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Fibromyalgia
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Posted 12/27/2013 7:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

I'm a 22 year old female.
I was diagnosed with anxiety disorder at the age of 15.
I do have some good days though but anxiety has become my normal state of mind.
In the past two months or so, I have developed a new form of anxiety which is health anxiety.
The stress and worry were so intense that i have developed set of symptoms.
These symptoms are strange to me. I had a stabbing scalp pain as if someone hit me on the head. The doctor told me I was fine..the pain went away after two days...still the spot feels tender.
I have developed muscle tension. My left leg would feel stiff in the morning. Even during the day i'd develop muscle discomfort all over my body. I had bad pain in the back of my neck...it would hurt when i touch it.
A few weeks after that, I started to feel better. However, I had a bad day recently and all those symptoms flared up.
I also developed a new onset of muscle twitches. The more I focus on them the more frequent they become.
My psychological well-being is deteriorating because of these symptoms. I started to have more crying spells than usual.
My next appointment with my doctor is in two weeks. I'm very anxious if I have something serious.
Does this sound any closer to Fibromyalgia?
Posted 12/27/2013 11:18 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Latun.

Welcome to the fibromyalgia forum. There is a thread called "fibro 101", please read it when you get a chance. It is the first thread on the forum. I will let you determine if you think you have fibromyalgia. I must say fibromyalgia is a very painful disorder...

I would also like you to check out the Anxiety forum. It is called Anxiety and Panic. I think that it would help you a lot since you have health anxiety.

If you will notice, you even said that the symptoms get worse when you focus on them, so try not to focus on them, you are just magnifying them in your own mind. Anxiety is very tricky. Especially health anxiety.

Do keep posting and do look at "fibro 101", there is a long list of symptoms there.

Take care...

I hope that you feel better soon.

Hugs, Karen...
Posted 12/27/2013 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, and welcome! Muscle pain can be caused by many things like fibro, poor posture, and, yes, stress and anxiety. I'm not a doctor but it wouldn't surprise me if this is being caused by your health anxiety. I suffered from health anxiety many years ago but finally realized this was all fear and I didn't want to live in fear all of my life. I learned how to get a grip on my anxiety and didn't read anything about illnesses, and just started living my life instead of worrying if I had this illness or that illness. Dr. Google can really get you upset plus there is a lot of misinformation out there so don't start doing searches. If you are concerned, you need to discuss this with your doctor so they can run the appropriate tests to rule out illnesses.

Karen directed you to Fibro 101...the first thread on the forum. There are links to good info about fibro and you will learn a lot there. The best link for you to read would be A Thorough Explanation of Fibromyalgia. This will give you a good idea what fibromyalgia is like and you might be able to tell that way. We have pain in all four quandrants of our body and we have cognitive memory problems, also, along with fatigue.

You didn't mention the last two main symptoms and that's why I think this might be anxiety. The more you think about this, the more symptoms you are getting. I remember when I thought I had yellow jaundice! I could have sworn the whites of my eyes were a yellowish hue. After that episode, I threw a medical book I had been reading away and have been much better for it.

No matter what, I do hope you learn to get in control of the anxiety. I used my faith, Lamaze breathing, and relaxation. I reminded myself that I was not going to let anxiety run my life. It took some time but now I've kicked anxiety to the curb. Another thing I did was when anxiety reared it's ugly head, I would do my Lamaze breathing and then get busy focusing on something besides my health. I found that once I was busy doing something, my "symptoms" went away. This let me know I really wasn't sick. It was just anxiety.

Karen and I both recommend our Anxiety forum here on HealingWell. It really is good and you can get ideas to help you.

