Not sure if its Fibro?

There's a good thread stickies at the top of this forum called Fibro 101. It has great information on symptoms and what is needed for a diagnosis. Fibro is a diagnosis reached when everything else is excluded so it takes a few tests to make sure it's not something else. That thread has great info so it should help.

You mention an RA doctor? Is this a rheumie? Or your PC? Many doctors will say one thing before labs and then another afterwards, when more information is in. A fibro diagnosis includes of lot of collection of various information, by tests that largely come back as within normal parameters.

There are many different and intertwining issues with fibro. They don't know what causes it, and what really impacts it. Diet, sleep, and exercise can all, to some degree, help sufferers lessen the condition's effects.

Webboards and medical websites can be useful, but should never be substituted for treatment by a physician. Self-diagnosis and then self-treatment rarely does anything more than cloudy already murky medical waters.

I hope you find a great doctor and they help you figure out your issues!

Hello everyone, thanks for giving me your feedback. The fibro101 was posted right after I posted mine so at first glance I have several of them. I am going to print it and highlight them so I can email my dr and my RA dr.

I have Kaiser and I know they can be difficult to listen. My PCP is very good at listening to me and my concerns I broke down in his office last June from all the pain and that is what started the process of a full blood panel. When it came back he referred me to the RA dr that I have now, with that being said I am 34 and a little overweight. When it came to my first appt w the RA dr before she asked me anything she looked at me and said you don't have RA you need to exercise and sleep, I was a bit taken back by this so proceeded to tell her what my symptoms were and by the end of the appt she finally decided to do more blood work which included CCP and ANA so I went and did that. I can see my blood work results and my CCP came back at 203, ANA- Positive however my symptoms don't match for Lupus or RA, but CCP is only found in someone with RA. So then my RA dr called me and back tracked and said well you do have something wrong and put me on a steroid which landed me in the ER with a headache that lasted 4 days and throbbing so no sleep, took me off the steroid and it slowly went away. Still not feeling great but have to go on with life, the dr put me on Plaquinil started that but it takes months to get in your system. During this whole process I do see a Chiro I see him very regular and my PCP sent me to PT which they were useless I learned more from the class they make you attend than the PT dr, started do what they told me and noticed some change in my neck and head, then I got the stomach flu and wow other than feeling horrible it was like it healed my pain which then I thought well maybe it is just my neck so for 2 months I felt really really good now I am back feeling bad again and noting all of my aches and pains so I can talk to my PCP since my RA dr really doesn't care. I had a phone appt with her last Thursday and it ended up with me telling her completely how I feel and that I don't appreciate being labeled before you even know what is going on. I believe it is time to get another RA dr for a second opinion.

I understand that Firbo is still new at being accepted and diagnosed it used to be a catch all diagnosis. The other factors that I see I have are the headaches, muscle aches, anxiety, numbness in my arms when I sleep (it used to be just the one I was sleeping on and now it is both), easy bruising, restless legs, muscle spasms, hair loss.

I am on Ultram (100mg) every 6 hours, Xanax (.25mg) once a day and a muscle relaxer at night. The last two nights I have taken the Xanax before bed and it seemed to help with the nerves in my back. Tonight I am going to do the muscle relaxer and see how that works.

I know it is all a guessing game and eventually they will find out what is wrong and will figure out how to treat it, however in the mean time I am my own voice and am going to document everything and how I feel and see if I can get through to the dr. Thanks everyone maybe with more insight there might be more suggestions.

In Fibro 101 there are links to a journal and pain charts.  I would suggest you keep that journal, write what activity you did, and use the pain charts to indicate your pain levels.  One of the charts has faces so that might help you.  Pick one of the charts to use all the time.  Print out the chart and journal and take it to your next doctor's appointment.  This can help them truly understand what you are experiencing.  We forget a lot when we are at the doctor's and remember a lot when we get in our cars to head back home. 

 

Sherrine