Can anyone tell me anything about fibro??

[21girl]

I know it can come with anxiety, and sicne friday i have felt totally gone. I feel like i am made from concrete but at the same time floating away. My ribs are incredibly sore to touch. As are my hips, knee's and ankles and wrists.They feel ridicolously stiff, all the while feeling like im floating away!

I have just posted about this in another post so im sorry if you read it there, but it seems like a distinct possiblity.

xxx

[dorabella]

Fibromyalgia is a weird and wonderful condition, very common in anxiety sufferers. It has no identifiable cause and no cure. Nevertheless it can be a frightening condition if you do not understand it.

Basically your brain is sending erratic indicators of pain where it does not really exist - or rather where there is no true organic cause. The 'pain' i felt in the soft tissue (fascia) which surrounds muscles, particularly in joints and in the extremeties -arms, legs, neck, feet, hands and in the chest and ribcage. You may experience a wide range of symptoms - stiffness, aching, tingling, burning sensations, sharp stabbing pains, a feeling of weakness. These can be felt all over the body. The discomfort you are experiencing in your ribcage is a classic symptom of costochondritis - a sub-condition of fibromyalgia. Your ribs will feel sore and tender as if you have been punched or pummelled, you may even feel burning or sharp stabbing pains. Quite often it can be the after effects of some repetitive activity (have you been operating a keyboard for long periods, or decorating or digging in the garden perhaps?) Whatever the activity, you will begin to notice your own particular 'triggers'.

The most important thing is to remember that this is not a degenerative condition. It will be uncomfortable and frustrating and come on in phases, but it has its limits. Whatever you do don't google your symptoms because you will scare yourself silly when you see how many organic diseases they can mimic.

Educate yourself on the condition - there are plenty of books around these days on fibro. You might also have a look at fibromyalgia-symptoms.org website which has a very useful forum like this one for fibro sufferers, and plenty of tips and advice on managing the condition.

I was diagnosed with this over 10 years ago and I am still finding things out and constantly being surprised by new symptoms (these do change over time). If you want to try some therapy to alleviate the worst of the pains, try a reputable shiatsu masseur. This is trigger point massage and far more effective in dulling the various points in the muscles and joints which are sending out the pain messages than regular massage.

Hope all this helps.

[21girl]

Dorabella thankyou so much. I need to go to the doctors and get some bloods done, but what you wrote - was basically me!

do you sometimes feel like you need to "explode".. however silly that sounds.

I'm very sorry that you suffer with this :( all my love and hugs xxx

[dorabella]

There have been times when I'm in the middle of a flare-up that I could just scream. Fibro can be a nightmare and some days I just wish my body would give me some peace - sounds odd but that's how I feel about it. If there was some kind of medicinal domestos that I could flush through my system to clean out all the pain I would take it!

When you get periods of extreme discomfort you do start thinking that there must be some undiagnosed underlying disease causing it all, but after years of doctors appointments (even the hospital cardiac unit on one occasion), I have finally accepted the diagnosis and recognised that there are some limitations to the amount of 'normal' activity that I can undertake, and I do take care not to unecessarily aggravate the condition.

Most of the time I grin and bear it.

You are doing the right thing in getting the appropriate tests done and having a doctor who understands fibro is a definite plus. I was lucky in that respect too. When I was diagnosed I had never heard of the condition, and there are still a lot of doctors who either don't understand it or even believe the condition exists.

There is more and more research being done on fibro these days which is
encouraging, so keep your chin up. Perhaps one day they might actually come up with an effective treatment.

Best wishes
D.

[lauren6]

There's a new pill called Lyrica. My fibro has been in relative remission for 8 years so I don't take anything. I'd like to suggest that you check the books by Devin Starlanyl. She's a doctor herself and her books are fantastic. She also has a super website. Dorabella, great post, not much I can add..I get the symptoms after something like cleaning the bathtub, using muscles for a long time that I'm not used to using. I had fibro so bad at the beginning that the simple act of taking off a t shirt, crossing my arms, things that we never think about, was SO painful. And the costochondritis...oh boy. Thank goodness it hasn't happened in ages. You just learn to live with this and learn as much as you can.

[angietomjimandcass]

21 girl hi there im having bloods done to see what happening to me tooo, i have chest back arm and rib pain.

[dorabella]

I have had the gamut of the recognised symptoms of fibromyalgia.

When I was first diagnosed, the costo was so bad in my ribcage and across the sternum that I couldn't bear to be hugged or touched. I had pains in my upper arms, wrists and thumb joint - mostly as a result of computer based work. Still have this from time to time but have learned to minimise the effects and use a wrist splint on occasion to stabilise the wrist joint.

My biggest problem though is still costo. I think it is unavoidable, and unfortunately any activity using the arms and upper chest will bring it on - using a keyboard, digging, knitting, cleaning etc etc etc. Driving is another one, especially long periods at the wheel which bring on the costo, aching in the arms and noticeably my hips and accelerator foot.

I agree with Lauren that the Devin Starnalyl books are some of the best written - the Americans have done more research on this than the British medical profession. "Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain" is a classic and extremely good in explaining the physiognomy of fibro.

I'm definitely no expert on this condition but have read as much as I can find on the subject and now I hope I have a fairly good understanding of it. Education is definitely the key to dealing with this irritating and frustrating condition.

D.

[L1SA]

Hi

The best thing to do is to visit us at the FMAUK (fibromyalgia assosiation UK)

We have everything you need in the way of support/advice/meds/tips/coping absolute everything to live with & understand fibro we have it

http://www.fibromyalgia-associationuk.org/community/

I am a fibro & Costo & anxiety sufferer

I Mod the FMAUK so i am up on everything you wanna know but its best you come and visit us to see.

Costo is extremely hard to control. Alot of sufferers suggest steroids as it helps with the inflammtion of the cartilage. I would suggest freeze pack around the rib area.

Many more tips on the site.

Lyrica is a commen drug for fm people. Its an epileptic drug which helps nerve pain.

Sorry im late in replyin...

Hope this helps :bighug1: