Long history of symptoms - Diagnosed Thursday (m)..

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone. Let me introduce myself. I am a 38yo female who lives in

WI. For years, as long as I can remember at least since I was 20, I

have dealt with fatigue. I can remember when I met my husband and got

married at 23 I would come home from work (no kids at that time) and

just collapse on the couch and nap for 1-2 hours every

night/weekends. I was so exhausted. When I was 12 years old I got hit

by a drunk driven in a car from behind and got severe

whiplash/cervical sprain and wore a soft collar for a while. Starting

at age 13, I sought out a Chiropractor's help for sore neck and back

issues. This has continued to this day, 25 years later. I go 1x a

month. I have with various pains in other parts of my body over the

past 6 years (since my son was born). I have been running back and

forth to the Dr.'s with different

aches/pains/ailments/complaints/depression, you name it, I have

complained about it because of the pain. The only REAL problem I have

had that I had to have fixed was a prolapsed bladder and rectum from

childbirth (had incontinence) and was fixed with major surgery.

Otherwise, I have been to the Dr. for pain during sex, pain in the

abdomen, pain in the incision from my surgery that should not have

lasted as long as it did (incisional pain) he called it neuropathic

pain. Back pain (but do have herniated disks but not radiculapathy at

this time), neck pain (again, herniations, but not bad enough for

surgery). Leg pain, burning feet (bilateral), left knee pain, foot

pain, ankle pain along with absolutely no reflexes in ankles,

stiffness, lack of flexibility, restless sleep, wake up not feeling

rested after 8-9 hours of sleep, VERY oversensitive to loud sounds-

really hurts ears, teeth grinding at night, vaginal dryness,

definately have " lack-a-nookie disease " because I never want to,

burning eyes, dry eyes, tired eyes, headaches, congestion, sore

throat, dry skin, dry hair, constipation all my life (big issue for

me). It's weird because you can touch any part of my body pretty much

and it will hurt. My hips, my thighs, my calves, arms, sides, like if

someone pokes me, it hurts and I say " ouch " . I have been like that

for years.

I have had a very LONG journey thus far which brought me to a neuro

as a

2nd opinion on the peripheral neuropathy the 1st neur diagnosed

12/5/07. This 2nd neuro last Thursday, said you do not have PN, I

believe you have Fibrymyalgia. MRI was clean, said my brain looked

great No spinal tap, he said not needed because of normal clinical

exam and MRI. Had cervical/thoracic/lumbar MRI's, all have

herniations/bulges some stenosis, but all mild/moderate.

He had accountability for every symptom I have. The extreme fatigue,

the sore throat, the sinus drainage, the burning feet, aching

back/neck/hips/legs/feet/ankles/arms, and on and on. All these years

I wish someone would have just told me " I have a lot of patients that

ache all over the place " . But no one did. Just last week, I started

feeling like a true hypochondriac. My God, I have been through the

gammit of testing since October and ALL has come back normal. I will

include a list of what I have been through and you will see, all

normal. I am still unsure of this diagnosis myself - only that I want

to be SURE that this is what I have and not true spinal issues, but

this neuro tested my strength and such and said my spinal issues are

not to blame, but that other neuro was wrong, so why wouldn't this

one be? I do believe in Fibromyalgia, I've read so much about it over

the course of the weekend and especially today, but how could

something so simple be missed for SO many friggen years? My history

is so long that I can't even put it all here, you would all get bored

with my post then LOL! I have been tested for Carpal Tunnel 3x,

normal. I have had tingling/numbness of hands/fingers for years and

years, but not all the time. It comes and goes along with my burning

feet which only started last September. My fatigue is getting worse

and worse with each passing week. I have acquired since December a

swollen throat, scratchy and sore and it will not go away. I also

have heartburn about 4 nights out of the week and have been snoring

more. The neuro tried me on Gabapentin for the burning feet, had to

go off cause that's when my throat started to get weird on me and

then my blood sugars (not diabetic, we through all of that too LOL)

crept up on me so I chose to discontinue it and I'm so glad I did,

nasty, nasty drug. So, right now I am on Naproxen for generalized

pain. Take one whenever, no set regimen as this was prescribed to me

over a year ago when I was having breast pain Oh my , this is

getting long, sorry!

