Greetings:
I’m still getting to “diagnosis” as I have PCOS and was seeing an endo. She noted that what I described sounds more like Fibro. Lovely. I’m not even sure I believe that, but as I age, and because I’m 4 years in with pain, I’m willing to see an rheumatologist to figure it out.
I’ve been in pain for that long, but it’s surprising that I didn’t take the process of elimination. The thing is: I really thought I had a thyroid condition. Both my dad and her sister did, so I figured it was a matter of time. On the other hand, their mother was in a wheelchair for a significant period of time, and they said it was “arthritis.” Since that was 1950’s and all, I’m betting it was probably more osteoarthritis if anything-something really debilitating.
Curious if PCOS then leads to other conditions-it does, but not of the arthritis variety…unless it does…and then, wondering if “fibromyalgia” could also be a sub condition of arthritis. I’m just ruminating. I could be wrong. Completely wrong.
I don’t have tingling, I don’t have shooting pain. I don’t have “flares” because I’m not clear what those really are. For me, my pain is deep in muscles, or joints, or other muscle-like areas of my body. It first noticed it might be something OTHER than pain from working out (and I hadn’t worked out that hard for that type of pain in the last 4 years, so I was just covering for myself) when I couldn’t lift my shoulders. At all. Both of them. It lasted and lasted. I was curious why they hurt so bad, so deep, and for so long, when I hadn’t been been lifting weights. Maybe it was a low D level I pondered. I took more EU’s of D…and only a slight improvement.
I had plantar fasciitis for a long time, so any bottom of foot pain was almost daily and I ignored it.
But you know, despite having many kids, and being used to “fatigue” I started to feel so tired-like I did when I was in my first trimester…that total and complete exhaustion. Again, I thought that was weird.
So: fatigue, feet, arms…and never mind that my hips, both at the same time, had hurt often. Again, I thought it was residual or “permanent” pain for the gift of bearing children. They were fat ones after all, and large. But, debilitating? That couldn’t be right. And then, once in a while, I couldn’t stand up straight. Again, why? Haven’t done much during that time except run on the treadmill. That must be it. I’ll stop. Still, it persisted.
So: hips, back, feet, shoulders…and then the pain in my finger joints. But, I type alot, so that must be it. But same typing quantity: one day they hurt immensely, the next they don’t at all…why?
So, hands, back, hips, feet, shoulders…and then my knees sometimes feel like they are going to go backwards! They are in pain for literally NO reason. I can stand “too long” (yet, I have no idea the time limit) and, pain.
And I feel cold when no one else does.
And in the past 4 years anxiety has increased so that I take a valium or something similar just to fly or go to the dentist-two things that typically didn’t cause me panic!
So, feet, hips, back, shoulders, knees, cold, anxiety, panic, and the pain that now means some nights I don’t sleep well, and I am restless. I can’t say what caused the pain (heavy lifting? Working out? Walking too long??)…but it is torturing me nonetheless.
Does ANY of this sound familiar?
Since I have a family history of “arthritis” of the wheelchair kind, I WILL see a rheumatologist, but am curious of others’ experiences. Anecdotal evidences really speaks to me.
Thanks!
Eight
PS: I copy and pasted my own topic from “Ben’s Friends” because I could not choose another category while on that page in the site. I figured my post really belongs here in “symptoms.”