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Posted 6/6/2013 3:32 AM (GMT 0)
Does anyone know...how can you tell if its Fibro or just chronic anxiety? Oh and have you all seen the symptom list for anxiety? Its almost identical! Look at this:

http://www.anxietycentre.com/anxiety-symptoms.shtml

Couldn't fibro be just a severe form of anxiety or a the end result of anxiety that continues on in the background of your life ??? I'm wondering if anyone has thought of this too...

-Liz
Posted 6/6/2013 5:03 AM (GMT 0)
It's would be weird if you're suffering from chronic pain without suffering some some sort of anxiety or depression. They do come hand in hand for me. I've chronic depression / mood disorder along with fibro.
Posted 6/6/2013 5:46 AM (GMT 0)
I know for me my anxiety and depression did not kick in until after my pain symptoms started. the symptoms are similar and worth discussing with your doctor
Posted 6/6/2013 6:14 AM (GMT 0)
Certainly, I have anxiety and mild depression, but this only came after I realised that the fibromyalgia was going to be long-term and that there was no cure... And I get panic attacks when I'm having flare-ups - but I panic only when a flare-up has lasted a week or more, simply because I don't know when the flare-up is going to end (since they can and sometimes have lasted for months or even a year), rather than mistaking a panic attack (about something else) for a flare-up.

Conversely, my mother has depression and anxiety - this caused disordered sleep which then led to chronic fatigue syndrome.

I agree with Nal - see your doctor about it.
Posted 6/6/2013 6:23 AM (GMT 0)
Sometimes I'll be perfectly relaxed: got enough money, getting good grades, have good friends, all's right with the world. Except for one thing: the pain, the fatigue, the hypersensitivity to physical sensations, the faintness and weakness, etc... in short, the fibromyalgia. If it was only brought on my stress/anxiety - how does that explain the symptoms I have when I'm not even stressed at all?
(Ha ha - being stress-free has only happened once and even then it was only for a short time. Now I'm a poor uni student struggling to get by with this FMS.)

I will admit that that after a while, the symptoms themselves cause me stress... which probably perpetuates the cycle. I think that anxiety and fibromyalgia can both play a role in causing the symptoms.
Posted 6/6/2013 6:49 AM (GMT 0)
I was happy until I was told I had lupus. I becamed very depressed over that. Then I was told I had fibro also.

I'm scared the lupus may kill me one day. So I'm even more depressed and anxious now.

But I'm not going down without a fight!
Posted 6/6/2013 11:42 AM (GMT 0)
This is so interesting! 

When anxiety hits me, it tends to be when there are several things I'm dealing with, and not finding immediate solutions.  I'm another one who can be having a great day or days, but the pain or some aspect of the fibro is always in the background somewhere.

I do think these days, anxiety is  extremely common, because of the financial struggles, job insecurity, high prices, and all the issues going on politically and socially.  Who wouldn't be stressed, at least somewhat?  I visit another health forum for gastritis, and the topic of anxiety comes up there frequently, also. I read somewhere it's epidemic these days, and I have to believe it.

Incidentally, I've posted elsewhere on this forum some good, practical books for dealing with anxiety by Dr. Claire Weekes.  I'll post a link here to one of her books, but she has written several, which you can search for: 

http://www.amazon.com/Hope-Help-Your-Nerves-Signet/dp/0451167228

They're easy to read and she has super simple suggestions, which I've even memorized.  You could probably also find her books at the library, but they're inexpensive paperbacks.

Like Sherrine, I try to take to heart the verse she has posted (and other verses) and my faith helps me 'swim' through the worst anxiety-filled days which we likely all have at some time or another.

May everyone have an anxiety-free or at least low-anxiety day. :-)

 

Posted 6/6/2013 11:46 AM (GMT 0)
Joy:  I love what you said:  "I'm not going down without a fight."

You go, girl, and more power to ya! yeah I'm right there with you.

Posted 6/6/2013 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
I've heard that fibro can be caused by a nervous system disorder.

