Hi, Junerainbow, and welcome! I'm so glad you popped over here and joined in. Fibromyalgia is a difficult illness to diagnose because it has many of the same symptoms as other illnesses. Doctors will run tests to rule out other illness that have the same symptoms before a diagnosis of fibro is given. So it is tricky.
I also have Crohn's disease and probably some of my pain is from Crohn's arthritis but most of it is from fibro. We usually have pain in the back, neck, and shoulders and pain in other areas, too. Those seem to "travel" from one place to another. I'll get pain in my hips and knees occasionally. I do use a cane at night so I won't fall because of the pain. Every winter I have pain in my feet. Doesn't make sense but it lasts for several months and clears up. I find that if I wait long enough, the pain will clear up but show up somewhere else.
I sometimes feel like I have water running down my leg and there is also the fibro fog...a cognitive memory problem that most of us have. When it kicked in for me, I thought I had Alzheimer's. Now I just laugh at it. We have weird symptoms but all of the tests come back normal, too. That's the kicker! We look just fine and our lab results are just fine but we are in a lot of pain! Don't worry. You are not crazy. There are a whole lot of us out there! Fibro is seriously being studied now so I think help is on the way.
You do need to keep moving with fibro, if that is what you have. If you sit or lay too much, you will be stiff as a board. There are some gentle stretching exercises that do help on Fibro 101. Also, gentle exercises like walking, swimming or water aerobics, and yoga help, too. I walk and swim as my exercise and I do it daily. If you are in a snowy climate, there are some good walking-in-place videos that work well. I have one by Leslie Sansone that has helped me.
When I started my walking program, I could only manage to go four houses down and had to turn around and come back. But, I didn't give up. The next day I did it and even went a little further. You do have to work your way into exercise so you don't get more pain. But the exercise really helps, brings oxygen to the muscles and you will feel more flexible and have more energy. At least that's what I have found out.
Moist heat helps, too. Hot showers feel wonderful and many have a Bed Buddy. You can find these at Walgreen's and other places or you can make your own by taking a tube sock, filling it 2/3's full of raw long grained rice and tying a knot at the end. Pop it in the microwave and it gives off moist heat due to the moisture in the rice.
I also get gentle massages and that helps get the circulation going, too. My massage therapist is trained in how to massage people with fibro. She is a member of an organization that requires that you continue taking classes to learn how to massage people with various problems. Here is a link to that organization. You could possibly find a massage therapist in your area, if you are interested.
http://www.amtamassage.org/findamassage/index.html?utm_source=%2Ffindamassage%2Flocator.aspx&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=redirect
I also take malic acid/magnesium supplements and extra vitamin D3 and these help me with pain and fatigue. There are links about these in Fibro 101. Be sure to pass these by your doctor. I asked mine and he thought I'd be wasting my money but did say it wouldn't hurt me so I tried and they really do help me. It's worth a shot. You should start out slowly because of the magnesium and your Crohn's (diahrrea) but I really haven't had a problem.
I'm sure others will pop on and welcome you and have other ideas to help you, too. I'm glad you came and I hope some of this helps you feel better. I'm looking forward to getting to know you better. Hope to hear more from you soon!
Sherrine