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Am I in denial?or wrong diagnoses?

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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 7/31/2013 8:49 PM (GMT 0)
I have a question for anyone. I was recently diagnosed (2 weeks ago) I had back surgery 2 years ago and have been in constant pain ever since. Its not always horrible but its always there. I woke up one day and couldnt walk, the pain in my hip was horrific, I was literally bed ridden and could hardly move for a month. I went for scans, and xrays and was told there is nothing wrong and that it was in my head. I know it wasnt in my head! It went away to the point I could finally walk again. Fast forward to two weeks ago I went to my Primary care doctor that had a record of this pain all through the 2 years and before surgery in my back. I told him my issues like not sleeping, irritability, depression, pain mainly in my lower back, were my main ones. So he did the tender point test where he pushed on areas and they were tender and made my either wince or pull away and then said I have FM. I also have numerous other symptoms of FM that I have read. My question is my pain is normally in my lower half of my body with the exception of every once in a while severe aching in my arms that goes away fairly quickly. Could his diagnoses be wrong? Im getting another opinion, but wanted some opinions here also from sufferers. Or could I be in denial?
Posted 7/31/2013 9:08 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, Hayleigh, and welcome!  The tender point test isn't that accurate.  They used to say you needed all 18 tender points to be tender for a diagnoses, then they lowered it to 11, and they have lowered it again.  There is no good test for fibro yet.  There possibly is a new blood test coming soon.

 

Fibro has many of the same symptoms as other illnesses so a good doctor will rule out those illnesses before giving a diagnosis of fibro.  It doesn't sound like your doctor has done this...at least you didn't mention it.  A lot of it is blood work. 

 

Now, I do have fibro but last year I started have horrible back, hip, and groin pain.  Just lifting my feet off the floor would cause raw nerve pain in my back, hips, and legs.  I had to use two canes to walk.  It was horrible so I do understand what you are saying.  I decided to see a rheumatologist and he took my health history, my family's health history, eight vials of blood work, about 25 x-rays, and two MRI's.  Yes, he was very thorough but that's exactly what I wanted.  It turned out I have a disease of my spine, along with fibro, called ankylosing spondylitis.  I was put on ibuprofen and Tylenol and a muscle relaxer that has me feeling do much better.  I don't need a cane to walk and am back to my one mile+ walks every morning.  Here is a link about ankylosing spondylitis.  See if this sounds like what you are going through. 

 

http://www.medicinenet.com/ankylosing_spondylitis/article.htm

Be sure to read Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum.  There are links about good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there.  This will help you see if you think the diagnosis is correct.  Fibro does affect all four quandrants of the body but you didn't sound like that was happening.  Good starting links would be Symptoms, What Else Could It Be, and A Thorough Explanation of Fibromyalgia.  These will give you a good idea about this illness.

 

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

Posted 7/31/2013 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry I failed to mention he did numerous blood tests and they all came back good. I am aware of your back condition and I do not have that. I have seen about 4 neurosurgeons, one being the one that performed my surgery along with 3 other doctors. I also saw 2 pain management doctors and my primary doctor. I have had 3 mri's and 2 cat scans and about 10 different X-rays and all come back ok. As for my pain, it mainly resides in my lower half and all over my back along with pain that doesn't last long in my arms, hands.... I have read up on all the symptoms and what I have and I have everything except like 3 symptoms.
Posted 8/1/2013 2:32 AM (GMT 0)
Don't forget that myofacial pain syndrome and fibro are super close in symptoms and that fibro can certainly come after myofacial, mine certainly did. Just keep reading and I would try to get into a RA doc if you can afford it/have time to confirm diagnosis. I go to a great place that is really forward thinking in their research and I learned a ton just from their website alone: http://www.fmtlc.com/ I am at the very beginning stages of my treatment and I had to fight really hard to get here. Remember to always be your best advocate. If it doesn't feel right, it means something is wrong so trust the messages from your body!! :)
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