Fibromyalgia Support Group

I was diagnosed with fibro about 4 months ago and I have read all about it on the internet, but I have a couple of questions. I have a general all over pain like the flu. But I alos get these pains in my joints like in my knees and my hips but it doesn't last a long time in those place it just kind of comes and goes. Is that Fibro as well or something else.

I also have Interstital cystitis so i am in pain alot, but I don't know much about fibromyalgia.

Thank you for your help.

Kirsten

Welcome!

It sounds to me like those pains you're talking about ARE FIBRO! Hips, knees, ankles, elbows, shoulders, on and on and on!!

Ask away...we're here for ya!

{{{{Fibro Hugs}}}}

Yes Fibro pain is allover pain. You could possibly have some arthritis as well.

I had some major testing done. They did a lot of bloodwork. They said I do not have arthritis (I do have osteoarthritis in my neck though) and I still have pain in my joints as if I have arthritis, but I do not have the swelling in them that is associated with arthritis. So, I would say it's due to my FM.

I get the joint pain as well as the all over body pain and fatigue..............

kirs, all of what you explained, sound like tipical fibro. I also have Interstital cystitis. I have learned how to manage my IC better then my fibro. If you have any questions, feel free to ask

Dragonfly

I have both fibro and osteo arthritis in my joints, including degenerative disc disease in my spine, which is a form of arthritis.

Osteo arthritis doesn't show up in bloodwork, only the rhuematoid arthritis can be diagnosed with bloodwork and the characteristic swelling of RA with deformation of the joints, esp. hips, shoulders, wrists, ankles and hands. Osteo arthritis is bone degeneration at the joints through wear and tear, and sometimes the tendency toward having it is genetic. Rheumatoid arthritis is considered auto-immune, inflammatory and progressive if left untreated, and can also damage organs other than the bones. Osteo arthritis pain generally responds well to the NSAIDS like aleve and ibuprofen, if you can handle them without having stomach issues like hemorrhage. Osteo arthritis is positively confirmed with conventional X-rays and MRI's. So, it's possible to have joint pain from osteo arthritis which is made worse by the pain and stiffness in the joints -- and muscles of course -- caused by fibro, which makes ALL body pain worse because of the amplification of pain signals in the central nervous system.

Cold, damp weather and low pressure weather fronts aggravate both my fibro pain and my osteo arthritis pain in my joints as well as my sinus headaches. Today it is cold, gray and damp in NE Ohio and I am just a total mess, aching and stiff from head to toe. And I just had two teeth pulled and now gums are throbbing too! Time for a pain pill...thank God the dentist wrote a Rx for Tylenol with codeine this time...the last time he yanked my tooth and told me to take ibuprofen. He is about 70 years old and from "the old school" where you are supposed to suck it up and tough it out. I started screaming at the pain from the novacain injections, 3 of them, because they were right into the nerve, and he and his dental ass't acted like I was being a big baby and told me to "just relax." I wanted to SOCK him! Has anyone else noticed this, that every painful procedure like this is much more painful and intense since the fibro hit?

These shots brought tears to my eyes and I nearly jumped out of my dental chair from the pain. Also, this guy is over busy, too rushed, and a butcher...but it costs me nothing because Medicaid will pay. This is the kind of service we get with Medicaid dentists in my town...they are Medicaid Mills, and the patients are parts on assembly lines. We don't even have names to this dentist, we are just warm bodies with bad teeth ready to be yanked quickly then onto the next victim! If the old fool had filled them right last year then I wouldn't have lost these lousy fillings he did (another rush job and he did SIX in one appt!)The fillings he put in fell out and took huge chunks of the tooth with them so there was not enough tooth left to fill and now I have to have them yanked and get a partial plate for my lowers. It seems my teeth and gums have gone to pot since the fibro diagnosis nine years ago, and my teeth are now brittle and crack, chip, and break easily. Has anyone else had this experience with teeth and gum problems since the fibro?

I am just venting here, in pain and pi~~ed off!!!!!

I didn't even ask if this darn dentist had ever heard of fibro because I KNOW the answer would be NO! Oh yes, besides being 70 he has a THEECK Greek accent and I can barely understand him. He looks like Count Dracula and calls me "my dear" as he is torturing me. But.....he is FREE because Medicaid pays for him. He had two partners who both left him and now he tries to cover the practice with the same number of patients all by himself and seems in no hurry to hire other dentists.

ok I think I am done with my novel now.

Post edited by: hipmama42, at: 03/27/2008 12:10

Post edited by: hipmama42, at: 03/27/2008 12:53

Thank you all for all your help I really appreicate it.

When I was in pre-op 2 weeks ago, one of the nurses said that they needed to be careful getting blood and IV for me because it hurts so 10x more because of my fibro. That is the first time I have ever had a medical professional say something like that. They even put some sort of things around my lower legs that lightly massaged my legs in surgery. I was so please that they truly took my fibro as something real.

dragonfly