Drum Roll Please: Yet Another Diagnosis

Yes, its true.  The diagnoses of DDNOS, PTSD, BIPOLAR, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY NOS and my physical diagnoses of Herniated Discs L-4, L-5 (with recurring flareups of sciatica and back pain), High Cholesterol, Osteoarthritis, Asthma, and Renal Tubular Acidosis 3 (drug induced metabolic acidosis) now have a brand new diagnosis to join them (because those were just not enough!!)  Introducing the one, the only, FIBROMYALGIA!!

As I sit here typing this, I am frightfully aware of the pain my body is in, all over.  My toes, the balls of my feet, my heels, my ankles, my knees, my hips, my upper back and neck, my wrists, my elbows.  The pain is not excruciating (oh yippee, I still have that to look forward to!!) but it is something I am aware of whenever I move.  If I move my feet while sitting, or when I stand, or walk, or even when I just lean against the couch arm or the wall, there is that very noticeable but not excruciating pain.  It is more like feeling that I am bruised all over most of my body, and even a light bump or touch will activate it.  Sometimes, just moving a bit starts it.  And some of the places don’t ever really stop feeling sore, like my upper back and neck.
That area only feels better when I sleep, because I’m laying down and not using it so actively to stay sitting up.

Today, mostly, it is my feet and ankles, and wrists and elbows.  My doc first told me she thought I had this about a year ago, but I kinda pshawed it away, thinking I don’t have pain all over or all the time (and then I didn’t…my symptoms were also explained by arthritis….except they never really improved despite using traditional opioid pain meds, and actually now, have gotten worse so that I am feeling pain all over, and it is clearly different from the arthritis pain.

Oh, lucky me!  Never content to sit back–just have to collect just one more disease!  I hope, from now on, we hold back on adding any more.  I think we have collected quite enough and what we have will do.