How is fibromyalgia diagnosed?
Hi I'm Dolly I think my husband has this condition? He went to the VA dr. yesterday I told him to talk with the Dr. He has to come back in Feb (to long) for testing? Can someone give me some information please, and what do you tell your Dr. Ive heard they want to say its all in a persons head? Any comments welcome I see him suffer day and night and they didn't give any thing for the pain. I have been with the guy 35 years and his pain is real. Sincerely. Dolly
Hi Dolly you are a sweet wife to want to help your hubby! Mostly women have fibro but there are indeed men who get it! It is usually diagnosed by a rheumatologist or pain specialist. It's kind of more a process of elimination than an actual diagnosis. There are I believe 18 trigger points on the body where if they are touched they hurt terribly, much more than they should for the amount of pressure used to push on them. He may have a very tough time convincing the VA, I don't know how familiar they are with it. They will first have to determine whether it is arthritis which is in the joints or fibro which is in the muscles themselves. It can also manifest as a foggy feeling, just not thinking as sharp as in the past. There are just alot of other symptoms and they can all be from fibro or lots of other things. It can take awhile to make an actual diagnosis but there are several drugs that they might give him to try and see if it will help. There is Lyrica (can cause weight gain), Cymbalta and Savella. There are also other drugs but I don't off hand recall them. Myself I take a combination of Cymbalta, oxycodone and morphine every day and it helps, not pain free but tolerable. It also helps to be able to get good sleep so if he has trouble sleeping (many of us do) I use over the counter diphenhydramin every night to get a good nights sleep. If I can answer any more questions feel free to post here or PM me, I'm glad to help! Good luck to hubby!
hi dolly im so glad you support your husband alot of us had to hear about this being in are head and we all to well no the pain it can cause. I think when i was looking up fibro there are some web sights that can show you the trigger pionts and i do beleive if you have 11 trigger points out of the 18 they feel that is enough to saftly say you need treated for it. It uasally stays around diffrent spots in diffrent people like for example my hip area hurts alot and my arms some times my ribs all the time. my legs sometimes my hands sometimes. Plus i have fibro fog alot. and anxiety. I would also keep a log of aches and pains because when so many things are hurting yo tend to forget to mention everything and they dont like to look at it as one thing. Hope this helps Loretta
Dolly,
I was diagnosed with fibro after many other tests. I saw a neurologist and was checked for MS as some of my issues mimic MS. I was put on meds and monitored for a few years before the diagnosis was finalized. My primary care Dr. made the diagnosis but the neurologist told me that was what he suspected but back then they did not diagnose fibro. Now they can. A rheumatologist can diagnose and medicate then will send you back to your primary care dr once a good medication plan is in place. I currently go to a pain clinic as I am fighting meds as much as I can. I take Lyrica and an antianxiety daily. I have muscle relaxers as needed and they are helping me find a replacement for my motrin as it caused me to lose my Lapband and once I have gastric bypass I will not be able to take it anymore. I was taking 2400 mg per day prescribed. I have patches and cream now for my pain. I carry most of mine on the right side, but my entire upper back, both feet and hips are the most common. I have pain in my left arm that was very scary as it felt like what you are told to watch for as a sign of a heart attack. I know there are many stories about how long it takes to diagnose some of them are many years with no help given. I like the national fibromyalgia site. There are some good books as well. There are some things out there that help with the pain such as exercise, I know that when I can get to yoga it is great. Walking is really good too. There is a five day elimination diet that is good for helping to determine if foods are part of the pain. Some artificial sweeteners and processed foods set my pain into high gear. I am struggling with my required weight loss to have gastric bypass and cannot do many of the recommended diets as they are all processed food. Sorry to ramble hope this helps. And your husband is not alone, there are more and more men diagnosed.
I was diagnosed with fibro after many other tests. I saw a neurologist and was checked for MS as some of my issues mimic MS. I was put on meds and monitored for a few years before the diagnosis was finalized. My primary care Dr. made the diagnosis but the neurologist told me that was what he suspected but back then they did not diagnose fibro. Now they can. A rheumatologist can diagnose and medicate then will send you back to your primary care dr once a good medication plan is in place. I currently go to a pain clinic as I am fighting meds as much as I can. I take Lyrica and an antianxiety daily. I have muscle relaxers as needed and they are helping me find a replacement for my motrin as it caused me to lose my Lapband and once I have gastric bypass I will not be able to take it anymore. I was taking 2400 mg per day prescribed. I have patches and cream now for my pain. I carry most of mine on the right side, but my entire upper back, both feet and hips are the most common. I have pain in my left arm that was very scary as it felt like what you are told to watch for as a sign of a heart attack. I know there are many stories about how long it takes to diagnose some of them are many years with no help given. I like the national fibromyalgia site. There are some good books as well. There are some things out there that help with the pain such as exercise, I know that when I can get to yoga it is great. Walking is really good too. There is a five day elimination diet that is good for helping to determine if foods are part of the pain. Some artificial sweeteners and processed foods set my pain into high gear. I am struggling with my required weight loss to have gastric bypass and cannot do many of the recommended diets as they are all processed food. Sorry to ramble hope this helps. And your husband is not alone, there are more and more men diagnosed.
Hi I had the RNY about 8 years ago. I have recently, about 4 or 5 weeks ago started having pain. I have always had pain in my joints, knees mostly, but this is in my muscles. My thighs, and muscles in my triceps and higher arms, and also my hands and feet. Kind of like after you excercise for the first time in a while. I also have numbness in my arms when I wake up and drive home from work in the morning. Then the numbness usually leaves.
I also have had this kind of foggy mental status for the last year or so, don't seem to compute some of the things people tell me. I also forget a lot of things, and procrastinate ALOT, where I didn't used to when it comes to book work and paperwork I am supposed to fill out and send back to places. I don't know if any of this is connected with the surgery, but wondered if it could be from something like fibromyalga. Also, wondered if anyone is having problems with their teeth. I went from having one cavity my whole life to getting a couple a few years after surgery, to last checkup having 13. My teeth also ache for months after I have them cleaned. I had to take 3 motrin and 3 extra strength tylenol every 4 hours (even woke me up ) for 5 to 6 months after the last 2 cleanings. thanks, theresa
I also have had this kind of foggy mental status for the last year or so, don't seem to compute some of the things people tell me. I also forget a lot of things, and procrastinate ALOT, where I didn't used to when it comes to book work and paperwork I am supposed to fill out and send back to places. I don't know if any of this is connected with the surgery, but wondered if it could be from something like fibromyalga. Also, wondered if anyone is having problems with their teeth. I went from having one cavity my whole life to getting a couple a few years after surgery, to last checkup having 13. My teeth also ache for months after I have them cleaned. I had to take 3 motrin and 3 extra strength tylenol every 4 hours (even woke me up ) for 5 to 6 months after the last 2 cleanings. thanks, theresa
It very much sounds like fibro to me anyway! Try to see a rheumatologist or pain specialist to get a diagnosis. I know my teeth have gotten horrible but it isn't from fibro but because I have to taker alot of meds that dry my mouth out. You might check any drugs you take for mouth drying. I use some stuff called Biotene that you can get at most drug stores, it helps "lub" up your mouth. Also drink lots of water. Good luck to you and do keep posting and we'll try to help all we can.
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