What do you personally feel triggered... - Fibromyalgia Acti...
Please select one:
IVF, pregnancy (& SPD) and childbirth.
I have cfs/me & related Fibromyalgia . Both were a result of having the flu
I had a back operation that left me with paralysis down my right side, from my waist down. It took it's toll on me emotionally and physically. It took me 2 years to learn to walk again, I was addicted to the Morphine and thought my life was not worth living, I had 3 children, the youngest was 5. I am partially mobile these days but was diagnosed with FM about 15 years ago. My Daughter was diagnosed 12 months ago, her's began after her right leg went into complete spasm's for no reason, she became exhausted, this happened whilst on a trip with the school to Italy, the Italian doctors wrote the she had some sort of malfunction in her brain. Here in England they never took any notice, never gave her an MRI or anything, she is always totally exhausted at 22, the episode happened when she was 15. I wish they would look into FM suffers brain activity more. I always feel like my body id having electric shocks sent through it. All I can say is that it MUST be neurological, Brain electrode issues. Why oh Why do the doctors here never listen or if and when they do can do nothing to help us, except dope us up?
IVF treatment and the medication i took whilst going through IVF i believe triggered my M.E fibromyalgia.
I have Ehlers Danlos Hypermobility as well as Fibro, the EDH came first but I'm not sure when the Fibro joined in!
Looking back I think ive always had fibro, but it was made much worse after a really bad viral infection about 12 years ago. It has got much worse over time.
I've got fibro and just confirmed ME/CFS all brought on by years of severe stress. I looked after my Mum who had Alzheimer's, husband with suspected cancer ending up with him getting no cancer but a bad depression, both of us loosing our jobs and me having to take any job so we could survive.
Mum died which hit me hard, I lost my job (again this time to illness) and shortly after me getting sick my husband is leaving me due to he can't handle my illness...
Hope it settles down soon, I look forward to a time of peace so I can hopefully get a bit of ol' me back 
Things can't take my sense of being positive away.... Though it has really tried LOL... 
Big fluffy hugs xxx
Hypermobilty plus I got Bell's Palsy. After the Bell's everything just started up.
I had a Traumatic Incident. Had a very sudden bad reaction to an antibiotic. A lot of abdominal pain, hepatitis and jaundice. The hepatitis got better and I didn't 
Death of my son age 23, sudden adult death syndrome, body found on my birthday, couldn't identify been dead a couple of weeks and no closure.
I am really sad to hear this Gail, my daughters are around his age and this must cause you so much pain. I feel for you.
i can not pin point any specific changes in my life that coincided with the increasing tiredness and painful movements that were eventually diagnosed as fibro. I have been fortunate not to have not had any major emotional or physical disasters, never felt especially over stressed or over worked.
Although I did have glandular fever at age 18 which for a couple of years left me feeling too exhausted to participate in physical activities, but really not sure whether that is relevant as for the next 20 years life was pretty good.
Trauma, long term severe stress, which I believe kick started auto immune disorder. My problems started at around age 6, considerably worsened pre-puberty (which in itself I believe is a stress trigger). Now aged 51, i'm kinda hoping things wont get any worse! I also believe that what my body perceives as stress may not be understood/accepted as such by other people. I now seem to be moving into a calmer, less stressful period, but i'm also increasingly sensitive to stress triggers, so who knows!
Car accident 7 years ago, Severe Soft Tissue Damage to my neck, a downward spiral since then.
Hi
Childbirth including a stillbirth, 2 miscarriages and 2 very high risk pregnancies that were very stressful, hyper mobility and stress, I also have a very sensitive immune system and suffer a lot of allergies. As I am adopted I don't know about genetics.
Between childhood upsets and being sexually abused as a teenager I developed serious mental health issues. Also during this time I was put through various other stressful situations such as being in an abusive relationship with two young babies and suddenly finding myself a single parent when my partner died. My symptoms came about after I had help from a psychiatrist, psychologist and a counsellor and became more at peace with myself.
In 2009 I had swine flu and it was quite bad. I couldn't breathe or anything. Then in early 2010 I had a fall and landed on my coccyx. I think it was more the swine flu as I started getting leg pain that same year. xxxx
Thank you, it's a comfort knowing that some people understand... Im just keeping a big distance from mirrors LOL :/
Soft hugs to you too and all who suffer like we do. xxx
Big soft hug, that sounds so painful,,,, x
Yes your very right...
I wish you loads of good days I may try one of those mirrors as well
You take loads of care too,
lots of luv
Andie x
neighbours from hell, severe illness, death of husband, car accident, pneumonia, blood clots 5 over period of time xx
Had to think really carefully when voting to pick out a single reason for the onset of Fibro symptoms. I think it has always been there in the background but it really made itself felt after a prolonged period of stress combined with doing a job that became beyond me physically .Also had a very bad dose of glandular fever when I was a teenager and it kept coming back. Am pretty sure my mother may have had it.
