Fibromyalgia Before Breast Cancer Diagnosis

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Anonymous
Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
edited November 2018 in Just Diagnosed
Fibromyalgia Before Breast Cancer Diagnosis
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  • MomOfTeenGirl01
    MomOfTeenGirl01 Member Posts: 6
    edited November 2018

    Hello, I am curious how many of you have suffered with widespread pain and fatigue (with or without fibromyalgia diagnosis) in advance of your breast cancer diagnosis.

    I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia around 8 years ago, and in the past year it became much worse, to the point that I was seeing various doctors up to 3 times a month trying to figure out why it was getting so bad. I was diagnosed with breast cancer around a month ago, after going to the GYN because my breast didn't look right.

    I was wondering about the rest of you. This seems to be a very understudied subject, but what little I have found suggests a connection between fibromyalgia or widespread pain and breast cancer.

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  • Wigging2000
    Wigging2000 Member Posts: 295
    edited November 2018

    Hello!

    No fibro here, but I’ll share my experience with my migraine headaches. I started getting them at 19, and until this year (I’m 45) I would get them maybe 4-5 times per YEAR. This spring, they began coming every 2-3 DAYS and I got to the point where I have them more days than not. They began to severely affect my life. I could not shake the feeling that something was wrong in my body despite clear brain MRI.

    Last week, I was diagnosed with IDC. Who knows if there’s a connection, but I believe there is.

    Hugs to you

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  • Dani444
    Dani444 Member Posts: 522
    edited November 2018

    wigging2000- First off sorry for your diagnosis, and that is interesting about your migraines. No fibro here either, but I do have chronic migraine. They did just continue to escalate, with one episode last year that went for weeks. They are more controlled now with preventative meds, but still get them with my cycle. I have ILC, which is highly hormone receptive and , I do wonder if the frequency increase had a connection. My cancer is also slow growing, and my tumor was 4.8 cm, makes me wonder how long the beast was growing inside me. Best of luck to you in your treatment. take care.


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  • leftduetostupidmods
    leftduetostupidmods Member Posts: 620
    edited November 2018

    Only got fibro caused by cancer treatment.

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  • MomOfTeenGirl01
    MomOfTeenGirl01 Member Posts: 6
    edited November 2018

    Thank you for taking the time to respond. I do appreciate it.

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  • MomOfTeenGirl01
    MomOfTeenGirl01 Member Posts: 6
    edited November 2018

    I'm sorry to hear about all your diagnosis too. I wish all of you good health and recovery.

    I get migraines too, and they also did get worse in the past year before my diagnosis. I did get an MRI too, the MRI was so normal that even the neurologist was surprised.

    Very interesting. Especially since the common theory in the medical community is that women who get migraines may be at a lower risk of getting breast cancer because low estrogen can be a common cause of migraines.

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  • Wigging2000
    Wigging2000 Member Posts: 295
    edited November 2018

    I also thought the “migraines lower breast cancer risk” thing quite interesting. I immediately started googling once I had received my dx.

    In the months before my dx, I also had severe allergic reactions to things I’d never been allergic to before. I think all of this may be part of a generalized inflammatory type of response. Dani’s post about increased migraines as well as yours and your fibro getting worse...makes sense if you think about an inflammatory response pattern. But hey, not a doctor. ;)

    Hugs to you, and my hope is that as we rid ourselves of this cancer, that the other issues subside as well. I’ve been seeing an acupuncturist for my migraines with so far excellent results! Maybe something to consider as an addition to your treatment

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  • MCBaker
    MCBaker Member Posts: 1,555
    edited November 2018

    I posted https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/142/topics/865609?page=1#idx_14 the other day. Previously, there would be a massive trigger for exhaustion and weakness to dominate my life. A year ago, there was exhaustion, weakness, and nerve pain, with no apparent trigger other than getting older. My life, in fact, was getting better. It mystified me. Now I have the answer.

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