Hello..

I am new to this and I am also new to FMS. Actually, my regular Doctor said it was FMS but is sending me to a Rheumotolist(sp) for a second opinion. I have had all the blood work done and of course, it all came out just "fine". I am fairly certain that he is right about the FM, as I have about 16 of the tender points, and I ache all day long. The worst part of my pain is actually my hands. The feel like they have been frozen and then warmed up. You know that aching feeling when the cold goes away? I have that all day, everyday. I have also developed an odd redness on my checks and nose. I look like I am either embarrassed or I just came in from the cold. I have researched Lupus, MS, Raynauds, and it seems like I have a few symptoms of each. The doctor said my ANA test was "negative" ( what ever that means). I would just appreciate some feedback about my symptoms and could it just be FMS?

Thank you for your time.

What do mean JUST!!! This is no walk in the park here. We live in so much misery you may never know about. If it is just a simple thing like FM, then why are you here?

Hi Vegas Nerve..

I am so sorry. I think you mis-understood me. I didnt mean it to sound like it was no big deal. I think it is a huge deal. I too am miserable. I only meant "is it possible that I have the FM alone or could my symptoms be multiple problems. I am having so many symptoms and I wondered if it was from the FM alone. Again, I didnt mean to strike a "nerve", and I am very new to this, but I do appreciate your warmth anyway..lol

[This message has been edited by JDtweety (edited 02-05-2003).]

JDtweety-

Well, all I can say is welcome to the board. Hopefully many of us will have good tips and information for you! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wink.gif

I am no doctor, so I'll just say that up front. Fibromyalgia is very difficult because many, many symptoms can be classified as "fibromyalgia symptoms." Each of your symptoms, thus, could be considered a symptom of fibromyalgia.

Unfortunately, as I think you will discover more and more as you conintue your research into this disorder, many patients with fibromyalgia also have other conditions and disorders, such as TMJ Disorder, Chronic Fatigue, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, just to name a few (there are many, many more). The symptoms of these other conditions and disorders frequently overlap with fibromyalgia symptoms. Thus, each of your symptoms could actually be a symptoms of some other overlapping disorder.

For example, the hand pain and tingling could be a symptom of fibromyalgia, or it could be symptom of Raynaud's Syndrome, or it could be an overlapping symptom of both disorders.

It is very difficult to determine what symptoms correlate with what disorder! When I started having problems, I prayed that all I had was fibromyalgia, but I found out pretty quickly that it is very unusual, maybe impossible, to have fibromyalgia without some of the other overlapping syndromes as well.

For your sake, I hope that fibromyalgia is all you have to deal with (goodness knows that's enough!). Unfortunately, within a diagnosis of fibromyalgia there are a myriad of symptoms and mini-disorders, so even a diagnosis of "only" fibromyalgia is not so simple as it may sound.

Those of us with fibromyalgia are often so used to having others downplay our condition that any innocent implication (whether that implication was intentional, unintentional, or totally misread) that fibromyalgia is not a terrible condition in its own right is usually met with anger and frustration. I hope that makes sense to you; I suspect you already knew that, anyway. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I would suggest that you keep learning more and more about fibromyalgia. After some period of time, it will probably become apparent which of the overlapping disorders you also suffer from. It is important to remember, however, that *you may never know* what condition is causing an individual symptom.

For example, I wrote above that your hand symptoms may be from fibromyalgia, Raynaud's Syndrome, or both. Most likely, you will never know for sure. Therefore, it is more important for you to concentrate on finding some relief for your hands rather than dwelling on what is causing the pain.

This seems to be opposite of how the world normally treats a medical symptom. We often focus on the cause of a symptom, hoping that discovering that cause will also help us discover the best method of treatment for that symptom. With fibromyalgia, though, we must suspend our need to know the cause in many cases and focus on treatment. There are a few exceptions to this rule, of course, and if you need to know if something qualifies as a symptom that you should absolutely focus on finding a cause for, you can always ask. There's a good chance you'll find that the rest of us have that symptom and have or have not determined that finding a cause for that symptom is important. Sometimes, this can help guide you as to the next step to take regarding an individual symptom.

For example, lupus can be a very difficult disease with specific treatments, so I feel that if you have symptoms of lupus, you should make sure that your doctor has run all of the necessary tests to ensure that you do not have lupus. If he determines that you do not have lupus, I would suggest that you research/ask about rosacea, which can cause unusual facial redness.