Having my daughter nearly thirteen years ago. Everything changed
An abusive childhood living with a parent with mental health problems.
I have sle lupus and osteo arthritis which I beleive was brought on by either a sun bed or a major shock, which also at the time, made me lose ability to talk and even now at times I find it difficult to find the word and have to search my brain to remember how to prononce words or how to write the letters to words. Can be a right pain at times as I am sure I come across as someone stupid, which I am not.
Taking a combination of glaucoma medication and Citalopram.
I had a major car crash hurt my spine lost 2 discs and another one disintergrated on a later date, I was also having bad problems with one of my children.
But I think fybro is he reditery as when my mother wasa live she was fit and well one day the next day she was eituer in bed, or lying on the settee sleeping on and off andbshe had no energy, doesnit sound familiar my dad and myself didn't believe her as she loved everybody running after her.Since obwas diagnosed with fybro and had time to look back I do believe she did have fybro, I live with the guilt ofnot believing her and not been able to say sorry to her f9r doubting her, om just pleased my family believe me
I had a car crash wth whiplash injuries. Also found out recently my dads sister also has fibro as well.
I had twenty yrs depression, an accident causing whiplash and 2 preganancies one after the other 3 months apart, before being diagnosed with Fibro, so not sure which one of these caused the illness.
I was looking after my terminally ill father, who kept getting out of bed at night and falling. Consequently, I slept nearby with one eye open at all times. This lead to a sleep disorder, which got worse after he passed away. The pain and exhaustion followed, but was initially diagnosed as RSI. It was a couple of years before I was properly diagnosed.
A FEW THOUGHTS: Just read a comment there about allergie. I always had hayfever, but nothing else, they are now testing me for Coeliac Disease, as I am glutten allergies. They also think I have a pituitary problem, which I believe is another auto immune problem. When speaking to me there are so many familiarities. So many common factors. Cant doctors collect results or evaluations from people with this illness. We need a head to toe doctor, thats what I said to my GP the other day.
Common factors: causes: Stress/mental illness/severe trauma, childbirth/miscarriage, accident(injury/severe trauma), and I am sure many more. I also believe it is hereditary but there is always a trigger, or is it ? Or could it be similar to cancer, it in our bodies, we are born with it, but there has to be a trigger, like many other illnesses. I also
think once you get one illness your system becomes so run down, we end up with more.
Thoughts ??? !!!
Yep. Think so. I had Glandular Fever really, really bad when I was 15. GP said to mum that he she had to stop me doing and make me rest because the illness could have far-reaching effects for lifetime - I did to an extent, but kept going when I could, sometimes pushed it when I couldn't as I didn't understand the consequences. Never been right since really. I think there is a pre-tendency in a familarial line, and a trigger (or a number of triggers) sets it off. I did get run down when I was doing a job which was actually too difficult for my experience at the time, miles away from a new home. It was just too much and full illness came.
Before I was diagnosed with Fibro 2 years ago, I thought that the Glandular Fever kept re-occurring ..... I now know better.
I have had a number of the triggers on the survey and like a lot of other posts now do think it has been with me for a long time.
But I had a very bad fall about 4 years ago going to work. It hit me with a vengence then, but took 4 yrs to be diagnosed with it along with OA, plus a slipped disc in my upper spine, due to OA.
My Mother also had it when I was younger, but it was called Fibrositis back then. In later life she had Polymyalgia Rheumatica, which is an auto immune diesease, it like, fibro affects the muscles.
Iam pretty sure I know what caused my fm,it was 18 years of constant stress.I was emotionally and physically abused for 8 years from when I was 19 years old.I got out of that relationship and went straight into a relationship with an alcoholic/drug addict for 10 years.I married him and had 2 kids with him.Ive suffered with depression since I was 13 and had bouts of severe depression as the consequences of being in these relationships and after having my kids.I had an abortion when my first son was 1 years old and that hit me hard emotionally as I deeply regretted it after.I went through so much crap when I was with my husband and I believe being with him triggered it.Iam divorced from him now though and started to get very well but I have been going downhill since a year and a half ago when I started getting constant urine infections and was taking anti-biotics all the time.Ive decided to stop taking them now as I think they are causing more harm than good.
