Hi guys. I keep going back to the gp as I am exhausted most of the time, have a couple of good hours in the evening. I ache all over, just combing my hair hurts my arms. My knees hurt a lot, I get pins and needles in feet, legs, arms hands and face. I have type 2 diabetes and underactive thyroid.
My gp has done lots of blood tests and they are all within normal range and has said that I'm probably just in perimenopause.
I'm not enjoying life as I'm either working or sleeping, making me down
Could I have fibromyalgia?
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43hippychic
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I don't know how they diagnose fibro...but, if you are exhausted all of the time, there must be something wrong. Also, it can't be right to have such an amount of pain. Have you had your vitamin d, iron, b12 etc checked?
I am so genuinely sorry to read of how you are suffering and struggling my friend and what you have described could be Fibro but the same symptoms are present in several other medical conditions also.
*NHS Choices says:
*Diagnosing fibromyalgia
If you think you have fibromyalgia, visit your GP. Diagnosing fibromyalgia can be difficult, as there's no specific test to diagnose the condition.
The symptoms of fibromyalgia can vary and are similar to those of several other conditions.
During diagnosis, you'll be asked about how your symptoms are affecting your daily life. Your body will also be examined to check for visible signs of other conditions – for example, swollen joints may suggest arthritis, rather than fibromyalgia.
Ruling out other conditions
If your GP thinks you may have fibromyalgia, they'll first have to rule out all other conditions that could be causing your symptoms. These conditions may include:
chronic fatigue syndrome (also known as ME) – a condition that causes long-term tiredness
rheumatoid arthritis – a condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints
multiple sclerosis (MS) – a condition of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) that affects movement and balance
Tests to check for some of these conditions include urine and blood tests, although you may also have X-rays and other scans. If you're found to have another condition, you could still have fibromyalgia as well.
Criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia
For fibromyalgia to be diagnosed, certain criteria usually have to be met. The most widely used criteria for diagnosis are:
you either have severe pain in three to six different areas of your body, or you have milder pain in seven or more different areas
your symptoms have stayed at a similar level for at least three months
no other reason for your symptoms has been found
The extent of the pain used to be assessed by applying gentle pressure to certain "tender points", where any pain is likely to be at its worst. However, this is less common nowadays.
I want to sincerely wish you all the best of luck and please take care of yourself my friend.
You mention that you have an under-active thyroid, have you posted your results on the Thyroid sister site? It sounds to me that you are under-medicated; there is a very strong correlation between poorly treated thyroid disease and fibro.
Learn as much as you can from the thyroid site before going back to your GP re thyroid function.
Tingling, pins and needles in the limbs indicated low vitamin B12. With thyroid disease, 80% of suffers have autoimmune Hashimoto's. Hashimoto suffers have poor absorption issues in the gut, meaning you are probably low in a lot of vitamins and iron, particularly B12. The PA sister site will help you understand low B12 issues.
Unfortunately, nowadays you need to equip yourself with the knowledge and information about your condition when you visit your GP to request tests and treatment.
Hi guys thanks for replies, one of tablets that I'm on for diabetes interferes with absorption of b12 so I get injections for that. My thyroid results were
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