Hi everyone. Just want to say that I was very excited to find this board - you all seem so knowledgable and helpful. And I can use all the help I can get.

My story is long (like everyone's) but I'll try my hardest to be brief. It started about 4 years ago when I began feeling very light headed, general body weakness and aches, nausea, headaches, and hot flashes. This went on for 4 weeks straight. During that time I ended up having a number of tests done and nothing was found. I was eventually diagnosed with TMJ and also put on Zoloft as an effort to make the light headedness go away. No particular diagnosis on that, but my doc thought it might help. Shortly after that I started getting better, but I really am not sure if it was it running its course or the meds.

Following that, similar symptoms seemed to return every 6 months or so for 3 - 4 weeks over the next 3 years. It was often pretty severe - to the point that I had a lot of trouble functioning. Hard to concentrate when you feel all fluish and light headed. Light headedness was always the big thing back then.

As of about a year ago, it got worse. The trouble was generally more severe. Weakness and body aches became the foremost symptom. The aches I can only describe as having felt like the body aches you get with the flu. Not necessarily painful, just very uncomfortable. I also still felt light headed, but it was not necessarily by biggest problem. At that time, I went through all the tests again. Still nothing. My doc finally sent me to a pychiatrist, who thought I had anxiety (although I explained I do not feel anxious, only have these symptoms). Anyway, he took me off zoloft and put me on Paxil CR. I had another couple of months of feeling OK, then got much worse again. More blood tests, more null results. After getting somewhat desperate, I started to think maybe the Paxil and Zoloft were causing all of these reoccurences - the symptoms matched the side affects quite well. I went to a different pychiatrist who agreed I did not have anxiety and that there was likely a physical cause we had not yet found. He took me off the Paxil. By this time, I was already ill for nearly 2 months (much more than normal). I started feeling a bit better for about a week, then got much worse.

Enter new symptoms, which I believe may be withdrawal, but could also be some of whatever has plauged me these many years. I've been feeling very achy, but a different achy. It is now a feeling of a deep chill, almost a numbness. It altrenates with feelings of hot flashes. Its thoughout my entire body but I particularly feel it in my limbs and forehead. I'm also nauseous and have headaches. Like I said, could be withdrawal, but they are similar to what I've always had.

I recently was sent to a neurologist to weed out any neurological issues once again. She found none. however, she is thinking FMS might be the cause. I believe her main reasoning is that it seems to have come and gone over many years. Appearently there are not too many diseases that do that. The big hang up for me is that I do not necessarily have body PAIN aside from maybe my jaw. The constant symptom list I've had this entire time (slightly different these days, but again I think that's withdrawal from paxil) include: light headedness / dizziness, entire body aches, nausea, jaw pain (TMJ), hot flashes / chills, clouded feeling mind, headaches, tiredness, and body weakness. The biggest ones in terms of discomfort were always the diziness, body aches, and weakness. Again, these symptoms seemed to come and go after several months, but always stuck around for at LEAST 3 - 4 weeks. I'd be feeling like this 24 / 7 during that time. Somedays were slightly better, but it was always consistent and never showed any pattern of slowly feeling better. It would just disapear as quickly as it appeared.

Anyway, long and weird story, but I was curious to know if this sounded at all like FMS to you. The main reason I do not believe it is, is that I don't have points of pain. Again, I think my neurologist suspects FMS mainly because it seems to come and go and includes body aches and weakness. But no pain. What do you think?

Thanks ,
Jeff

It definately sounds like FMS to me. Especially the jaw pain and light headness.There are so many physical sypmtoms of FMS, some have certain symptoms, some have others. Like myself, I do not have light headness, but do have muscle pain and chills, fever, mouth ulcers,anxiety...blah blah blah, the list continues for me. But your symptoms do sound that of FMS. I think your doctor is right.

Hi. It sounds like Orthostatic Intolerance (OI), Neuro/ Neurally Mediated Hypotension (NMH) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia could be contributing to Fibro and CFID. A doctor can do some simple tests or a tilt table test can easily diagnose these. Nurses are most familiar with a condition called OH (Orthostatic Hypotension). It's a more severe form of the previously mentioned.

Please read the post entitled "If you have CFIDS too." This explains the Dysautonomia that may be also present with CFS. --kbkswgdc

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[This message has been edited by moderator2 (edited 02-07-2003).]

Thank you for your responses. I'm starting to look into the various diseases you mentioned kbkswgdc. I will mention this to my neurologist. The only thing that doesn't seem to fit is that I've never noticed a difference between how I feel standing vs sitting. I'd think if I had one of those, I'd be feeling much better in the morning - that is usually not the case.

Anyway, anyone else agree with these two about my symptoms minus the PAIN? I got the impression pain was the central symptom of FMS, but like I said, I really only have body aches and a bit of pain in my jaw due to tense muscles presumably.

Thanks,
Jeff

From watching our two daughters grow with this (FMS is what it is called for now because the medical community so far have found nothing else), FMS symptoms are ever changing in number and intensity. One daughter was always hot. In the last six months she has become almost normal (still has hot flashs with face flush once in a while). Both started with flu like symptoms that over time came more and more often. With the more and more often came more and more symptoms. Both daughters get light headed, dizzy, and fibro-fog. One more than the other. Both report pain, but the main problems are the fog, dizzines, and fatigue (fatigue is the big one). Just resently they have both been diagnosed with insulin resistance (75% of those diagnosed with FMS have this). The diet and medication they were put on have help one and made no difference to the other. We are always searching. This syndrone is very individual with its symptoms and cures. Good luck with your search.