Are there other men who have Fibromyalgia?

I used to think that Fibromyalgia was a disease limited to women. But after being diagnosed with it I was wondering how many men have Fibromyalgia.

I contracted Lyme's disease from a deer tick bite in 1993, which I kept coming back negative on the tests and after 6 months I finally got an Antibiotic treatment and after 28 days it was gone. About ten months after that I developed Fibromyalgia. I am now 58 years old.

My mother has it also, she has had it for almost 25 years at first they did not know what was wrong with her but later she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Strangely enough she had been bitten by a deer tick in the early 70's. She had the signs and pains of Lyme's disease but back then they had no idea what Lyme's was.

Shortly after that she had developed an kidney infection and they had to remove one of her kidneys. She noticed that all the pain she had been suffering for a year in her joints went away except that in her wrists. The doses of Antibiotic during that time must have cured her as she remembers most of her pains assuaged after that.

I was wondering if any one knows if Lyme's Disease and Fibromyalgia are related or if any data or surveys have been done to see how many of us who have Fibromyalgia were at one time bitten by a deer tick.

I am currently taking only Gabapentin 600mg twice a day. At night I add to it one tablet of Loritab and 10mg of Diazepam. Simply this has been the best combination for me. I usually only take my Gabapentin once a day and try and handle the pain the best I can. And take my meds at night as this helps me sleep better. I don't get those annoying cramps along my neck and back at my shoulders from the constant pain.

I tried Lyrica but it made the pain worse not better and after two weeks I had to stop taking it, So my Dr switched me to Cimbalta which made my whole body felt tense and I was even grinding my teeth. This went on for over a week and I finally said no to it also.

The combination of Gabapentin, Loritab and Diazapam works best for me. But Recently in my state they just past a law and I wont be able to get more than a 7 day supply of Loritab per month.

My insurance company wont cover acupuncture or any natural or Homeopathic methods and I don't have the money to pay for it my self.

I was doing Tai Chi and it worked a little in helping to ease the pain by keeping my muscles flexable. But I may have torn my Miscus (SP?), one piece of the cartilage in my knee at work and I had to stop as it was to painful to shift my weight to my left knee and do the movements. I see a specialist this July 25 for MIR and Xray. Dummy me I didn't file an injury report because I thought it was just a pulled muscle. Now I can't have workman's compensation.

Anyway, men if you are out there and suffer from Fibromyalgia let me know that so we can network on what works best for us. Tweet