Is this fibro?

[Chicsanny]

Dear fellow sufferers!
I had fibro for a few years then it tailed off, leaving me with occasional sore joints.
I had a really stressful few days recently, on top of chronic infections. I woke up one day last week, fell, and could not get up. Felt really woozy and had the usual pain back with a vengeance. I'm wondering if all this is due to fibro, or something else?? For the last few days I've been fatigued and really sore!!

 

[Jemima]

Hi Chicsanny,

I'm sorry to hear of what you're going through! Typically, fibromyalgia doesn't go away - it isn't considered a curable condition. Of course, there are people who don't quite fit in the box, and it is a diagnosis of exclusion, so we can never rule anything out. I imagine it's possible that you had a prolonged period that was flare-free, with your symptoms low enough to be able to feel pretty OK. If that were the case, then it would make sense that a new episode of stress re-triggered your pain and fatigue, starting the first flare in a while. While this could be what you're experiencing, it might be worth going to get checked out anyway, just to make sure that nothing else is having an impact. Does it feel like you've fallen straight back into the symptoms you used to have, or is it somehow different?

I wish you every luck either way, and hope that your stresses pass soon too

 

[Chicsanny]

Thank you so much for your reply! I think you're right - it's probably worth getting checked out although I have all the old signs - fuzzy thinking, loss of balance and the usual fatigue and pain. Again, many thanks! It's so good to have this forum!!

 

[Jemima]

I'll so glad you're finding value being here! Checking will give you peace of mind - and if it is fibro again, then you know 100% that you can get it in check the way you did before. Do keep us posted if you feel like it

 

[JayCS]

Typically, fibromyalgia doesn't go away - it isn't considered a curable condition. Of course, there are people who don't quite fit in the box, and it is a diagnosis of exclusion, so we can never rule anything out.

Fibromyalgianess some call the going away and coming back. A few studies mention it, also an editorial by Frederick Wolfe (= ACR Criteria with Clauw) from 2009, which nicely ends on the same note as you, Jemima: "Throw the mountains into the lakes and Switzerland, on average, is flat." - here meant to admonish docs: "All of this means that we should look at patients and the individual components of the DAS28, not just at the index score. Indeed, we should consider using a visual analog fatigue scale to tell us more about fibromyalgianess. What we should not do is to mindlessly believe the DAS28 score, and we and our professional organizations should resist demands from regulatory authorities and insurance companies to do that." (Where "DAS" means "Disease Activity Score" and "28" means a 28-Joint Count apparently (having been?) used in diagnosing RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis).