Hi Evonne,
I'm a 28 yr old woman. I began having symptoms as young as 12 yrs old. I also have many of the same symmptoms as you, including tremors. Mostly in my hands but sometimes in my legs as well. I was only diagnosed about 2 yrs ago. Since then I've done a lot of internet research as well as started reading many books. One of the books that I felt explained and described fibromyalgia symptoms and possible causes was "Chronic Fatique Syndromme, Fibromyalgia, and other invisible illnesses" by Katrina Berne, PH.D. Doing some research goes along way. There is a lot more literature out there than people realize. Hope this helps and I hope everyday is better than the last! Stay strong!

I was diagnosed with Fibro 5 years ago. I have had an essential tremor since I can remember. It is getting worse. I finally found a medication that takes away the Fibro pain, which is Fexmid (not the generic) It is expensive but worth it. My insurance won't pay for it because they say a generic is available flexerall, which doesn't touch the pain. I also take Zoloft and and first xanax then adavan but have quit both of them because the "fog" get's really bad on those. My concern is the stupid tremor. A neurologist prescribed a beta blocker, which was okay for a couple years, but now is getting worse. I read that the essential tremor is linked to the thalamas and it is a nerve disorder. If I'm not mistaken Fibro is a nerve disorder also. Can these be linked? Or is it possible I don't have Fibro, but have another problem that stems from the thalamus (no pun intended)? I wonder how many people with Fibro also have an essential tremor? I have also noticed in the past couple months a burning sensation in my legs if I stand still for more than 2 minutes.

I can really relate to you story. I just found your post while trying to find answers to my own problems. I also just recently was diagnosed with tremors after being tested for seizures, PD, and MS over a peroid of a year. I have had fibro for almost 11 years and I am almost 33 years old. The tremors come more with muslce weakness and fatigue. However, if I get cold and begin to have chills that also can trigger the tremors and can take several minutes for them to stop again, it is a muscular activity. sometimes the tremors can lead to weakenss and some pain after they stop. Do you have that problem? I have tried the beta blockers but they lower my blood pressure too low and make me very tied and weak.

Thanks for sharing your story.

I just found your post, and I have just about every symptom you mention. I have been diagnosed with Fibro about 20 years ago. I have found that food, sugar, and chemicals have a profound effect on symptoms. A couple of years ago, my symptoms worsened and the tremors got so bad I could barely walk. I was then diagnosed with a neurological condition, a form of myoclonus. I take klonepin and keppra, which help me to function. Without the medication, I could barely walk. Cymbalta made my symptoms really bad. I think it is important to watch your chemical exposure and keep your stress levels low. Try to avoid MSG, artificial colors (which are almost everywhere and cause my symptoms to get really bad), preservatives, etc.

I found your post while searching for any information stating or indicating any link between an "Essential Tremor" and "Fibromyalgia".

I was diagnosed with an Essential Tremor about 26 years ago. This tremor effects my head primarily with hands affected to a minor degree. I found the doctors diagnosis at the time as unaccepted and told him it was not essential to me. But on the more serious side, this is an issue that has caused me numerous problems throughout most of my life. This tremor I had when I was a child but it progressively worsened until I sought medical diagnosis of the issue.

Over the years I have damaged my back a number of times. I had to have a lumbar fusion several years ago. Prior to this operation, I had unexplained pains in most of the major muscle groups. I had been treating it with heating pads and topical creams. After the back surgery there occurred a noticeable increase in the frequency and intensity of these muscle pains. This led to increased use of heating pads, a change to maximum strength topical creams, and addition of massaging pads. This enabled me to continue working, as the pain level was reduced to a bearable level.

I later had to have a hernia operation. Following this operation, there was another increase in the pain level and frequency of the pains. At this time, the self medicated and home remedies no longer sufficed. I then saw a doctor who eventually (after about 5 months) diagnosed me with fibromyalgia.

I was given cymbalta initially, which caused cramping of the hands and the throat. This was, needless to say, unacceptable side affects. I was changed to Amitriptyline which caused me to develop a sever speech impediment. I was finally placed on Lyrica which helps to bring the pain to a tolerable level.

The symptoms I have are:
Pain and fatigue within all the major muscle groups.
Stiffness throughout the body in the AM
Swelling of the extremeties
I also get the creaking of the neck during movement of the head, but this is something that I have suffered for over 20 years.
I do get popping of the all the joints in the neck when I move my head, and this occurs up to 30 times a day.
I developed Restless leg syndrome, Irritable bowel syndrome, and several other possible issues which I have as yet to see my doctor about.
I have pain in all the joints of the body.
I have some balance issues (possibly it would have been worse if it were not for my background in martial arts)
I have a slight shuffling gait and tend to trip a lot
The knees and ankles "give out" on me at times leading to he need for a cane or other assistive device.
I have numerous migraine headaches and very frequent tension headaches.

