Fibromyalgia vs. Reactive Arthritis?

Hi, guys -

On my LAST visit to my previous doctor, I noticed the notation FM (fibromyalgia) on the notes that the doc handed to me. I have since changed docs for various reasons. I thought at first that she must be mistaken, but then I realized that I was having more and more widespread pain and aches in my muscles and tendons. I have been on/off of Enbrel since August. A good deal of the time I cannot take it because I have an infection. I went to see my shrink a few days ago and asked for Sinequan (doxepin) because I know that it helps with pain in some people with fibromyalgia. For me, it has significantly reduced the pain that I am experiencing and works better than all of the narcotics that I tried. I did some research and found out that the tricyclic antidepressants are now the gold standard in treating neuropathic pain. I am also taking a small dose of an NSAID. I have not taken Enbrel in about 10 days.

Has anyone on this board been misdiagnosed with arthritis when you really had fibromyalgia? Also, is there anybody with both arthritis and fibro who is taking Enbrel? I recognize that a person could have both conditions,but I am seriously wondering if I have arthritis at all. I also have a diagnosis of lyme, but I think it is lame because I only have two reactive bands on the Western blot. Would like to hear from anybody with a similar experience.

Eve

Hi, Keah, I have had two doctors give me a clinical examination. I meet the diagnostic criteria for reactive arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis (I don't have AS). My arthritis is in the spine and hips. I have also had MRIs of the cervical and lumbar spine. I think the MRIs were normal. This tendonitis and muscle pain are not new, but they are more widespread than before. I am going to start physical therapy soon. I am hoping that will help. I need to get out of bed. I have been sedentary for a long time. That is making the problem worse.

Thanks for your suggestions.

No, I tested negative for HLA-B127. My doctor made the determination based on a clinical examination. I have read a great deal about arthritis including the site that you provided. I have a Harvard educated physician who did his internship at NIH. I think I am getting very good care, but I don't like the treatment with Enbrel. I am sure the docs will carefully monitor me for signs of AS. The MRI of the lumbar spine will help to see what is going on. There is a list of "official" AS criteria that was recently revamped and I meet them. It includes having pain at specific places in the spine.

Thanks for your comments.

Eve, if you don't like Enbrel, then you are not required to take it. There are other medications that treat the inflammatory process of arthritis. A recent study has shown that Enrel does not prevent the formation of new bony growth and/or fusion. It does help significantly with the inflammation. Just one study, but a topic that needs to be followed.

I was diagnosed with AS when I was 2 years older than you. Often women are slower to develop the radiographic signs that lead to diagnosis. For years AS was thought of as a disease that primarily only affected men. Therefore women, their pain, and physical symptoms were dismissed for years.

I'm glad that you have a physician that you trust and like that appears to have excellent credentials. Just remember, every medical school class had someone that graduated last......my first GI appeared to be one of those...now he's my EX GI.

Hi,

I was told I have fibromyalgia due to muscle pains and tender points, etc. I was also give a low does antidepressant that was supposed to help with pain & sleep called Elavil (10 mg every evening). It did help me greatly with sleep..I usually zonked out an hour after taking it, even after being on it for a year. However, it did not seem to help with my muscle pains nor any other joint pains I had. But I was at least happy that I could pretty much sleep.

After doing some research and reading through posts, I am wondering if I have fibro at all. I do have OA in various joints and spine and lupus. But when I took prednisone for a bad flare for the first time, it completely eradicated every muscle (and other pain) that I had. I was actually able to exercise again without feeling that horrible deep muscle burn, I had no tenderness anywhere....I felt normal again with no pains whatsoever. And from what I keep reading (even on medical websites) is that prednisone is an enemy of fibro & makes it worse. In my case, my so-called fibro completely disappeared. It's now back again ever since i've tapered off the pred. BUt it also disappeared for a few days while on Medrol Dose packs and also went away when I got epidural steroid injections into my spine. I'm also getting alot of tendon, muscle, and/or ligament problems in my shoulders, hips, hands, and might have detached tendons in my right ankle now as it's now collapsed over time. Strange that my spine surgeon, hip specialist, and PT all said it could actually be lupus related. My rheumy never mentioned that, though....but I will ask him about it at my next appt.