As for your hands, which seem to be bothering you the most, I have several ideas, some of which you may have already tried. In your place, I would consider physical therapy, hand stretching exercises, warm paraffin wax baths, warm water exercise, hand massage, and the use of heating pads or packs. These are just a few ideas that could be helpful for you.

Once again, welcome to the board. Please, post any thoughts or questions that you might have. It is often difficult to find others (in the non-cyber world) who understand fibromyalgia, so it is important to take advantage of any opportunities to speak with persons who truly understand.

I hope you are feeling better soon. Good luck! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Anonymity (edited 02-06-2003).]

Dear Anonymity,

No wonder they call you a "veteran". Thank you for taking time out of your life to offer help to me. Everything you said makes perfect sense, especially the part where I need to stop focusing on "what" I have and focus on getting some relief. By nature (and by profession), I am an investigator and I feel that if I dont try and find out what is wrong with me, than no one else will. Its sad to say, but I dont have a lot of faith in the Medical profession. My doctor is okay but I feel like I have to advise him on which test he should be running. I am also scared to try and find another doctor at this stage of the game.

I will take your advice and concentrate on seeking relief for my pain. Again, you are a saint.. Thank you for your help..

JD

Dear JDTweey,
Sorry for the outburst, I have been in some tramendous pain the last few days. Fibromyalsia is a nasty desease. It takes on many forms and it will at best, play tricks on you. The single most common complaint is fatigue. But there hundreds of other symptoms that go along with it. Just when you think you have them figured out and know what to expect, a new one will appear. To know if it is FM there are some things you need to ask yourself. The first and most important one is, when you read these other post, do you see yourself in them? Here are a few that I suffer with, Fatigue, memory loss, feeling overwhelmed when comfronted whith detailed information, lots of pain in the extrimities, ie...stabbing, burning, dull, ect. It moves on you also. I had pain in just the tip of one finger, and thought what the HELL! Then I realized it was just the FM. You wake up in the mornings so stiff you feel as though you have to crawl. Constant headaches, spasms, twitching, tremors, and one of the worst, irratibility. I had no idea that I could be so mean. As for your problem with your doctor? I had to print out info on FM for my doctor, because he knew nothing about it. I only touched on a very few of the symptoms. You will have to decide for yourself if you think it is FM. Good luck in your search.

Dear Vegas Nerve,

No need to apologize, I completely understand the outburst, I have them daily.. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif Everything you described I feel and each day it seems if it is something new. I truly believe my doctor thinks I am nuts (course, it didnt help that he said I might want to consider seeing my "shrink" again..lol). Anyway, thank you for your advice and I too hope you find some relief.

JD

Oooh, I just had to comment on the psychiatrist vs. doctor thing. It's such a pain in the butt!

I have a legitimate medical condition (fibromyalgia plus some others) AND I have a legitimate mental disorder (OCD plus some others). Trying to figure out what's anxiety,etc-related and what's fibromyalgia,etc-related is so difficult!

Sometimes I just double-treat a symptom. In other words, I use the medicines/treatments that are traditionally used by psychiatrists AND the medicines/treatments that are traditionally used by doctors of physical medicine and rehabilitation to treat, for example, my fatigue. It becomes a real juggling act after awhile, and I have to be careful not to over-treat a symptom, as well.

I'm told it's not at all unusual for a fibro patient to have a mental condition as well (anxiety, depression, etc). I have no clue whether the two are unrelated or whether there's a cause and effect relationship between the disorders. In my opinion, the same chemical imbalance that causes some of the physical problems can also cause mental ones as well.

Anyway, convincing a medical doctor that a problem is not psychiatry-related can be so frustrating, and convincing a psychiatrist that a problem is not physical(fibro)-related is often just as difficult.

For some reason, every doctor I see wants to blame all of my problems on serotonin, but they each want to send me to another doctor to be treated. It gets so old.

I just thought I'd try to sympathize with your doctor's comment, which was rather inappropriate due to the use of the word "shrink". We all know that "shrink" has negative connotations whereas "psychiatrist" has more neutral implications.

Anyway, with all that said (a mini-rant), I must say that my fibro and other physical problems *do* seem to get better when I'm seeing a psychiatrist regularly. I suppose the stress-control, etc. is what helps both my mental and physical problems.

Oh well, that's my two cents. Hope things are going well for you both!

P.S. I'm no saint, just trying to help! http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wink.gif