Fibromyalgia? - Los Angeles,CA

I have heard people say that once they started taking thyroid medicine this stopped. It is very hard to diagnose a problem with the thyroid because the spectrum of "normal" is so large. Mine thyroid reading looked good on paper but I was not feeling very well and the doctor would listen to me and prescribe the dosage until I was doing a lot better.

Are you addicted to Excedrin? Pain killers do that to us. Even when the real pain healed up, if we are addicted we will get phantom pain due to withdrawal. One thing to consider.
A lot of my tenants have fibromyalgia, they claim no OTC drug would alleviate their pain. I don't think it's a pre warning that you are going to get it. You might need some dietary adjustments and I'd go that route first before trying anything medical. Make sure you are hydrated, eating healthy, moving enough during the day. If you dont move enough your body will ache, kind of like the tin man on Wizard of Office. Your bones, muscled and joints will all atrophy if you dont use them on a regular basis.
If you are healthy and not overweight or dehydrated then you probably should start logging your pain and what manages it for now, and then let your doc see a month or two of your journal and see what he/she thinks.

I get achy all over when I eat processed foods. This started happening in my late 20s and gradually got worse till I figured it out. Maybe something you are eating?

My Fibromyalgia shows itself by pressure points being tender. The ones on my shoulders, the back of my shoulders, between the shoulder blades, on the back of my hips (I can't lean back on anything), and in my neck. I use cold to treat the pain. I learned during physical therapy that ice reduces the inflammation and therefore reduces the pain and nerve irritation.

If you have someone who will rub you then take Styrofoam cups and fill them about 3/4 full and freeze them, uncovered. Take one out when you are feeling pain and peel off the rim until the dome of ice is exposed. This way the person doing the rubbing has insulation around the ice and can hold it longer. They take the cup of domed ice and rub it over the sore spots. It feels really good.

I also like to do stuff in the swimming pool. The water cools and also puts pressure on the tissue too. That helps reduce the inflammation in the pressure points too.

My friend takes a medication that helps the pain of Firomyalgia but I think she has some side effects but she doesn't see them like I do. She takes Lyrica. It is relatively new on the market and the commercials on TV says that it can increase the symptoms of depression in some people. I think she acts more depressed than she did before she started taking it. She has increased her antidepressants but she sleeps all day and hardly ever gets out to do anything. She used to do more before she started Lyrica. So, if you do try Lyrica watch for side effects and ask your friends if they notice anything different and pay attention.

Only a doc can diagnose Fybrmyalgia correctly, many other illnesses can seem the same so seeing a doc to make sure is best.

No. If I were you, I would look into other stuff first like your diet, how you handle stress, etc because those things can cause body aches.

I would think that those are just the normal muscle pains we all feel everyday. It is part of working your way through life, and not uncommon.

Fibromyalgia is not typically controlled with an OTC pain drug. The pain can lessen as you go through your day then get worse at night or it can just always be there. Symptoms typically include stiffness in the morning and tender points meaning tender to the touch in areas like your shoulders, rib cage, elbows, buttocks, knees etc along with general pain throughout your body. Numbness in hands and feet is common and sleeping is often difficult. It's difficult to diagnose as there is no specific test for it.

Fibro is more than just pain. You should google "fibromyalgia tender points" and "fibromyalgia symptoms."
I was diagnosed this summer. My main indicator was my incredibly sore tender points. If you google that, you'll find a diagram.
I was also very sore and achy, like I had worked out too hard the day before.
I was very tired and was sleeping quite a bit, yet I wasn't any more rested than I was before I went to sleep.
My exercise tolerance is low and I don't handle extreme temperatures well. Heat bothers me worse than cold, although they are both pretty miserable.

My general practioner (who is AMAZING) diagnosed me. He prescribed amitrypalene, which I had been on before for migraines. He upped my dose gradually until I felt more functional. When the weather started to turn cool in October, I went back because I was noticing an increase in pain. He put my on Lyrica. IT WAS AWFUL! I'm sure it works well for some people, but if you have any predisposition to depression, it will make it 100x worse.
I literally thought I was losing my mind. I would get off the bus on campus (I'm in grad school) and not even be sure if I was in the right parking lot because I had no idea where I had parked. I ended up spending 3 awful days on the couch, crying my eyes out and wishing I could just dissolve into nothing. I couldn't even care for my son. My MIL and husband took turns caring for him while my grandmother attended to me.
As soon as it was out of my system, I started to feel like me again. The doctor upped the amitryptalene again and gave me a prescription for a muscle relaxer. It's not a perfect plan, but it's working for now.