Please let us know how your doctor's appointment goes. We do care about you and want to help you as much as we can. We just need to know the source of your symptoms. If it turns out that you do have fibro, we can help you here. I've had fibro for over two decades and have had a full and enjoyable life in spite of 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 12/27/2013 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
latun
This does sound like anxiety to me...I started off like this. Twitching is a big sign of anxiety and you can get help for this. You do convince yourself you have everything under the sun, I still go to do it now and then remind myself not to be so stupid and focus on something else - it soon goes after a few weeks.
Anxiety can definitely cause muscle tension also, as you hold them tighter because of worry . Relaxation is key and it does take work. Def check out anxiety forum as there is some useful advice on there and also a long list of symptoms, which would really surprise you
Fibromyalgia is chronic widespread pain, which is there day in and day out, it may move around and differ in intensity..there are also tender spots but these have to be diagnosed by a rheumy...I still havent got an official diagnosis of fibromyalgia by a rheumy (seeing one soon) and who knows mine could all be down to anxiety!!!
Let us know how you get on and what you find out :o)
Posted 12/29/2013 8:08 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for your answers. I really appreciate it.
Physical symptoms can be very subjective at times...so may you describe what you really mean by fatigue?
I have recently started to get easily stiff when i'm sitting. This stiffness is followed by an overall sense of fatigue and discomfort. It's driving me nuts as I can't find a reason for it. Sometimes it goes away.
Plus when I think about it it gets worse. The fatigue is somehow similar to the ones i get when i have my period. It's very uncomfortable.
How does your fatigue feel like?
Btw, was anyone of you diagnosed with an anxiety disorder?
Posted 12/29/2013 8:40 AM (GMT 0)
if you sit or lay too long with fibro you will be stiff as a board and have more pain. I do better if I keep moving. I take breaks while doing things...pacing myself...and that helps a lot.

I have fatigue but it's milder than what other people get. Some are so fatigued that they feel like they haven't slept in a week. I fizzle out. Mornings are my best time of day so I plan most work in the morning and do more sedentary things in the afternoon.

Most people with fibro suffer with anxiety at times. Some have a more overwhelming anxiety like I did. Most of us seem to be a Type A personality, too...perfectionists. That doesn't help matters with the anxiety.

There is a good link in Fibro 101 that is called A Thorough Explanation of Fibromyalgia. I mentioned this in my last post. This will give you a better understanding of fibromyalgia and help you as to whether or not you have this illness.

Sherrine
Posted 1/2/2014 4:59 AM (GMT 0)
I'm still waiting for my doctor's appointment and I'm dying with anxiety.
It's just overwhelming. I have developed new symptoms....There is this weird sensation in my calves (mostly in my left leg) ...it hurts so much...it's like someone is pulling my muscles...it's not a cramp...I read that it could be an onset of restless leg syndrome but i'm still waiting for a full neurological exam from the doctor.
I have this urge to move my legs...At night it gets a lot worse ..the pain is making me even more worried...I fear ALS...n then with the new twitching onset , I would also twitch in those painful places which scares me to no end.
Anxiety is life's biggest enemy indeed.
Posted 1/2/2014 12:51 PM (GMT 0)
You have been given some great advice by the above posters.

I've had anxiety of varying degrees since childhood. At one point I look malnourished and was anemic as a child. I was just told by my doctor back then to relax and was put on special diets and iron pills. My anxiety was triggered by almost choking to death around age seven. I never had professional therapy for it, just lots of prayer and positive self talk. Back in the 50's, I don't think anxiety was recognized in kids.

Today, I practice meditation, using deep breathing techniques, mental imagery, and cognitive behavior therapy. Growing up I used to use lots of imagination to calm myself down. One of my favs that still works for me is riding on a "magic carpet" through clouds and sunshine feeling myself get calmer with the warm breezes on my face. I can call up this scenario when I need it and has helped me immensely over the years.

Anxiety causes our sympathetic nervous system to release lots of stress chemicals into our bloodstream. I know firsthand what it is capable of doing...it's an adreneline rush that can make your heart feel like it is pounding out of your chest with an onset of horrible negative thoughts. Soon as you feel something coming on, a lot of positive self talk is needed...it is possible to stop anxiety attacks, it takes practice.

I'm taking a SNRI savella for fibro and I think it has helped my anxiety...I'm very lucky not to have depression with mine. Help is out there and I hope you find some relief. It can be helped...

hugs, Robin
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