I'm so sorry to hear about your difficult life and I can completely understand how this has affected you. I have also had some similar problems, and it has taken years of trying to grieve all I lost and all that was taken from me, as well as the negative effects of other people's harsh criticism and judgements, before I could find peace inside myself. Although my body couldn't take any more and has become very unwell, mentally and emotionally I have found inner peace by learning to be gentle with myself and talk lovingly to myself when I feel all those harsh and ugly things beating me over the head emotionally. It takes a lot of time and some understanding counseling to really start dismantling the emotional mess that other people have created in your life. Whatever happened, nobody causes someone else to abuse them. You are not to blame for any of that abuse and you deserve happiness and wholeness. I hope you can find a good women's support counsellor or other professional who has the right experience and background as well as a kind and compassionate attitude toward people with traumatic memories and illness/disability. You deserve to be cared for, and you deserve to have a better life.
I do understand how you can keep yourself together during all the worst of it and then at some later point, the body and even the mind can just start to crumble from the stress and strain it's been put through.
My thoughts are with you. I wish you all the best and loveliest things in your future.
Gentle, warm hugs,
Budgiefriend
The hardest thing to do is to pinpoint when things really began. However, my mother, then my step-father were taking turns in being extremely ill with circulation problems and a rare form of meningitus which triggered Altsheimers. I was coping and working, becoming fitter, but my knees hurt, followed by extreme, raw, pain in the hips a week later. For the next 10 months the doctors tried to find a diagnosis - my mother beat them to it on the internet. So I had been under continued strain and do get worse whenever things get bad, so I try to remain calm. PMT doesn't help either as I get over emotional and less likely to cope.
My sister has ME and I think my eldest daughter has early signs of FM with depression and hypersensitivity to touch - the pain radiates out and lasts a long time. I do hope not. She is only 26 and has her whole life to look forward to.
I try to see myself as a survivor, but that is sometimes a hard thing to do.
I've had a lot of things that have happened to me which may have triggered mine so wasn't sure which one to vote for.... But I had 2 miscarriages which was very stressful and upsetting and more worse when my ex husband didn't give me time to grieve! 3rd time they thought I was pregnant again and found I had a rare form of Cancer of a pregnancy and I had to be the 1 in 40 thousand to get it! I've had a hysterectomy and Many procedures previous for Fertility! Two divorces an abusive ex boyfriend, the loss of my dad and recently in 2008 my mum died which made the Fibro much, worse I have many other health issues but too many to mention! In 2010 I met a lovely Asian man that treats me like a princess understands all my health problems even though he doesn't have any, we have been married for 2yrs.
I feel it was the stress of my Mothers death, although I also had other conditions, I was diagnose about a year after she died x
I'd like to have ticked more than one of those comments. Whip lash is why I was sent to a neurologist, but I had CFS diagnosis for more than 10 years previously plus some major stresses and other illnesses.....so I feel the whip lash just opened a door to another diagnosis from a different source.
10 years of working75+ hours aeek in a very stressful job resulted in diagnosis, but probably already had it as I just thought pain was normal as even as a child I used to say even my very bones hurt
I was diagnosed with B12 deficient pernicious aneamia (PA) 7 yrs ago and have always felt that the treatment for this (1 x B12 injection every 3 moths) has never had any effect. Then I lost my mum suddenly 5 years ago this week. Can't help feeling that the shock of losing mum bought on my FM and the door for this was opened by undertreated PA.
Heavy metal toxicity.
I think I have always had fibro, I remember as a child of 6 or 7 crying with pain in my legs, the doctor said it was growing pains. Well I stopped growing a long time ago, I am 65 and have now developed arthritis in my hips and knees. They say you can learn to live with pain, but I can tell you, it is not a good life to live.
First husband was verbally and physically abusive. Next relationship ended with my partner cheating.with second husband I had a major operation 4 months after had IVF treatment which didn't work another 4 months later had IVF again which again didn't work. At the same time as starting the 2nd lot of IVF my husbands troublesome daughter turned up at the door wanting to live with us she was aged 14 and an absolute nightmare. 6 months after she arrived I came home from a 24 hour shift to find the house empty husband and his daughter just dissapeared. Had no clue as to why, about 2 weeks after they dissapeared I literally had a complete meltdown. All I remember about that day was that I believed the doctor would give me an injection to put me to sleep like they would a dying dog. Of course this wasn't going to happen but that's what I can recall. 6 months later my husband came back without his daughter but all he done was mental abuse me telling everyone including my family that I was metal and phsycotic and saying they also believed what he was saying was true. He marched me to the doctors and sat there telling the doc the same things. The do asked him to leave the room so he could speak to me alone. The doc assured me I was not metal or phsycotic and that I'd been through a pretty tramic time. He referred me to a counceller which I realised that in actually fact he himself had loads of issues a putting them onto me. Any he left me again approx two years later I found out that all the accusing he done about me having affairs( which I was not ) he actually was having affairs 5 women informed me they had affairs with him so how many more there was I dread to think. I had to get checked out at a sexual health clinic for piece of mind. I think my Fibro was triggered by a number of things. After the breakdown I had which is approx 5 years ago I have not had a day without feeling like I've been hit by a bus. I've lost my Heath, my house, everything had to cut m working hours as I find coping everyday with chronic pain difficult. Staying with my daughter at the moment I hope that I can get some sort of housing soon. I feel that I am losing the will to live. I don't think I can take much more. Most of what I've written took place in the space of 18 months. Life is so cruel at times
Dear Sara, I am so sorry to read what happened to you.
