Why do I feel so bad all the time? Could I have fibro?

[1sweed]

Try artifical tears and buy a good brand at your local pharmacy. I have dry eye as well, and I was unable to use the gels and creams, and discovered that the artifical tears used several times a day and at bedtime really improved my dry eye. Also don't spend a lot of time on the computer staring at the screen or at a tv screen. Both will make dry eye worse.

 

[stardisgate]

I know this is going to sound weird, but sometimes antidepressants can have the opposite effect. That is what happened when I was a teenager. Now if you think it could be fibromyalgia, depending on how long you have seen your doctor, asking them right away what they think, may or may not be good. Some doctors think Fibromyalgia is a "fake" illness that they use as a term when they don't know what is wrong. With my doctor, he will do just about anything I ask him, but when I think something is wrong, I wont come out and say it. I wait for him to diagnose me and most of the time, he says exactly what I was feeling and thinking.

It sucks to be sick all the time. If you keep track of your symptoms, you will want to keep track of almost everything you can think of. Maybe your symptoms act up after you eat a certain item, or after a certain time of day.

Keep us updated.

 

[snark42]

Ok, so I have some minor updates.

I went to see a therapist this past week. He wants me to see him again in two weeks. He also said it doesn't sound like the prozac is really "doing it" for me, so to speak, so he wants me to also see one of the psychiatrists in the office. I was able to get an appointment for later this month for that, but it's still a ways off.

Perhaps all of my symptoms really are due to depression, and if that's the case, then maybe someone else here with similar symptoms can learn something from my story. So I'll continue to update as far as that stuff goes.

In the meantime...when I had last gone to my primary care doctor to inquire about all of my symptoms, I had actually woken up sick with congestion, and she mentioned that my ears looked like they had a bit of fluid in them. Sure enough, I became EXTREMELY congested, and wound up taking Zyrtec, Sudafed, and Mucinex (the regular without the cough suppressant) for several days to kick it. The reason I mention this is because I noticed when I started taking these meds, my aches and pains seemed to diminish--especially in my hands! I'm talking DRASTICALLY--my hands almost completely stopped hurting. My congestion has cleared up for the most part, so I've stopped taking the decongestants, and today my hands are hurting again. Coincidence? Anyone else experience something like this?

 

[snark42]

Well I didn't get any replies about the allergy and decongestant medicines. But here's my latest update.

I've seen the therapist twice. I saw the psychiatrist last week. My chief complaints were poor/lack of sleep, aches and pains, and extreme fatigue. He wants me to continue with therapy, of course, and he also suggested taking me off of the Prozac. I was on 40 mg. He told me to stop for a week, and then he wants me to switch back to Celexa because it helped me in the past. So I stayed off the Prozac for a week and started the Celexa again today. Honestly, I've been pretty anxious at times and witchy, but I have slept better the past few days than I have in a long time. I almost don't want to take the Celexa and just see what happens, but I'm following doctor's orders. I'll go back for a follow-up on the switch in a few weeks.

My hands and back have been much better recently. Today, however, I was reminded of a strange pain I've had that has come and gone most of my life. When light pressure is applied to my legs, my skin (or maybe the muscle under my skin?), seems to hurt. I'm not talking excruciating pain, but it makes me wince. It's uncomfortable enough that I tend to rush through shaving to get it over with. I noticed it again while shaving during a shower today. Just the light pressure of the razor grazing against my skin as I shaved made me wince, especially on the outer part of my thighs near my hips. Sometimes I get similar sensations on the outside of my arms, but I guess it's always been most noticeable on my legs due to shaving, which is a more regular stimulus. It's not like I go around lightly grazing my upper arms all the time. You get my point. Is this sort of thing typical of fibromyalgia or no?

 

[junebugrobts]

it is very easy for a rheumotologist to diagnose fibro. Many of the symptoms mimic those of Ms. lupus and
other diseases. I think with fibro everything on your body can hurt except your hair! And even that makes my
eyes hurt by the way it looks!
Happy day!

