I'm 18 years old, female, and believe I have some sort of chronic pain disorder. I'm not entirely sure if I do, but all the signs point to yes. My mother and grandmother both had fibromyalgia, as do other members of my family. My grandfather, however, had arthritis and a degenerative spine disorder. I know that fibromyalgia is typically a disorder that starts later on in life, i.e. not at 18. I've always had chronic migraines, pain and stiffness in my back, and occasionally in my legs in my lower thigh area.
I also have chronic insomnia that isn't treatable with over-the-counter medication, and I sway a lot. That might be a strange thing to add, but people with chronic pain disorders do tend to sway a lot as it triggers the release of endorphins. I'm not exactly sure why, though.
I never thought that it might be something more serious until it started getting to the point where it was interfering with my normal routines. I can't do certain things anymore due to headaches and migraines, I struggle to carry my bag around due to the pain and stiffness in my neck and shoulders/back, and I can't have physical contact with others because my body is so sensitive to the touch. It doesn't necessarily hurt when others touch me, it just seems amplified for some reason.
I've wanted to go to the doctor about it for quite some time, but my mother outright refuses to take me. Her philosophy is that 'the doctors couldn't help her with her symptoms 15 years ago so they wouldn't be able to help now,' despite how many times I try to explain to her that there are so many medical advancements that can take place within a single year, let alone 15!
I'm currently taking melatonin for the insomnia, yet it doesn't seem to be effective. I went from paracetamol, to aspirin, to ibuprofen for the pain, and even tried the combination medicines like paracetamol+ibuprofen, yet recently none are working. I wanted to get prescription drugs like triptans and such, but I was - and am fairly certain I still am - too young to be able to take those without the risk of serious side effects.
I have started a log to take to the doctor that recounts the 'episodes' of pain to make the diagnosis easier, whatever it may be, but at this point, including the heredity aspect, I am fairly certain it is an early onset of fibromylagia symptoms. It could still be arthritis, or another similar disorder, but I doubt it.
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peatree
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I'd defo go to the doctors your getting exactly what I have and mines got worse with age in 44 now but mine started in neck shoulders upper back at 14 no one knew what it was. I have massages twice a month see a chiropractor once every 6 weeks I'm taking naproxen backlofen and pregablin still have flare ups like today. A lot of my migraines came from the stiff necks I had after chiropractor treatment they would go away. You really should get checked over by a doctor as I think some muscle relaxants would help you.
Hi there peatree let me wish you a very warm welcome to the group it's nice to meet you.
I am sorry you are suffering at such a young age. But as others have said it is fairly common for not only young adults but sadly for children to suffer with fibro too.
If you are 18 then you are old enough to book an appointment and and talk your concerns over with your doctor. I am sorry your mum feels the way she does. Has you say things have moved on in the last 15 years.
It would be safer to ask your GP about any medication that may help you rather than self medicating which can be very dangerous even with things as simple as paracetamol. Much better to be safe than sorry.
You may wish to take a peek at our mother site it has a wealth of information you may find it helpful. fmauk.org I hope we see you around the forum. xx
As you are 18 you can surely go to the Dr on your own? There are lots of meds you can try but I would recommend natural pain relief.
Top,tips for pain relief
Deep heat and Linnex heat stick (available on the internet.) only use a tiny amount of the latter as it is very potent. Start with a tiny dab, wait 10 minutes and then if no effect try some more.
Electric heat pads
Massage, Osteopath or chiropractor
Self massage tools such as spiky ball, roller balls, rolling pin
Gentle stretches (get advice from physio or osteopath or chiropractor)
Lightning Process, see below old post how this has changed my daughters life!
NewtaliNewtali a month ago 12 Replies
A few weeks ago I posted asking if anyone had heard of the lightening process (LP). I had several replies advising caution. I read some links someone posted which were all very negative and calling it a scam, waste of money etc. However a friend of a friend with ME had done it with great success and my osteopath put me in touch with another ME person who had done it and it had transformed her life. However neither had had Fibromyalgia but the lady advised me to join the LP FB group and ask if there was anyone with fibromyalgia who had done this. I got lots of replies from people who were now living full pain free lives! Clearly you are only going to get people in the group who had success with this but even so I was impressed.
