I won't make this too long, but I would love to know if what I'm dealing with is fibromyalgia, or if it's something else. My Dr. won't make a diagnosis - all he says is that I have 'symptomatic' fibromyalgia and won't do any testing. (I can't afford to go to another Dr. - my insurance only pays for the clinic I've been to....)

Basically, I am sore and in pain everywhere, all the time. Sometimes the pain wakes me up at night and I can't get back to sleep unless I take something for it. (Ibuprofen - that's all I have.) Right now my arms hurt from typing. The pain is generalized, all over my body, but there's no specific sharp pain anywhere - just achy all over, 100% of the time. And I am usually very tired.

If I exercise, even a little bit, I can barely move that night or the next day.
I just shoveled our driveway about 3 hours ago, and I feel like I'm crippled. I can barely walk and every muscle, joint, and cell in my body is screaming at me.

I don't have arthritis.

Should I just learn to live with this pain the rest of my life? I'm a 46 year old female, and the pain started 4-5 years ago, and it has been getting progessively worse, to the point where I feel that if I don't find some help, I'll be in a wheelchair in about 3 years. I'm so discouraged, because I don't know if there is any help out there. And I've tried A LOT of supplements, none of which have helped me at all. Any words of encouragement?

I won't make this too long, but I would love to know if what I'm dealing with is fibromyalgia, or if it's something else. My Dr. won't make a diagnosis - all he says is that I have 'symptomatic' fibromyalgia and won't do any testing. (I can't afford to go to another Dr. - my insurance only pays for the clinic I've been to....)

Basically, I am sore and in pain everywhere, all the time. Sometimes the pain wakes me up at night and I can't get back to sleep unless I take something for it. (Ibuprofen - that's all I have.) Right now my arms hurt from typing. The pain is generalized, all over my body, but there's no specific sharp pain anywhere - just achy all over, 100% of the time. And I am usually very tired.

If I exercise, even a little bit, I can barely move that night or the next day.
I just shoveled our driveway about 3 hours ago, and I feel like I'm crippled. I can barely walk and every muscle, joint, and cell in my body is screaming at me.

I don't have arthritis.

Should I just learn to live with this pain the rest of my life? I'm a 46 year old female, and the pain started 4-5 years ago, and it has been getting progessively worse, to the point where I feel that if I don't find some help, I'll be in a wheelchair in about 3 years. I'm so discouraged, because I don't know if there is any help out there. And I've tried A LOT of supplements, none of which have helped me at all. Any words of encouragement?

Dear Cog,

So sorry to hear you're having so much pain. :( I know that living with fibro can be depressing, but don't give up. If you do have fibro, you can learn to live with the pain, you just have to make changes in your lifestyle. If you are limited to the physician that you have been going to, might I suggest that you take charge of your treatment. Read as much as you can about fibro, especially from the posts on this board, and then tell him about it when you see him. You may want to ask him about or suggest some of the different medications you see mentioned here as well. Many of us that are veterans have been through this process of elimination, so use our experiences to your advantage. We're here for you :wave: When you get discouraged, come talk to us, know that you are not alone.

I'm in the same boat with you. I was diagnosed with FMS in Dec 2003 after being told by several doctors for over ten years that I had arthritis. I know that it''s going to be a long road ahead. I haven't looked for a doctor specializing in this yet. I guess I feel safer where I am and am concerned about what I'm going to find out. Silly, yes, but that's where I am.
Jenni/Chicago

Thank you both for your kind replies - I agree that PainSucks! This is so hard for me to deal with, because I've been athletic all my life, but I've had to curtail just about everything. Even a walk around the block sends me into enormous pain. I think my biggest question is 'why'. I'm the youngest of four girls, and none of my sisters have anything like this. Is it all the diet sodas I drank when I was younger? Is all that aspartame finally showing up (adversely) in my body? I just wish I knew what I could do to be able to cope better. And it's definitely made me depressed - I'm healthy except for this, and I have a hard time looking forward to the next 30 - 40 years of life if it's going to be like this. Even my hobbies have to take a back seat. I love to play the flute, but after holding it for 20 -30 minutes, my arms and back are screaming.

But I'm complaining, and I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to thank you for your kind replies, and I truly hope that you (all of us) will find relief from the pain!

Thank you both for your kind replies - I agree that PainSucks! This is so hard for me to deal with, because I've been athletic all my life, but I've had to curtail just about everything. Even a walk around the block sends me into enormous pain. I think my biggest question is 'why'. I'm the youngest of four girls, and none of my sisters have anything like this. Is it all the diet sodas I drank when I was younger? Is all that aspartame finally showing up (adversely) in my body? I just wish I knew what I could do to be able to cope better. And it's definitely made me depressed - I'm healthy except for this, and I have a hard time looking forward to the next 30 - 40 years of life if it's going to be like this. Even my hobbies have to take a back seat. I love to play the flute, but after holding it for 20 -30 minutes, my arms and back are screaming.

But I'm complaining, and I didn't want to do that. I just wanted to thank you for your kind replies, and I truly hope that you (all of us) will find relief from the pain!

