Thinking I have Fibromyalgia

[Fraalan]

I fit the characteristics of FM. I am also post A-typical Trigeminal Neuralgia MVD surgery was a success! totally drug free, almost. (I am a regular poster in the TN section)
my history
I have had several accidents over the years.
Motorcycle wreck (broken femur), rolled a car at 80 (broken collarbone), got hit by a boat at 40 (shoulder) etc etc.
The cronic pain is tough and since bextra and vioxx have been taken off the market I have depended on advil. Finally last week I broke down and went on celebrex. no relief yet.

I am not sure there is must that can be done. I need to get my hot tub running again for sure. I quit smoking the green, that sure helped :) but the side effects were annoying to say the least. I prefer to be sharp and off any mind numbing drugs.

SO...

What type of doctor should I consult first?

MY MVD was done at UPMC and I am in Phoenix, so going to them isn't too practical.

ALSO my left shoulder has been twitching for 3 years or so, it is embarassing and painfull as all hell. Is this common?

Thank you and peace.

[Fayelle]

I am sorry to hear you think you might be dealing with fibro, with your history of injuries it is possible that you are now dealing with fibro since it is commonly triggered by some sort of trauma.....

A rheumitologist would be a good first place to start in finding out if you are dealing with fibro.....

I often have muscle spasms in my neck, and my mid/upper back but I am not sure if that is a common fibro issue....Spasms I think are more linked to perhaps chronic myofascial pain, or other types of injury based problems...Although I have unexplained twitches and tics at times.....My fibro is cyclic and unpredictible.....

Fibro typically has nuerological issues, unexplained pain typically on both sides of the body in the same area.....It has a lot of symptoms rolled together that make sense for many DX's but generally the more serious things are ruled out via testing.....plus we often have things that go along with fibro, including IBS, sensitivities to pretty much everything, an acute sense of smell, food allergies, headaches, etc etc....

Often times fibro patients go through 5 doctors, multiple testing procedures and sometimes years of the ruling out process before fibro is ruled in.....It is rare to have fibro found and diagnosed early because you have to be so careful before pinning that DX on someone.....

It is a diagnosis you want to be very careful about taking on because so many things can be attributed to it.....If you have a DX of fibro often times things can be overlooked because it can be blamed on the fibro as an easy pass off.....This is a double edged sword because if you do not have a particularly astute doctor following your care it can be easy to overlook any new problems. But on that same subject it brings a feeling of relief knowing that symptoms you cannot explain are a part of the fibro and will probably pass without unneccesary concerns.....

There is no definitive test for fibro, so the procedure is to rule out the serious things, and the not so serious things, then rule out about 30 more things then perhaps get a doctor who believes in fibro and wont send you to the nearest psychiatrist (although one may be needed for depression and anxiety which can be another typical fibro attribute) and then have a tender point test (which is not a perfect diagnostic test in and of itself)....And then finally when you are still having fibro symptoms it can be ruled in as a possibility and finally treatment begins which will be touch and go because we are all different yet extremely sensitive to many therapies used in treating the disorder......If you find a treatment regiment that works and continues to work then you are in good shape :) ......

Look into some books by Devlin Starlynl she is a leading research doctor in the field and a fellow fibro patient......Her information is very good regarding fibro and has some great theories as to the how and why of fibro and chronic myofascial pain.....

Welcome to the forum :)

Fay

[Fraalan]

Thank you Fay,
Are swollen glands under the chin a typical symptom of Fibro?
I have had swollen glands for 2 years or so. Kinda like when you get sick but they never go away. Just like relatives around the holidays.

[Fayelle]

I have not heard that as a common fibro symptom...

However, there has been a continual question on fibro being an autoimmune disorder....There has been little to back it up, although there is one place that claims to have found a gene responsible for fibro and are asking the same questions on autoimmune issues.....

Also I personally do have swollen glands often, I also have severe temperature swings along with hot and cold flashes.....

However mine could be contributed to my thyroid problems.....

It would not be unheard of to have a symptom like that while it is not a general symptom as far as I know......

With a symptom of swollen glands though I would probably make sure you are tested for the gambit of conditions that overlap symptoms with fibro.....Most tests for that are simple blood tests as far as I know.....plus if you have allergies it can make your glands in the neck swell......

It is so important to be tested for things just to rule them out....Hypothyroidism, Lyme disease, Lupus, Diabetes, Celiac Sprue are just a few conditions that overlap symptoms.....Make sure you are being tested correctly......

Here is one of the sites I visited early on when trying to learn about fibro...

http://www.lclark.edu/~sherrons/topic_concept.htm

Best wishes,

Fay