Hi, I was diagnosed with fibro last spring. I am having a hard time believing it because I have also been told (by a different doctor) that I have chronic fatigue syndrome. Since then I have done lots of reading about both. Can you have both of these at the same time or is there a difference? I seemed fine all summer and then when late fall and winter hit I went down hill. I am so achy in my legs and lower back waistline area and hips that it hurts to get up after sitting for a while. I sleep with pillows between my legs so my knees don't rest on each other. Very painful if that happens. My hip aches all day if that's the side I was sleeping on. If I try to keep moving around then I'm exhausted by the end of the day, but not as stiff and sore. I also get lots of tension and sinus headaches and I have ibs and other stomach problems. Right now I just want to wake up!!! And get involved in life again. This is really taking a toll on my marriage. If you know what I mean (he wants to and I could care less). Medicines (antidepressants mainly) do not agree with me. Have tried about 8 of them. Does anyone know if this sounds like fibro or cfs? I just can't believe the achiness I get. It's like the flu or something.
Help!

um i have both!! i think the main difference is CFS the main symptom is overwhelming fatigue, whereas fibro is pain n a lot of it as main thing i tihnk. They overlap a lot though, and although fibro ppl do get fatigue i dont think it is quite to the degree of CFS ppl, plus CFS is continuous, rather than flare ups you get with fibro, does that make sense?
s x.

Yes it makes sense, but I don't like it! lol! I think I could handle the pain if I didn't have the fatigue or the fatique if I didn't have the pain. I think I have both too. There are times where I'm not quite as tired, but it always seems like I'm dragging myself to go places or do things around the house.

yeah cfs is like that kinda cycles thro the day going up n down in exhaustion scales depending on how much you have done etc?? is your sleep unrefreshing/wonky sleep pattern? eg do yu go to bed but feeling awake in brain, then when you try to get up in mornings are you very tired n cant quite get brain working? seems to be the thing with CFS.

I wake up several times during the night or else feel like I've been on the edge of sleep all night. Sometimes it seems like I dream all night and some nights I don't remember dreaming at all. Those are the nights I sleep good. I have a hard time getting up in the morning, but have to get the kids up. Then I eat breakfast which probably isn't healthy enough (too much sugar) because after that I am so tired I could go back to bed. Somehow I get through the morning and have lunch and my energy increases as the day goes on. Usually by bedtime I feel pretty normal and awake. Maybe a little achy in the back and legs is about it.

Hi hun! Yeppers. CFS and Fibro usually go hand in hand. Most docs diagnose you with Fibro and it is usually implied that CFS is a part of that diagnosis. There are many websites that will define exactly the symptoms of the two conditions. Just google both conditions. CFS usually doesn't include the pain symptoms that we Fibro's feel. But the two are nearly like twins, unfortunately. Good thing, that both are getting more and more recognition out there in the world of the "normals".

Here's for a pain free day!
tkgoodspirit

Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue are separate problems :bouncing:

Thanks everybody. This is a frustrating thing. There are some days that I feel great and think, - There's nothing wrong with me. - And then comes days where I can barely move or don't want to. I guess everybody's different with it.

That is not necessarily true,aldot. CFS and Fibro have a lot of commonalities. Ask your doc, they usually and a lot of times go hand in hand. Research the two conditions and many of the symptons over lap. You can have one without the other, but it is very common to have both.