I know it's not progressive...

Good morning. I have a question. I am sure it has been asked dozens of times, but since I am new here, I thought I would ask again. I am always trying to get a better understanding of things.

I have suffered with pain for years. I always thought it was because I was overweight, so I never mentioned it to my doctors. You hear that if you would just lose weight then it will relieve pressure on your joints and you will feel better. I did not have medical care for a LONG time, but now that I do I feel like I am playing catch up. My PCP sent me to an orthopedist. He gave me a shot in my shoulder and knee area, and sent me for Physical Therapy. After a month of PT the pain seemed to be worse, and my left arm muscle began to be painful. I went back to see him, and after an examination he said I needed to see the rheumatologist, that he felt I was dealing with something systemic. From that time on the pain seems to be more pronounced. So although Fibromyalgia does not progress in that it does not affect organs and such ultimately leading to death, etc., does it sometimes get worse? I am thinking back 15 years when I would wake up every morning in pain in my hips etc. I always thought the pain was from my mattress. Could that have actually been the start of fibromyalgia, and it has just gotten more pronounced over time? After the shots from the orthopedist and a month of PT, my pain seems to have worsened. I wonder how much of it is as a result of those things, and how much of it is a result of me just thinking about the pain more, so I notice it more.

I truthfully thought that overweight people just had pain. My mom does. I do. I didn't realize it could be a sign that something was wrong with me. Not until I was told to see a rheumatologist. When I started with my PCP I wrote her a list of symptoms that I wanted to address. I didn't think that any of them had anything to do with each other. But now that I see that I have Fibro, I realize how many of them are related to this disorder. I was diagnosed by a doctor years ago with Costochondritis. But she didn't pay any attention to my complaints of pain under my rib cage. She said she would address it when I lost weight. That my blood work was fine. The pain was truly excruciating.

I'm sorry for rambling. When I am trying to figure something out, I tend to talk about it a lot. I know that my friends and family are probably tired of hearing about it by now. They just don't understand. Two even told me that if I just refuse to believe that I have Fibro, and if I stop talking about it it will go away. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with those of us just starting out in this journey.

Doctors say no. Forum folks are mixed.

My thought is that it is not, but our perception of pain and the symptoms can change radically. Overall health matters a good deal. Other conditions matter. Environment and life style choices, yep and yep. Job, yep, and support system, yep. All these contextual conditions make our experience of fibro unique.

When I do not get sleep, or refrain from exercise, I hurt more and have less energy. When my IBD is in a flare, my fibro feels worse. I do not have children, but still work. I live in a fairly temperate climate, but when I lived in the snow belt, I had more pain.

It all depends.

I do have days where I flare up badly with pain. It never truly goes down much. It is good if you are being cared for by a Rheumatologist. Perhaps there are other health conditions that you may have that have not been diagnosed yet. I have Osteoarthritis in Multiple Joints but I am told by Doctors that it is mild. I truly shutter to think how I will feel when the OA is no longer mild.

I, too, need to lose weight. I was starting off very good at the beginning of the year. Have had a couple setbacks. Had left arm pain for a month and was dealing with a sprained ankle. I have been diagnosed with low thyroid and have been on medication for a few weeks. I truly cannot feel any different yet. I will have to get more blood work after 2 months. It is hard to lose weight if you have hypothyroidism. For me I have to really watch the sizes of portions of food that I eat. It is hard to be active when you are in constant pain. I have returned to a therapeutic pool program. For me I kind of think that no matter how much I move I don't lose weight. I do need to try harder with the food portions. Weight loss is not easy. I have been up and down many times in my life. Have attended and benefitted from 2 different weight loss programs but always put it back on.

I don't anymore expect much from other people, except people with health challenges, in relation to understanding the magnitude of our problems. My Husband will hopefully never know the pain that I live with. I don't hate my life but I do hate the pain.

So, keep telling your Doctors new symptoms. Make lists so you don't forget. For me some of my challenges have progressed and some days the pain is much worse.

Loring

Osteoarthritis in Multiple Joints, Fibromyalgia, Neuralgia, Chronic Daily Headaches, I.B., Hard of Hearing...