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Fibromyalgia possibility?
I have experienced different forms of pain for quite some time. I've had scoliosis since I was 13yo, and was also diagnosed with IBS, and that seems to be the start of ongoing pain. At 15, my back became more sensitive and I experienced pain more often. It seems, though, that in the past couple of years especially, I am having more bouts of pain. Sometimes I experience significant pain for months, and sometimes it doesn't really affect me as bad. I have always been extremely flexible, but for some reason I don't feel as flexible anymore, I am still flexible, it just hurts worse. I frequently experience lower back pain where it feels like I jarred by back and my hips hurt occassionaly. The most recent pain has been ongoing headaches. Some are debilitating, and sometimes I just have to deal with it and keep going, but the muscle on one side of my neck is sore as well. I've had these headaches for probably 2 months now. Also, a few weeks ago I thought maybe one of my teeth had a cavity or something because my gums on one side became so swollen and sensitive and my jaw kept popping. In a nutshell, I have pain almost all the time, somewhere in my body. I've felt at times that I sound like a hypochondriac (always having a problem), but i'm a 19 year old girl, and sometimes I feel like I could be 90. I'm tired of being tired.
I also take Celebrex 100mg, which doesn't do anything really. I'm always combining it with more tylenol, or excedrin, than what is recommended. I know it has to affect my liver, and I don't want to cause liver damage.
Is it possible for this to describe Fibromyalgia or something similar, even with how young I am? I have an appt. with my doctor this friday, and don't know how to approach her......
I also take Celebrex 100mg, which doesn't do anything really. I'm always combining it with more tylenol, or excedrin, than what is recommended. I know it has to affect my liver, and I don't want to cause liver damage.
Is it possible for this to describe Fibromyalgia or something similar, even with how young I am? I have an appt. with my doctor this friday, and don't know how to approach her......
Glad to hear your apointment went well and that she's following up on things for you. Hopefully soon you'll know exactly what is going on and be able to begin a working treatment plan.
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
It went surprisingly better with this doctor than I had expected. She asked me A LOT of questions, but did not want to give me a diagnosis. She is referring me out to a Neurologist. Also, she wanted to start me on a specific medication for migraines, she seemed to be most concerned about my headaches. Considering I'm taking Celebrex daily though, and with no definite diagnosis, she didn't prescribe me anything for now. I'm actually very thankful for this referral. Most of the time anything I go to my doctor for gets pushed aside as "no big deal," or "it'll go away in time." So we'll see how it goes with the Neurologist.
Thank you so much!
I just made a list of everything you mentioned, plus a few additional things. You are right, we often feel rushed, not the most important, anxious, etc. when seeing our doctors. My mom always told me I have "white coat syndrome," so making that list will help, thankyou!
We'll see how friday goes, and then go from there. Thank you for your post again, it was encouraging to hear.
Shelby
I just made a list of everything you mentioned, plus a few additional things. You are right, we often feel rushed, not the most important, anxious, etc. when seeing our doctors. My mom always told me I have "white coat syndrome," so making that list will help, thankyou!
We'll see how friday goes, and then go from there. Thank you for your post again, it was encouraging to hear.
Shelby
I"m sorry to hear you've been having such pain.
Many of the symptoms you've described do sound a lot like fibromyalgia. Many fibro patients also suffer with IBS, TMJ (jaw pain) and headaches.
I'm glad to hear that you have a doctor's appointment set up. I suggest you make a list of your symptoms, what you've tried to relieve them, what has worked, what hasn't worked, anything that makes it better or worse, what time of day seems the worst (if applicable), etc. Also write down how this pain and other symptoms have affected your quality of life and how long it's been going on. Having these things written down before you go into your appointment will help you to remember to tell your doctor EVERYTHING. Many people get nervous when they're in a doctor's office and it's quite common to forget things we wanted to tell the doctor. It's also common to feel like we're being rushed when we're in the office because we all know how many patients doctors try to squeeze into the day.
I'm glad you realize that taking more of ANY medication, even the over the counter ones, can be dangerous. Please be honest with your doctor about how much of these meds you've been taking, so if deemed necessary, they can do some testing to make sure your liver and other organs are still ok. Also stress to them that the only reason you've been taking more of these meds is because your current med of the Celebrex is not helping with your pain. There are many meds out there that can be tried, so also please don't let them tell you that there are no options.
The main thing to keep in mind (and you may have to stress this to your doctor) is that pain knows no age restrictions and fibromyalgia pain is no different. It IS very possible to have fibro even at your young age.
If, after your doctor appointment, you don't feel like you are getting satisfactory care or results, do not hesitate to seek a second opinion, even searching for a rheumatologist. A rheumy doc tends to deal with fibro more often than a lot of GP (general practitioner) doctors.
Best of luck and please keep us posted on how you're doing and what you find out.
Many of the symptoms you've described do sound a lot like fibromyalgia. Many fibro patients also suffer with IBS, TMJ (jaw pain) and headaches.
I'm glad to hear that you have a doctor's appointment set up. I suggest you make a list of your symptoms, what you've tried to relieve them, what has worked, what hasn't worked, anything that makes it better or worse, what time of day seems the worst (if applicable), etc. Also write down how this pain and other symptoms have affected your quality of life and how long it's been going on. Having these things written down before you go into your appointment will help you to remember to tell your doctor EVERYTHING. Many people get nervous when they're in a doctor's office and it's quite common to forget things we wanted to tell the doctor. It's also common to feel like we're being rushed when we're in the office because we all know how many patients doctors try to squeeze into the day.
I'm glad you realize that taking more of ANY medication, even the over the counter ones, can be dangerous. Please be honest with your doctor about how much of these meds you've been taking, so if deemed necessary, they can do some testing to make sure your liver and other organs are still ok. Also stress to them that the only reason you've been taking more of these meds is because your current med of the Celebrex is not helping with your pain. There are many meds out there that can be tried, so also please don't let them tell you that there are no options.
The main thing to keep in mind (and you may have to stress this to your doctor) is that pain knows no age restrictions and fibromyalgia pain is no different. It IS very possible to have fibro even at your young age.
If, after your doctor appointment, you don't feel like you are getting satisfactory care or results, do not hesitate to seek a second opinion, even searching for a rheumatologist. A rheumy doc tends to deal with fibro more often than a lot of GP (general practitioner) doctors.
Best of luck and please keep us posted on how you're doing and what you find out.
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