Anyhoo, here's the list of what came out normal, what I've been

tested for, etc. As for what I DO have - well, I have been diagnosed

with Osteoarthritis/Degenerative Disk Disease, Vitiligo and at one

time, Carcinoma In Situ of the Cervix, but have been fine ever since

Leep Surgery. SO, that's it. Vitiligo is an autoimmune disorder, so I

assume I have the generalized autoimmune thing going on and am

susceptible to other AI disorders as well.

My Chiropractor has two done full evaluations on me, one in 04 and

the other in 07. Both reveal significant myofascial pain and trigger

points. I haveinsisted over and over to both neuro's that my pain is

spine related, but they disagree and believe I do not need surgery

and won't even refer me to a neurosurgeon. So, do I believe them?

The thing I don't get is my 1st neuro who was ruling out MS and ruled

in Peripheral Neuropathy - did an exam for FM and said I didn't have

it. This 2nd neuro last Thursday did NOT do a FM tender point exam

and said I do have it. Huh? I'll write more later, as this is very

long now and like I said, I could go on and on about my history but

I'll leave it as this for now. THANKS to anyone that can offer any

insight.

NORMAL RESULTS/Ruled Out:

08 – Diabetes (2 hr. Glucose Tolerance Test – A1C was 5.3-normal)

08-Bloodwork Ceruloplasmin (copper test).

08-Lumbar MRI – Compression right and left S1 exiting nerve roots.

Dessicated L4/L5/S1.

07-Thyroid (several times!)

07-Brain MRI

07-Cervical and Thoracic MRI - No lesions but a mess with bulges and

herniations.

07-Bloodwork: Lyme Titer, Lupus Panel, ANNA 1 and 2, VDRL,

Immunoe/Extrophoresis, and B12

07-Ruled out Fibromyalgia

07-Nerve Conduction Studies - Normal.

07-SSEP (Somatosensory Evoked Potentials)

07-VEP – (Visual Evoked Potentials)

07-BAEP – (Brain and Auditory Evoked Potentials)

04-Ankylosing Spondylitis

99/04/07- Carpal Tunnel

05-Cholesterol

04-Rheumatoid Arthritis

90's/07-Lupus

07-Low Blood Pressure

04/07- Diabetes (perhaps glucose intolerance)

96-HIV/AIDS (Insurance Co. required testing)

07-Disorder of the ear - (by Chiro) on 10/11/07

04-ESR Sedimentation Rate Normal in 2004

[Guest guest]

Hi lostallhope, Don't believe you mentioned your name. You will learn alot in

this group, I have since joining Dec. 07. I was first diagnosed at that time.

My problems began full force in 94. My reg dr sent me to a neuro, after a long

while, he sent me to a rh, and finally after not getting better after 4 yrs of

taking steriods went on my own to another rh that moved into my area. Bingo~~

had all 18 of the 18 tender points and finally a dx of fibro. It was a relief

to finally have a dx but also a grieving knowing this is never going away, but

just finding ways to live life the best I can. That takes alot of acceptance,

and I'm not there yet. I won't make a dx on your symtoms, but you sound alot

like the rest of us. Keep posting, keep reading........we help each other here.

By the way, I'm in WI, along with a few others here. I'm in the west bend

area, what area are you, if you care to share?

Judy/WI

lostallhope2002 wrote:

Hi everyone. Let me introduce myself. I am a 38yo female who lives in

WI.

---------------------------------

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[Guest guest]

Hi, Greeneye and welcome. It sounds like you are covering all of you bases

to get the right dx and that is good. This is a great group of people and

you will learn a lot here and receive a lot of support. What is your name?

Love and gentle hugs,

Debi/Central Cal.-55

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[Guest guest]

Welcome to you! Yes, everything you describe sounds very normal, including the

conflicting doctors. The 1st neuro probably does not believe in FM, so he

diagnosed you with the PN. 2nd neuro does believe in FM and he is most probably

correct in diagnosing your FM. You've had plenty of tests to rule out bigger,

more defined problems. FM is such a varied illness in that we all suffer a bit

differently, but yet often we are all the same, if that makes sense.

BTW, I am in Wisconsin, too, in a suburb north of Milwaukee. I was diagnosed 10

years ago, am now 44, have been disabled since diagnosis. I was fortunate to

receive my SSD on the first try without an attorney, but we included other

diagnosis besides FM.