This concludes those symptoms I can call to mind at the moment. Some of these symtoms are due to the degenerative disc disease of the entire spine, both shoulders having torn rotator cuffs, arthritis, and a general abuse of the human body through extreme physical labor and sports over the years.

I have heard that it is believed that Fibromyalgia is a neurological disorder. I am curious to know if it can be caused by another neurological disorder such as a Benign Essential Tremor.

Thanks to those who take the the time to read my long, rambling, and probably off topic entry.

I too have every symptom you described except the eye problems. I have been diagnosed with essential tremors and fibromyalgia. My tremors are in my neck. My neck and shoulders feels like rocks. I tried physical therapy and it hurt so bad that I was stiff in my neck for days. I was diagnosed with fibro in Nov 2011 from my rheumatologits, and essential tremors 2006 from my neurologist. My tremors are exactly like you described. I wake every morning with my head shaking, and at night when I'm asleep they stop. I have taken so many meds. Nothing has worked for me. I have seen a neurogolist and am now seeing a rheumatologist. I do hope that there is a cure or at least some type of medication that could stop this shaking. Sometimes I think I'm going crazy. No one where I live (that I know of) has this except me. I am so exhausted at night when I go to bed, where I try to stop the shaking of my head.

Evonne,
I'm curious to know if you have received an accurate diagnosis in the last 3 years since that post. If you get this please let me know. I completely understand what you're saying about feeling like a mental case and having drs who are now tired of listening and are at a loss. I have been dealing with some time of Auto-immune disorder for almost 2 years now. From the research I have done I have narrowed my symptoms down to some type of CNC auto-immune disorder but all of my symptoms are the same symptoms for several different disorders. I have been MISDIAGNOSED with Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Raynaud's Phenomenon, and now back to Fibromyalgia because they can't find anything through lab testing to back up the previous diagnosis. I'm now being sent for MRI's to check for MS. MS, describes my symptoms more than anything else. Although tonight, when reading PD page most of my symptoms are also listed there and that's something we hadn't even researched.

