Hello to everyone. I'm new to this group and thankful to have found such an awesome resource! I've been coping with a wide range of painful and frustrating symptoms since May. Today, my Neuro diagnosed it as FM. I will admit that I didn't really expect it. I have a bunch of questions and hope that y'all can share your thoughts and opinions.

I'm 37 years old. I live in Alabama with my husband and three children. I was diagnosed with Interstitial Cystitis in July 2010. Other than that, my medical history has been uneventful.

May 2011- I started to have tingling and burning followed by muscle pain and weakness in my right arm and leg. My arm pain is mostly along the backside of my arm. My leg pain is worse than the arm. It will spread over my entire leg. Some times the back of my leg from my hip to my knee will hurt the worst and then other times, the back of my leg from my knee to my calf along the backside will be the worst.

When the pain isn't what I've just mentioned, the flare up will be nothing but prickling like the feeling that comes from moving your arm or leg after they've fallen asleep. When the prickling finally ends (can last hours) the arm or leg will just ache and ache and I will do all I can to not use it at all.

I am a stay at home mom so I ignored the symptoms during the summer because the boys were out of school and we stay busy. When the new school year started, I decided it was time to see a doctor. I was worried that it was a blood clot or something...

August- saw GP who said I was probably just depressed but should see a Neuro. I wanted to slap him. It irritates the mess out of me that male doctor's are so quick to diagnose women as depressed. He also told me that maybe I needed get a job and work outside of the house because staying home is not fulfilling like a paycheck. Umm..right.

End of August- saw Neuro that GP referred me to. He ordered an MRI of lower back. It came back normal and he told me nothing was wrong with me but he was sending me to NeuroSurgeon just to be sure.

Beginning Sept-saw NeuroS that did nerve conduction, EMG and MRI of cervical spine and brain.

October- Three days before my follow up appt with NS, I had complete paralysis of the right side of my face and arm. My husband took me to ER and the diagnosis was Bells Palsy. My arm recovered quickly and my face was recovered within a few days. I saw the NS afterwards and he told me that all my tests were normal and that there is absolutely nothing wrong with me. He even said "it's definitely not MS."

In November I saw a new Internal Med doctor that has been amazing. He was the first to put me on a round of steroids, pain relievers and referred me to a new Neuro at a bigger hospital.

December- EEG, MRI with contrast of brain and spine, MRA. All normal.

February-EEG, EVP and Spinal Tap. Lab test for ANA and SED rate.

Today- I had follow up with Neuro and confirmed latests tests were normal. I was in his office less than 2 minutes and he says "it's Fibromyalgia." He put me on Savella and to call him in a couple weeks to let him know how it's going and that was it.

He's never done any kind of examination for FM. We had never even discussed it. It's always been MS. I feel confused..as I've felt this entire time!

My symptoms have been horrible lately and are so much more than what I've just listed. The bottoms of my feet hurt so badly I dread walking, wearing shoes, or one of the boys stepping on them. They felt this way last year and I thought it was just the winter cold. It will come one day and be gone the next and it's on warm days and cold days. My butt muscles are sore and feel like I've been punched. My lower back aches and makes it difficult to sit or stand some days.

When I wake up in the morning, my hands are so stiff that bending my fingers is difficult. They have to warm up and flex before I can comfortably hold a coffee mug or tie shoes. I have vibrations in my feet.

The tingling in my fingers is aggravating and my hand has changed the way it grips a pencil or pen. Silly as this sounds-I realized one day that when I was folding towels that I couldn't get my right hand to hold on to the towel.

So..there's my long story. I'm so sorry if I've bored y'all to tears! I see a Rheumatologist in March. Will he be of more help than the Neuro? What can I expect from the new meds?

Thank you!

~ Leah
currently taking UltramER 300mg and Savella (first dose today)