #2 06-29-2005, 01:48 PM

FM used to be a "catch all" diagnosis when clinicians ran out of what appeared to be a neurologic or "chronic pain" disorder. A few years ago, a diagnosis protocol with, I believe, 11 elements needed to confirm a FM diagnosis. There are a lot of websites, but I would check out the 11 elements and perhaps consider a 2nd op.

GermanStar · #3 06-29-2005, 02:05 PM

It's my understanding that the condition has been linked to sleep deprivation and that Elavil is the latest drug of choice...

dkveuro · #4 06-29-2005, 10:08 PM

No offence taken.....narwhal. I'm 59..I do not get irritated with stuff like I used to .

I have started on a daily dose of Damage Control.
http://www.masterformula.net/
I'm not saying this is a cure, but after one week on this I do feel able to take the day as it comes.

I'm not constantly seeking a cool room to lie down in like I did last year...used to hole up for the whole afternoon during July and August.

Not liking the heat this year though...used to look forward to it as the heat a few years ago.....would reduce my aches and pains in my neck and shoulder.

Sleeping through the night too.
Aches and pains are still dominant..joints feel sore, like too much exersise, my skin is constantly itching like a fly or bug is crawling on me.
I put the light on at night to see if there is a bug on my skin, but there never is.....Appitite is good and I do not have to force myself to eat.

The Damage Control master formula has all the vitimins I could need.
Only time will tell.

Hope this is not the result of stress from getting out from under a highly charged divorce

......My doctor friend tells me this stress is often delayed.
He said he does not know anyone who would have put up with everything like I did for 12 years.
Perhaps he has a point.

So, let's see what the future holds...

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MTI · #5 06-29-2005, 10:36 PM

The differential diagnosis for FM is pretty wide, including physiological, environmental and psychological effects:

Differential diagnosis of fibromyalgia
----------------------------------------------------

Rheumatic diseases
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Rheumatoid arthritis
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Polymyositis/dermatomyositis
Cervical and lumbosacral spine osteoarthritis

Endocrinologic/metabolic diseases
Thyroid disease
Parathyroid disease
Metabolic myopathies/neuropathies

Infectious diseases
Postviral syndromes
Lyme disease and "post-Lyme disease" syndrome

Other
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Dysthymia
Somatization disorder
Personality disorder
Hypochondriasis
Adjustment disorders
Irritable bowel syndrome
Temporomandibular joint syndrome
Depression
Psychotic illness
Psychogenic rheumatism
Cancer
Parkinsonism

The disorder is so hard to diagnose that there is no definative test, but there are some guidelines:

The American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria for the classification of fibromyalgia*

1. History of widespread pain
Definition. Pain is considered widespread when all of the following are present: pain in the left side of the body, pain in the right side of the body, pain above the waist, and pain below the waist. In addition, axial skeletal pain (cervical spine or anterior chest or thoracic spine or low back) must be present. In this definition, shoulder and buttock pain is considered as pain for each involved side. "Low back" pain is considered lower segment pain.

2. Pain in 11 of 18 tender point sites on digital palpation
Definition. Pain, on digital palpation, must be present in at least 11 of the following 18 tender point sites: Occiput: bilateral, at the suboccipital muscle insertions. Low cervical: bilateral, at the anterior aspects of the intertransverse spaces at C5-C7. Trapezius: bilateral, at the midpoint of the upper border. Supraspinatus: bilateral, at origins, above the scapular spine near the medial border. Second rib: bilateral, at the second costochondral junctions, just lateral to the junctions on upper surfaces. Lateral epicondyle: bilateral, 2 cm distal to the epicondyles. Gluteal: bilateral, in upper outer quadrants of buttocks in anterior fold of muscle. Greater tronchanter: bilateral, posterior to the trochanteric prominence. Knee: bilateral, the medial fat pad proximal to the joint line.

* For classification purposes, patients will be said to have fibromyalgia if both criteria are satisfied. Widespread pain must have been present for at least 3 months. The presence of a second clinical disorder does not exclude the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

dkveuro · #6 06-29-2005, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTI

The differential diagnosis for FM is pretty wide, including physiological, environmental and psychological effects:

Differential diagnosis of fibromyalgia
----------------------------------------------------.................................................
* For classification purposes, patients will be said to have fibromyalgia if both criteria are satisfied. Widespread pain must have been present for at least 3 months. The presence of a second clinical disorder does not exclude the diagnosis of fibromyalgia.

Yep...that's me

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MikeTangas · #7 06-29-2005, 11:37 PM

Years ago I was diagnosed with FM by a Rhuematologist, according to her the cause was my shift work (rotating shifts every 28 days, backwards) and stress. The rotating shifts and stress created a continued sleep deprevation which led to the firey joint pain. The Doctor prescribed Tri-evel (I think) at a very low dose, somehting like 10mg/day. This stuff made me zonk for 8 straight, but my side effect was perpetual cotton mouth, couldn't drink enough water.

About a year later, we changed our shift rotation to every 6 weeks rotating forward and I've never needed another pill.

