OMG, I have known for about 4 years now that I have not felt normal. I know I didn't used to feel like this. Every time I go to my doctor and complain, I get the feeling that she thinks I'm a hypochondriac and/or a headcase. The bloodwork that she's run has come back fairly normal. X-rays at the chiropractor are normal. I have done chiropracty, acupuncture, Swedish massage, deep massage, and yoga, which have helped some but not completely. She has sent me to a psychiatrist, who has put me on medication for panic attacks (which I do have but is not the cause I went to the doctor in the first place for). I don't think I properly convey to her (or anyone) the result this is having on my entire life.

I have been searching online and think finally that I probably do have chronic myofascial pain syndrome and/or fibromyalgia. I have made an appt. with a rhuematologist for next Monday and hope I can get a definitive diagnosis.

Some noteable events in my past:

--in college (1996-2000), I was diagnosed with anorexia athletica and exercised up to 4 hrs a day, mostly running, without proper stretching
--in 2005, my doctor abruptly took me off antidepressants without proper tapering and it set off very severe and intense panic (this is when the symptoms started)
--in 2007, when I was pregnant with my daughter, many of the symptoms abated/lessened until late in the pregnancy, when they got severe and I also had extreme sacroileac pain; I felt the best ever during most of my pregnancy, didn't have morning sickness or nausea even and felt I was finally myself again

These are the symptoms I have:

--tingling in my extremities especially
--points tender to the touch in my body
--numb fingers & toes
--diffuse fluid retention (especially in my legs but all over my body)--my PCP doesn't seem to see this as a problem but I know it's there and it causes problems like carpal tunnel for me; it doesn't respond to changes in diet or prescription diuretics
--pain that radiates over my entire body, from my head to my toes
--muscles feel taut, like I just can't relax
--difficulty concentrating, can't seem to multi-task at all any more
--forgetfulness, difficulty articulating myself to others
--extreme fatigue
--painful periods with extremely light flow
--ringing in my ears
--panic attacks & anxiety (began with withdrawal of antidepressants, never had this before & have lived in the same area my whole life)
--feeling like it's a miracle I function at all
--unexplained nausea
--allergies (only arose with withdrawal of antidepressants, never had it before)
--pain that is dull all the time, sometimes stabbing and burning
--TMJ
--muscle twitches/spasms
--difficulty falling asleep due to these sensations (PCP insists it's restless legs, but I know it's more than that)
--bloating, gas (again, began only around 2005)
--crave carbohydrates constantly
--frequently feeling like I'm living in a fog, life is happening around me, but I can't join in (this is probably what I feel has the strongest negative impact on my life as a whole)
--depression & hopelessness because of feeling overwhelmed (but not suicidal)
--pushing myself, inability to moderate things (for example, light exercise helps but then I'll push myself to do too much--walk too fast, too long, too much of an incline, exercising through extreme pain--could have played a role in the anorexia athletica, so much of an all or none philosophy)
--frequent problems with yeast (recurrent vaginal yeast infections, tinea versicolor on my abdomen)
--frequent cold sores/fever blisters
--clumisness, dropping things, running into things
--loss of my creativity (I used to write fiction and loved it--I would write all day every day without tiring of it but cannot concentrate adequately or come up with plots any more), used to draw but also feel I just can't access my creativity any more; this has also had one of the largest negative impacts on my life; I feel like I have lost myself