[Texas2lip]

going to the doctor on Friday to find out if I have fibromyalgia , someone told me there isnt a test or sure fire way or test to tell if you have it , Does anyone know if that is true , then I was told it sounds like Lupus and I'm praying it's just arthritis and info will be helpful .... thanks

[kaplods]

There isn't a single test for fibromyalgia, but that doesn't mean that a decent doctor is "just guessing," either. Even for disorders with specific diagnostic tests, there are always false positive and false negative results. So you could end up finding out later that what your doctor thought was fibromyalgia turned out to be the early stages of an autoimmune disease (such as lupus), even if the lupus test is negative.

Not trying to scare you, just saying no diagnosis is likely to have a guarantee of 100% accuracy. But fibromyalgia does have some pretty characteristic symptoms that doctors are aware of and able to make a pretty definitive diagnosis especially after ruling out some of the other things (like lupus and arthritis) that it could be. So while they may not have a test for fibro, by eliminating the other things it could be, the diagnosis of fibro is pretty reliable.

[Lizabeth2]

Originally Posted by Texas2lip

going to the doctor on Friday to find out if I have fibromyalgia , someone told me there isnt a test or sure fire way or test to tell if you have it , Does anyone know if that is true , then I was told it sounds like Lupus and I'm praying it's just arthritis and info will be helpful .... thanks

There are tests to see if it is "Lupus" Mine were negative, but you are right about fibro. It is hard to tell. Sometimes they just call it arthritis and that is sure no picnic either! If we want to exercise, we have to make sure it isn't too much, too long or too hard! I love the pool but in winter getting in and out is hard but the best. Anyway, good luck and keep eating healthy. It sure is hard when we are hurting to get up off the couch and move! If we want to lose weight, that is exactly what we need to do. I find that putting some favorite music on helps! My favorite right now is Abba and the music to Mamma Mia. Really upbeat Have a safe and healthy holiday all!

[Lizabeth2]

Kaplod. terrific weight loss!!! Are you losing any specific plan and any exercise? You are going down. Hurray! Your info on Lupus also good.

[kaplods]

My weight loss has been a bit of a crazy journey. When we moved to Wisconsin, 20 lbs just "fell" off when I became unable to work with the fibro and autoimmune symptoms. Although I was less active, I was eating better and sleeping better (had just been diagnosed with sleep apnea a few months before and wearing the CPAP at night).

I've never lost any weight accidentally before, so I spent the next three years trying to lose weight, without much luck (but I was maintaining the 20 lb loss, so even that was still unusual for me). Then about a year ago, I had a free consultation with the weight management clinic in town (excellent reputation, but only a couple insurance companies - and not mine - cover it), but I learned a lot in the consultation. The doctor and dietician heading the program recommended a reduced carbohydrate plan.

I'm not very successful at staying on plan, but I've been successful enough to lose 40 lbs this past year, and my goal for this next year is to match or exceed that.

Exercise has been sporadic for me, because when I'm hurting, I get lazy, especially in the winter when it seems that I'm always hurting, but the best way I've found to get exercise in, is to find things that aren't just exercise. If there's a purpose, I have a little more success than if it's just workout time. As I'm getting stronger, I can shop bigger stores (I started at Aldi's being a challenge and now on a good day can shop Walmart and Sam's Club in the same day - whereas when I started even using the electric cart at Walmart I'd be whiped out by any shopping trip that took more than 30 minutes).

I use an MP3 player on the treadmill, which helps me get in more walking before getting bored, and I love swimming so the warm water therapy is wonderful (I'm thinking of joining the arthritis classes next year), and I love geocaching (though still haven't replaced the gps that hubby misplaced). Geocaching would be too much for me to handle, except there are a lot of short and easy caches near our home, in city and private parks where the distance from parking lot to cache is less than a quarter of a mile on flat terrain - so it really is a sport for all abilities. Some caches are even wheelchair accessible. My hubby and I bought bikes a couple years ago, and it may have been a mistake, because we aren't really able to use them very often, but I don't regret the purchase, because I've learned to be less afraid of trying things that sound like fun, even if they turn out to be too much for me to handle. I volunteered this year at the humane society to walk dogs, and I wasn't able to do it nearly as much as I thought I would, but if I had thought about that before volunteering I proabably wouldn't have signed up at all - so I'm glad that I'm a lot more brave about such things.

I think I have really proved to myself that you do not have to be perfect to make progress, because I certainly haven't been perfect. In the past, if I wasn't perfect, I wasn't trying at all so when things got tough, I gave up. This time, I'm doing pretty crappy (in comparison to previous weight loss attempts), but it's just shown me how much can be accomplished just be refusing to give up. I may have days that I don't try very hard, but I've been able to almost completely eliminate eating everything in sight because I decided that "it doesn't matter."

[redkgs31]

Sorry to hear that you have to be tested. I was diagnosed with Lupus and Rheumatoid arthritis when I was 14, I am now 33. Take it one day at a time!