I had a series of abusive marriages which affected me and my children and continues to do so. I know how painful it is to lose your home and to feel that you are losing the will to live. I was also in a situation where my husband was believed by many people and I had to run away, live in a women's refuge, change my name, etc.
Since my teenage years, when my father emotionally abused me and it became physical abuse on one occasion, I had episodes of becoming severely exhausted after traumatic events. Often I kept going and then started to crumble when the crisis was over.
I agree with you that life is cruel at times. The cruelest part of it is when other people judge you and conclude that you were too stupid to prevent these things, or say that they would have done it differently, have left sooner, have known about the infidelity, etc. They have no idea how they would cope with these situations and with these people unless they have been in the exact situation with the same person.
There is no comparison anyone can make with your exact experiences. I also saw a psychologist who shouted at me "So why didn't you just leave?" and I quietly said, "Well, I DID leave, obviously." I had left and lost everything I worked for my entire life, and was still living in a women's refuge when I saw this horrible woman for therapy.
However, I also had illnesses since childhood. My ex abused me because of my illness, saying he did not want to be married to 'half a person' but I didn't hear him making that stipulation when he was saying "in sickness or in health, for better or worse".
My point is this: You are not alone and you are one of many, many women who has suffered. It is understandable that your body has had too much to deal with and is now compromised.
Please try to find a good women's support counsellor. Make sure they have experience dealing with victims of domestic violence. Many of the others will do more harm than good, because they have the same prejudices toward us that most of the general public has. After that psychologist session, I returned to my former (women's support worker) counsellor and I forced myself to call the Domestic Violence hotline as soon as I got home after encountering that horrible psychologist. I spoke to a wonderful woman at the DV hotline who was so wonderful and warm and caring that it did really help me deal with it right away. Both of them agreed that the psychologist's behaviour had re-traumatized me and put me back a long way from where I'd come already.
But I did have a very wonderful psychologist a couple of years after that. He was so kind and understanding and really helped me! So don't give up, just be very careful who you confide in. Make sure that no matter what their qualifications, they have experience and compassion for victims and also for people who are ill/disabled. Don't go to the ones who insist on trying to just pep talk you out of it. That's not good therapy for someone with the kind of memories and trauma you are dealing with.
If you need medication for depression, take it. Being depressed for a long time changes your brain chemistry and can establish depressive thinking patterns. That's harder to cope with in the future.
The good news is that you can find the happiness inside yourself and it can carry you forward even when you are in pain. I know this because that's what has happened for me. I wish you all the most gentle, kind, loving, and comforting things you can possibly have. My thoughts will be with you.
Warm, gentle hugs,
Budgiefriend
It was finding out i had a brain tumour and then a 10 hour operation to remove it followed by 2 further operations to repair a Spinal fluid leak and then i got a meningitis infection and nearly died from it.
Then a few months later my husband announced he was leaving me for his cousin who is 20 years younger than him and leaving me to bring up my two daughters alone, i really dont know how i coped at the time.
I have been unwell since then and my fibromyalgia is getting worse all the time.Now im fighting to keep benefits ive been on for 10 years !!
I had Breast Cancer in May 2009. I had surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and am still taking Tamoxifen. I am confident that the chemo has triggered my fibro off without a doubt.
All of my illnesses seem to have started after a bout of flu(Rheumatic fever,IC,IBS)with the exception of Raynauds and Pernicious Anaemia.My husband and myself have both spent the last 5/6 years under the most acute period of stress imaginable which has seen us lose all we held dear(with the exception of ourselves)and I feel this can't have helped at all.The Fibro I feel has always been there but the over factors have helped its rise to prominence and to my body feeling like it is destroying itself
I have absolutely no idea what triggered it. It started as RSI and went from wrists to all over!
Hypermobility, death of my nan and severe stress leading to breakdown xx
Hi think I have had fibro for many years, I would say stress, viral problems and numerous health problems over the years but specifically an accident last year when on a bus, the driver stopped suddenly and threw me up the gangway, He didn`t bother to stop and people on the bus had to try and get me up. On reporting this incident, he than claimed ` he didn`t know anything about it `, this of course was proved to be a lie and I was granted compensation . I think this was the trigger, because after that I really did get ill,and was diagnosed with fibro.