 

[Mowmow]

I feel your pain. I also suffer from extreme fatigue, I feel like my body is made out of lead and I'm just dragging it around. No matter how much I sleep, I still feel the same. I do have pain though, its strange pain, wanders around; like needles then a grater. Its hard living with this. I also suffer from depression, that may play a factor in my symptoms. I was medicated years ago as a teenager, but my parents didn't believe in anti depressants. They took me off 6 months after taking them, I was hospilized for that long under constant watch. Depression is a serious matter, it disrupts everything in you life. The joy in things that make you happy are drained away and you are left feeling indifferent. I wish you the best, hopefully you will find the answers you seek soon.

 

[GemmaRowlands]

You could well be suffering from fibromyalgia, yes. It certainly seems to be the case that you have a number of symptoms that are associated with it, and depression can certainly follow because of the pressure that the condition is putting on you. It is very important that you keep note of absolutely everything that you are struggling with, as this means that when you see your doctor you won't be struggling to remember everything that you need to tell them about what is happening to you. I hope that you get the help that you need, because you will be able to get a much better quality of life once things are diagnosed and you get the right type of help.

 

[wulfman]

Well you need to see a doctor and get a proper diagnosis. There are so many other things it could be other than fibro.

 

[Tharper]

I have begun keeping a daytimer of sorts. That way I can atleast have an account of what went on that day. It gets hard some days.

 

[racenutalways]

First of all, if you do have fibro, sounds like you do, prescription drugs will make things worse, the foods you are eating will makes things worse.
Doctors are of no help, you need to get referred to a specialist that deals with Multiple chemical sensitivity if you are reacting to drugs, like I do. Wheat, exacerbates my pains, dairy exacerbates my fatigue, salicylates exacerbates my asthma and allergies. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and multiple chemical sensitivity are connected somehow. I was labelled with Fibro, and eliminating all foods except fish, grass fed meats and poultry and white peeled potatoes, no fruits and vegetables as they contain salicylates, natural chemical plants have. Eating healthy made things worse, now I need to concentrate on other chemicals, carpets, laminated flooring, polyester, cordless phones, long times in front of PC, they emit VOCs when monitors heat up. Going to public places where people wear perfumes, use fabric softeners all give me headaches, dizzy, irritability plus many others. I recommend removing all foods, including fruits and veggies, start with meats or fish, add potatoes 3 days later, add another one ingredient food 3 days after that, NO PROCESSED FOODS, they contain, sugar, wheat and MSG. Cook from scratch only. If you can not get relief from removing wheat, or processed foods, eliminate dairy and sugars. I can eat white table sugar only, and not the GMO ones either, white peeled potatoes, skin contains most of the salicylates, grass fed beef, pork and chicken that aren't fed high diet of grains or sugar water. Organic didn't help, GMOs made things worse as they contain 7x the amount of salicylates. Corn is bad for me plus all food derived from corn(citric acid, maltodextrin etc...). DO NOT EAT MSG OR ASPARTAME....
I am working on getting to 1 of the only 2 Environmental clinics here in Canada, they deal with Fibro the best, so I've read. 13 month waiting period. Prescription drugs contain fillers and binders plus whatever chemical that could be exacerbating your symptoms.
Good luck, it isn't easy, but losing 75% of your symptoms is amazing, I can walk my dog daily now, I can breathe easier, I can concentrate better, my memory, although not great, got better. The fatigue is present still, but that may be from the chemicals in our environment.

 

[junebugrobts]

Fibromyalgia will not show in any bloodworm You really need to either go to a rheumy or a pain management clinIC. Virtually ALL OF THE
SYMPTOMS you listed are on the paperwork I got from the pain management clinic...EVEN MIGRAINES! PLEASE DON'T GIVE UP, YOU ARE NOT CRAZY!

Most docs do not know how to test for fibro and the symptoms mimic many other diseases. Don't despair, I have had people rag on about me "Having everything" with a slight smirk. I just think "You just live with this one week and you'll laugh of the other side of your mouth" It is very difficult to tolerate, and it is abusive in my opinion when doctors act as if it is all in your head when in fact it is them because they are not educated enough to
make a proper diagnosis.