Answer Summary

Members shared frustrating experiences of being dismissed or misdiagnosed in emergency rooms and doctor's offices, with many describing how... Read more

Members shared frustrating experiences of being dismissed or misdiagnosed in emergency rooms and doctor's offices, with many describing how their fibromyalgia symptoms were wrongly attributed to drug withdrawal, panic attacks, or medication-seeking behavior despite legitimate pain crises. Several members explained that the COWS withdrawal assessment sheet includes nine symptoms that overlap with daily fibromyalgia experiences, leading to harmful profiling, and recounted being denied basic treatments like Toradol or IV fluids even during severe flares. A recurring theme was the deep medical mistrust that results from this treatment, with members expressing fear of seeking help and frustration that invisible chronic pain is not taken seriously by providers who focus on psychiatric history or past surgeries instead of current suffering.