Hello all

[SBee]

I just wanted to say hello, I am recently diagnosed despite having fibromyalgia symptoms for many months.
am looking forward to having a good browse around the forum and reading some of the supportive replies to existing threads.

hope you are all having a good day, or as best as you can.

 

[BlueBells]

Hi @SBee and a warm welcome to the forums

Feel free to comment wherever, whenever you feel inclined. It's the interaction that helps us all learn and support each other.

I've found that simply being around others who understand, through experience, is very supportive and also reassuring that one is not alone with this.
Enjoy browsing

 

[SBee]

Thank you BlueBells for you welcome.

Already noted the thread for venting and ranting, I expect I will be using that one a fair bit....I am quite relieved to actually get a formal diagnosis, conditions that are " hidden " are hard to explain and somehow I feel validated at last.
So yes I will have a good look around, I am not so good on th technology so navigating this new website will be fun.

I am UK based and can see this is obviously a world wide accessible site so it's good to see different perspectives as well as an understanding of this difficult condition.
Thanks

 

[BlueBells]

@SBee

I truly understand about finally getting a diagnosis ! I was diagnosed 2019, and then, as I learnt more and understood the intricacies of fibro, I realise I've had it all my life. Not nice to be told it's "all in ones head" all the time, and I refused the anti-depressants they insisted I take, because I know it's not a chemical imbalance affecting me. (the few times I tried them, I went off my head !!! )

There is an area, click on your name, the 'account details' and if you scroll down, add your country , and if you wish, state as well.
(I'm having trouble typing right now, kitty is 'helping' hahah)

I know there are several UK people here, and I get a kick to see other Aussies, so I'm sure they would like to see you, too

i generally git dips in energy, around the same times late morning, and mid to late afternoon. I noticed someone described the same thing, and then I noticed Canadian !! It's somehow validating to find others have the same issues, we are not alone.

Enjoy the forums

 

[SBee]

Oh BlueBells I totally agree with the ' it really just isn't all in my head ' thing. Horrible when you begin to doubt your self.
I had a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome some 30 years ago and was more or less just left to my own devices. Too mentally weak to fight with the drs etc. Makes me wonder if fibromyalgia was there all along.

I am 100% worse in the mornings takes me a few hours for the stiffness to get to a level where movement is easier. It never ever goes. Sleep is bad because of pans. My hands fingers and wrists are my worse part for pain, am due an ultra sound to check for arthritis as I have that in my hips and knees. I did see thread on here which reminded me it's not always fibro as a cause. Fatigue an issue too. Oh,and that thread about right clothes, I though that was just me too. Feel among friends already.

I saw someone from the UK say she likes this site as it's not so stuffy. That'll do me fine. I need humour in my everyday life and everyone here seems so willing to offer sensible advice, support and honesty in how their lives are affected too.

I am trying to exercise slowly and rest too. Do a yoga suitable for chronic pain and take Mike pain killers. So far I prefer to try to adapt my life best I can without extra drugs... Let's see how that goes.

That's for getting in touch, this forum will be so good for me. I know it already is for so many others. And I love the worldwide aspect. I get the Ooh, look you are in Aus\canada\USA as well. Feels not so alone.

 

[JayCS]

Aus\canada\USA as well. Feels not so alone.

On the other hand I feel much more at home here and on other English-speaking health forums, and hardly on German ones. I use those for flower / bird / slug / insect / fungus stuff, the only fairly nice one is for birds, the others are pretty terse. The German health ones are meagre from front to finish. But with connections to the UK I've always liked seeing UK/CDN/AUS people here, and also that most here seem to realize that the world isn't just the US and "the rest".

 

[BlueBells]

@SBee

That's for getting in touch, this forum will be so good for me. I know it already is for so many others. And I love the worldwide aspect. I get the Ooh, look you are in Aus\canada\USA as well. Feels not so alone.

My pleasure, Sbee, I'm so pleased you came back, as so many put up one message, and that's it.

I must go, appt to get too. Lots of hugs

 

[sunkacola]

Feels not so alone.

You are not alone, SBee. Even though we are scattered all over the globe, we can come together here to share our ideas, tell out stories, tell each other what worked and didn't, and offer support. I hope this forum is helpful to you.

 

[SBee]

It's nice to feel so welcomed. and from all parts of the globe too. I am pretty new to forum life, the only other one I am on is a menopause one in the UK, and we really don't want to go onto that subject believe you me.... Although I did at first think that was where the joint pain and stiffness was from. Then the fatigue kicked in and... Well you all know how that all goes. Also thought the brain fog was hormonal until I knew about fibro fog. a lot to learn.

