and so it is...

fibromyalgia. the official diagnosis from the doc. after doing my own research (by way of my brilliant friend AQ and her persistence), i had kind of assumed already that it was fibromyalgia i was dealing with. but anywho, i went to the doctor on wednesday morning, did the normal run through of symptom questions - and she was about to send me down to the lab to run some blood tests for rheumatoid factor. so i tell her that the on call doctor i saw just a few weeks ago had already done those tests and they came back normal...well turns out, he forgot to note these things in my chart. so dandy. so she did a pressure point test (which was pretty painful, might i add) and came to the conclusion of fibromyalgia.
i guess i'm glad to have an answer. i'm just hoping it's the right one. and really hoping that the current treatment regime will work. she's got me on cymbalta to numb the pain receptors in my body, and also a prescription strength anti inflamatory to help with pain throughout the day. so far i've taken two days of the medication and no change yet. however, i'm dealing extensively with a few of the side effects, and it's making me angry. dizziness and nausea. so annoying to feel disoriented and like you're going to vomit every 10 mins. the nausea comes in waves, so i told my co worker this morning that i have a slight understanding of what she feels like when she gets her waves of hot flashes :).
so that's where i'm at now. hopefully my body adjusts to this medication soon, and that i can start reaping the benefits...