I am married for 21 years, and have 2 teenage daughters, ages 19 and 14. Older

girl is driving me nuts these days. LOL!

I hope you find this group helpful and supportive. I believe as you read the

posts you will realize and believe that you do have FM. It is totally normal to

freak out after the diagnosis and to grieve for your former self. Take care.

Jeanne in WI

P.S. what shall we call you?

Hi everyone. Let me introduce myself. I am a 38yo female who lives in WI. For

years, as long as I can remember at least since I was 20, I have dealt with

fatigue. I can remember when I met my husband and got married at 23 I would come

home from work (no kids at that time) and just collapse on the couch and nap for

1-2 hours every night/weekends. I was so exhausted. When I was 12 years old I

got hit

by a drunk driven in a car from behind and got severe

whiplash/cervical sprain and wore a soft collar for a while. Starting at age

13, I sought out a Chiropractor's help for sore neck and back issues. This has

continued to this day, 25 years later. I go 1x a month. I have with various

pains in other parts of my body over the

past 6 years (since my son was born). I have been running back and forth to

the Dr.'s with different

aches/pains/ailments/complaints/depression, you name it, I have complained

about it because of the pain. The only REAL problem I have had that I had to

have fixed was a prolapsed bladder and rectum from childbirth (had incontinence)

and was fixed with major surgery.

[Guest guest]

Hi, I am in WI Rapids. My name is . Thank you so much for your

welcoming post. I have been reading a lot and plan to read a lot

more. I'll update more after my Dr. appt. tomorrow; ) THANKS

> Hi everyone. Let me introduce myself. I am a 38yo female who

lives in

> WI.

>

>

>

>

> ---------------------------------

> Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with Yahoo!

Search.

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone, me again - my name is SANDRA - sorry I didn't include

that in my original posting

>

> Welcome to you! Yes, everything you describe sounds very normal,

including the conflicting doctors. The 1st neuro probably does not

believe in FM, so he diagnosed you with the PN. 2nd neuro does

believe in FM and he is most probably correct in diagnosing your FM.

You've had plenty of tests to rule out bigger, more defined

problems. FM is such a varied illness in that we all suffer a bit

differently, but yet often we are all the same, if that makes sense.

>

> BTW, I am in Wisconsin, too, in a suburb north of Milwaukee. I was

diagnosed 10 years ago, am now 44, have been disabled since

diagnosis. I was fortunate to receive my SSD on the first try

without an attorney, but we included other diagnosis besides FM.

>

> I am married for 21 years, and have 2 teenage daughters, ages 19

and 14. Older girl is driving me nuts these days. LOL!

>

> I hope you find this group helpful and supportive. I believe as

you read the posts you will realize and believe that you do have FM.

It is totally normal to freak out after the diagnosis and to grieve

for your former self. Take care.

> Jeanne in WI

> P.S. what shall we call you?

>

>

> Hi everyone. Let me introduce myself. I am a 38yo female who

lives in WI. For years, as long as I can remember at least since I

was 20, I have dealt with fatigue. I can remember when I met my

husband and got married at 23 I would come home from work (no kids at

that time) and just collapse on the couch and nap for 1-2 hours every

night/weekends. I was so exhausted. When I was 12 years old I got hit

> by a drunk driven in a car from behind and got severe

> whiplash/cervical sprain and wore a soft collar for a while.

Starting at age 13, I sought out a Chiropractor's help for sore neck

and back issues. This has continued to this day, 25 years later. I go

1x a month. I have with various pains in other parts of my body over

the

> past 6 years (since my son was born). I have been running back

and forth to the Dr.'s with different

> aches/pains/ailments/complaints/depression, you name it, I have

complained about it because of the pain. The only REAL problem I have

had that I had to have fixed was a prolapsed bladder and rectum from

childbirth (had incontinence) and was fixed with major surgery.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

,

I'm Teri - you're in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin? You're only about 30

miles from me then - I'm down in the Dellwood area - west of Friendship. I

actually come up to the Rapids shopping quite a bit. Good to have a close

list mate on board - lots of Wisconsinites on here.

Teri (central Wisconsin)

Re: Long history of symptoms - Diagnosed Thursday (m)..

Hi, I am in WI Rapids. My name is . Thank you so much for your

welcoming post. I have been reading a lot and plan to read a lot

more. I'll update more after my Dr. appt. tomorrow; ) THANKS