Fibro
Posted By: Mary on 2007-03-21
In Reply to: Fibro and work schedule - PamT
Hi,
I would try amitriptyline or Doxepin. Also avoid all sugar because you probably have yeast overgrowth like I do. I also drink Reliv products, Classic, Innergize and Fibrestore. You can check out their info at Reliv.com. A friend of mine could stop her meds after the fibro. Drink lots of water too. You might check out the guiafenesin protocol. This works for some people.
Hope all this helps.
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Fibro
I got it 14 years now. Other than the lack of sleep the ebbs and flows are just sooo much fun. I take doxepin to help sleep through the night, just put me on Zoloft to take the edge off the pain that the Percocet I live off of doesn't handle anymore. At one point I went to a pain clinic and got steroid shots right in the base of the skull and all the way down my neck and shoulders, hurt like a you know what but got me over the flare and didn't get another good flare for another 5 years. They also had me on doxepin then, Paxil, ibuprofen, baclofen, and one other which I can't for the life of me remember. Oh yea it messes with your memory also. Watch your sugar intake very bad for fibro sufferers. I sit here on a heating pad all day or my back just kills me
I have fibro...
but my back doesn't hurt; however, I am sore around the bottom part of my ribs like if my 6-year-old tries to hug me and then at times when I have a flare - it seems as if my legs get really weak feeling (like jello) and then the next day they will feel sore and bruised like especially my butt; so I would think that possibly you could be having some lingering pain. Do you see a rheumatologist regularly? If so you might call and inquire and if you've not seen one in a while maybe you need to have a workup to make sure it's nothing more serious! Hope you get to feeling better soon though!
Fibro
It sounds like costochondritis to me. Have you tried an anti-inflammatory? I have fibro and I am in constant pain. Get a good massage and put some heat on it and see if that helps. Hope so. Fibro is diagnosed with several different trigger point areas. Best of luck and hope it goes away and soon!
I wonder if this is really fibro or?
I had a flare here for about a month and things seem to have become fairly quiet but now I have really bad pain in my back section including the ribs. I had some benign cysts on my kidneys and have had a follow up on those twice. Being as this is back and the pain, I just wonder if others go through this same, flare and then maybe the back continues to be sore, hurt??? Thanks
fibro
What meds help you?
Fibro
Sorry I meant stop her meds after the Reliv. Fibro fog here. I also have cervical spine problems with surgery so I have a double wammy. The best thing is good vitamins, lots of magnesium for the muscles. A rheumatologist can diagnose and help you. Sometimes they give Ultram too which helps.
Not Pam but have fibro too
Hey, I have extremely bad fibro too, have for the last 10 or more years. Well, at least they say it's fibro, but it doesn't come and go. The pain is always extremely bad and never ever goes away. I have days when I can barely walk or get up out of bed along with very limited activities. I can no longer do at least 50% of the things I used to do even simple house cleaning.
I went through an enormous amount of testing and saw multiple doctors who gave me worthless medications that did nothing or just made me more sick and brushed me off. Like in your post you said they are giving you a Medrol Dosepak? Why on earth would they give you that? Fibro is not an inflammatory condition and steroids will not do anything unless you have other comorbid conditions such as arthritis, lupus, etc. Steroids cause all sorts of damage to your body, and if they are not helping you or you don't have other conditions, I absolutely would not take them. Another thing they like to do is put you on NSAIDs. Again, these do absolutely nothing for the fibro and can do irreversible damage to your GI system, kidneys, etc.
The only way I can live and function to do absolutely anything is because I am on daily narcotic pain medications. It took me a long time and several physicians to finally be referred to a pain management clinic that would actually help me. It is inconvenient due to the ridiculous laws in this state regarding chronic pain patients, as I have to go once every month, but again, that's the only way I can function. So, I would definitely suggest you see a pain management specialist or a pain clinic. Regardless of what some of these ignorant doctors say, you don't have to "live with the pain," or take numerous expensive medications that just do more damage than good. It may take a while depending on where you live to find a knowledgable pain management doctor with compassion and you may have to go to several different ones until you find the right fit, but eventually hopefully you can find one. It can be very discouraging at times when you are in agony and doctor after doctor won't help you, but just don't take no for an answer. You deserve not to live a life full of pain.
Good luck to you. I really hope you find something that can provide you with some relief. 
To Fibro Too
Well, got to tell you, the shot I was given last night worked like a charm. No pain today for the first time since December. I have not picked up nor started the Dosepak but I feel 100% better. I do not have arthritis and I do not have lupus but right now I would about swear on these shots. Since the pain has eased up, now maybe I can get into some kind of exercise program because I hear that really helps, could not do that before, too much pain all over. I was told the shots not to be taken on a regular basis and understand that but on my vacation this summer you better believe I will have 1 before I leave.