After 3 years of trying to find relief for 19'year old Abby with her having been under pain management for 2 years, spending up to 20 hours a day in bed using heat pads to relieve the pain, my giving her 1.5 to 2 hours massage every night, she was only able to attend school for a couple of hours once or twice a week, had almost no social life and us spending a fortune on food supplements, allergy testing, magnetic mattress, osteopath treatment once a week etc etc we decided to give it a go. There is little we haven't already tried and this was a last resort to find a solution.
So with some nervousness we enrolled my daughter onto the course. Due to her difficulty travelling which would increase her pain we decided to pay extra for one to one to give maximum chance of success. Abby had to do an online training of 4 hours and then a phone assessment to ensure she was fully on board. You have to fully commit to it for it to work.
It works on the principle that brain pathways can be changed. It uses techniques similar to NLP, mindfulness, hypnosis ( but you are not at any time actually hypnotised). In essence it is quite simple to learn the technique but the training covers a lot of theory, much of which is similar to what they teach you in pain management.
The course was 11 hrs in total over 3 consecutive days. I wondered if she would even cope with focusing for 4 hours at a time as after 3 hours of being out of bed she is normally climbing the walls with pain and exhausted.
After day one there was already significant progress. She walked the dog for 15 minutes with no ill effects. She has not walked the dog for about 2 years and walking more than 5 minutes normally causes increased leg pain which can last days or weeks afterwards. She only had a short nap and did some work on her lap top with no,ill effects.
The progress continued after days 2 and 3. She is needing less sleep, is reducing her reliance on heat pads, and we have reduced the length of massage I give her. Now 2 weeks on she is still doing really well. We have just come back from a 3 day theatre fest, travelling to London on the train, seeing 3 shows, doing lots of walking, including spending 3 hrs walking round shops with just a couple of breaks! Today she has had some additional pain in one of her legs, but probably no more than you would expect from having not walked for more than 5 minutes for at least a year!
She is reducing down her medication gradually. She is not pain free yet but we are hopeful that this will happen over time, but even if it doesn't her quality of life is so much better. She can now start to think about her career and is no longer facing a life on benefits.
I cannot tell you what a relief this is for us as a family. If you are able to afford it, I would strongly recommend trying this. No doubt it does not work for everyone and it will not cure structural damage but I still believe it can help with managing pain caused by arthritis etc. if your life is dominated by pain it has to be worth trying. If you cannot afford the course (it is expensive) there are several books available. The one Abby's trainer recommended was "Get the life you love now" by Phil Parker. It is better to do the course, but the book covers everything in the course and is inexpensive.
The process can also be used for depression, anxiety etc.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who does decide to do this and how they get on. Feel free to contact me for more info.
Congratulations if you have managed to read this entire post!!!!
I had just turned 19 when my symptoms started. I was on very strong painkillers and tablets (taking 33 a day) but stopped because I was worried about the effects it was having on my health and my internal organs etc. You should go to the doctors hun, and explain to your mum about why it's important. Most doctors now though suggest exercise etc as tablets aren't effective against fibro! xx
You ar 18. You don't need your mums permission to go to the gp. Get an appointment, Take yourself and get all the help on offer. I take lots of medication, no more migraines, due to pitozifen. no more muscle pain due to steroids,. There are pressure points you could test to see if you have fribro. Google it and try it.
The biggest hurdle is the so called specialists. The old school don't believe in it, i.e. Trained before 1992. But it is becoming more recognised and there has never been so much help, so don't delay any more.
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Chronic Migraine and Fibromyalgia 
Wife just recently diagnosed..couple questions if you don't mind..
So many people wrongfully diagnosed! 
Awaiting referral and diagnosis
