What do you think was the trigger for your FM or CFS dx ?

[PlateletGal]

So what do you believe was the trigger that set-off your fibromyalgia or CFS diagnosis ?

[vallieanne]

While I never had anything as serious as you have had after the mono, I was always getting lung and throat infections, and developed asthma. I always had allergies and eczema, even as a small child, and so I attribute that to lowered immune system from chronic stress. ( This was seconded by my ex-boss who was neuro-psychiatrist. ) If someone had a cold in room full of friends, I'd be the one to come down with it when everyone else would be fine..

My family just considered me to be fragile and in the years that I was growing up, there wasn't the type of information there is now at least about immune system disorders.

My father would blend raw eggs yolks in milk shakes to build me up and then none of them had the presence of mind to figure out why I was always sick with stomach aches and diarrhea!! I was about 6 or 7 then, so I didn't even know what was going on, I'd just have to get picked up from school for getting sick.

I was officially diagnosed about 2 years after my spine surgery, so that would be in 1992 and there wasn't a lot of info or treatment around, most drs. thought fibro as a sleep disorder back then.

[PlateletGal]

"I contracted mono when I was 15 and I think it had a big impact on my immune system afterwards."

That is what happened to me. After I had mono, months later I had another infection (coccidioidomycosis) and that completely knocked me out for at least a year. Since my cocci comp fix titers were positive months after my cocci diagnosis, I had to take an anti-fungal medication and be careful because the medication affected my liver.

During and after the time that I had "recovered" from cocci, I had frequent infections. It seemed like every single month I was in the Urgent Care and the physicians there were getting frustrated because they didn't know what to do with me. One physician at least recognized that something was very wrong... he even suggested that I have an HIV test. Of course I did and the result was negative. It wouldn't be until many, many years later that I FINALLY got an official diagnosis.

[vallieanne]

I contracted mono when I was 15 and I think it had a big impact on my immune system afterwards. Then had a bad injury to my back in my 20's and had surgery in 1989 which was essentially the end of my "normal life". I had live in chronic pain since and was diagnosed with fibro 2 years later when I failed to heal and recover from the surgery. So, I guess the trauma from the surgery brought out the fibro even more, or at least that is what I think the neurologist told me. I didn't grow up with a great early home life, lots of fighting and domestic violence, so maybe that sets us up for having lowered immune systems from all the stress in our childhood years..
Valerie

[Caroline565]

I believe my FMS was the result of physical (repetitive motion) trauma. I was injured and was diagnosed with CMPS then aggressively treated with PT which very quickly developed into the FMS/MPS complex.

[Please_Help950]

I believe that mine came either after emotional trauma or my Chairi Malformation. I've voted for emotional trauma because I was under a huge amount of stress before I have got it.

[PlateletGal]

You know what cracks me up, VaBreeze ? There have been OUTBREAKS of CFS in Lyndonville, NY and Lake Tahoe. Now do you really think that all of these people just happened to be stressed at the same time and this is what happened ? ; ^ )