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Has anyone been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and receiving treatment for it?

My PCP is in the process of finding out if I truly have Fibromyalgia and have a few questions for you..............

1. How were you diagnosed? Tests? Labs?
2. Are you being treated by your PCP or a specialist?
3. What medications are you taking to control the symptoms and do they work?
4. What symptoms do you have?
5. How long have you had it?

Thanks for your answers !!! Have a good day !!!

Public Comments

1. 1. you have lab tests/xrays to rule out other con ditions. the TENDErPOINTS (not triggerpoints) are assessed

2. I am not being treated by anyone as i cannot find a competant doc in my HMO to treat FMS. There is only 1 in my state that I know of and he doesn't take insurance. I have experienced outrageous ignorance from the docs I tried.

3. have tried almost everything with very little help--narcotics don't usually touch the pain--lexapro helped SLIGHTLY with sleep--i do now use Trazodone for sleep which helps physical sleep..but i still wake up exhausted.

4 EXHAUSTION, pain, stiffness, twitching, numbness, tmj.....and more--problem is I also have brain injury--not sure which symptom is from what

5....since i was 5--after a couple serious accidents
BEWARE..most docs do NOT know what they are talking about--being that there is a process and teh doc isn't just jumping to the diagnosis is a good sign

being that there is a process and the doc isn;t quickly slapping the lable on is a good sign

but most docs are cluelss

you need to resaerch and confirm the doc knows what he is doing before you beleive him

fms is highly overdiagnosed by these incompetant docs

EDIT
Dr Dryland is a quack. any doc who claimes to have that much success is just in it for the money....i have tried dopamine medications and did not have any improvement at all....while it is true that dopamine mayplay a role in FMS...it isn't a miracle cure that he claims....he may be labeling people with a somatic disorder with fms and miraculously curing them by psychologically convincing them they can be cured.

i ran into one of these who claimed the same thing about guaifenisin which has been shown to be ineffective in a controlled study...yet some docs are saying they can cure everyone with it

and dr titelbaum of oprah fame claims he cures it with hormones--but in reality he picks people misdiagnosed with fms who really have a hormonal disorder and cures them, but then claims he cured fms

there are many others that have been misdiagniose with fms that claim to have been cured--its all quackery

2. 1. The first person to recognize the symptoms was my therapist then my PCP checked the tender points and sent me to a rheumatologist.

2.I am being treated by both my PCP and a rheumatologist,Dr David Dryland. He is one of the leading fibromyalgia specialists. You should get his book. It explains the causes and how to treat/cure your symptoms. It saved my life! http://www.drdryland.com/

3. I take Mirapex and it significantly decreased my symptoms. However if you are bipolar make sure it doesn't increase any manic behavior. I also roller skate and play roller derby. It is the only exercise I can do that is easy on my joints and allows me to work out for an extended period of time. Read my blog: fibroderbyqueen.blogspot.com

4. fatigue, memory loss, swelling in my legs, shaking hands, headaches, pain all along my spine, skin irritation (like creepy crawlies), irritable bowel syndrome, chronic widespread ache over my entire body like bruises etc.....

5. almost 3 years

Good Luck
The Incredible FALK!!