I'm a 27 y/o male - active and healthy but I believe, well I'm certain, that I suffer from fibromyalgia. My partner struggles to identify my discomfort when I flare up and tells me to see the GP, but I don't see the benefits and don't want medication. What's worse is that when I do feel it I'm so impatient with everything and everyone that I doubly refuse to waste time seeing a GP who will likely advise a healthy lifestyle and diet (which I do follow!)
Could someone offer some advice on this, please?
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Chrissyfraze
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I would definitely see a gp....in my experience they don't actually diagnose this condition until everything else is excluded anyway. Also noone says you HAVE to take medications.....I didn't.
My diagnosis came after excluding anything else and seeing a cfs/me clinic. Best thing I did for pain management was to give up diet coke and anything else with artificial sweeteners in. And do some graded exercise as well as using co enzyme q10.
Gp...not much help. Specialist clinic...great..... no magic wands but validation and support was invaluable.
Have to agree with moo196, you need to see your GP if only to rule out anything and everything else. I would try to stay away from medication if at all possible myself, but I have had to give in. You have to weigh up your quality of life, if the flares are few and far between and the pain is mild, then medication in the form of over the counter pain relief may be all that would be required.
Hi and morning! I think you should see your GP to rule out everything else and if they all come up negative...i.e. blood tests, scans, xrays etc. then they can talk about Fibro. It takes a long time to get a diagnosis but once there you can then plan how you can cope with this horrid condition. You can rant, rave and swear (oh not swear!!) on this site and we shall understand. Have you looked at any of the links on this site which can give you further information....It might be an idea to let your partner peruse this site as well so that it will give them a better understanding....I wish you a less grumpy and pain free day....
Welcome to the forum You will find that getting a firm diagnosis of Fibromyalgia can take many years.
Have a look at our mother site and see if you are familiar with any of the symptoms on there fmauk.org
How would you explain your flare up? Do you feel ok for the rest of the time?
Is there any particular reason you think that it may be Fibromyalgia.
I would definitely visit your GP as it must be troubling you otherwise you wouldn't have joined the forum.
Hopefully your GP will at least do a full blood count to see if you are deficient in Vitamin D or B12 or Folate as Fibro sufferers are often low in these Vitamins.
Hello, as others have suggested, maybe see your doctor just to get other conditions ruled out. Make a list of symptoms or keep a pain diary to take with you when you see your doctor.
If indeed you get fibromyalgia as a diagnosis, then you can manage the symptoms by pacing yourself, gentle exercise.
If you have not already looked at the mother website for this group, then you may find it useful to take a look fmauk.org
You should see a doctor, I truly believe it's hard for family members to understand fibro and all the other illnesses that join in to make daily life hard to bare.
I tried to stop 1of my painkillers a few months ago and within a week i was back to square one, not only was the pain horrendous but I was also moody and wanted scream at anyone, I'm now back on 600mg pregabalin and a mixture of other meds.
Everyone is different and what works for me might not work for you but maybe your family deserve for you to see if there is other treatments out there to help you maybe hydro pool or acupuncture.
I wish you luck and hope that you find a solution that works for you and your family.
I was diagnosed by my GP, who is really good and very sympathetic to fibro. Having had countless blood tests and appointments with other GPs and physios over the years, all of whom brushed off my suggestion that I might have fibro, last year one of the GPs said "I don't diagnose fibromyalgia. Go and see Dr X (the senior partner) - he knows a lot about it". So off I went to see Dr X, and after a long conversation and him reading through years of my notes and various test results, he said that he was happy to diagnose fibromyalgia. Years before I had seen gastroenterologists who diagnosed IBS, neurologists who treated my migraine, and various other specialists for the hyperhidrosis and all the other individual symptoms. Having done a very good pain management course a few years ago for chronic back pain from an injury, and knowing that rheumatologists can do very little but prescribe medication the GP can prescribe, I decided to save the NHS money and not ask to be referred. I was already taking venlafaxine (SNRI like duloxetine) for my hyperhidrosis, so my GP gave me cocodamol of varying strengths for different degrees of pain, and pregabalin. He also signed me off for six months for "a good rest" because I'd been working non-stop for over 40 years.
Overall seeing this GP was a very positive experience, and his support is ongoing.
I totally agree with your other respondents in seeing your GP just to get other medical conditions ruled out of the equation. Fibro symptoms vary from person to person but they have a great deal in common with many other illnesses.
I want to sincerely wish you all the best of luck, and please take care of yourself.
All my hopes and dreams for you
Ken
If your already practicing good nutrition, all that's left would be physical help. Massage, acupressure, PT, Hz meditations under direct headphones, hydrotherapy, idk...please update us as you go along
It is worth seeing a GP just to have a proper diagnosis on your records for future use if necessary. When I was diagnosed I told the Consultant I was managing my fibromyalgia myself, he totally agreed and said should I need further help from a GP then just ask. It was no big deal and many people with fibro manage their own symptoms, I do for one as I do not want to resort to prescribed drugs which make little difference anyway as they only mask the problem. Like you I try to eat healthily, do as much exercise in any form as I can manage, try to keep away from stress people and situations, pace myself, take lots of vitamins and practice Mindfulness. I do have pain but all this helps to keep me going.
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