Fibro - here's what I did
ok - this sounds ridiculous, but I did get a bit of results from it - enough to put on a pair of shorts in the summer. I, too, have fibro and had to stop my normal exercises (I now do pilates on a machine). I had my kids roll my legs every night with my grandmother's rolling pin. Now I don't know if this worked because it was my grandmother's rolling pin or if just any wooden or marble pin would do - it was a bit painful in the beginning, but I got used to it. They did start charging me .50 a night to do this - but we got some good laughs and my legs are okay. I would like to know what to do about my saggy knees now -
I have fibro, too.
Believe me, I feel your pain, literally. I have been misunderstood more times than I care to mention, even by family. Sometimes people think they know better than I how I feel. I have lived with this for several years, and I know what I am feeling and talking about. Actually I have always felt we have a great responsibility regarding our body and state of health; that is, to report what is going on, and most importantly to give the best history possible to our physicians. Sadly, this is still a diagnosis that is misunderstood and even questioned by some health professionals. My friend's husband looks at me every now and then and makes me go through the whole thing again after he asks me with doubt in his eye
NOW, WHAT DID YOU SAY WAS WRONG WITH YOU AGAIN?
I truly do know your frustration.
Fibro, all over
Pain every day, horrific some, tired of trying to fend for myself, no help from other physicians I have seen.
CALLING ALL MTS WITH FIBRO!!!
Hi. I am looking for some helpful hints as to working with fibro and how others of you deal with the pain and fatige, etc. Thanks in advance.
I have been diagnosed with fibro but
I have fatigue sometimes and don’t know if from that or from the hypothyroidism that I have, double duty so to speak. I have appointment this week to see what exactly is happening with me. Terrible, terrible pain for days on end- thought fibro, now not sure. I have some hydrocodone and take 1/2 pill of that when severe pain with fibro, supposed to start rehab for mild exercises but too much pain involved now with ?? I had a boss 1 time and she said she started exercising and that was the only thing that helped her. I just have had some setbacks to where I have not been able to start yet (including shingles!!). Hurt so much with the fibro and think the shingles started because of that. I can sleep at night, no problem there but some mornings unable to stay in bed because of hurting. I will give a follow up when I visit my physician this week and see what he has to say about if this is fibro, what does he think is problem, things you might do for fibro, etc.
Fibro meds
I was diagnosed in January of this year by a rheumatologist after having problems starting last August that began with a rash and my GP did a battery of tests - the rheumatologist started me on 1500 mg of Relafen (which has greatly diminished the tender areas like my hip areas), I also take 150 mg of Zoloft, 600 mg of neurontin, 50 mg of Tramadol every 4 hours as needed (which do me has not really helped the pain 100%, but it does lessen it a good bit) and I take a muscle relaxer at bedtime and sometimes during the time. These meds do not zap me and I feel more functional with them than before. I also take Halcion if I am unable to fall asleep, however, these days it seems that I am so exhausted that I have no problem sleeping as long as I am not hurting and the muscle relaxer at bedtime seems to help with that. Of course now that my inflammatory markers are at a near normal range I am walking 30 minutes a day and have begun stretching exercises 15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes at night to help with the muscles. The rheumatologist has said that all of these will change as the fibro progresses and I age (I'm only 33) but he said if we stay on top of it it should be very tolerable for me from now on - I am thankful to my GP for the referral to this doctor because I have read of so many stories where the GP ignored the patient's complaints only putting them on powerful pain meds and not really getting to the source of the problem or telling them that there is nothing wrong or nothing they can do...I feel now that the pain is being managed, my biggest complaint is being tired at doing the simplest of things - like folding clothes - I feel that I need to rest after I do that - whereas before it was just a normal thing. My rheumatologist has stressed that sleep/rest is very important so he says when your body tells you to stop and rest - do it - whatever it is you have on your to do list can wait - otherwise you're gonna really feel bad and then nothing on your to do list will get done. I see my rheumatologist every 3 months right now and he says once I am doing okay on the meds and everything seems in check we'll go to every 6 months and then yearly until something goes out of whack and my treatment needs changing - he seems to really be on top of things.
What meds are you taking? Do you see a doctor on a regular basis?
I have fibro and think this is what is going on with the wrists...
As far as I know no carpal tunnel syndrome but my ribs are about to kill me today and I have noticed my arms, hands, fingers and the like giving me the blues. I have no pain at night, only when I lay my wrists down on my desk to type , they really hurt so bad and the elbows hurt and the arms, guess I am wearing out. If anyone else has similar problems, let me know. I took something for the fibro a little while ago and it seems to have stopped that really bad pain when I rest my wrists. Thanks
Anyone with fibro tried guaifenesin
and if so, did you get any good results? I read about this last night and want to give it a try, over the counter, no rx needed. I am so tired of being 1 big ache. Thanks!
I also have fibro, and CKD, so we might be more vulnerable.
But the episode I had made it hard to breathe. It felt like I had a band around my body from just under my breasts to just above the belly button and it was just tightened to the point where anything was painful...breathing, moving, sitting, lying down. It was just miserable, and it lasted for better than 6 months.
