What test should a Doctor run to rule out fibromyalgia?
Question by *|Ms Girlz|* BLueBe|2|2y: What test should a Doctor run to rule out fibromyalgia?
I am 22 years old and have been suffering from chronic muscle, joint, and tendon pain since February of 2005. My symptoms are as follows:
–shooting pain from my elbows to my figures ( feels like funny bone constantly being rubbed)
–tight muscles in my back and neck, puts painful pressure on my spine .
–muscles around along my spine are like tough strings, you can actually pluck, and make cracking sounds
–sever pain in my wrist and finger joints that causes inconvenience and limitations. can not turn door knobs, open bottles, write long periods of time, drive etc.
–wake up frequently through out the night
–feel sore and stiff in the mronings, as if just completed an intense work out, or hadn’t slept for weeks and can’t keep my balance.
–Have to rely on high amounts of caffeine to get me through the morning and to get me through my daily schedule of work and school.
–extreme exhaustion, even after full nights of sleep. I have fallen asleep while driving on several occasions.
I am currently diagnosed with fibromyalgia and am on:
150mg of Lyrica, 50mg of Ultram/Tramodol, and 800mg of ibuprophene 3 times a day; as well as 150 – 200mg of Trazodone at night for sleep and depression.
These medications started of much lower and have increased as my systoms have. I have also tried cymbalta, vicodine, ambian, Urtram CR, Soma, Flexeril, and Topamax; along with massage and physical therapy, trigger point injections and chiropractors.
Unlike most cases, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia fairly quickly. Only after about a year of seeing doctor after doctor. I’ve had blood test, MRIs of my back, and x-rays of my back and hands. Although they have found deterioration of my bones in my hands, and 3 discs in my spine, I been told this shouldn’t be causing this type of pain. All the other test listed came back normal. I feel as if they are disregarding me due to my age, and that the fibromyagia diagnoses was a quick fix.
My questions is, I have heard fibromyagia should only be diagnosed if EVERYTHING else has been ruled out. What other test should my Doctors be running to ensure this isn’t something else. I have done some research and found these following names, but my little country Doctors out here in NC said they haven’t heard of them. Does anyone have any feed back on these:
Arthrography
Discogram
Epidurography
Facet Nerve and Joint Injection
MRI Arthrography
Myelogram
I would also like to add I overdosed on cocaine and alcohol in August of 2004, 6 months prior to these sysmtoms. It was a mistake I made while hanging out with the wrong crowd, and trying to look tough. Have seeked help for this, and do not drink, or do drugs and am very careful about using my medications only as prescribed. I am alway reluctant to tell my Doctors this in fear that they will think I a pill seeker. Could this be useful information for them, or harmful to my treatment? Could this be connected to the cause of these symptoms?
Best answer:
Answer by bassdoc
Fibromyalgie is a syndrome, not an illness, and there is no way to definitely diagnose it – at the hospital or elsewhere.
It presents with usually (but not always) fatigue, wandering joint pain, stiffness, headache, and exacerbation with stress or overexertion.
There are a lot of things that can also cause these but they usually don’t all present together.
My best way to treat them, because everything on the list gets better except if that person has fibromyalgia. Even it can get substantially better with chiro treatment, massage, stress control, better diet, multivitamin and fish oil, and quitting smoking.
The typical patient is a 30-40-ish woman under stress who smokes.
It can also get started with an illness, or even an accident, and not everybody fits perfectly into this picture.
Best luck – hope it helps.
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