Dear Cog,

I too was very active before the fibro. I used to ride a mountain bike 5 -10 miles a day or run 3-5 miles a day. I rode horses, water skied, snow skied, etc. My fibro manifested after a very bad car accident. I thought I was just pushing myself too hard when I tried to go out for a walk but would then end up down in bed in the most excrutiating pain I'd ever felt for 3 days afterwards. This went on for about 6 months with me telling myself I was just being a wimp and constantly going to the doctor saying what is wrong with me? Then when I was diagnosed, I was very depressed. It has taken a lot of time and prayer to accept this condition as a permanent part of me. But you can do it. Obviously I don't run anymore, but I do enjoy Yoga and Pilates, I certainly don't water ski any more, but I'm a heck of a good boat driver! I wouldn't miss a day out on the water with my family. My house isn't spotless anymore, sometimes there are weeds in my flowers, things that I thought I would never allow to happen! But those things aren't as important as learning how to listen to your body, take care of YOU first and then you will find a way to deal with this disease and hopefully you will find peace with it. After 10 years there are still mornings when I am going out to get in my car to drive my 40 mile commute to work and I say to myself, I cannot open this garage door one more time, how am I going to work for another 20+ years...but I keep going, you can too. I know what you mean about holding your flute, I can barely stand to hold my arms up to curl my hair most days, that's why I cut it short! Build yourself a good support group (you've come to the right place for that) share with us when you laugh and when you need to cry! We'll get through this together.

Hi Painsucks - I read your reply, and my heart goes out to you - it sounds like you were so active and athletic, and now it's all come to a screeching halt. But you do have a terrific attitude - I think I'm going to have to learn that part. Attitudes can be learned, right? Thanks for all the positive replies and for your support - it means a lot. :angel:

Hi Painsucks - I read your reply, and my heart goes out to you - it sounds like you were so active and athletic, and now it's all come to a screeching halt. But you do have a terrific attitude - I think I'm going to have to learn that part. Attitudes can be learned, right? Thanks for all the positive replies and for your support - it means a lot. :angel:

Anytime! That's what I'm here for!

Has anyone considered mercury poisoning as the cause? I have similar symptoms and am moving closer to a diagnosis of fibromyalgia (by elimination). But I have heard that mercury poisoning from fillings can cause the problems.

Sounds like me. Does your pain feel like when you ache from the flu or a burning type sensation? One doctor told me I have Fibro (Neurolgist)and the other (Rheumatologist)said I didn't. I took every blood test there is and everything is normal. So why am I tired, achy and fatigued all the time. I also can't sleep without Ambien or Xanax. This is a symptom of Fibro. I tried walking on a treadmill and it took me 3 days to recover, my legs hurt so much. Advil, Aleve don't do much for me. Vicadin and tramadol to a much better job. But doctors don't like giving out Vicadin so i went to a Pain Management doctor who gave me Vicadin. That's the only way I can work.
I',m 52 and I would get tese attacks every so often, but like you, over the last 5 years it has gotten worse to the point where it is everyday. I get a few good days every so often, but they are rare. Good Luck
I won't make this too long, but I would love to know if what I'm dealing with is fibromyalgia, or if it's something else. My Dr. won't make a diagnosis - all he says is that I have 'symptomatic' fibromyalgia and won't do any testing. (I can't afford to go to another Dr. - my insurance only pays for the clinic I've been to....)

Basically, I am sore and in pain everywhere, all the time. Sometimes the pain wakes me up at night and I can't get back to sleep unless I take something for it. (Ibuprofen - that's all I have.) Right now my arms hurt from typing. The pain is generalized, all over my body, but there's no specific sharp pain anywhere - just achy all over, 100% of the time. And I am usually very tired.

If I exercise, even a little bit, I can barely move that night or the next day.
I just shoveled our driveway about 3 hours ago, and I feel like I'm crippled. I can barely walk and every muscle, joint, and cell in my body is screaming at me.

I don't have arthritis.

Should I just learn to live with this pain the rest of my life? I'm a 46 year old female, and the pain started 4-5 years ago, and it has been getting progessively worse, to the point where I feel that if I don't find some help, I'll be in a wheelchair in about 3 years. I'm so discouraged, because I don't know if there is any help out there. And I've tried A LOT of supplements, none of which have helped me at all. Any words of encouragement?

Hi rstarre - my pain is achy, like the flu, not a burning sensation. But it's all the time, all over my body. My doctor won't do any tests on me - I think he doesn't believe that fibro or CFS exist at all, that it's just in our heads. I'd sure like him to spend a day as me, and see if he changes his tune! Because he won't do any tests, I can't get any pain meds, so I take ibuprofen and such, without much success. It does help, though, to take the edge off at night so I can sleep just a little bit. But the sleeping is a whole 'nother matter. It's never a deep sleep, and the littlest things wake me up.

I hope we all find a solution to our pain, soon! And I do think that there's something to do with all that amalgam in our mouths, as a previous post suggested. I've heard of success stories of people who have it their silver fillings removed and replaced, and it's made a huge difference for them. But I'm somewhat cynical, too. The things that work for other people haven't worked for me.

Has anyone considered mercury poisoning as the cause? I have similar symptoms and am moving closer to a diagnosis of fibromyalgia (by elimination). But I have heard that mercury poisoning from fillings can cause the problems.


DTemple -

How do/did you test for mercury poising from fillings? I ask Because I am tracing this down to two weeks when my muscle spasms, weakness, etc started and one day during that time I recieved a gold filling (crown). So I am wondering now how you test for this?

Ken

Ken, I have not tested for mercury poisoning, but I have heard there is a bloodtest that measures levels of mercury in the body. I went to my dentist to check the condition of my fillings, which were all intact. He said he would stake his reputation of 30 years that mercury in your fillings is safe. I tend to disagree because of things I have read on the Internet. His estimate to remove all of my fillings was 1600.00 a price I would willingly pay if that were the cause of my problems. However if you are considering removal, one of my other doctors recommended using an environmental dentist because they are familiar with the proper removal using safety precautions. The mercury has to be disposed of like toxic waste, they need to use a dam so you don't swallow any of it and ventilation so no one is breathing the fumes. That's all I know right now, still on the quest to research my condition.