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Posted 1/15/2012 6:18 PM (GMT 0)
I had a colonoscopy and EGD done in September. The doctor said that I have gastritis, colitis and proctitis. He also said that I had a pre-cancerous polyp. This really scared me. I started doing research about it and discovered that SSRIs can cause colitis. Colitis can lead to colon cancer, so I stopped taking the 3 SSRIs that I was on for depression. Coming off the medication was very difficult. I went through the withdrawals and also went into what I believe was a fibro flare. I felt like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. I had finally started feeling better and decided to go on a walk with my husband. It was cold and snowy outside. The next day, I was hurting really badly again.

Flash forward January 2. We were at my daughter's house 6 hours south of here visiting. I woke up with a slightly sore throat. That morning it was cool and damp outside. We went for another walk while my grandsons rode their bikes, then my husband and I headed home. As we drove, my throat got pretty sore and my ears started hurting and my period started. By the time we got home 6 hours later, I could barely walk.

I have not been diagnosed with fibromyalgia but have been diagnosed with CFS. I was wondering, when I do go to the doctor to see if indeed I have fibromyalgia, should I wait until I am having what I think is a flare, or just go anytime?

Your advice would be greatly appreciated,

masschaos

Posted 1/15/2012 11:38 PM (GMT 0)
On the day I was diagnosed it was a mild pain day for me, so Im not sure it matters. they did the tender point test and i wanted to yelp in pain from some of them!
The muscle aches, fatigue, all that not so fun stuff is also really bad for me during my period.
Posted 1/15/2012 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
I can barely walk after being in a car for 6 hours too. If you stay in one position too long, you will stiffen up.
As for scheduling a doctor visit when you are flaring, I think that is next to impossible. Between waiting for the appointment date (which is sometimes lenghty if youare going to a specialist) and the inconsistency of flares, who knows how you will feel like.I was diagnosed when I had less pain than what I had now. I think once you find a doctor that is looking at the possibility of fibro, your history and quality of life is more important.
Welcome to HW btw, I'm so glad that you have found us!
Posted 1/15/2012 11:53 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the Family, masschaos!

Sorry you have been having so many problems lately, non of them are fun - all of them together, OH BOY!

It's a shame during your visit to see DD and DGS you started to feel so lousy. The long ride and nasty weather sure did a job on you.

I think most of us can identify w/ the 'beaten w/ a baseball bat' feeling. You just don't see it coming at you, do you? shakehead

I know I can't handle cold, damp, rainy, snowy, windy, hot, humid ( I think I got them all lol) or any extreme weather. It just does me in. I can feel the effects of a simple walk in lousy weather for days. I am a Sugarplum ;) I have to be warm in this miserable weather. I wear many layers, a scarf, gloves, pull my hood up. I truly don't like cold weather

I would suggest you go to Fibro 101, the 2nd thread on the 1st page. There is a lot of great info there. One of them is a LONG list of FMS symptoms. Look it over, you may be surprised at some of the symptoms listed. I printed out a copy and highlighted the ones I had. There are 2 I don't have. Bring the list to your dr and see what s/he says. My dr sent me to a rheumatologist for confirmation. He did the nasty finger poking test - I had 11 of 11 spots that hurt. I also had all the other tests to eliminate other possible conditions.

I would suggest you make an appt now. Perhaps, you and the dr can find out what is happening and begin a plan of action, instead of waiting till you hurt so bad you can't stand the thought of leaving your house to get in the car to go for a visit to the dr. :(  Yeah, sometimes that is how I feel.

I'm so glad you joined us. This is a good group of ppl, friendly & helpful. I think all of us have felt better after we joined the forum, it's just so nice to know others understand what you're talking about.  Hope you have a good night! 

God bless.   Alice.

Posted 1/16/2012 12:16 AM (GMT 0)
Thanks Carlybob, mamanan and Alice. I will certainly keep researching as much as I can. I do need to set up an appointment with my doctor to see if he can set me up with the right specialists. I just dread it so much because I have to drive over an hour to get to the specialist. I need to get a diagnosis tho.