I am in a fair bit of pain today having had the ultrasound on my hands, which are with out doubt my worse area for pain. They are stiff and in pain 24hrs a day, losing grip and they ' don't always work ' in that I lose dexterity. I have osteoarthritis in both hips and knees. Have had bloods done to check for rheumatoid arthritis as well as any other conditions it may show. Apparently he could see inflammation. So I now wait for those results along with the ultrasound.

i know that many conditions crossover with fibromyalgia.

the answer I want answered simply, knowing we all feel things differently, is this ( am sure I will want to ask a lot more. Be warned!) is this:

Do existing pains feel more severe if you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia???

enough of my waffle this evening. Thanks for reading

I wish you all well.

 

[sunkacola]

Do existing pains feel more severe if you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia???

I am not entirely sure I understand what you are asking here.
But if what you mean is, will the pain increase if you get a diagnosis of fibro...then the answer is no. If this were a psychological disorder, then getting one kind of diagnosis or another might make the symptoms worsen or lessen, because it would be controlled by the mind, whether consciously or unconsciously.
But if you genuinely have fibromyalgia, then that is a different matter. Fibromyalgia is not a psychological condition, and therefore will not get worse just because you have received a certain diagnosis.

 

[MissNeverWell]

Do existing pains feel more severe if you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia???

@sunkacola @SBee I think I understand; it's what I've wondered myself if I'm reading you right. In other words, when fibromyalgia is involved, is there an increase in sensitivity to pain in general, particularly in response to current or new injuries? So, for example, I banged my elbow slightly on a chair the other day, and the sensation of pain was high. Or I sustained an injury to the side of my right upper leg and hip well over 5 years ago, with another injury at the same site from a fall in 2019, both of which has caused ongoing pain, muscle weakness and inability to sleep on that side. Or I get a blood test and feel nerve pain at the site (my interpretation of nerve pain from past experiences). I believe what you are referring to, and what I am also wondering about, is the level of Substance P in the brain, which, based on some research summaries I've read in the past, is elevated in patients with fibromyalgia.

 

[JayCS]

Do existing pains feel more severe if you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia???

will the pain increase if you get a diagnosis of fibro...then the answer is no. If this were a psychological disorder, then getting one kind of diagnosis or another might make the symptoms worsen or lessen

is there an increase in sensitivity to pain in general....
I banged my elbow slightly on a chair the other day, and the sensation of pain was high...
level of Substance P in the brain, which, based on some research summaries I've read in the past, is elevated in patients with fibromyalgia.

Until we understand better, I interpret this a bit more like sunkacola. Just with the addition that any condition can have a psychological aspect, so it's not impossible that this will play a part - again for some worsening or lessening, and that can change, e.g. continually worse if someone spirals into anxiety, or lessening if someone manages to radically accept.

The other question is sensitivity to pain, which includes pain tolerance, pain threshold etc.
(That would mean it's not receiving the diagnosis that changes anything, it's having the condition.)
There are studies that claim we have lower pain tolerance and threshold, but quite a few of us here experience the opposite.
Banging my elbow generally isn't different to before my full fibro flare, but if on a bad day our pain is high anyway and we bang our elbow, that may feel more cos of the load we have anyway. The straw that breaks the camel's back.

 

[SBee]

Thank you all for taking the time here.
Sunkola, I failed to express my question fully. ( I want to wear an L plate like we do in the UK on crash to indicate we are a learner!).

Whilst I understand fibro pain does not alter as such, though we experience bad and even worse pain days, I fully understand that the knowledge of a diagnosis can impact a person psychologically, and in my experience, the psychological ' pain ' can have a bearing on our physical health.
I was meaning more like MissNeverWell described. I have old injuries, notably in both shoulders and my right wrist. Also I have osteoarthritis in both hips.and knees. Whilst xrays show this to be mild degeneration, my pain from this seems far too high In the last year or so than should be expected.from the x rays. So I think I understand how it is more that someone from fibromyalgia can suffer more from the sensitivity to pain. Add in the constant stiffness and that's what I find so hard.
I do see on this forum the thread which warns against assuming new pain is solely due to fibromyalgia which is why I had ultrasounds on my hands yesterday to check for any additional condition.
So I need to learn to separate the aspects of pain within my body, whilst accepting they are all real, and relevant. Yeah. That sounds sooo easy.
And thank you too JayCS for taking the time to reply. I get the psychological impact. I am a thinker. I like to have knowledge and as best understanding as I can. I don't want to feel like this, who would? But it's here, I accept it is part of me and so want to arm myself with the best understanding so I can work with fibromyalgia rather than fight it. I don't have spare energy to waste negatively.

Thank you all

 

[BlueBells]

@SBee

This thread is an interesting read.

I just wanted to say, if you put the @ symbol in front of the user name, the alert will go to that person, although many of us just browse a bit anyway.

It's one of the things someone told me when I joined

So pleased to see you conversing. I thought you would like it here

 

[SBee]

Thank you @BlueBells

Thanks going to help me too!. Am a pretty bad techy person and also generally fail to check my spelling too. So some of my messages may appear a bit ideal times.

Am already appreciating being part of this forum, it's such early days for me,and whilst all of us feel things very much as the individuals we weather's is a lot of comfort in knowing others just get it.