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Anyone with fibro also have an autoimmune disease or neurological condition?

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Posted 11/30/2015 12:04 PM (GMT 0)
I've recently been wondering if my fibro diagnosis is correct, as I have new symptoms and some symptoms have gotten worse. I am going to talk to my doctor, but I think she is going to say it's just fibro and/or anxiety. These are the symptoms I've had over the past year and a half:

Constipation. Diagnosed with severe IBS-C.
Abdominal pain
Headaches. Had chronic daily headaches for 3 months, which then went away. They returned a few weeks ago.
Blurred vision. Went away after headaches went away, but came back about one month ago.
Waking up out of sleep with heart racing and lightheadedness.
Heart palpitations.
Insomnia.
Very poor, light, unrefreshing sleep for the past 2 months. Most nights I don't feel like I fall asleep at all.
Fatigue. Tired most of the time.
Back pain. Mostly mid and upper back.
Neck pain, usually on the front of my neck.
Chest pain. I've been diagnosed with costochondritis a few times, so I believe this is what it is usually.
Pain in my ribs and breastbone.
Cough (worse at night) and throat clearing. Probably from GERD (I was diagnosed in 2009).
Mild asthma (from GERD and probably allergies).
Bloodshot/red eyes. This has only been a problem for the past couple months (probably from lack of sleep).
Twitching. I had an eyelid twitch for one month and then random twitches all over my body.
Pain in my extremities (both arms and legs). Usually worse at night and they're dull, achy pains. Sometimes though, they feel like gnawing pains. They come and go; I can't tell if it's muscular, skeletal, or my joints.
Sciatica-type pain and numbness in right leg/hip a few times.
Heat intolerance.
Sore throat (could be from allergies or GERD).
Petechiae (tiny purple or red dots on skin). Usually develop after I get my blood pressure taken or lean against something).
Feeling out of it. I don't know how else to describe it.
Brain "fog".
Some anxiety, but only at night. Usually when trying to fall asleep and often is about falling asleep.

I also have eosinophilic esophagitis and moderate scoliosis.

Tests I've had done:

MRI of head (Results: Minimal punctate FLAIR/T2 hyperintensities are present in the subcortical & deep white matter of the cerebral hemispheres. Otherwise normal. Doctor said I had/have migraines).
CT of abdomen and pelvis. Normal.
Colonoscopy. Normal, except redundancy of my sigmoid colon.
Endoscopy. Positive for eosinophilic esophagitis.
Abdominal X-Ray. Normal.
Chest X-Rays. Normal.
Echocardiogram. Normal.
30 Day Cardiac Event Monitor. Normal, but did have one brief episode of SVT and numerous PACs noted throughout recording.
Allergy testing. Tested positive for some allergens.
Blood tests have all been normal, EXCEPT: low vitamin D level, slightly low potassium level, ferritin is on the lower side.
CRP and ESR both normal.
I have NOT had an ANA test or any tests for autoimmune diseases. Also, I have NOT had a Lyme titer test.

Some of my symptoms have improved, while others have worsened. Some have just developed a couple months ago. The pain in my extremities, sciatica-type pain, and severely poor sleep are most concerning to me and have been going on for 2 months (and headaches returned). I really don't know if this is just fibro and would appreciate any input. Thanks in advance!



*Cross posted in the Anxiety, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus, Lyme Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis forums.
Posted 11/30/2015 12:19 PM (GMT 0)
This sounds like me. I've have much of what you have listed including the heart palpitations. Have you read the list of possible symptoms in Fibro 101? You will see just about everything there.

I also have several autoimmune problems on top of Fibro. My three main ones are Crohn's disease, auto immune inner ear disease which has made me profoundly deaf in the high range of sound and I have to read lips now to understand speech, and I also have ankylosing spondylitis. Quite a few mwmbers have autoimmune problems too but this is not caused by fibromyalgia. These are separate illnesses.

