what is fibromyalgia

what is fibromyalgia i need to know thanks

I supposedly have fibromyalgia-- I say, "supposedly" because there are (unfortunately) no concrete "tests" for it. A few years ago, my muscles began to ache all the time, I could no longer exercise as I used to, I felt tired all the time, so I went to my doctor -- long story short, after running some blood work to rule out other problems, he said I 'probably' had fibromyalgia. I went to a specialist who did some "pressure point" tests, but even so, there is no certain diagnosis. So I forever now live with achiness, extreme fatigue, restless nights of attempted sleep-- some days are worse than others. There is no cure or medicine as far as I know. There are many theories as to the cause-- a traumatic event, depression, a problem with the immune system.... but I have never gotten any really good answers. I get frustrated at times, esp. since I used to be very physically active (and thinner!!) and now I tire, and ache and have gained weight. I hope my story can give you some answers. I don't think the doctors really know much about it, and since there are no real tests a lot of people say "it's all in your mind", which is really frustrating because it's not!!!! Most of the time, I don't even tell people about it, unless they see how stiffly I walk and how sore I appear. If you are having symptoms, I sympathize because it's not a fun way to live. All you can do is accept this is how your body is now and learn to deal with it. Take care, zanylynn

Soprecious34, I have had fibromyalgia since 1990. It is a very deficult syndrome to diagnose. It is chronic pain at several large joints like the knee on the inside, the elbows on the inside, at the collarbone, along the breastbone, and on each side of the lumbar spine near the hip bones. It can show up at other places too. It is they are finding out an overabundance of Substance P in the spinal fluid and brain. I use narcotic pain meds and a Tens Unit to stop the pain. There is a book out there that I thoroughly have worn out. It is written by a former doctor that worked in an emergency room. Her name is Devin Starr. She also has an estenstive website devoted to fibromyalgia. The book is called The Fibromyalgia Survival Guide... I just drew a blank...lol

If you want the website I can give it to you.. Not sure if I can post that here or not. I'm new here. But I sure do know fibromyalgia. It also makes you tired (fatigued). The above is just a nut shell definition. A rhuematologist is the doctor that treats it. There is no cure but it can be controlled. Another syndrome that goes along with fibromyalgia is myofascia pain syndrome. Its like a twin sister to fibromyalgia. If you have one you usually have the other in the background.

I hope I helped a bit.

bipolarbird

There are several threads about ladies with fibromyalgia on this site. If you will type fibromyalgia in the search box at the top right, you can find those threads and see if they have additional information for you.

Best wishes. My mom has fibromyalgia so I know a bit and you can find a vast amount of info on the web about it.