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How did your fibromyalgia start?

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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 10/5/2009 6:28 AM (GMT 0)
The mind (Psyche) - body connection is a powerful thing.
Posted 10/5/2009 5:59 PM (GMT 0)

Mine started when i was in School for Massage Therapy ( so much for my career choice now huh?)

  When it started in my hands and knees i didn't think much of it.. i thought it was just from standing and giving massages. But when i started gettin no relief when recieving a massage.. or when i would get SO hot and tired an couldn't study for finals... it became more.

Now i have it all over my body! JOY JOY! shakehead

Posted 10/12/2009 6:30 AM (GMT 0)
My doctor told me that I have Fibro and that it was caused by my auto accident.  I was rear ended by a pick up truck.  My accident was in Dec. 08. 10 months ago.  I am still seeing the doctor and therapist for the auto injuries as well. 
Posted 10/12/2009 8:56 AM (GMT 0)
Splendidlife, I was thinking about what you said that it might be RA... you made me remember something from way back when the pain started. I was told by our family doctor that it was growing pains and all in my imagination. I could hardly walk some days or climb the steps to the school bus. about the same time that pain started, when I was small, my Mom dug a tick out of my neck that had swelled to the size of a nickel. I bet I had Lyme.
Posted 10/12/2009 5:53 PM (GMT 0)
Littleneck...

Here's how it felt when I was little. It started with my knees. We were at the movies and, at the end, when the credits rolled and everyone else was getting up to leave, I couldn't straighten out my knees and had to crawl out. That's when my mom made me a doctor's appointment. By the time I got into the doctor's appt., it'd spread to my elbows. I was tested and found positive for Rheumatoid Arthritis. There was no known Lyme Disease back then. I didn't get a deer tick in me until I moved back East under three years ago. It's so difficult to tell the difference between Fibro and Lyme and so easy to come up with multiple false negatives, my current GP has agreed to treat w/ oral antibiotics for 3 months. I'm on my final month and it hasn't lessened the symptoms in the slightest. Better safe than sorry.

I was wondering if anyone else here has heard of Wilson's Temperature Syndrome (WTS)...

I've always had a slightly lower body temp. The last time I was seen, my temp was 96.4 degrees F. That's LOW. My GP (of course) had nothing to say about it. I've read that this low body temp., and whatever causes it, can cause low-thyroid-like symptoms, but often shows normal thyroid blood tests.

 

If, like in my case, one's low-thyroid-like complaints are so convincing that the doctors check blood for hypothyroidism, and they come back normal, the doctor may conclude, "Since your blood tests are normal, you're fine." See, since I learned about my especially low body temp. and WTS, I haven't yet spoken with my GP and don't have an appt. with my Rheumatologist until Oct. 23rd.

WTS is a condition triggered by acute and/or chronic stress. That's how this started for me. It results in a multi-system body malfunction. WTS has become more and more prevalent with our busy modern life style. It is said that it may be a major contributor to Fibromyalgia as well as Chronic Fatigue.

Anyone else have any info on this?

Thanks so much.

Big hugs...

Posted 10/12/2009 6:37 PM (GMT 0)

Rachel, WOW, I have never heard of WTS and now I am going to look it up. I have thought that I've had a problem w/ my thyroid for yrs. My father's mother and sister both had theirs removed due to many, many problems. I have a lot of the symptoms of low thyroid, too many to list now, but my temp is usually around 94.4 to 96.4. I have the flu, and now bronchitis, also, my temp is about 97.6 and I have felt so feverish for days.

I have been tested so many times for my thyroid and all my tests come back normal. And yet, I still feel like this, which I guess is normal ... for me. lol  I have felt so off for about 2 months, due to Fibro and OA, but the last 2 wks, I just feel like a train wreck. I have an appt w/ my pcp next wk, I'm going to ask her about WTS and see what she knows. Thanks for the info.

God bless.  Alice.

Posted 10/12/2009 9:26 PM (GMT 0)
I was sexually abused when I was four years old.  I had severe growing pains as a kid also.  Never thought anything about that being related.  I also attribute my fibro to a build up of trauma - the abuse as a kid, physical, emotional and mental abuse in two prior adult relationships. Thank god I got out of that horrible cycle!  I also was an athlete and was pretty hard on my body to top it off.  No car accident or anything like that in my past. Just a build up of a lot of stress - I never told anybody about the sexual abuse until a year ago.  My dad passed away when I was 13 and that was very hard on me also.

Posted 10/12/2009 9:33 PM (GMT 0)
I don't remember how mine started. All I know is that suddenly I just hurt all the time, and had no energy, the fact that I was severely depressed when this all started could be a factor but I don't know, that's when I was 15. When I was 19 the pain got so bad I would cry a lot, and finally they diagnosed me in the summer of 08. I do know that I've had Raynaud's Syndrome since I was like 3.

Though my medical conditions are normally attributed to my being 2 months premature seeing as I'm the only one in my family with all my conditions, no one else (except my one of my aunts who has horrendous allergies) has any of my medical conditions. So I dunno, maybe I'm just special tongue
Posted 10/12/2009 11:24 PM (GMT 0)
Wow, Alice...

I'd say your temp is VERY low. When I went to the WTS site at: http://www.wilsonssyndrome.com/, it stated that many doctors are in the dark about WTS. Check out the site. Perhaps you can print out the info. and go to your appointment armed with information. It seems as if most doctors no longer have the passion for discovering and one must do all the footwork. Fortunately for me, I thoroughly enjoy learning about medical conditions and their possible treatments.

