Symptoms - What's My Problem?

One of the first things I did when my Dr. suggested that I had fibromyalgia was to read.  (Really we all need to stay away from webmd don’t we, but it’s where I started.)  Other than a few commercials, and being familiar with a couple of people that lived with it, I didn’t know much.   From what I knew at the time, it didn’t sound like what I had.  Muscle pain was what kept coming up, and I didn’t THINK I had much muscle pain.  Aches and pains sure, but not the excruciating muscle pain that I had heard about.  The pain that was bothering me the most was joint pain in my legs, feet, knees and hips.  I found a list of symptoms and I couldn’t believe how much fit me!  Things I hadn’t even thought about as a problem, or things that didn’t seem to fit together, became clearer. 

From webmd:

Common symptoms of fibromyalgia -- also known as fibromyalgia syndrome or FMS -- may include:

Pain - yup

Anxiety - oh yes

Concentration and memory problems -- known as "fibro fog" – the worst!

Depression - yes

Fatigue – oh so much

Headaches  - sometimes

Irritable bowel syndrome - maybe

Morning stiffness – oh yes!

Painful menstrual cramps – getting worse by the month

Sleep problems - yes

Numbness, and tingling in hands, arms, feet, and legs - yes

Tender points – ouch!

Urinary symptoms, such as pain or frequency – no

After reading that I was sure the Dr. was right.  THIS is what my problem was.  There are more extensive lists out there which only confirmed for me what was going on.

Here is a long list at healingwell.com.

Take this Quiz to help you determine if this syndrome could fit you.

Just seeing lists like this helped me.   I wasn’t crazy, this was actually happening to me!  Then came the next step.  What do I do about it?