I suffer from rheumatoid x osteoarthritis ,not fibro, Which first started in 1991 following an accident when transfering a patient, from bed to commode she suddenly lifted her legs and I felt pain rip across my neck and shoulder ,since I,ve had numerous operations on neck, knees ,hands and hips .
I believe I've had Fibro since childhood, maybe inherited, as Mum was often ill with depression., anxiety etc.I was never good at walking as a kid uphill and not good at sport at school.
I used to complain to my Dad about pains in my legs when I was walking, he said it was growing pains.
Funnily enough, I was asked that question when I rang the local support group when pain started in my hip and fatigue set it in badly." Did you suffer growing pains when you were a kid?"
A series of traumas since Mum died when I was 11, may have contributed. But the real problem came when I split from my husband and met another guy and he turned out a real badun.
Have been diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome too early last year.
My Fibro was activated with a viral infection called Coxsackivirus which is in the bowel, large intestine. Which lays dormant. I had a rash all over my body except feet & hands. I felt in painfrom head to toe. I also had to do my own research , as the Dr's had'nt a clue, then had my diagnosis.
a nasty viral infection and prolonged stress
My daughter diagnosed recently..but from the age of two she complained of pain. even the smallest pin prick seemed to cause her pain. However at10/11her joints started swelling..pain and fatigue..there was no major stress factor that i can think of..i think thecsymptoms increased after she started menstrating at 9. She also cannot identify one incident.
I could relate a lot of things to the start of my problems, severe stress and going through a divorce then losing my house years ago and being homeless with 3 children, I coped at the time (I was working and kept on working whilst homeless). Everyone around me wondered how I was able to keep going and I have since been told that they thought I was heading for a nervous breakdown. Then I had food poison and after many colonoscopies and endoscopies and scans I was diagnosed with lymphacytac colitis, my illness got a lot worse, and I was off work for nearly a year,and after an MRI scan I was diagnosed with MS, Arthritis in my spine and various other parts of my body, and a bulging disc in my lower spine, Then as I was in constant pain I related it to the MS, But after further tests I was also told that I had FMS, I was dismissed from my work for being off sick so long, but I did take them to a tribunal AND I WON, But this caused me huge stress.I now also have peripheral neuropathy in my feet/legs and hands and I am unable to control my bowels, ( goes back to the food poison, I have been like this for years) I am recently separated from my 2nd husband due to domestic abuse so I am homeless again (on my own this time though as children are grown up and left the house. and dealing through womens aid, I am terrified to go out at all, and my whole body is in pain. I seem to have had years of stress.In between all that my mum died a horrific death from contracting C/DIFF after going into hospital with a sore leg.and again I was very stressed and had a lot of dealings with the NHS before they finally admitted that my mum had contracted C/DIFF due to there lack of hygiene. I cannot pin point one incident but I think it is an autoimmune illness that is definately made worse by stress . I realise everyone has stress in there life but maybe we have a low immune system and stressfull situations then triggers of all our symptoms. I have been in constant pain for about 13 years
I feel so sad reading your story. You have had so much to deal with. I hope you will find the right professionals to help you get the best and kindest care, and the most that you can receive from benefits. Then I hope you can get the rest you need so desperately to grieve and start to recover!
I think my fibro started with glandular fever but was aggravated by pregnancies, pneumonia, prolonged stress, whiplash from car crash, grieving...
My fibro started after a car came speeding into the side of the bus I was driving. They never tried to brake came out of a side street onto the main road the impact caused me to be thrown from side to side and trapped in my cab. Not worked since and I am so stupid I did not make a claim. Now the lady who hit me is walking around and playing netball while I am in a wheelchair most of the time as the pain is so bad I can not walk .So who was thelucky one there it most certainly wasn't me.
post viral syndrome left me with fibro... however I was already suffering facial allodynia - so maybe it was already starting..im thinking about connections with other syndromes with all seem to have - so maybe it is more so something missing or lacking with our immune system & metabolism
I think my fibromyalgia started when I was looking after my mum.She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.I developed back pain which seemed unusual at the young age of 20.She subsequently died 6 months after diagnosis.I remember a specialist asking, about 30 odd years later, if anything traumatic had happened in my life and immediately I thought this most probably had been the start of it.
I did a parachute jump at aged 20, felt like a sword went thru spine when landed. Had probs with back for years but continued to work for next 8 years and even travelled around Oz, but only coz I was able to use Osteopaths/Chiropractors. Then I was out of work and couldnt afford help anymore, told INCORRECTLY by GP at time to rest. So over a year later, had an MRI scan and was diagnosed in 1992 with Fibromyalgia by Dr Huskinson. Over 20 years later, I realise that I had major probs with joints and illnesses as a child. Forced to give up gymnastics (as a child) as i was constantly spraining ankles and wrists. Often ill with tonsilitus, til removed. Was sexually and physically abused from 7-8 years old untiol 15 by 2 different members of family. So there are so many triggers and accidents that I find it difficult to pin point. Had probs before parachute jump, but obviously that excerbated it.