When you get a symptom that is extremely worrisome, do get checked out to make sure something else hasn't cropped up. Because we have so many different symptoms it's very easy to think it's caused by Fibro. I'm glad to see that you have been checked out.

Sherrine
Posted 11/30/2015 1:22 PM (GMT 0)
I have a few autoimmune diseases as well; Crohn's disease, arthritis, and a couple of other "minor" ones that don't really give me that much trouble.

I have a lot of those symptoms you mentioned, but I get them even when everything is in remission. I agree with Sherrine that you should get new/extreme symptoms checked out and not just chalk them up to fibro, but there is a chance that it is fibro.

I got my fibro years after my autoimmune diseases; there may be a correlation between them but that does not mean causation.
Posted 11/30/2015 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
If you go to the web site: anxietycentre.com and read the list of anxiety symptoms these you mention are all included.

I dislike the term anxiety disorder - sounds too neurotic. A more realistic name would be autonomic nervous system disregulation.

Out of the AADA list of 155 anxiety symptoms the majority are physical and neurological
Posted 11/30/2015 2:02 PM (GMT 0)
Anxiety can cause some of these symptoms but so can Fibro. I do not suffer from anxiety. I used to but don't now but yet I will get some of these symptoms anyway...right out of the blue.

But, Slee, since you are so concerned and haven't totally accepted the diagnosis, some of this could be anxiety so that was a good suggestion from Andre.

Sherrine
Posted 11/30/2015 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
I got diagnosed with lupus first and fibromyalgia about a year later. I also have psoriactic arthritis and diabetes which are autoimmune also.

Some of your symptoms sound familiar but I don't know what causing what.

I would get an ANA test and under go the indicators test for autoimmune diseases to satisfy your worries.
Posted 12/1/2015 7:46 AM (GMT 0)

Sherrine said...
This sounds like me. I've have much of what you have listed including the heart palpitations. Have you read the list of possible symptoms in Fibro 101? You will see just about everything there.

I also have several autoimmune problems on top of Fibro. My three main ones are Crohn's disease, auto immune inner ear disease which has made me profoundly deaf in the high range of sound and I have to read lips now to understand speech, and I also have ankylosing spondylitis. Quite a few mwmbers have autoimmune problems too but this is not caused by fibromyalgia. These are separate illnesses.

When you get a symptom that is extremely worrisome, do get checked out to make sure something else hasn't cropped up. Because we have so many different symptoms it's very easy to think it's caused by Fibro. I'm glad to see that you have been checked out.

Sherrine

I have read the list of symptoms posted in Fibro 101; there are definitely a lot of them! I know that autoimmune diseases are completely separate from fibro, but I wonder if there is some sort of connection between them. I am going to see my doctor this week and hopefully get things figured out. I might have some underlying anxiety that I'm not completely aware of, but I don't think that any potential anxiety is causing all of these symptoms. Then again, I know anxiety can cause a lot of physical symptoms as well. Thank you for your feedback!
Posted 12/1/2015 7:50 AM (GMT 0)

scifigal2k said...
I have a few autoimmune diseases as well; Crohn's disease, arthritis, and a couple of other "minor" ones that don't really give me that much trouble.

I have a lot of those symptoms you mentioned, but I get them even when everything is in remission. I agree with Sherrine that you should get new/extreme symptoms checked out and not just chalk them up to fibro, but there is a chance that it is fibro.

I got my fibro years after my autoimmune diseases; there may be a correlation between them but that does not mean causation.

Thank you for your response. I know that this could just be fibro; I guess I'm worried that some of my symptoms are getting worse. I will be seeing my doctor this week and hopefully I will figure this out!
Posted 12/1/2015 7:53 AM (GMT 0)

AndreM said...
If you go to the web site: anxietycentre.com and read the list of anxiety symptoms these you mention are all included.

I dislike the term anxiety disorder - sounds too neurotic. A more realistic name would be autonomic nervous system disregulation.

