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Posted 5/8/2017 4:47 AM (GMT 0)
I've been diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy. I'm wondering if I've ever had Fibro at all but could it just have been neuropathy? My symptoms are: foggy thinking, burning joints, deep down pain in my thighs that comes and goes, burning feet and all the way up past my knees, sometimes insomnia. I'm not sure I have all the tender points. I have some of them but it's not extremely painful. For instance, I sleep with a pillow between my knees because it hurts. My neck/shoulders are always tight but could it just be the bad discs in my neck?

My doctor diagnosed me with Fibro because I had pain for longer than 3 months.

Any thoughts?
Posted 5/8/2017 12:03 PM (GMT 0)
Grammy, you can have peripheral neuropathy and fibro. You don't get insomnia and foggy thinking with the neuropathy. You can get burning, tingling, vibrations, etc. with both issues. Your doctor would be the best one to answer this question.

I get mild tingling and numbness in my hands. I also have carpal tunnel and I think that's what is causing this. My feet are fine. Carpal tunnel will affect the inside of the thumb. The index and middle fingers, and the inside of the ring finger. The pinky isn't involved. It's these fingers I am having problems without that's why I believe it's from my carpal tunnel problems.

I know you are a diabetic also and so am I. That's one of the big causes of peripheral neuropathy. I do keep my blood sugar under good control but that doesn't mean I can't get peripheral neuropathy. You can just do the best you can.

If it's mild, do try to ignore it as much as possible. If it's really painful be sure to let your doctor know how uncomfortable it is for you. They already know you have this problem.

With fibro you have muscular pain in all four quadrants of the body. People are stiff, achy or sometimes just down right miserable with the muscular pain. You can feel like you have a bad case of the flu or have muscles hurt so much that you are limping. They pain also waxes and wanes with fibro. So, some of your pain can be from fibro and some from the neuropathy.

Also, most doctors aren't using the tender Point test anymore because it wasn't really accurate. It relies on how much pressure is applied to the tender points and if a doctor doesn't apply the correct pressure, it will seem like you don't have the tender Point problem in that area. I got this information off the American College of Rheumatology site a while back. They say having pain in all four quadrants of the body for either three or four months is how fibro is diagnosed now.

Here is an excellent link from the Mayo Clinic about peripheral neuropathy. It is several pages long but has an overview and a list of symptoms along with lists of treatments for this condition. It will give you a better idea as to what is going on with you.

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/peripheral-neuropathy/home/ovc-20204944

I hope this helps you and I hope you are only dealing with mild symptoms. Do keep good control of your diabetes. That's very important.

Sherrine
Posted 5/9/2017 4:37 AM (GMT 0)
Hi, Sherrine!

You're always so sweet to give so much of your time to help me and the others on this forum. Thank you, thank you!

The neuropathy does not feel like it's mild but I have nothing to compare it to. If I stand on my feet for any time longer than 5 minutes or so then it feels like someone has dipped both feet in boiling oil. They are on fire. Sometimes it goes all the way up past my knees.

The doctor says I do not have diabetes. I'm not sure if I am still pre diabetic. My A1C is 5.8. I've read that you can still get neuropathy even with pre diabetes but I've had more than one doctor say that it's not possible. I've also read that a large percentage of people with fibro have neuropathy.

What are the four quadrants of the body?

Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.

I hope you are doing okay. It's been a long time since we've touched bases with each other.
Posted 5/9/2017 12:25 PM (GMT 0)
I thought you were diabetic! I'm sorry. The A1C is usually around 6.5 to be diagnosed with diabetes. You might be pre-diabetic.

You do sound like you have a bad case of neuropathy. I think they use Lyrica for that also. I'm not positive. Is your doctor doing something to help you for that? I have not heard of members having that bad of a neuropathy problem with fibro. I can get burning sensations but just in spots around my body...not my feet.

Here is a good site all about neuropathy and what type of doctor to see for help. Along the left of the screen it shows the topics. It's the Neuropathy Support Network. I hope this helps you.

/neuropathysupportnetwork.org/what-is-neuropathy/

If you want to talk more about this, shoot me an email. Click on the envelope under my name at the left of this post. I have a new email address since HealingWell no longer has their own email service.

Okay. The four quadrants of the body.....imagine that your body is cut idown the middle from head to toe and then cut again around the waist. You will have four parts (quadrants). So, to be diagnosed with fibro you have to have pain in all four quadrants of the body for several months. This is the definition given by the American College of Rheumatology.

I hope you get good help for the neuropathy. It sounds pretty miserable, Grammy. I'll be praying for you.

Sherrine
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