Why I did not suspect I had fibromyalgia before my diagnosis

So for 4 or 5 years I drove myself insane trying to figure out what was 'wrong' with me. (visited many doctors) I considered many things, Lupus, M.S., cancer, diabetes, PCOS, and other things... the list goes on. I had seen Fibromyalgia commercials and had googled it a time or two but did not suspect it and here is why:


1) My most worrisome issues did not include severe widespread pain and this is what Fibromyalgia was defined as in commercials. Yes, I had some aches and pains that came and went but I was more bothered by all the other things going on and those symptoms were never listed in the commercials or in the few websites I visited. (the symptoms like brain fog and cognitive issues, hair loss, bouts of vertigo or trouble with coordination, shakes, blurred vision and other vision abnormalities, bouts of crushing fatigue, ringing in my ear, face rashes, food intolerances, medication intolerances.) I didn't really seem bothered by the common trigger points. It seemed like I had more issues than what the people in those commercials had and yet I was not seemingly disabled by overwhelming pain the way they were.

2) The women were older than me. All of the women in those commercials appeared to be in their 50's and 60's and I was in my mid 20's.


Since my diagnosis and since I've done more research, I found that most/all of my other issues have been connected to Fibromyalgia and it helps explain a lot of what confused me.

Mostly, my main point in posting this is that it didn't seem like the face of Fibromyalgia was defined well enough for me to really consider it, and I suspect it is still not today for others that may not realize they are dealing with FM.

-Thanks for reading!
(any thoughts?)

I think this is a perfect example of how everyone with fibro is different. Some of us have the same symptoms, some of us have never had the same symptoms but we all have fibro. This is one reason why I really like this forum because you are bound to run into someone who is experiencing the same symptom as you and maybe they know of a better way of coping with it is. I agree about the older woman stereotype with fibro because I know that I have had it since childhood and only within the last year was I properly diagnosed. I would tell my doctors about how much pain I was in, my depression, my fatigue, etc. and they would all tell me that it was in my head because I too was in my early twenties. I am 29 now and some days I FEEL like I am 90 but I do my best to get through life with minimal excuses. Also, if anyone comes across a miracle pill that cures every symptom with no side effects like the TV commercials advertise can someone let me know? ;)

@Myself 09

I agree. I don't expect nor would I want drug companies to educate, yet they end up being the educators for many of us because commercials and advertisements are how many of us are first exposed to learning about a variety of conditions.

The thing that was frustrating though is that not even the many doctors knew what to tell me, and I understand that they are mere mortals trying to figure all this stuff out just like me, but even with the internet and all of my access to info, these misconceptions lead to me spending unnecessary money, doing unnecessary tests, and wasting lots of worry.

I definitely don't like the way the system is setup. I dislike that doctors get incentives to hand out new drugs to their patients like guinea pigs. :/ Had that blow up in my face twice assuming my doc would always give me the best drug for the betterment of my health and not the betterment of his pockets. :/

Tis the world we live in.

Fibromyalgia is that thing that has women leaning over and rubbing their necks in commercials. I want THAT disease...it looks a lot better than MY Fibro! lol