I had alot of the symptoms for underactive thyroid so I went to the dr. but all the blood work came back normal, at least what they consider normal. They ran a few more tests checking for arthritis and lupus but they were normal also so the dr. said he felt I had fibromyalgia and put me on cyclobenzaprine. Has anyone had the same thing happen to them.
For some reason that doctors don't understand, there is a connection between hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia. In fact some studies say 15% of people diagnosed with hypothyroidism will develop fibromyalgia. Did you see a rheumatologist? Fibromyalgia is very difficult to diagnose and is normally only diagnosed by a rheumatolgist by taking a complete history and a physical exam checking for 18 tender areas called trigger points. If your doctor isn't a specialist, I would be suspicious about that diagnosis, especially if he didn't check you for these tender spots. It's not something that can be diagnosed simply by ruling other things out. That being said, I'd see a specialist for sure, because the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown and has no known cure and there are lots of diseases that are MISdiagnosed as fibro. You may actually have something more treatable. Look into Lyme disease, which is also often misdiagnosed as fibro. I have both hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia but since I'm in the medical field I have a hard time with not knowing the cause of fibromyalgia. I've done lots of research and find that there are a lot of closely related diseases often misdiagnosed as fibro such as Lyme, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and adult growth hormone deficiency. I guess my point is that it's hard to live with something with no known cause or cure, so see the specialists, ask lots of questions, and try to find out if it could be something else. Good luck!
Just diagnosed with fibromyalgia but had all the symptoms for hypothyroidism but blood work was normal ????
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November 22nd, 2008 at 10:12 pm
For some reason that doctors don't understand, there is a connection between hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia. In fact some studies say 15% of people diagnosed with hypothyroidism will develop fibromyalgia. Did you see a rheumatologist? Fibromyalgia is very difficult to diagnose and is normally only diagnosed by a rheumatolgist by taking a complete history and a physical exam checking for 18 tender areas called trigger points. If your doctor isn't a specialist, I would be suspicious about that diagnosis, especially if he didn't check you for these tender spots. It's not something that can be diagnosed simply by ruling other things out. That being said, I'd see a specialist for sure, because the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown and has no known cure and there are lots of diseases that are MISdiagnosed as fibro. You may actually have something more treatable. Look into Lyme disease, which is also often misdiagnosed as fibro. I have both hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia but since I'm in the medical field I have a hard time with not knowing the cause of fibromyalgia. I've done lots of research and find that there are a lot of closely related diseases often misdiagnosed as fibro such as Lyme, chronic fatigue syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and adult growth hormone deficiency. I guess my point is that it's hard to live with something with no known cause or cure, so see the specialists, ask lots of questions, and try to find out if it could be something else. Good luck!
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Sufferer of both conditions.
November 22nd, 2008 at 11:00 pm
if the doc is just treatign you with cyclobenzaprine-I would have concerns over his abilities—
FMS is beleived to be a disorder of teh central nervous system-for teh last 10 years0not autoimmune or musculoskeletal–
Cyclo is amuscle relaxant-but does have some CNS properties-
it is a rather laid back treatment
more promising treatments incluse SSRI, SNRI-including antipressants and tramadol (ultram)–tricyclics, and anit seizure like Lyrica…
you need to get a good diagnosis froma doctor that is truly knowledgable about FMS-
a doc like you describe sounds like he thinks FMS is a minor problem–just little aches and pains-it is much more
for a referral list of good doctors (local USA)
email
kindness@fibrobetsy.com
I knwo of a few other referral list (including co cure and fmaware.org-but they include any doc that wants to be on it-even if 99% of patients say they are horrible
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