Stepping into a Fibromyalgia Diagnosis

Hi all - My first time shareposting here, though I've been doing a little question answering. I am a chronic Migraine sufferer, and for years I've been describing myself as "mostly recovered from Chronic Fatigue."

But I've been wondering... why my body aches all over so often, and... why I have days when I am so fatigued I can hardly move, though it's not with me every day as it was some years ago, and... why sometimes I am so foggy and can't concentrate, and it's not connected with a Migraine... I was never officially diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue, but my PCP described me as "chronic fatigue-ish." I'm also hypo-thyroid, and since I have been on Armour thyroid and also a number of other natural hormone supplements my fatigue has improved a lot. I coach Migraineurs and others with chronic illness so I know a lot of people with fibro and I have to admit I've been avoiding looking into it for myself. Well, no more!

I saw a new (to me) Migraine specialist a week and a half ago and he pressed my fibro tender points in the physical exam - 14 or 15 of them hurt like crazy. He asked whether I am in daily or frequent pain in my body, and I answered no, and we tabled it as an issue to come back to at a later appointment. But since then, I have been paying attention to things I have ignored before. Like how incredibly sensitive I have gotten, where a vigorous hug or a slap on the shoulder from my kids actually hurts, where sitting and talking with my husband, with his hand resting on my shin for a few minutes, the pressure of his thumb could actually cause pain after a few minutes, where there are many days when I just ache all over, as if I had had a big workout or used great muscular effort, when I hadn't!

I don't have an official diagnosis yet but from everything I've read and seen, this makes a lot of sense to me. It's also kind of freeing to be able to put a name to something rather than just wondering what's wrong with me, if I'm making it up, if I'm just being lazy or unmotivated. But it's also worrying - another disease to learn, another prognosis I may not like. I guess the limitations to my life aren't any different than they were the day before my doctor poked me into a new awareness - it's just harder now to pretend that they might go away!

- Megan