Diagnosis...

K, so I'm pulling back out of this recent flare, but I'm still exhausted & I hurt, just not as bad. This kind of hurt is the hurt I feel every day, all day, and have felt for the past 15 years, and have just become somewhat 'accustomed' to. I'm always 'aware' of it, but I guess I'm so used to it that I've just learned to basically deal with it until it gets so bad that I can't function well.

I had my appointment with the Rheumatologist yesterday, and I've been officially diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. They want to get me started on a comprehensive care program with physical therapy and strongly urged me to learn & get regular in practicing Yoga, Tai Chi & Meditation. And no more "over-doing",... he said I really have to learn to pace myself, and there are a lot of things I really shouldn't try doing anymore. Even some of the things they normally recommend like walking & cycling, he didn't recommend for me because we already know that those things contribute to my pain. This is where he feels that I have a higher level of Fibro going on, and he feels that I've been dealing with it probably all the way back since highschool, and it's unfortunate that my doctors in the past have overlooked me on this all these years.

He said, in addition to the Yoga & Tai Chi that getting an eliptical would be good so after payday, I'm planning to go get one of those, as well as getting started on the Yoga, Tai Chi & practicing meditation. There's a bunch of other stuff, too, that I have to get routine about in order to help myself live with a better quality of life, and avoid flare-ups, but they're still going to happen. He said he'd like to keep me on the Oxycodone, IB & muscle relaxers at bedtime for awhile to help me get into a good deep-sleep pattern. If I can maintain a good routine with my comprehensive care program though I should eventually start doing better. It could take a good 6 months to start feeling like I have some energy & strength back, or could even be years, they just don't understand enough of the syndrome yet, but thank goodness they know enough that they know it IS a condition and so they aren't sending people to the psychiatrist anymore thinking it's all in your head. Anyway,......... that's where I'm at. Oh, and he did say that he believes I do have arthritis definitely going on throughout my body as well, just not necessarily one that would have came back in my labs,... he said to look at me on paper, I'm the picture of health, but to look at my history of complaints, and to physically see me,.... obviously something is wrong. He also mentioned another specific arthritis of the knees, but I cannot recall the name,... we'll get into that more later, I guess. For now, we're going to address the Fibro.

Just a quick review of some key points on Fibromyalgia......... it is associated with widespread, chronic pain, fatigue, memory problems, and mood changes. It is a syndrome, not a disease. It is not life-threatening, just life-altering. It is not arthritis itself, but is associated with it. It does not lead to joint & muscle damage, but does cause severe joint & muscle pain throughout the body. The cause is unknown, but it is thought to be due to abnormalities in central nervous system function, leading to an "amplification" of normal pain signals. Widespread musculoskeletal pain is the most common symptom. The pain can be described in a variety of ways including burning, aching, stiffness, soreness, and more, and often varies according to the time of day, activity level, weather, sleep patterns and stress. Many people say that some degree of pain is always there, although it can come & go. For some people the pain can be quite severe. Studies suggest that people with Fibromyalgia have abnormal levels of several different chemicals in their blood or cerebrospinal fluid that help transmit and amplify pain signals to and from the brain. There is also evidence that the central nervous system's ability to inhibit pain is impaired in these people. Whether these abnormalities is a cause or result of Fibromyalgia is unknown.