Trudy
Dear fellow pain sufferers. I think I have fibromyalgia. I am in fact seeing my MD this afternoon to assist with diagnosing what is going on with my body. I have been having severe pain all throughout my body and coldness of the extremities with pain in my hip areas. I was in an automobile accident on 12-12-98 which caused an injury to my right shoulder with severe right shoulder pain, to which I had a right shoulder decompression done in July of 1999 and subsequent cervical disk surgery in August 2000. I was having symptoms of severe right arm pain, tingling and numbess with pain in my neck as well. My physicians were having difficulty differentiating my shoulder pain & neck pain. We decided to do the shoulder surgery first and if the pain did not subside, then investigate neck symptoms. They found I had a cervical disk herniation and bone spurs. My neurosurgeon did a cervical diskectomy to remove the herniated disk as well as some bone spurs. My neck pain as been relieved some, I now complain of tightness in my neck area and shoulders radiating to mid-back. I have had severe facial pain for the past seven months, with no diagnosis except I have TMJ. My TMJ joints are not have not shown signs of deterioration, so why do I constantly have facial pain with muscle spasms that is so bad at times, I cannot bear to talk. I have been on every sort of medication you can think of to relieve my symptoms for the last two years from nonsteroidal medications such as (Vioxx, Relefan, and Celebrex); muscle relaxants (Flexeril, Zanaflex) as well as various pain medications such as Ultram as well as major pain medications such as Oxycontin 20 mg twice a day as well as Percocet (various strengths). My MD thinks I have developed a sensitivity to my pain, meaning I am more susceptible to pain. My body reads minor pain as severe pain. I am seeing my MD today for assistance to rule out Fibromyalgia and see what else can be done for me. Would you please email me with the information as to the trigger points, etc, as I would be very curious to compare my pain areas. Any help with this issue would be apprecaited as I am at a loss as to where to go from here? Do people end up feeling better any time soon? My symptoms have become worse over the last year. I realize stress can be a contributing factor, I guess my car accident and subsequent surgeries would suffice as stressfull situations. Any assistance as to reading information for guidance would be appreciated. Thank you. Trudy