Out of the AADA list of 155 anxiety symptoms the majority are physical and neurological

I know anxiety can cause many physical symptoms. I'm just not sure that all of my symptoms are due to anxiety, especially because I don't feel anxious at all during the day or most of the night. I usually experience some anxiety when going to sleep though. Thank you for your reply!
Posted 12/1/2015 7:57 AM (GMT 0)

couchtater said...
I got diagnosed with lupus first and fibromyalgia about a year later. I also have psoriactic arthritis and diabetes which are autoimmune also.

Some of your symptoms sound familiar but I don't know what causing what.

I would get an ANA test and under go the indicators test for autoimmune diseases to satisfy your worries.

I will be seeing my doctor this week and am going to ask about an ANA test just to be sure. I really don't know what to think anymore, but hopefully my concerns will be satisfied soon. Thank you for responding!
Posted 12/8/2015 5:53 AM (GMT 0)
I am recently diagnosed with Fibro and my dr said that is the only reason he hates to give a diagnosis of Fibro. He said that people NEED to be very vigilant with knowing their bodies if they are diagnosed. He said that people that are lax in knowing things about their bodies will often times miss a new symptom that could be a life or death situation. I have been dealing with Anxiety since 1998 when my grandma passed away, then in 2008 my dad was just 1 day into his 60th birthday and passed away from cancer and my mom was shortly there after. I was her care taker (she had early onset alzheiemers and passed away at 58) I had a lot of stress and anxiety that I knew was more than just from dealing with the loss of a loved one. I had to be admitted just this past year with major svt in the 190s and I ended up being seen by a cardiologist that knew that what I was dealing with was more than just stress it was actually an extra electrical connection that needed to be in essence burned away I had the procedure and almost all anxiety was gone but I still had the aches and pains and knew that is was fibro and it was. I am still in the testing phase with my RA to see if it is just Fibro or if I have other auto immune disease. Keep searching. YOU know your body, not anyone else.
Posted 12/19/2015 4:24 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Slee17,

I used to have high eosinophil levels and Grave Disease (autoimmune thyroid).
I also have chronic atrophic gastritis (autoimmune),low Vit D and low Ferritin.

In my opinion its really important to know your body well and to communicate clearly-sometimes even assertively-to doctors.
Ie:if you say to a doctor "I think it might be something else but I also know anxiety can cause these symptoms..." many doctors are very likely going to say its anxiety and dismiss your symptoms.
So its better to first clear up in your own mind whether you think its anxiety or not and then if you don't,be adamant to the doctor that its not anxiety.

The thing I find most concerning is the low potassium.
Hypokalemia can cause constipation,palpitations(svt),weakness and fatigue,depression,even psychosis so that's something worth considering.

Did you doctor examine why you have low Potassium?
Eg:are you taking any diuretics,tablets like Spirolactone for PCOS or acne,or are you taking any other medications?

What are your eating habits like?
IOW do you regularly eat bananas,potatoes with skin on,beans, dark leafy greens, squash, yogurt, fish, avocados, and mushrooms?

Did your doctor do Thyroid function tests as thyroid dysfunction can be associated with Hypokalemia?

Whats your blood pressure and blood sugar levels like? Have you tried checking your blood pressure during the vision blurring episodes?

Do you have high cholesterol issues or smoke?

Have you seen an Opthamologist?
Ideally,see one who does 3D Optical Coherence Tomography and mention the headaches with the transient vision blurring.
They can look for Papilledema and also other things that can be associated with autoimmune disorders.