I got diagnosed 18 months after a huge amount of stress, in a period of 15 months my son was seriously ill, we thought he had leukaemia, turned out to be ulcerative colitis, Auto immune hepatitis aged 14. then separated from hubby, had to sell house move back to parents with my kids, daughter found out she was pregnant, then I had to leave full time job to care for son and live on benefits, became bankrupt, granddaughter was born with epilepsy... all in a short space of time...
Other possibility is I had a car crash at 18 and had whiplash.... suppose I will never know why I got it but I think all of the above could have been a cause !!!!
Severe sleep-apnea for about 20 years , No deep restful sleep equals Fibromyalgia.
Suffered from depression for about 13 years at the time and finally had a breakdown afer a bad break up - think that's it any way. Had been very run down before break down
Had aches and pains from the age of 17, diagnosed properly 8 years ago at the age of 38. And I'm getting now where, its just like no one listens. But if my mum was still around her patio athritis she had, would turn out to be fibro.
working as a porter in my local hospital late 1970s to 1994 lifting patients as no pat slides then also epilpesy fallen arches flat feet spondolosis
Can't remember not having Fibromyalgia - exacerbated after I had a transverse fracture of my sacrum which has left me with subsequent pelvic & hip problems - also I have a very stressful job from which I am suffering increasingly frequent flare ups of Fibromyalgia.
i have been feeling this way for years I did have glandular fever when I was in my late teens but talking to my mum it looks like my great nan had fibro but was not recognized back then.
born with mild hypermobility
then
got glandular fever
went through a bad divorce [asked him while i had glandular fever]
had a major car crash
moved house and doc and he gave me a tetinus booster
all with in a year.
five years later my new boyfriends nick name for me was snoozy and i dozed off all over the place. no one told me i had ME/CFS i found that out 15 years later
i went and got a full time job and wore myself into the ground. i had tears rolling down my face as i walked from the bus i was so tired.
then i tried for a1baby. i wasnt to know. i then carried three one after another within three and a half years [cock up on the contraception front.. the pill doesnt work on me...]
with the last two i had a split symphysis and the last one ended in an emergency crash section as i was allergic to the induction they attempted, as i was crippled. totally unable to breath and walk at the same time. but by then i had already been diagnosed with FM between baby 2 and baby 3.
when the girls were getting inoculated the first had a bad reaction. i was tested so was she. she had only had one of the triple and she already had 8 times more tetanus in her system than she should have. and i had 29 times.... very very odd. immunology bloke thinks we are the family that proves you can never say never cos the other two all had too much tetanus too and were already immune to whooping cough and diphtheria. i asked if my eldest should be checked as he was in high school and about to have his end of school tetanus and ive got FM my mum has ME and MCS and my sis has ME and the internet said they may be a connection. i was hoping and expecting to be laughed at. he didnt. he just picked up his dictaphone and dictated a letter to my doc. he was tested and had 9 times in his system. and the immunology bloke said he had heard it too many times to be able to ignore it.
so theres my list of possible reasons. the car crash screwed my back and body pretty good to be honest, glandular fever shot my immune system and stress probably did the rest.
hope this is helpfull to who ever is doing the research rather than boring them to death...
I think it was mostly stress for me, a very difficult and demanding extended family and definitely the death of my lovely mum that made it happen to me. The comments above are all examples of the very different lives we all lead and the one thing that brings us together. It is a good thing there is a site like this to allow people to speak freely and support each other. x
Marzy,
Thank You , what a lovely comment about this FibroAction HU Community & we are glad you feel this site helps a little to give some support to people who live with Fibromyalgia.
As, we the volunteers live with it too , I feel we have a great community as you say one thing brings us all together.
The poll has had a great response and many people have shared personal experiences that they feel triggered their Fibro. To the members who have experienced grief & trauma (like yourself) I send my sincere condolences.
I feel my trigger was Glandular Fever at University that took a very long time to battle the virus and the fatigue never left me. So, here we are all supporting each other through times happy or sad.
So, lets feel proud of our community as everyone plays their part bringing different contributions to threads & showing kindness to each other
Best Wishes
Emma
reading through peoples replies reminded me that at age 9 I was told I had growing pains after X-rays to my knees could not find any reason why I could not kneel or sit cross-legged for any length of time without my knees feeling very painful - even though I was very active and never suffered pain in any joints when doing sports.
