Hi all! I’m newly diagnosed and confused as to what to categorize as my fibro symptoms and what would be a normal feeling. Being constantly tired and having random pains every day have just been a part of life for a while. Today, I woke feeling pretty good, other than my feet feeling as though I’m 90 (I’m not!). Then 3 hours in to work, had fatigue so bad I didn’t want to make the effort to talk!! Lasted for hours! Then, after taking it easy, felt better. So confusing as to what causes it and how to avoid it. Now I’m in for the evening joint pain routine. And I feel like I could spend all my time trying to figure out what makes symptoms worse, or attempt to be “normal” and deal with the consequences. Ugh. Frustrated tonight. 
We can relate to everything you are mentioning, Leslie! Please get to a Rheumatologist if you haven't, they are the Drs best equipped to take care of you and eliminate other possiblities. Rest as much as you can and feel at home to use the search engine at the top of the discussion page to bring up past discussions on just about any subject, including dozens and dozens of definitions of Fibromyalgia. What angel posted is a very good start!
Hope you can find some relief! We are all here for you!
Wishing you well,
SK
Another sad fact to Fibro is that no 2 days are the same. One day you can have severe bicep muscle pain, memory loss and fatigue then tomorrow they are gone but now you have foot pain, back pain, mood swings, etc. Some tiggers/causes you can learn like stress or lack of sleep, but there are so many others that you may never discover you just take it one day at a time. I'm not saying that to discourage you, just to prepare you for some bad times. Eventually, you will find a groove and learn to live a semi-normal life. I haven't gotten there yet, I'm still looking for a good doctor. Two more tips, take advantage of the world-wide web. It has a wealth of info on Fibro. And secondly, don't fall for these "cure Fibro" schemes that you see on the web. They are VERY dangerous. I found one product in a big name pharmacy, but luckily I knew to look up the ingredient because all but 1 was extremely dangerous. Good luck!
Gentle Hugs!
Thank you all for the suggestions! Hopeless, I kind of want to change your name ;). But what you described is exactly how I feel!! And people keep asking how I feel… I want to say, “I’m ok, ask me again in an hour.” So far my symptoms are mild, other than the week the weather changed. But last year this time we lost 3 family members in 5 days and I was in incredible pain for months. I’m sure stress was the culprit. Thank you for the replies! Nice to not be alone!
Welcome Leslie! I'm sorry that you have fibro. As you've probably surmised, it's not a fun or easy illness to diagnose/deal with. I would say that every single thing you've mentioned on your list of symptoms matches mine exactly. Welcome to the mystery disease! Random pains that hurt horribly for days or weeks at a time then vanish again for awhile, only to be replaced by other random pains elsewhere. And yes, the fatigue sneaks up on you out of the blue! Which can be a major pain in the ... Anyway. Yes, I feel 90, although on me it's the back and knees. Oh yeah, and night time and early mornings are the worst! Getting up out of bed is always...interesting.
I don't think that any of what you're experiencing is "normal." All sounds like classic fibro to me.
I'm glad that you've joined us and I hope the site provides useful and supportive to you. I think you'll understand your illness better once you've read more and posted more.
Warm hugs,
Petunia
Hopefully someday soon my name will be changed. I've been having a pretty bad time lately and that's kind of how I've been feeling. But I think with the help of the awesome people here, that feeling isn't going to last long!!!
Hopeless,
What an excellent post! And a great warning. Your post should come as a warning label for fibro.
And I hope that eventually you'll feel less hopeless with your fibro and more hopeful. I know, that's a tall order. But you sound like a savvy person who's done a lot of research on the fibro front. So hopefully finding a good doc who helps to better manage your pain will help you to feel better all of the way around.
Hugs,
Petunia
Thanks so much angel!!
Leslie,
So sorry to hear of the fatigue… I have this problem too. If I don’t rest then my body just shuts down. And it decides to go on strike for days!! Fibro stinks, doesn’t it?
Do you know if you have CFS? I do and it adds to the fun.
Hope you feel better!