Introduction

My name is Annie, and I am 22 years old. I am finishing up my bachelor's degree in May and hoping to be enrolled in graduate school by the Fall term of this year.   A little less than a year ago, I started to see a general practitioner because of severe pain in my upper back only on the right side. He sent me to an orthopedic surgeon. Since then, I have had 3 MRIs, a plethora of x-rays, steroid injections, muscle relaxers, and several different pain medications, almost everything to no avail. I finally saw a shoulder specialist last month who gave me a tentative diagnosis of fibro, though I am waiting to see a rheumatologist on Feb 15th to confirm this.   I have been reading these forums for a few days now, and I have noticed a lot of my symptoms are very s imilar. Most of my pain is concentrated on the upper right side, though I experience pain and weakness in my right arm. Also, the pain has started to spread across to the left side of my upper back and also in my left knee. My upper back is extremely sensitive and feels almost like a sunburn that is nearly healed; bras are a killer right now. As well, I have battled with depression in the past (even took some medication for that), and I deal with fatigue on a constant basis. I don't have any trouble falling or staying asleep. In fact, I could likely sleep 20 hours straight if I had the time; however, I always wake up feeling tired and frequently in severe pain.   I know that I am rather young to have this condition, and my biggest worry is how it will progress. Some of the research I've done suggests that a younger diagnosis results in a worse progression of the disease.   Anyway, I did want to say a quick “hello” to you all. Thus far, it has been nice at least to see that I am not alone!

Hi, Annie, and welcome!  I'm so glad you found us and joined in.  I'm glad you are seeing a rheumatologist.  You have to go through a lot of testing because many of the symptoms of fibro are also symptoms of other illnesses.  These have to be ruled out first before a diagnosis of fibro is given. 

 

I would questions fibro because it's usually in all four quandrants of our bodies.  Maybe not all at once but we will have pain in one side and maybe more pain on the other side the next day, etc. 

 

Also, fibromyalgia is not supposed to be a progressive illness.  I'm a little worse than I was when I developed this illness but I'm also nearly 25 years older and, as we age, more aches and pains seem to come with the territory..for everyone!  So try not to be concerned about that. 

 

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the second thread on the forum.  There are links to good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there.  Good starting links are called Symptoms, What Else Could It Be, and A Thorough Explanation of Fibromyalgia. 

 

I'm looking forward to getting to know you better.  Don't hesitate to ask questions because we are here to help you.  Hope to hear more from  you soon.

Sherrine