Dormant for years Now back worse than ever

[stellamae80]

I am a 62 year old female.  When I was 26 I had pain in my right side that was there everyday and wouldn't go away.
I went from Dr. to Dr. had all kinds of tests and was told nothing was wrong, I finally found a Dr. that diagnosed me
with Fibromycitis.  He gave me medication that helped.  Over the next years I would have flare ups in different parts of
my body and nothing showed up on tests so I went back to same Dr. and he helped me.  Then about 15 or so years
went by with no flare ups.  But in the past two years I have had a flare up in my neck causing me to have headaches
and a flare up in the back going down my side.  I was on Lyrica for the headaches and they went away.  The back and
side pain gradually subsided and I stayed pain free for 5 months.  Now it started in the back again and I feel pain
all through the back muscles, down my right side and occasionally the left side into my groin area on left side and sometimes down my right leg.  I had a routine pelvic exam in August and it was fine, but I am starting to worry if this time it could be a more serious disorder such as ovarian cancer.  Can anyone relate to the type of pain I am having.  I recently was rediagnosed with Fibro, as my other Dr. passed away.  Any answers would help.  thank you

[dustybrown]

Hello stellamae80,
Sorry to hear of your pain and struggles. Your problem sort of sounds like a mixture of Fibromyalgia pain and sciatica to me, with the problems in your groin and legs.

I have Fibromaylgia (fibromyalgia), degenerative disc disease, facet arthritis and sciatica and nerve damage in my spine- my left foot is even numb. Sciatica doesn't usually get as bad as mine did. It's usually just really painful in the hips, groin, butt and legs.

Have any doctors done any MRIs on your lower spine? If so what did they show? Also, are you seeing a Rheumatologist or just a regular family doctor?

[stellamae80]

Hi dustybrown, to answer your question about a doctor I have no insurance and have
to go to a sliding fee clinic.  Last year when a had a horrible back of the head
headache and neck ache for 3 solid months I did have a CT scan and went to a
Neurologist.  He ordered a MRI because I requested it but it was negative.  I have
had this nasty disease since I was 26 and I now am 62.  The terrible issue I have with
Fibro is the fact that it mimics other more insiduous diseases which tend to make
more stress which makes the body ache more sort of a vicious cycle.  I did have
a 15 year reprieve when I didn't have any major flareups but in the course of a 3 year
period I lost my Father, my oldest Daughter and my Florist business burned down.  I believe that the accumulated stress and depression caused my reoccurrence.  Thanks
for answering my post and God Bless.

[dustybrown]

You are definitely a tough person and have been through a lot. Stress does cause Fibromyalgia to become much worse. I have been through it myself. This condition can be very confusing because, like you said, it does mimic a lot of other more serious and scary diseases. It sounds like you have been able to reach out to a low cost clinic for care. I would see if there are any others in your area maybe- perhaps an OBGYN kind or find someone who is qualified to perform a good female physical- just to put that fear to rest for you.

In my opinion, and I am no doctor, although you said that your MRI was clean, I am still inclined to think you probably have some sciatic pain going on. There are many people without disc or visible nerve issues that have sciatica pain. It's very common with Fibromyalgia. Lyrica is a medication that helps with neuropathic pain relating to nerve issues and the Central Nervous System (CNS). If that medication helped with your headaches and pain, your Fibromyalgia is probably relating to your CNS and your nerves running up and down your spine up into your brain. I have the same kind of Fibro.

There are other less expensive drug options if Lyrica worked for you that you may or may not know about. Neurontin (Gabapentin) is in the same family and it works virtually the same way as Lyrica and it comes in a generic form and it costs less. It's not as strong, but it's acceptable. Let me know if you want any more information. Feel free to PM me. I also have other ideas too. Keep your chin up. This disease is tough, but manageable. Take care.
-Dusty