Im not trying to scare you but just to inform you although you're probably already aware that cardiac issues can cause brain issues-eg:atrial fibrillation being associated with TIAs and silent strokes.
Posted 12/19/2015 4:36 AM (GMT 0)
Sorry,i don't know why my post is underlined-it wasn't intentional.
Posted 2/8/2016 9:09 AM (GMT 0)
You are suffering from hypokalemia and low iron ...exactly the same as me...I recognise those symptoms a mile off...My problem is iv bad gastritis n ibs so cant take the potassium supplement s at present..low iron is easy to treat...low potassium much harder to build up a Store of it. Iv had no life for past 7 months bcoz of it n it being missed as was in normal range..some ppl need to be in high range for potassium i do...mine was 4.5 before i hot sick then bottomed out altogether n came bk to 3.4 after a few pilla of it but that was no where near enough.
Mine started from bad stomach infection vomitting n not eating n chronic muscle spasming...infection also went undiagnosed stupid doctors felt like id swine flu they just kept saying gastritis.
Posted 2/9/2016 3:39 AM (GMT 0)
I get the eyelid twitching when the barometric pressure is affecting me.. I am super sensitive to barometric changes
Posted 2/12/2016 11:28 AM (GMT 0)

slee17 said...
I've recently been wondering if my fibro diagnosis is correct, as I have new symptoms and some symptoms have gotten worse. I am going to talk to my doctor, but I think she is going to say it's just fibro and/or anxiety. These are the symptoms I've had over the past year and a half:

Constipation. Diagnosed with severe IBS-C.
Abdominal pain
Headaches. Had chronic daily headaches for 3 months, which then went away. They returned a few weeks ago.
Blurred vision. Went away after headaches went away, but came back about one month ago.
Waking up out of sleep with heart racing and lightheadedness.
Heart palpitations.
Insomnia.
Very poor, light, unrefreshing sleep for the past 2 months. Most nights I don't feel like I fall asleep at all.
Fatigue. Tired most of the time.
Back pain. Mostly mid and upper back.
Neck pain, usually on the front of my neck.
Chest pain. I've been diagnosed with costochondritis a few times, so I believe this is what it is usually.
Pain in my ribs and breastbone.
Cough (worse at night) and throat clearing. Probably from GERD (I was diagnosed in 2009).
Mild asthma (from GERD and probably allergies).
Bloodshot/red eyes. This has only been a problem for the past couple months (probably from lack of sleep).
Twitching. I had an eyelid twitch for one month and then random twitches all over my body.
Pain in my extremities (both arms and legs). Usually worse at night and they're dull, achy pains. Sometimes though, they feel like gnawing pains. They come and go; I can't tell if it's muscular, skeletal, or my joints.
Sciatica-type pain and numbness in right leg/hip a few times.
Heat intolerance.
Sore throat (could be from allergies or GERD).
Petechiae (tiny purple or red dots on skin). Usually develop after I get my blood pressure taken or lean against something).
Feeling out of it. I don't know how else to describe it.
Brain "fog".
Some anxiety, but only at night. Usually when trying to fall asleep and often is about falling asleep.

I also have eosinophilic esophagitis and moderate scoliosis.

Tests I've had done:

MRI of head (Results: Minimal punctate FLAIR/T2 hyperintensities are present in the subcortical & deep white matter of the cerebral hemispheres. Otherwise normal. Doctor said I had/have migraines).
CT of abdomen and pelvis. Normal.
Colonoscopy. Normal, except redundancy of my sigmoid colon.
Endoscopy. Positive for eosinophilic esophagitis.
Abdominal X-Ray. Normal.
Chest X-Rays. Normal.
Echocardiogram. Normal.
30 Day Cardiac Event Monitor. Normal, but did have one brief episode of SVT and numerous PACs noted throughout recording.
Allergy testing. Tested positive for some allergens.
Blood tests have all been normal, EXCEPT: low vitamin D level, slightly low potassium level, ferritin is on the lower side.
CRP and ESR both normal.
I have NOT had an ANA test or any tests for autoimmune diseases. Also, I have NOT had a Lyme titer test.

Some of my symptoms have improved, while others have worsened. Some have just developed a couple months ago. The pain in my extremities, sciatica-type pain, and severely poor sleep are most concerning to me and have been going on for 2 months (and headaches returned). I really don't know if this is just fibro and would appreciate any input. Thanks in advance!



*Cross posted in the Anxiety, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus, Lyme Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis forums.

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