Okay, I've posted on here before, but recently I've had new symptoms. I went to the doctors two days ago, and all my blood work was normal, except for a slightly elevated SED rate. I think it may be fibro, but my doc won't send me to a rheumy because all my other blood work was normal. So, here are my symptoms.

Pain and pressure in right abdomen/flank/pelvic area/lower back
Diarrhea most days
chronic minor cough (slight tickle in lower throat)
TMJ (actually myofascial pain disorder on right)
bad taste in back of mouth
joint pain (when it gets bad its in arms, hands, fingers, hips, legs, feet)
Hip pain
fatigue
most of the traditional tender points are sore for me all the time
Pain in all four quadrants.

What I want to know is what helps as far as diet, vitamins, exercise, etc.

Forgot to say I have shooting pains under my arms and occasional burning feeling in a couple of my fingers.

Hi,

Your symptoms sound a lot like how my big flare started back in August...the ongoing pain, especially muscular and abdominal, and the diarrhea. It was a brutal few months until I started to finally get some control. I had to do it through diet for a while, until I finally got to a rheumy. It's still a daily battle but much better. I also now take 2 natural supplements and a daily MVI, as well as Elavil 20 mg a day. Girlfriend, I was scared to death I had cancer or something awful when it all started...some days my anxiety gets the best of me and I still wonder, but honestly, you sound JUST like me.

L.

Yes, i still worry I have cancer. But I guess after 14 months, it would be worse by now. However the joint pain is a newer symptom.
So what is Elevil? Is it a prescription med? Also, do you get a bad taste in your mouth that won't go away (that isn't a dental problem)?

Also, how did you control it through diet, and what are the supplements? I guess I have to do this myself since I've seen several docs and they don't see the need to send me to a Rheumy.

My blood work was all normal, too. There was no abnormalities whatsoever, besides a bit higher SED rate than normal, but it wasn't high enough to be any use.

I was sent to a rheumatologist after I'd been to both a neurologist and an infectious disease specialist, to rule out anything else I could've had.


A lot of FM patients have normal bloodwork, though, so I don't know where your doctor's getting that.

Well, I personally had to cut out caffeine entirely for a while, because of the bladder spasms. Now I can have it in small, infrequent doses and be okay. I also had to cut out a lot of sugar because it set my IBS off. I watch what I eat very carefully now, and it seems to be doing much better.

As far as supplements, I take something called OPC3 which is a natural supplement, and I also drink aloe juice. I was doing each twice a day, now it's just once, and so far I think they are helping. I feel much better these days.

Yes, Elavil is a prescription med. It's basically an old-school antidepressant that is also used as a sedative and for fibro pain. I was already on it before the fibro for sleep problems (though I believe completely that the sleep thing was a precursor to the big fibro flare), but now my rheumy increased it and it's working even better. I don't think my primary doc was thrilled about that but I'm changing docs anyway, so who cares?