Onset of symptoms?

[FibroMel]

Was your fibromyalgia set off by a single traumatic event, or did it slowly creep up on you?

[LindseyMid]

I had a whiplash injury, followed a month later by a bad gastrointestinal infection (that I later discovered I ended up having for 9 months) followed by a period of high stress with university finals and personal commitments. Could hardly have done much more to bring on the development of Fibro, especially given I am hypermobile so at risk anyway. My symptoms then increased in severity gradually and through flares for a number of years until I accessed effective treatment.

[Rach1977]

Hi, I had a whiplash injury too in my thoracic and cervical spine in 1999, I had a very stressful job, I wore body armour which was very heavy, I had a traumatic relationship where I had threats to kill against me, I have seen some awful pics/movies realting to my job as i worked in the child protection field. I had really awful flu, proper flu where i couldn't get out of bed flu, then didn't receover for years, they said i had post viral asthma, I couln't stop coughing for about 2 years, then all of a sudden it went. So I put it all down to that!!! My body just gave up one day in April 2010 and I think I had little breakdown!!!!.............Oh and I also had a erious lack of support from work and was accused of having nothing wrong with me and that I just needed counselling!!!!!

[Maggieblue in reply to Rach1977]

Your story sounds soooooo familiar

[Artyrosie]

Yes I believe so - I had Viral Encephalitis from which I recovered, but ended up with severe depression and somewhere in all that developed FM as well.

[jahni]

mine started after an attack of my person

[joyous]

hi there ,i had a slipped disc it ruptured far too much pain for my body to cope with 2 spinal ops thats how my FM started

[HeihctiSC]

mine started years before i was told i actually had it and looking back i can honestly say why couldnt it be picked up before.

Back in Jan 2004, I was involved in a car accident and all i luckly got was cuts and brusies but after being in the hospital i got shock and whiplash and my knees hurt well bad and then after that for a while i was ok then when i was left by a ex partner i got panic attacks and anxitey aswell and back problems too, and when i was told i got it in Dec 2010, I have got a few more symthoms like hands being pins and needles all the time especially when its cold like now.

So now I wish the GP's know more about it as i feel like a fraud when i go in to see mine, even thou she is very helpful on the other conditions i have, like asthma and others......

[dolly45]

Mine started on 9th May 2003. I fell in the house into the chimney breast wall and knocked 3 bricks out. Went back to work the next day, answered the phone and didn't know what I was doing, how the telephone worked or if I was speaking to a man or woman. Collapsed next day in work, was taken to A&E, to be told I'd had a bleed into brain. I worked for local Government, they sacked me cos I was too ill to go to work and do my job ( very sympathetic weren't they!) My symptoms started then. In 2006 I was diagnosed with MS at hospital. In 2010 I complained about my GP because she already had a prescription wrote out for me as I walked into her room, she handed it to me and said "there you are am in a bit of a rush today.". Was transferred to the Senior GP who had a good look through my records and said "I dont think you have MS!!!!!!!". She did a load of tests and then informed me I had Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, PTSD, IBS, OABS, etc. And I sat there absolutely numb.

[tish]

I had a very bad head injury that was the start of mine that was back in 2008 but have had a private doctor say I had fm before and it was speeded up to how it is now... my partner also kicked me out said I was a freak ......

[FibroMel]

I am astounded by the similarities in the answers to my question. Seems we all suffered a major trauma. In my own case I had an emergency ovarectomy in 2000. Had been in pain for over two years previous. Only when they opened me up in ER did they discover my ovary was twisted and black! Went back to college after just 6 weeks and did my finals. Pushed myself too hard and came top of the class. Moved back in with my parents after. Got a job in local deli on my feet for 12 hours a day. Then had mini breakdown and in psych ward for a week. Was more chronic fatigue at that stage. In 2005 opened a restaurant, got married, got pregnant. Full blown fibro symptoms since then. So lucky my husband supports me. He sold the restaurant and got a job that pays the bills.

[frugirl]

i believe my fm came on as result of falling off my bike and banging my head and also being on the receiving end of domestic abuse for many years all that mixed together with having had oh dear cant remember the name of it affects all the glands ah that's it glandular fever . two days after the bike fall , I had a sharp pain in the back of my head and lost the use of my right hand side , they were never really sure if i had a mini stroke or not as apparently they don't always show up on scans , ,walked with a stick for a while ,consultant i saw at the time said it was stress as i was a single parent . Any hoo after that came the FM

[FionaP]

Our stories are similar in so many ways. Don't know when mine started as looking back I had a real problem with the cold as a child and had a year at 20 where I could carry no weight at all. Fractured my scull as a child. motorcycle accident late 20s. Bullied at work, had a breakdown then Glandular fever (which has never gone) early 30s. Works injury and whiplash late 30s. Sacked from local Gov.7 years back as could not work. It was then that I got the Fibro diagnosis. Sadly the Fibro and Osteoarthritis get worse with each year...Story continues... Luckily I have a supportive doctor (sadly not family or friends) and I am in receipt of direct payments so have help with house and shopping.

[Sarah-Jane]

Well, I am new here, but I also have a different answer. I have not had surgery or a major accident. I have had a couple of falls with no sign of any problems. I slipped on some stones set in concrete when they were wet. I landed on my left knee. I also walked my dog across a snow packed road and slipped. I landed on my bum but do not recall the fall. It didn't hurt and I had no bruising. There were months between these. However I did start gathering different problems some prior to these. I could no longer mould icing for a cake, my hands were too painful. My little finger and ring finger on both hands sometimes go fizzy with pins and kneedles - if I lay on my left my right would react, if I lay on my right... I was tested for carpal tunnel, nerve damage in my elbows, neck and spine. Nothing matched. Then I had trouble with my knees. I could walk up 3 flights of stairs without any problem and then, without warning they started to complain and quickly became very painful. So I got the lift keys. That started on the Wednesday. Friday half term began. The next Wednesday my hips felt 'funny'. It was as if the joints were so cushioned they were at risk of over-extending. I saw the doctor that day. Both of us were puzzled. The next day it was as if someone had burst large blisters where the cushions had been! I saw the doctor and could hardly walk. I was signed off. Tests were done. No one could make any sense of it. I was diagnosed as having arthritus but not rheumatoid arthritus. More tests. Time went by. Saw rheumatologists and they could not agree. Went through an MRI scan and suffered as my hips were jolted up and down. I came out almost screaming and dont know how I didnt. Then my mother asked, is it Fibromyalgia? I asked my doctor and he said 'I thought we were working towards that conclusion?' So here I am. Its one month later. I am on DLA and back at work when I can. Access to Work through the Job Centre Plus have helped me do that. Without them, no work. So my answer is it crept up on me and then exploded. I hope my story helps you and others.

[LindseyMid in reply to Sarah-Jane]

Sarah-Jane, you have described here a lot of markers for myofascial pain syndrome. Have you ever been assessed for myofascial trigger points (TrPs) by a specifically trained consultant or physiotherapist? Myofascial pain is very very common alongside Fibro, but can be mis-diagnosed as Fibro. Plus, people with Fibro who do not realise that they have severe myofascial pain often struggle to control their symptoms as it needs a different treatment approach to Fibro itself.