I first remember having symptoms, that I now know are fibro, when I was 12. From that time on, until leaving my parents house at 19, I was "the hypochondriac, complainer, moaner generally miserable person" who "said she hurt all the time". I went through peaks and valleys over the next 20 years, maintaining full time employment, 2 children & school. By the time I was diagnosed, I was 44, and massively depressed. I hadn't worked for 4 years and was diagnosed by the physician who did my physical for Social Security disability for major depression. Finally, life made sense.