My symptoms include: (but not limited to because there are other things that I haven't tied into it that could be related)
tremors almost nonstop, twitching in the muscles & nerves throughout my whole body including torso & face, Severe back neck & hip pain. Severe pain in my hands wrists legs & feet. My fingertips & toes turn ice cold & blue (most of the time under stress or for no reason at all) once I get cold I have a hard time warming up and vice versa when I get hot. I suffer from swelling throughout my body including my face & stomach but mostly in my hands legs and feet. When I bend my neck down I have shooting pains that go down my back like lightening. I suffer from orthostatic hypertension. (my blood pressure is typically high when untreated and higher when sitting up, when I stand my blood pressure drops suddenly & causes it to be difficult to treat my blood pressure. Because when my blood pressure is normal at sitting/rest position when I stand it's drops too low. When it's high at rest it drops to normal when standing. Catch 22) I suffer from memory problems, dizzy spells, vision problems (blurred & double vision that comes on randomly and leaves just as random), I have also been diagnosed as "BIPOLAR" due to the constant highs & lows in my mood swings day in and day out. The majority of that is from frustrations of my new found limitations! I have weakness in my muscles. I can't lift my babies very easily, at times can't lift my glass or fork very easily. It is very difficult to stand because my legs feel wobbly & shaky & very unstable. I feel as though they could give out from underneath me at any given time. I had reached an all time high last year in my weight at 348lbs, this is when my symptoms progressed to constant every single day and very severe. I thought losing weight would help these problems especially the wobbly legs... but if anything it has only gotten worse even after losing 70lbs so far. I have constant joint pain in my fingers because I spend a great deal of my time on the computer, as I'm in school & run an online swap shop. My wrists hurt almost always. Was told this was carpal tunnel syndrome many years ago recently told it wasn't carpal syndrome and a few months ago was told again that it is.. Did I mention that my memory SUCKS! oh and I have trouble computing and processing information. This part of what ever I suffer from came on after I had a fainting spell and ended up crashing head first into a wall when I leaned forward from the toilet to reach the toilet paper I had dropped when my hand gave out when grabbing it. This too is a symptom that seems to be getting worse, My grasping. I have a hard time grasping things lately. It's very difficult and I drop a lot of the things I am trying to pick up, either because my arms/hands get shaking too bad or I get a spasm which causes me to drop them. Last week I had an episode where I was typing and suddenly I couldn't lift the fingers on my right hand to reach to type the letters above the home row keys. Upon this happening I had a severe spasm in the top of my hand and when trying to see what was limiting my range of motion I discovered that I couldn't cross any of my fingers over another. It was absolutely impossible. This lasted for a couple hours, then subsided. It is very uncomfortable to sit still it is very difficult to move it. My ankles hurt constantly. I have tingling, numbness, & loss of sensations in all parts of my body. I have had random onset episodes where I couldn't tell the difference between rough, smooth, hot or cold. Often I feel like I'm wearing rubber gloves. I have severe pain when I stand especially after sitting, sitting, walking or riding in the vehicle for more than 20 minutes. Sometimes it feels like I'm dragging my legs behind me. When I wake up, I have to lay in bed for 15-20 minutes before I can even consider getting out of bed because if I don't I will hit the floor. It's almost as if I have no feet at all when I first wake up. They are numb cold & almost unusable. When I do stand up, I am very off balance, wobbly, my legs tremble & I have to stand for a minute or 2 before I am even able to move my feet to walk. It's almost like I have to consciously think and tell my feet to walk as if I had forgotten how. I run random low grade fevers for no reason. I have headaches sometimes severe & days at a time. I have twitching in my eyes & lips that are random and last just a few seconds at a time sometimes it happens on my cheeks also. On a really bad day I feel as if someone is hammering icepicks into my bones! My skin often feels like it's on fire from the inside. The lightening pains are some of the worst feelings. I get very dizzy in the shower. My hearing has also suffered. For some reason I don't hear as well as I used to. I often don't wake up with my 2 toddlers cry at night my husband has to get up with them. (thanking GOD that he's currently unemployed to some degree anyways!) This all started after I had my 2nd daughter, but was random. 2 months after my 2nd daughter was born I was pregnant again. I had several problems during my pregnancy that I attributed to the pregnancy but didn't subside once my 3rd daughter was born. About 2 weeks after she was born I started noticing some very strange things happening and suddenly I had no ability to stay awake. I would randomly drop off to sleep at any given point and I always seemed to be exhausted. (I attributed this at the time to being a new mother in post partum, again it didn't subside and she's now almost 2) I had problems with my epidurals during labor & delivery of both of the babies, in which I believe they messed up nerves in my back causing severe nerve damage that I am now experiencing. Which is sometimes the case found with MS, according to what I've read. I often get sick to my stomach, have difficulty swallowing, have chronic constipation, difficulty starting to pee and often feel like I didn't drain my bladder completely and more often than not all I do is trickle when I do pee. I am very forgetful all it takes is a split second distraction and I can't remember what I was doing only seconds before. Carrying on a conversation is difficult because I often lose my point in my sentence. I know there's things I'm leaving out but I can't remember them at this given time and this is plenty long enough as it is. Long story longer, my dr is tired of hearing me complain. He offers no answers or suggestions anymore, doesn't seem concerned when I find things alarming (such as when I couldn't lift my fingers suddenly) and I feel as though I'm now talking to a wall because all he seems to want to do is write me a prescription for pain medications, antidepressants, muscle relaxers, diuretics, B-12 injections & sleeping aids. I am not a pill popper & I refuse to take all these medications when he can't even tell me what is wrong with me. I am not going to mask the symptoms not even knowing why I have them in the first place. OH I forgot to mention my B12 is low and so is my Vitamin D. I forgot what my point in writing this extremely long message was but I guess I hope someone reads this and says OMG I KNOW WHAT SHE HAS! and not say OMG SHES CRAZY! She is such a hypochondriac. Which is what most of my family & my dr seems to think. OR at least that's the way everyone treats me. If anyone has anything to share please feel free to leave a message here and I'll check back or Please feel free to email me. Thanks to anyone who read this far and I am praying to find some suggestions or answers! I'm tired of living this life most days and if it wasn't for a wonderful patient husband & my 3 beautiful children. I'D SO CHECK OUT!

i just realized i have the symptoms listed by most of every one on here.i have the soreness in the morning, my neck sounds like snap crackle and pop,i have spots on my shoulders and back if touched i could come out of my skin as well as the inside of my knees,i have had restless legs since i was a child, and i have been dx with small fiber neuropathy but the one thing that bothers me most is when i go into a room that is not as light as the one i left when my vision adjust i have a gray spot in my vision after a few min is goes away. I just feel like there is more going on than just sfn and rls so i have set up an appointment with rheumatologits to put my mind at ease.My neuro did blood work and i also am very low on vit D which i am taking daily 2000iu.I am open to any feedback and just know i feel like i am on the right track
Brenda

I haven't been dx with Fibro but I have all the symptoms. My massage therapist is questioning why I'm not healing from my whiplash. It's been 4 months and no change. ANA was negative.

I'll be seeing neuro next month and I'm trying to figure out what t say. Should I just go over symptoms and make him guess or just come out and say Fibro. I'm afraid of being treated like a nut case like my GP is.