# Question about Fibro



## Guest (Oct 17, 1999)

I would like to ask for your opinion on my symptoms. At first I thought I had a mild form of IBS. Now, however, I think that I may have FIBRO or something related, with IBS being just part of syndrome. Here's a run down on my diverse and inconsistent symptoms. Not sure if they are completely unrelated or not.-Minor IBS, manifesting itself as loose BM, minor D, passing of undigested foods, and weight loss. Seems to hit me worst in response to certain trigger foods and just randomly. Not stress related. Started about 9 months ago. By the way, I'm mid-thirties. -Occasional sharp pain under my ribs on the right side. Lasts a few days. No real correlation between the foods I eat and the pain. Seems to come on after a particularly hard sleep/nap. Hurts like there's pressure on something when I take a full breath. Feels kind of like something is being pulled or squeezed.-Sometimes I get a weird feeling on the right side of my abdomen. It's sort of on the surface of my muscle tissue/skin. Feels sensitive, kind of like sunburn. Lasts a few days. Had the same feeling on my face a few times--around my cheeks and under my eyes.-Decrease in the length of time I can go between urination. Used to hold it all night. Now I have to get up once, sometimes twice.-Sensitivity to cold, especially water, in the first few hours of the day. Sometimes I get a contraction in the feeling of my genitals, sort of like cold water causes. Often happens before a BM. A hot shower or bath reduces or eliminates these symptoms.-Minor small muscle twitches in several places: back, side, back of arms, shoulder, and what felt like my colon or something internal.-A muscle twitch or flutter inside my abdomen, near where my liver is located. Flutters sometimes at night when I sleep on my right side.-Sometimes a feeling over my entire body that something just isn't right. Like something is out of balance. No dizziness or light-headedness, or memory problems. Very difficult to describe. Makes me very irritable when I get it.-Sometimes an unusual amount of dried mucus in my sinuses in the mornings--but I don't have allergies in the traditional sense.-Occasional serious neck pain. Thought to be brought about by sleeping the wrong way???Appreciate any folks with FIBRO telling me how this relates to their symptoms. I've read some about FIBRO. It confuses me, though. Would I have more intense pain if this was FIBRO.Skeeter


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

Hi Skeeter; What you describe sounds typical of Fibro, however if you haven't been screened by a rheumatologist for this, you should be to make sure. They can rule other possibilities out like lupus. I have the neck-shoulder pain that feels like you slept the wrong way. Make sure you get a good pillow that supports the neck; and be sure you sit at the edge of the bed when you get up to do neck exercises-you can get these from rehab. centers. Stretching of all extremities is a good idea before you begin your day. I get those occas. twitching episodes pretty well all over too. The pain isn't necessarily severe, but very annoying, and just wears on you and it can make you irritable. I find that finding a darkened quiet room to lay down in even for 10 minutes helps to restore you a little. Of course the GI problem to me can be the most irritating of all. It is common if you have been on birth control, steroids, or antibiotic therapy for fibro people to develop a problem with yeast in the bowel. An antifungal may turn around that D problem for you. If you have developed food/preservative sensitivities; those may have to be addressed as well. Best thing to try is to eliminate most of the sugars, white flour products, and preservatives in your diet and see if that helps. I lost 15lbs. too when my C switched to D when I was on antibiotics. I also have the sensitivity to cold and the dried mucous secretions which are very common with fibro. Good luck in finding some answers, and keep in touch. ------------------[This message has been edited by moldie (edited 10-17-1999).]


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## Guest (Oct 18, 1999)

Thanks, Moldie. Was the epitome of health and fitness 9 months ago. Whatever I have has slowly eaten away at me, psychologically more than physically. When you're a man in a macho profession and look in tip top shape and you go to a GI doc and say I have all these (mostly subtle) things wrong with me, they look at you like you're a mental case. Of course, all the tests and procedures are normal. Now I'll have to mention FIBRO to my doc. Bet he hasn't even heard of it. Seem to recall that I read people trying Kava Kava and Tylenol PM to help them sleep deeper. Does that seem to work for some people? My sypmtoms are almost always worse for the first several hours of the morning. My sleep is usually okay...not great. It's when I have a stressed out nap that I seem to get the pain in my chest/abdomen. Almost sure I have built up sensitivities to many foods and food preservatives/additives. Skeeter


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