Stress Defo stress hurts mind and body I can't be stressed
I believe mine was neck/spine trauma due to repetitive strain coupled by prolonged emotional stress...loadsa tension on the fascia.
I believe I got it through stress at a young age and through having shingles.
Op for carpel tunnel syndrome. The Fibro started 6 weeks after the op. I've read that surgery can be a trigger, so the timing is too close to just be a coincidence, in my view.
I fit with 5 of the 8 suggested triggers!
I had CFS and cervical spondylosis diagnoses before being diagnosed
I had glandular fever
I had whip lash which sent me to a physio and on to a neurologist for the pressure point test.
I had prolonged severe stress ( long story)
My mum has RA, an aunt who had day reversal and pain, and a brother with celiac s, all I think show genetic involvement but nothing is proven.
Oh and hit by a car and sustained a hairline skull fracture aged 12
Stress, abusive past relationship, difficult upbringing and a neck tumour.
i think my fibro started due to the high stress after my firm and fellow worker accused me of saying something i never said i was taken off my job or nearly 9 years and pushed from one site to more sites doing my job as security and because of been removed off my job and messed about for 3 months and loosing loads of money in wages the stress got so bad that i was rushed into hospital while i was seeing my gp with breathing problem and a susspected heart atack and all the stress and depression that came with it started i started with pains in the neck and shoulders and my arms im still employed by that firm as they couldnt sack me as id done nothing wrong in the first place but what they have done to me is beyond my wildest nighmares that 3 months i was taken off my job of nearly 9 years made me want to end my life as the lack of money coming in i couldnt aford my rent and if id lost my home id have nothing no job no home no self respect nothing thats what i think brought on my fibro
Prolonged severe stress from early infancy and throughout childhood and early adulthood, then stress and distress when sharing those experiences of abuse, then a traumatic fall 7ft head first triggered the symptoms. I find they flare up much more when I'm feeling emotionally vulnerable. Luckily the consultant I saw immediately understood and validated my own understanding of the links between my experiences and the fibro and that made me feel a lot better. He said the links were classic ones and didn't need to validate the pressure points which I already knew about.
Apparently acupuncture can be helpful and I am thinking about seeing someone privately for that when we can afford it as the NHS isn't good for that kind of treatment although it should be.
It's interesting to see what people feel their trigger was. For me personally, I feel i had more than one thing against me when initially noticing my symptoms. I think I may have had Fibro as a child. I suffered a great deal of pain in my legs (doctors claimed these were growing pains, which we now know is a myth) and I've had trouble sleeping my whole life, along with RLS. In my early 20s, I went on the Cambridge diet (you live on milkshake, absolutely no food) for 2 months, and I think this made my symptoms worse. Shortly after coming off this diet my immune system failed, in very quick succession i caught a number of illnesses, including glandular fever. After recovering, i was never myself again. The pain i had experienced in bouts was now constant and i went from feeling sleepy to completely crippled by fatigue. I had a number of severe bouts of flu (including the swine) and shortly after i was diagnosed. I do also believe i may be genetically predisposed, as my mother has symptoms of Fibro and my grandmother has been diagnosed with arthritis since she was a child.
The stress of loosing my Mother, I was diagnosed around 2 years after she died. I managed to get FB to settle some and the Doctor I was with at the time told me to stop taking Tramadol, big mistake, back to square one, again got it down a bit and my Husband had a stroke 3 years ago now FB flares up and down, mainly up, like a yo-yo.
I had and worked through undiagnosed glandular fever. When I was finally diagnosed it was about 8 months into the glandular. I never fully recovered and went into bronchal phnumonia (sorry can't spell it). Recovery was slow and left me in constant pain.
I had a car crash, got divorced bought a house, had 5 close deaths in 18 months, changed job, got remarried and moved again. My brain said enough is enough!!!
I was hypermobile from birth and through hard manual jobs, excessive sport and their injuries, plus multiple dislocations of knees shoulders and fingers and many seriously bad falls it developed into multiple joint hypermobility syndrome, (recently diagnosed by rheumatolologist alongside fibro!) I also have CFS, IBS, no temp control, chemical sensitivities, dreadful balance and co-ordination and long term chronic pain; depression and anxiety.
I now believe that all the aforementioned have contributed to my development of fibro of which I was diagnosed with multiple tender points like the hypermobility syndrome.
I had major surgery to fix rectocele, enterocele and gradeIII intussussception (in january),which left me unable to walk for a week, have been using a wheelchair since and in dreadful pain daily worse than before.
