Fibromyalgia after hysterectomy

hi all , I'm new to this site and would like to know how many ladies got fibromyalgia after a hysterectomy . I worked up to 50 per wk caring for terminally ill children living in their own homes. It will be nearly 4 yrs since I had my hysterectomy due to having multiple fibroids , and I never seemed to recover . As the mths went by I was in chronic pain all over , i couldn't even move I was so stiff , muscle spasms and constant unbearable pain . My gp sent me to a rhumatologist who informed me I had fibromyalgia . It has taken a whole 3 yrs to find medication that helps and I'm also on morphine patches 

before I had the hysterectomy I had no health issues at all 

Thankyou in advance Leah 

Hi Leah,

I very rarely post here but your question brought back so many memories.  Did you have WLS?  I had it in 2006.  Before the surgery at 336 pounds 5" 1' tall, I never really had any aches or pains, just the onset of Diabetes and hating the way I looked.  After the surgery and at my lowest weight 182 pounds, I began getting all kinds of problems.  Anemia, Fibromyalgia (which I always thought was a mental issue), aching knees.  So, I had a hysterectomy, then got a hernia and had hernia removal and excess skin removed. Then there was too much protein in my blood and have been diagnosed with MGUS. Had knee surgery and then the last was back surgery for cervical stenosis (I was falling all the time) spinal fluid not flowing.  I would hate to say that losing all this weight caused these problems, but I hear these issues pop up for WLS patients all the time!

Deborah Nunez

Wow, I just noticed my surgery was in 2005!

Any kind of stress to the body be it physical or emotional can trigger fibro. Very often surgery of any kind can trigger it because it is so stressful for the body. I've had fibro since I was in my early 20's, of course back then they just told us we were crazy! It wasn't until I was in my 40's until I found a doctor that actually believed in and treated fibro. He was a God send!! He knew I was already taking high doses of tylenol to try to fight off the constant pain but tylenol never worked for any of my pain. He finally put me on morphine to keep the pain under control to where I could function and do house work etc. His motto was "life is to be lived, not endured" and I just wish more docs felt that way!!

Everyone is so afraid of addiction issues but I can say that I've been on the same dose of medication for many years and haven't needed any extra because this still works. So I haven't turned into a drug crazed addict stealing from family to support my habit. Actually people who take pain medication for legitimate pain issues rarely abuse the pain med because we are so grateful to have them that we don't want to chance losing them. It is the ones who take them to get a high who end up having problems. Yes I am physically addicted and would have withdrawals if taken off of them but no responsible doc is going to cut someone off cold turkey that needs them, they would medically wean them off. I have changed the type of meds once but have had the same ones for over 5 years now. I have to have a UA yearly or when ever asked for one and have no problem doing that.

Anyway as I started out saying it is most likely that the surgery is what brought the fibro on and it doesn't really matter what type of surgery it is just the fact that the body has been stressed by the surgery itself. So the more stress you can keep out of your life the better off your fibro life will be. It has really taught me to stand up for myself and insist that drama be left outside my door cause I'm not going to deal with it!

Hi hislady Thankyou for you're reply . I too at last been put on muscle relaxants for the spasms and I'm on 75mg morphine patches . When it first started the pain was that bad I couldn't even do simple jobs like washing the dishes . I have noticed that any kind of stress does make it worse but I thought it was just in my head . Ive just finished a 9 week pain management course which has learned me to pace myself as chronic fatigue would set in . Although I still pace myself I still have fatigue days which I hate . Again thanks for the reply I too will leave stress outside my door 

kind regards Leah 

Hi I just read this part, can I give you some really heart felt words to think about??? The doctors started with lower pain meds, muscle relaxers, anti-depressants, in the beginning. During the years, I was increased to 180mg of Morphine ER (extended release) and 60mg of Morphine IR (instant release) along with the muscle relaxers, etc. It wasn't until I switched to Kaiser that the doctors said WHY ARE YOU ON SUCH A HIGH DOSE OF MORPHINE???? I hadn't a clue. It is what my pain management doctor put me on. My doctor worked with me to taper my Morphine down, until I could go cold turkey in Jan 2015. It wasn't fun. Not for me, my husband, not anyone in my household.

I never thought something like that could happen to me. I have always taken vitamins daily, been anti-drug use. I tried to use only Tylenol & Motrin for 5 months afterwards. But due to the un-bearable pain, I was put back on the lowest dose of Percocet which I take only when I absolutely need to.

What I am trying to say is please be careful with the Morphine or any Opiod medication. I learned the hard way, I would not want to see anyone else do that as well.

Hi I have had both weight loss surgery (the first was in 1991, revision to RNY Apr 2016) and a hysterectomy in 2002. I don't know if there is correlation between these, but glad to supply the information. I do know that I under went an enormous amount of stress in 2004 thru 2007 and I developed fibromyalgia late 2007. The doctors of course say that it was due to stress or due to anxiety, but who knows for sure. The only thing I do know, is once you have it, it never goes away

I also used to be very active, golfing, walking about 3 miles a day, biking, etc. and was healthy for the most part.

Hugs,

Hi , Thankyou so much for you're reply , that's what the Drs here say stress trauma and I've had lots in my life . 

Ive been suffering badly with chronic fatigue , not so much pain so I went to see my gp . 4 weeks ago I had 2 deaths within 2 days . Dr said this has caused my fatigue and he's changed my anti depression tabs as he said they weren't working . So it's a matter of time to see if they work .

what I can't understand is , there's so many people in the world with fibromyalgia why haven't they looked into it more . I felt so alone at first , infact the pain was that bad I thought I was dying . 

I really do think more should be done for people like us having to suffer , yet all we get told is like you said once you have it end off . I've been on a pain management course which I found really helpful , but with being so low at the moment I feel useless , fingers crossed in a few weeks I will feel better in myself , pick myself up and carry on .

thankyou for you're message , makes me feel I'm not alone 

Your post really caught my eye. I had a partial hysto, went in fine, was ready to leave, the nurse went to get the paperwork, she came back and I was running a 104 fever, body swelling, and could no longer use my joints. Bam!! Just like that, my life changed. I had triggered two autoimmune, one was fibro and the other is a mystery that they are still trying to figure out. I spent two years off and on in the most excruciating pain until they put me on gabapentin. I still have such a limited life and ability and am sad. I know that this fibro was brought on by the surgery. It has changed my life forever. I want to go in for skin removal surgery and am so scared that something may go wrong.

so what meds are helping?