Funny part about it is I've never felt my job was stressful, granted the constant adrenaline rushes are indeed a stressor, I never felt stressed. I believe the majority of my stress came from my soon to be ex-wife at the time.

dkveuro · #8 06-29-2005, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeTangas

Funny part about it is I've never felt my job was stressful, granted the constant adrenaline rushes are indeed a stressor, I never felt stressed. I believe the majority of my stress came from my soon to be ex-wife at the time.

Ditto.....

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MS Fowler · #9 06-30-2005, 04:27 PM

This is not MS responding but his wife SA. I was officially diagnosed with Fibro. in1996 at the age of 46. However, after hearing the description of the disease I believe I have suffered with it since my youngest child was born in1978. I also have chronic fatigue and 2 auto-immune diseases, Sjogren's Syndrome and now Reynauld's. My father had Rheumatoid Arthritis, thus I inherited the gene to have an Atuo-Immune disease.

My symptoms were aching muscles, arthritic joints and overwhelming fatigue. I have muscles that stay in hard knots that can be helped for only a temporary time with massage. Fatigue is easy, go to sleep for 12 hours if you can stay asleep. I have a friend who is a psychiatrist who suggested a drug named Limbitrol. It is 20mg. of Librium and 50 mg. of Elavil. I have been taking it for 3 years and it is a wonder drug, although many newer doctors have never heard of it. It can also be prescribed as 2 different pills which make up that combination.
It is true about the trigger points which can determine if you have fibro. They are muscles in the back, shoulder area, legs, etc. I had about 13 or 14. I had not slept through the night for years until I got this medication. I would suggest consulting either a Rheumatologist or a Physiatrist (physical medicine-rehab) for help with these disorders. Mine are jewels and have given me a lot of support. I work as a substitute teacher, so I can take a day off here or there if I have a flare, so that relieves the stress of having to go every day. I was telling a friend today that one way to survive it is not to give in to it. It takes some amount of pushing oneself to get going, but sitting around moaning and groaning only drags one down. I have a friend at church that has convinced herself that she cannot do anything because of having it. Thus begins a cycle that only gets worse and worse. I have days here and there where I rest in and don't do much, but I do try to keep the house together and get out. My husband does the cooking and physical stuff because it is tiring. Also it is important to realize that you are beginning to tire out and stop. I have seen this girl stand in a hallway crying so that everyone can see her and give her pity. Not a good way to handle it...better to say it doesn't change and won't and get on with it. It will nickle and dime you til it drives you nuts but it won't kill you. On days when you have something special, rest up ahead of time. Naps don't hurt, they get you back up and going. We put in a jacuzzi and the hot soaks help. You can get a dr. to write a prescription for one and put it on your taxes. There are all kinds of tricks to survive this. Any way I can help, please write back. SA

dkveuro · #10 06-30-2005, 09:20 PM

SA.......
Thank you for you insightful description on your living with FM.
I shall indeed seek professional help as you have, and
will print this and show it to my doctor.

Regards....dk

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dkveuro · #11 08-29-2005, 11:59 PM

Well, after taking 'Damage Control' for a few weeks, I can report a definate improvement.
My doctor wanted to do a lot more blood work, and I said okay....$800.00 later he tells me he finds nothing wrong except my cholesterol was 256.

I feel fine right now and am getting a little more time asleep by going to bed at 9 pm most nights and have blocked out the bedroom windows.

Today I worked a little long....6:30am to now...22:55. Will find out tomorrow if the $750.00 I made today was worth it.

Thanks for everybodies input.....

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kerry · #12 08-30-2005, 02:54 PM

you may find this site useful:

http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=137

azureblue · #13 09-02-2005, 10:53 AM

Could not help responding to this. My 38 year old brother in Va had been feeling bad since back before the holidays. He quit smoking New Years day but was surprised that he just never began to feel any better. Then, months later he gained 30 lbs. in what seemed like over night. Did not sleep well, had dry itchy skin, decreased heart rate, no energy, felt depressed, and a list of other discomforts. Surfing the internet he discovered that he had a lot of the symptoms of Hypothyriodism, not to be confused with Hyper. 1 simple blood test and a week waiting for the results and it was confirmed much to his relief. At least he now knew what he was dealing with and treatment could be more specific as opposed to trying to treat the elusive condition call FM.

I understand family history increases chances, Grandmother had it for sure, and it is not uncommon for it to get thrown into the FM diagnosis group which appears to remain something of a catchall. It also appears to manifest itself later in life. Has your thyroid production been tested to rule it out? There are things out there that claim to help support thyroid production and that might be why you feel better and that is good. It is good that you pursue other avenues of information because as much as I respect a Dr.'s opinion, like me, they cannot possibly know everything. But my own personal research can turn something up that puts us both on the right track.

Good Luck

dkveuro · #14 09-02-2005, 11:26 AM

Hi folks...I'm still alive and kicking.

I have sent off for Dr James Chappell's book.

"A Promise Made,
Promise Kept: One Son's
Quest for the Cause and
Cure of Diabetes" by Dr.
James Chappell - 400+
Page Book

I am going to write a review for you all when I have finished it.....unless of course one of you have already read it.

.PS....The $750.00 I earned the other day was at the expence of my being totally washed out the folllowing day....bummer !

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