New alarming symptoms

Have you been tested for PMR?

I have that too. Does anyone else have a period of vomiting and diarrhea with this lasting a week at a time?

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia 30 years ago in 1995. I have not had a flare up since 1999 until Dec 2026. I had exactly the symptoms you described with severe muscle pain and muscle wasting. At one point I could barely lift my arms and my husband had to help me get up out of a chair. I also had extreme fatigue. The Dr put me on Duloxetene 30-60 mg daily plus 300mg 3 x daily of Gabapentin. I tried the Gabapentin alone first for a few weeks and found it wasn't effective. So I stopped it and started the Duloxetene which stated working and I gradually got better. My Dr said it actually takes 6 weeks to get the full effect.

As far as the muscle wasting they just say it's due to aging . So I am increasing my protein and also taking protein shakes. Lastly I have started lifting weight for seniors. If anyone has a better or different ideas for muscle wasting please post them.

Could be your heart go to a cardiologist. Could also be your thyroid go to an endocrinologist. Turns out my lightheaded, dizziness, and fatigue was part of insulin resistance after 20 years. Being on insulin resistance medicine solved my problem. I don’t know that it’s yours, but you never know. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 25 years ago.

@nursek75 thank you for your post. Gabapentin was terrible , took away my vision. I am happy for you that you are able to lift weights too.

I had extreme dizziness and it was ear crystals that went out of alignment. I had to walk with a cane as well. My physiotherapist gave me an easy exercise to do at home, just lying on the bed and it went away.

@loriesco I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia over 16 years ago. It is better, but flare ups are bad. Hate the fatigue. Have other symptoms like hunger, sugar and carb cravings, fatty liver, high triglycerides, skin tags, brain fog, insomnia, high blood pressure, which are some insulin resistance symptoms. Asked doctor for insulin resistance test (HOMA-IR), she said she didn’t know what that was and walked out. Can you please tell me name of medication your doctor gave you for insulin resistance? Thank you.

@jeannesf1 I am so sorry that happened to you and you should find a better doctor. You also shouldn't pay for someone who didn't provide service!!!
All of what you said is what I have suffered with.
Try the FODMAP diet at Monash university. (its free). I saw TWO qualified gastro doctors. They were useless. Through the FODMAP and my consumer DNA I realized I was INTOLERANT of dairy. (that fixed the brain fog, and a whole bunch of gum issues!) I also ended up being intolerant of cow casein. I am also intolerant of gluten. Getting rid of gluten and lactose was HUGE. Because I flew under the radar with fantastic eating no one figured out I had become insulin resistant. They have no lowered the A1C score so I popped up as borderline. I demanded medication. My doctor is sweet and gave me Metformin. Well, that fixed a ton of things - the fatigue, the severe hunger and evened me out. Going on Allopurinol fixed the largest problem of whole body inflammation after opening something as small as a pile of mail! I went on hormone replacement (very very low doses compounded) and honestly I feel like a million bucks. Better at 69 than at 30. I believe my fibromyalgia diagnosis was tied to untreated gout inflammation. I lowered my triglycerides/cholesterol by eating less "white" stuff - white pasta, white rice, white bread, white potatoes in favor of brown rice, rice/quinoa pasta, (orowheat seeded) bread, red potatoes. Dropped the Triglycerides 85 points in 3 months! Same with cholesterol - by eating MORE FISH. For the first time in my life I haven't had cavities since I gave up the lactose. Its been 7 years! My gums are so much healthier too. The FODMAP will help steer you in a great direction, especially if you have digestive issues. BTW, I do eat diary - just NO LACTOSE (like greek yogurt has it skimmed off) mozarella balls, munster cheese, aged aged aged cheeses!) I definitely eat wonderfully and feel so much better. https://www.monashfodmap.com/

@loriesco Amazing! Are you a doctor? You should be a doctor! I want to feel great too. I feel like fibromyalgia ruined my life, there’s much more to my fibromyalgia but it’s so long. Also was diagnosed with IBS (which means we don’t know what’s wrong) , lifelong stomach problems and recently had an intestinal infection. I’ve discussed the Fodmap diet with a dietitian once but didn’t follow through because I was too tired. You’ve given me hope! Okay so now I have a lot of work to do based on your helpful information. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

@jeannesf1 i’m so glad I could help! I am an artist, but I took nutritional chemistry in college. I’ve always been extremely interested in food as medicine and health. One more thing since you mentioned an intestinal infection: I take Xifaxin/xifaximan. It is a targeted antibiotic for what is called SIBO small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. You don’t need to take a whole round of antibiotics. After I took the full round at the start I keep extra pills on hand if my stomach gets grumpy on me. SIBO can cause a lot of problems and rec havoc with your small intestines as the bad actors in your intestines tend to flourish on things like gluten and simple carbohydrates. If you don’t get rid of the dairy in the gluten, and you are on the targeted antibiotic when you finish the round of antibiotic you will get diarrhea if you haven’t changed your eating habits. Also, there is no other antibiotic on the market that deals with SIBO it must be that one. It is really expensive, but the insurance company covered it. First, they didn’t cover it, but I asked the doctor to write what they call a prior authorization. The insurance company doesn’t even know what the medication is for! So I got it approved. I always keep it in the house so between the SIBO and the dairy intolerance, which I take Lactaid pills for I’m covered. There’s a lot to know in all of us and the doctors just aren’t equipped to run down the rabbit holes. They really are only good at diagnosing cancer and blockages and things that they can see in the x-ray and the MRI. You’re going on a journey so if you look at it that way you can start taking small steps and alter your direction with your successes. Reach out at any time. A lot of of us make the mistake of doing FODMAP and it works really well and then we start getting lazy about our diet and we regress. I did that for like three years in a row and then I was more healed at that point and more accepting of my dietary changes for life so it’s all working out pretty well. I am on your seven of this journey, so don’t give up, yourself, you’re just starting out on your road to recovery!