Fibromyalgia?

Hi everyone,

Just to begin, I'm well aware that boards.ie is most definitely not the place to be trying to get diagnosed/diagnosing anyone, but just wanted to share my experience and ask for peoples' opinions. Hope that's okay.

A few years ago suddenly one day I developed very bad pain in my limbs - I thought I was getting the flu. I was in quite a lot of pain, and for a few days found it difficult to sleep because of it. The pain lasted for a week or two, and then for a good few months it would come and go like that. I'd also find myself getting extremely tired during those periods, and my limbs felt very heavy.

The pain was like a deep ache - sometimes it was also sharp and tingling (could usually feel it all over, from the bottom of my feet to the very tips of my fingers, and all along the joints, my jaw, elbows, wrists, etc) and occasionally burning.

Since then, I've had it occasionally, with it usually flaring up after a day spent outside in the rain. I had normal blood tests and antibody tests done and they all came back clear.

On the (thankfully rare) days that I do have the pain, I usually tell anyone who asks that it's fibromyalgia, since it's easier to just say that than to explain everything. And I do have some of the symptoms - widespread ache/burn in limbs, fatigue. But I so seldom have have them that I doubt that it could be real fibromyalgia? I also wouldn't want to be claiming that I have it when some people suffer from it so badly.

Again, just to reiterate, I don't expect a magical diagnosis here. If it gets very bad again I will go back to my doctor and try to have more tests done. Just wanted to ask if anyone has had mild fibromyalgia symptoms like the ones I described, or if anyone recognise the symptoms as something else.

Thank you all in advance