Poll What type(s) of doctor gave you your diagnoses for Fibromyalgia?

[ShyestofFlies]

Fibromyalgia (fm)​

On your path to an official diagnosis with a shiny number code and everything? Curious who to head to next? I started this poll to see what type of doctor usually treats fm and to help you decide if you need a referal to a specialist.

This is the sibling poll to the cfs/me thread about the same topic: here is a link

If you would take the poll, then consider posting about:
What type of doctor diagnosed you?
What type of doctor primarily manages your fibromyalgia condition?
How long did it take to get a diagnosis from your early symptoms?
What is your diagnosis officially titled?

If you saw a dedicated fibromyalgia specialist- were you refered there or did you end up there by your own research and suspicions?

 

[ShyestofFlies]

If you would take the poll, then consider posting about:
What type of doctor diagnosed you?

• Rheumatologist

What type of doctor primarily manages your fibromyalgia condition?

• Rheumatologist

How long did it take to get a diagnosis from your early symptoms?

• I'm 24 and I've had symptoms since childhood. The fibromyalgia diagnosis was provided by my rheumatologist who I was refered to based on arthritis and rheumatological bloodwork. She checked me for fibro in addition to my connective tissue autoimmune issues. Months later I had to ask her directly "What is my official diagnosis?" to find out what exactly was going on.

What is your diagnosis officially titled?

• Fibromyalgia

 

[Who Me?]

No FM thankfully.

 

[IrisRV]

A GP diagnosed me with FM because he thought CFS and FM are the same thing. I don't actually have FM, although it still shows up on my official diagnosis list.

Nobody manages my FM, which is fine since I don't actually have it.

It took about 4 years of doubt and testing to come up with this wrong diagnosis.

 

[Stella Heath]

My GP and I simultaneously came up with the word fibromyalgia, which we'd vaguely heard of, and he sent meto a rheumatologist for an official diagnosis.

This was two years after I'd suddenly become so exhausted I couldn't mark the February exams. I had been diagnosed with CFS, but kept asking my GP, "But why does it hurt so much?"

That was 18 years ago. I started following the treatment prescribed by the rheumatologist, but even mild anti-depressants made my dreams so vivid I woke up exhausted; I developed allergies to one pain medication after another; and when I was barely able to walk from the pain in my feet, he gave me a foot bath - it turns out I had plantar fascitis in both feet, which he hadn't even bothered to consider, given my FM. I haven't been back.

I am "fortunate" enough to be able to live on my widow's pension, so manage my symptoms with a relaxed, regularized lifestyle, rather than medication. I had to give up my teaching job, after 14 years of trying unsuccessfully for my FM to be recognised as a reason for early retirement.

 

[Bev]

I was originally diagnosed with MVP by a GP and told to read a book he recommended about it. When I asked him why do I have pains in my feet, my left arm, my carotid artery on my left side, why do my feet and legs feel like they are made lead etc etc all he could say was "I don't know". That was in early 2005. After much pain and all the other bull that accompanies the disorder, after many many bouts of deep depression I decided I needed to see a doctor before I sank low enough to harm myself. Having no insurance or money per say, I went to the local ER where after blood work (to rule out arthritis) and pressure points (16 out of 18), was diagnosed with myalgia and refered to a rheumatologist. It's been a wild ride!

 

[Rowan]

What type of doctor diagnosed you?

First my GP said that it may be FM and then a Rheumatologist confirmed it.

What type of doctor primarily manages your fibromyalgia condition?

My GP and the Rheumatologist so far, but it is very early days as I was only diagnosed a week ago.

How long did it take to get a diagnosis from your early symptoms?

I had been going for blood tests and scans for about 3 months, reading about the FM symptoms I think I may have had this condition for a long time without realising.

What is your diagnosis officially titled?

Fibromyalgia, but there may been other things wrong as I need to see the Rheumatologist again for some x-ray and blood test results.