Guess I'm just a Google Junkie. smilewinkgrin

For what it's worth, this link will get you to a list of doctors that know the WT3 Protocol: http://www.wilsonsthyroidsyndrome.com/DoctorsListing/.

Austin...

I'm so sorry you had to experience that and at such a young age. And to then have to experience your father's passing when you were only 13. I understand. It seems quite possible that there could be a correlation between those events and what's happened to you medically.

AkinaChan...

I see that you have a heart murmur... I had one as a kid as a result of Rheumatic Fever. When did yours begin or did you have it since birth? From what I've read, Rheumatic Fever begins as a bacteria or virus, which in turn triggers an immune response, resulting in autoimmune disease. The Rheumatic Fever was discovered shortly after the start of the Rheumatoid Arthritis for me, when I was hospitalized for Double Pneumonia. What came first? Not sure. I do know for sure that some serious emotional trauma just so happened to kick up previous trauma just prior to the serious illness at age 7. I've also read that issues with kidneys are common in people w/ Fibro. Try Adzuki Bean Tea. You can find the beans at decent health food stores that sell beans and grains in bulk.
Posted 10/12/2009 11:26 PM (GMT 0)
AkinaChan...

I almost forgot... I too have Hypoglycemia ->Reactive Hypoglycemia.
Posted 10/13/2009 12:07 AM (GMT 0)
Splendidlife...

I've had the heart murmur since birth, they're not really sure what caused it but again attribute it to being a premie. Along with the hypoglycemia, and I have more calcium in my body than needed which is the cause of my constant kidney stones. (so far had 6 since 2007)
Posted 10/13/2009 12:12 AM (GMT 0)
Interesting... Most people w/ Fibro are low in Vit D. Although it's not the same as Calcium....
Posted 10/13/2009 12:16 AM (GMT 0)
Further proof that I'm just special, cause i'm not low in either one lol
Posted 10/14/2009 5:19 AM (GMT 0)

I don't remember when mine started. Being bipolar and in a constant hypomanic state in my 20's and 30's probably made me ignore the symptoms (as I ignored the need for sleep, food, etc). When I hit my mid 30's I started having trouble with depression, then a major depression developed and I was diagnosed as bipolar. When I was stable on the meds, and in my head, I started feeling all sorts of pains. I attributed them to the type of work I did. I was an RN and worked in a physical rehab facility, so I was lifting and moving heavy people all the time.

One day, I was still feeling depressed and on Prozac at the time. I found an article called "Prozac and Pain" and read it. It talked about fibro. Then I found the FMA site and read it. I had every single symptom on the list. I went to a rheumatologist and he told me I had it after extensive testing.

I remember having growing pains. I remember falling off a swing and hitting my head when I was only about 3 or 4 and getting stitches. I don't remember a lot else. I'm thinking the mania masked it for me. I also was required as a nurse to receive the hepa*** vaccinations. I had the entire series 3 times before it would register in my blood work. The nurse told me that often it takes more than one series for people with autoimmune disfunction then. I never really thought about it. It all came together thanks to that one article.

A few have mentioned about having low temps and such. My normal temp is around 96. My normal blood pressure is around 90/50.

Who wants to call the American Journal of Medicine and have them read this thread? It is most interesting how some can pinpoint and others can't.

Posted 10/14/2009 5:13 PM (GMT 0)
Learning2fly...

My Fibro symptoms didn't start manifesting severely until after the serious stress-producing situation was removed (I got out of a situation that was causing major stress). It's as if, once you where given the medication to help level you out and calm down your system, the aftermath didn't begin to set in. I see a correlation here. Also, I see that you have nerve compression. I had a reaction to nerve compression which resulted in RSD (Reflex Sympatheitc Dystrophy) in my left arm. When my Fibro symptoms began, it felt just like the RSD had spread all over my body. So many similarities between RSD and Fibro. Too much money to be made in pain management for research to be funded on pinpointing causes and educating the public on prevention.

I read about Adrenal Fatigue being brought on by chronic stress.

http://www.womentowomen.com/adrenalfatigue/effectsofhighcortisol.aspxl

It makes complete sense that the Adrenal Glands would become overloaded when the fight or flight response is kicked into gear all of the time. With a constant state of mania, I would expect the body to respond similarly. What came first... the Bipolar Disorder and Depression or the original stress as a child that knocked the Adrenals into working over-time? I suppose that, for those of us already experiencing the fall-out, knowing won't correct what's already happened. But, it seems that, if "modern" medicine had a better understanding of what stress can produce, there would be more research and interest in creating public awareness of the hazards of stress and how to reduce it than in simply creating multimillion dollar medications that only treat symptoms and essentially push patients who suffer with disorders like Fibromyalgia aside.

"Secondary adrenal insufficiency can also arise when corticosteroid therapy (such as prednisone, which may be given to relieve inflammation in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis) is abruptly halted. These treatments suppress natural cortisol production." I was given massive doses of steroids at age 7 to treat the Rheumatoid Arthritis. When my finger nails and toe nails fell off, the Steroids were stopped abruptly. I could just be grasping at straws, but, since my diagnosis is fairly new, I still strive to understand as much as possible. With the whole money-making managed care machine just chugging along, doctors just don't seem to have the time.
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