I had a server accident that left me fighting for life back in the mid 80's since then I have had these symtoms and they have just gotten worse and worse. I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia around 8-10 years ago. I clearly feel it was linked to this accident, although my mother shows signs of fibromyalgia but has not been diagnosed, my sister and Aunt have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and my youngest daughter at the age of 17 show all the symtoms of fibromyalgia but the doctors are reluctant to diagnose it due to her age. So all I am left wondering that although the medical profession say its not is it accutally hereditary
I was taking HRT,for uterine fibroids for at least 5 years,but when i returned from the US,the doc refused to give me a rx for them so had to stop taking it,it was shortly after that when i started having joint pain,and flu like symptoms.I did have a lot of stress also due to my mom dying,and with relocation to a new job in the nhs
stress relating to abusive marriage then having to go thru 13 operations 8 of those were major operations one resulting in me being in hospital for 3 mths and know my son of 15 was struggling on his own at home trying to cope with his illness after just being diagnosed with crohens desease
I've noticed a slight pattern with all these comments, I also had glandular fever, I wonder if any test have been done to see if a connection is with glandular fever, I also read about a cure in The Guardian paper, they seemed to think FM started in the hands and that a cure is near! Apparently people with FM all tested with extra arteries in there hands as opposed to people who feel no pain having the opposite to this, any more about this link feel free to go onto my Facebook page Kimmy Cousins (piccy of me as Keith Lemon) lol quiet gentle thoughts to you all xxxxxx
My mum had Preeclampsia, I have Dyspraxia and have always had fibro pain since I can ever remember
Read the above responses with great interest.....I have recently changed my Rheumatologist (long story, so won't bore you with it!) and he asked me if I could remember anything (or a number of things) which may have been a trigger to the FM:
In a space of three years (2005 -2008) - Severe viral flu, road accident (whiplash injury), only sister died of breast/lung cancer, got married for the second time (happily - but moving house was stressful!), serious fall on honeymoon-damaging the base of my spine (still hurts like hell 4 years later), losing my job (which I loved) mainly because of the time off with sick leave, loss of a beloved pet, chronic insomnia, anaphalactic reactions (twice) to anti-biotics, and just recently a burning "rash" on both legs for 4 weeks so far (feels like they are emersed in scolding water) - and none of the medics know what has caused it!
I try to stay positive, reasonably active and creative (on the "better" days) also to achieve a balance with the meds and herbal treatments - some of the drugs commonly prescribed can cause side effects which just add to the pain and discomfort.
I really admire the folks on here who have youngsters to look after, or who have to cope alone....I am so fortunate, now, to have a caring partner - and no-one particularly dependent on me (although I do most of the cooking still). We have been trying to find out if there is any training available in our area (East Midlands), as he has had no previous experience of caring for anyone with mobility problems.
Got run over when I was ten years old, spinal injury/hurt the whole of my back. my aunt used to say I was like a little old lady, always complaining of bad back and achy knees ect, but not diagnosed with fibro until I was aprox 33, when I started to get a lot of nerve pain and hypersensitivity.
It's was tough to just put one answer. I'm not sure I can pin point it exactly as a few things happened over many years. Death of family members and one family member killed. This went on every year for 10 years ne a year. I had oesteoarthritis before being diagnosed. I spen a whole year off work with it and had serious issues with my old boss who caused me loads do stress and I became depressed. I am also going through premature menapause.
pnuemonia followed by thoractomy
I have had many of the symptoms of FMS since being a teenager but it was after I was told that my dad was going to die that I became overwhelmed with everything. Lack of sleep ,Pain all over, Anxiety and major depression. Fortunately my dad recovered from his illness. I have still got mine.
I had a viral infection,was under severe stress from marriage break up and divorce, working 70+ hours a week and had been given a beating by my own son hard to choose. :-\
Abusive ex, single parenthood, type A stress and overwork, virus, traumatic incident and thyroid probs!
Traumatic childbirth
I lost my daughter at 21 months 23 years ago about 18 month later I had a really bad flu
which kept me bedridden practically for 10 days the docs kept telling me it was stress but I am convinced it was from flu I was stricken with this dreadful syndrome relentlessly for about a year then symptoms appeared to subside gradually. Over the years I had a lot of symptoms but nothing I coudnt cope with. 9 years ago back with a bang just wasn't feeling well endless blood tests different docs telling me different things diagnosed with under active thyroid am certain stress caused relapse that time , eventually subsided after almost 2 years never felt normal since , last week back with a bang wa s carrying to much shopping haven't been feeling at all well for months started with shaking episodes
last September just escalated from there lost my nephew in march he was knocked down by a taxi suffering from stress so its possible that hasn't helped
god bless all who has this absolute horrendous syndrome no one will ever know what it feels like unless they are unfortunate enough to have it
Kathy
Abuse, EDS3 and coming off gluten and dairy which caused a drug withdrawal type reaction in my body. I also have CPTSD so I think theres a link there as well.
