Needing support- new here

I don't even know where to begin here an I have so many questions, and feeling quite overwhelmed. Ill start at the beginning. Two yrs ago I had antibiotic resistant strep that peesented as rhumative fever with all over pain, cheat pain when breathing in etc. All test came back normal. Even in the mist of major infection, blood counts all within normal ranges. That was all the beginning of this nightmare. Since then I have been diagnosed with a multitude of things when previous years I hadn't even had a head cold. Allergies, TMJ, abnormal pap leading bormal biopsies, depression, lack of sleep, Raynaud's disease to name a few. Every couple of months I seem to get attacks like I had when battling strep with joint pain, hair loss, fatigue, head aches. Lasting usually only a week or so. This last one, lasted over two months and worse than the others. Still having pain in wrists, fingers, ankles and tops of feet. When I move all of my joints pop and hurt. My pcp ran tests for everything and everything normal (1:40 ana when diagnosed with raynauds but told this is normal). She couldn't figure it out and sent me to a rhumatologist. He ran a few more tests (vit d, sjorgens and another ana) and I am still waiting on those results but expect they will all be normal. He mentioned that because all tests are normal that I likely have fibro although I have NONE of the tender points and my pain is not muscular in nature. Ok so for the questions... Can you have fibro without tender points? Dies fibro show anything in blood work? How do you treat fibro? Does fibro cause a drop in body temp (I now run 97.2 on average and experience episodes o extreme shivering when cold)?

I feel like I'm going crazy and wonder if at times this is all in my head but then the joint popping thing started and I'm not sure that I can will that (pain maybe). Any help here in coming to terms with all of this would be appreciated. I am not to familiar with fibro and think my family would never understand.

Thanks for reading my ramble here, just wanting my life back.

You sound like you have an autoimmune disease to me. Have you read lupus.org?
Read it and visit us over at lupus forum here.

Hi, Music, and welcome! Well it used to be that we had to have at leat 11 tender points but now that has changed recently. It seems that doctors weren't sure exactly where to push or how hard to push to check for tender points. Also, fibro waxes and wanes and if you were having a better day it wouldn't be an accurate test. I have never had a lot of tender points but I take medication to help with pain. So it wouldn't be accurate for me.

If you have widespread pain and there is no other reason for the pain, you usually are diagnosed with fibro. The pain is in all four quandrants of the body.

Below is a link from the Mayo Clinic saying what I'm saying.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079/DSECTION=tests-and-diagnosis

Your joint pain is probably caused by the muscles that move the parts close to the joint. It sure feels like its the joint but, if it were the joint, your tests would come back showing inflammation. Fibro isn't an inflammatory illness and I'm sure they have checked you for that. Maybe the rheumy did and you haven't gotten all the results back. At least that is my guess.

When fibro hit me it hit my joints. It started in my toes and worked its way up all my joints in 45 minutes. Since it was symmetrical, I thought it was rheumatoid arthritis but it wasn't. It was good old fibro.

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum. There are links to good info 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. You just might see yourself there.

This is not all in your head. I don't think we could manufacture the pain we really are feeling. Just be persistent and don't give up until you are satisfied that you have a correct diagnosis. It sounds like you are well on your way to getting the help you need.

Do let us know what you find out. Don't hesitate to ask questions because we are here to help you. Hope to hear more from you soon.

Sherrine

I use ibuprofen with food, Tylenol, magnesium malate, vitamin D3, and a muscle relaxer called Robaxin. I also do daily stretching exercises, daily walking and/or swimming, and I pace myself when doing things.

There are links in Fibro 101 about the magnesium and the vitamin D3 and how they work in your body.

Sherrine

Does fibro typically show its ugly head for a spell and then disappear completely for months? I had it in January, march, June then August. In between I was symptom free. I am finally at the tail end of this one and feeling only minimal pain in my left wrist, right ankle and middle finger on right hand and a bit of swelling in my hands when I wake up. I half wonder if the wrist pain isn't related to carpal tunnel based off of what I've read. Any insight?

Hi music and welcome!! I am still learning what it means to be a fibromyte myself, but I totally understand what it's like to be lookin for answers and all tests are coming back "normal". For over eight years I struggled to find an answer to what was wrecking my body. It was not until I took a trip to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona that I finally got some answers. I would make sure you ask for all the Bloodwork you can, even for food allergies. Good luck, hun!!