It is nice to be here with people who can relate to all this craziness. Thanks for the warm welcome!

masschaos
Posted 1/16/2012 3:04 AM (GMT 0)
It's not mandatory that you see a specialist for fibro. Although many people here have gone to rheumatologists and neurologists, even a good family practitioner who stays knowledgeable in their field and "believes" in fibro can provide you with the testing you need. As you probably know, a fibro diagnosis comes after they "rule out" everything out -- so your local doctor can run all those same blood tests as the specialist.

The "tender point" test is still used by some doctors, but not all. Thoroughly documenting your history and signs/symptoms will be very helpful in determining your diagnosis.

As far as my own diagnosis, it was initially suggested to me by a chiropractor that he thought I may have fibromyalgia. I then made an appointment at my clinic to undergo all the lab tests and they confirmed a diagnosis. I subsequently switched doctors because I'm now employed by Mayo Clinic Health System so I went with one of their doctors and he has also confirmed the diagnosis.
Posted 1/16/2012 3:22 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome here :)

Riding in a car can be really tough. I have to drive 20 minutes to work, and even that makes me stiffen up just a bit. Unfortunately, all of my doctors are over an hour away, and those trips are really awful.

The best thing you can do is make your appointment now. You wont be able to coordinate with your flares, not in any concrete way. Besides, since the tender point test is still the predominately-used method of diagnosis, they can do it anytime whether you are flaring or not. I was diagnosed on a day when I had little pain, but she touched those points and I nearly shot through the roof. I literally jumped off the bed, and she apologized profusely. I had 16 of 18 tender points.

Good luck. I hope you can get everything worked out fairly quickly.
Posted 1/16/2012 7:33 AM (GMT 0)
I live in Colorado and I hate winter! I always get that sore throat feelin too when I'm outside walking and such. Then I'm sore. I also walk my 85lb shepherd but he makes me happy so I keep doin it. I had a family dr and a rheumatologist diagnose me. Make sure you gt everything else ruled out first!!! That's very important. Keep a log of your symptoms, what you did that day and what the weather was like. Maybe include what you eat if you can to see if there are any connections. If nothing else it may help your dr in your diagnosis

Wishing you the best!

Nancy
Posted 1/16/2012 12:51 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Masschaos, and welcome!  I'm so glad you found us and joined in.  Did your doctor remove the polyp?  People get polyps and that's one thing they look for when doing a colonoscopy because, from what I understand, polyps can turn into cancer.  So, they remove them.  I have a friend that just had several polyps removed during a colonoscopy.  Once removed, the danger is gone, I believe.

 

Also, you were on three SSRI's?  You easily could have gotten Seratonin Syndrome.  There are combinations of medications that can cause this.

 

If I were you, I'd find a doctor that treats fibro patients.  You need to ask before making the appointment because there are still doctors out there that don't understand this illness and think it's all in our head.  Most use a rheumatologist so that's where I would start.  You also might want to see a gastroenterologist for the colitis, gastritis, and proctitis.  This means you have inflammation in those areas of your body.  They take care of the digestive system so they really would know what to do for you, if you don't have this type of doctor already.

 

Anyway, when you do see a doctor to see if you have fibro, they should run a myriad of tests to rule out other illnesses because our symptoms are like the symptoms of other illnesses.  

 

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the second thread on the forum.  There are links to good information about fibro and you will learn a lot there.  Good starting links for you would be Symptoms, What Else Could It Be, and A Thorough Explanation of Fibromyalgia.  Also, there is a link about Seratonin Syndrome that I mentioned above.  You will see what I'm talking about in that link.

 

I'm looking forward to getting to know you better.  Don't hesitate to ask questions because we are here to help you.  Hope to hear more from you soon.

 

Sherrine 

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