Isn't it true when our pain is increased we experience more anxiety? Sometimes I feel like a chicken with its head cut off.

I know if I eat sugar or something that doesn't sit well with me, my anxiety and my fibro pain will increase.
Posted 6/6/2013 7:16 PM (GMT 0)
It might be a possibility for you.  I had severe anxiety but don't anymore and still have pain and fatigue, tender points, etc.  Fibro is more a neurological problem, not an anxiety problem.  But, just having chronic pain can cause anxiety until you learn how to deal with the anxiety issue. 

 

It took me time but I started to be able to tell when anxiety was coming on and could push it aside and focus on something else.  It took practice but I knew I wasn't going to die from fibro.  Somehow, that helped!  turn   Now I recognize anxiety when it heads my way.  It's fear and I have nothing to be fearful about. 

 

By the way, when I was very bad, I would hyperventilate.  So, I would cup my hands over my mouth so I didn't take in so much oxygen.  My hands were far easier than running to get a paper bag. 

 

Sherrine

Posted 6/6/2013 8:12 PM (GMT 0)
My older sister had severe anxiety and depression, as well as fibro.

I am currently under treatment for depression, but have little issues with anxiety. My depression worsened 4 years ago, then again when I was on Cymbalta, and I am still struggling. I am hoping recent changes in my life will help.
Posted 6/6/2013 8:33 PM (GMT 0)
My shrink put me on Valdoxan (Agomelatine) to threat my depression, he called my condition Dysthymic, which is a form for chronic depression. We went down the path of Agomelatine because I need my tramadol and any SSRI based antidepressant would have caused serotonin syndrome.

I'm on it for 2 - 3 months now, I think it has some effect on my brain chemistry. I'm currently working on Cognitive Behavior Therapy to help me become more grounded (so to speak, I'm a bit of a drama queen.)

I can't really say which comes first, fibro or depression, both condition is very significant part of my life. I'm relieved nowadays that I'm being treated for the condition after suffering from it for a good 18 years, i was finally diagnosed 2 years ago, which to me helped with the anxiety, not knowing what's wrong with you and having to keep dealing with the pain is a lot more stressful than knowing why you're having such issue. Yes, I've to live with it for the rest of my life, at least now I know how to manage them, which gives me more confident to deal with my daily routines.
Posted 6/7/2013 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
Interesting responses... but what I'm saying here is that I do not see a difference between the two diseases. Based on symptoms alone, its the same condition!

I've not read about fibromyalgia being mostly a neurological condition, however it has a structural/muscular component and when those are tight the nerves can become entrapped....thus becoming a neurological problem. Its like the domino effect. Then there is substance P, hypermobility, etc... but in the end, who came first the fibro or the anxiety? Or is fibro what happens when you do not address your anxiety and allow it to remain as a backdrop in your life?? I just want to find something that separates the two because like I said...the symptoms are the same.

Is there anyone here who does NOT experience anxiety symptoms ever ??
Posted 6/7/2013 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
Liz, have you read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum? At the beginning are two threads by Dr Clauw who is considered one of the top fibromyalgia specialists. He explains what they think is causing fibro and explains the neurological part. Check it out. He puts things in laymens' language.

Sherrine
Posted 6/7/2013 11:20 PM (GMT 0)
Commonality does not mean causality. There may be some people who have both conditions, but there are people who have one or the other.

As I stated, depression is far more an issue for me than anxiety.
Posted 6/7/2013 11:55 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, I read some of it...but I have watched lectures by prominent doctors on Fibro on you tube and they only addressed the hypermobility and substance P issues as well as structural issues with the cervical spine. Believe me I'm a grad student...I'm always doing research! I'll look into it, though.

Myself 09- Did you know depression is on the list of anxiety symptoms? LOL

Seriously, its crazy...if you look at the symptom list, anxiety is basically every muscular, neurological, and mental disorder you can think of. They give these diseases names but they all fall under anxiety?? None of this makes any sense to me.

-Liz
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