I had no treatment for it. I'm not sure if there is one or not.
Hope you don't have it...would not wish it on anyone!
I have been diagnosed with fibro about 9 SM
years ago. You mention the pain is in your ribs. When I was diagnosed that was not one of the key points, of which there are many. I have pain all over, really. I have very much pain in my neck, wrists, elbows, shoulders, lower back, etc. I have terrible burning and pain in my muscles in my arms and legs as well. I have advanced osteoarthritis and chronic fatigue, which can also accompany fibromyalgia, as I am sure you know. Symptoms can certainly vary from one patient to another. I wish you luck and success in your efforts to control pain. I wish I had the answer for everyone suffering daily with chronic pain.
What went away, fibro or rheumatism
NM
This is how my fibro figured out
I had not a clue when I went to the doctor, shoulders really hurting me, so sore and tender. Doc got me to lie on my stomach and started to palpate my spine. When you jump off the table with pain, then you have fibro.
I have wondered if I have fibro too...sm
I have been soo tired too. I know tiredness goes along with fibro so I wondered. I don't know.
Like you, I have fibro and broke out with shingles for the first
time this past month. OMG, could not tell which was the worse. Do you use anything like fish oil or glucosamine? My hubby gave me the fish oil and it helped me a lot with the stiffness in the joints. My fibro started in my late 50s.
Fibro and work schedule
Hi. I noticed several people have fibro. I constantly fight with the pain and fatigue. I work only part time. How do others of you schedule your work and deal with the pain and fatigue. I need some good suggestions. Thanks.
Pam
FIBRO- calling PamT
Went to the physician today and said had no idea what was going on, the pain there every day but on a scale of 1-10 today, probably a 9+- but hey that had improved from the weekend when it was a 15+. I told him needed to find out what causing and he checked for the pressure points that go along with fibro and I was about to climb up the walls when he told me I had the classic signs. I told him the big drugs not helping but have been given Medrol Dosepak for a week, cortisone injection (which he says should not be given all the time but say if a vacation coming up, then get this) and antidepressants as he says the nerves travel close together, the ones for pain and the ones for depression and they have a cross over effect for the fibro even if you do not have depression and I do not. Lastly he recommended that I get into water aerobics and will check on that tomorrow. I have low impact exercises set up but had to get over this intense pain before I could even do that. Hope this information helps.
I have been diagnosed wth fibro about 10 years ago SM
and know what you are going through. I read somewhere that it is impossible do describe the pain, and that is how I feel. It is a gnawing, pulling, burning, aching, fatigue all the time. No one has helped, and what meds I have tried gave too many other bad side effects, stomach upset, etc.
Definitely lessen the stressors in your life and it should help your fibro. Also,
what helped me was to eat less sugar and take lots of vitamin C and get a good B complex. I eat LESS sugar, but I haven't cut out sugar altogether. I love chocolate too much. I just pace myself and that does seem to help. Stress is a HUMOGOUS factor with people who have fibromyalgia. Get the stress level down quickly. There's good stress and bad stress. What I'm talking about is the bad stress. Examples might be family conflict, extreme money problems, things you don't like doing but feel forced to do. If you're in a job you hate, keep the job, but start looking for something else and make the change. If you're in a rotten relationship, take steps to make it better or get out. Got a kid who is constantly on your last nerve. Take the upper hand and get that kid in shape and if they're old enough, tell them to get a job and get their own place. These are just examples, but it's not an instant fix. You'll have to help yourself in other ways in the meantime, like treating your body right by eating healthier and taking good supplements. Give yourself a tentative calendar goal and try to reach that goal with your life changes. Be realistic. Don't tell yourself you're going to change your relationship in 2 weeks, cuz it ain't gonna happen. Again, these are just some examples. Your life stressors may be completely different, but you get the picture. Scheduling yourself is very important and make room for fibro flares, cuz they will happen. Doctors are not generally sympathetic to the illness though some are coming around and rheumatologies are more helpful these days. They put me on NSAIDS, which only made matters worse. They put me on anti-depressants and that was a bad move, too. I go to a naturopath who on a daily basis deals with fibromyalgia patients. Not all naturopaths are good with fibro patients, though and insurance does not pay for my naturopath though we do have a flexible spending account that I use. Other supplements that I take are Omega (fish, NOT flax, there is a difference in how it works for fibro patients), Vitamin E, Barley formula made by Global DNA (it has stuff in it that regular barley does not), magnesium (extremely important for fibro patients), licorice paste (tastes awful by itself, put it in tea with honey). One other thing, a lot of fibro patients have low DHEA. You can get this tested by a naturopath who will give you what I call a spit test. You spit in a few vials over a period of a few days, freezing each vial until all are ready to go and then they are sent to a lab and analyzed. If your DHEA level is low (mine was nearly nonexistent), then you can take a supplement called BioSom, which is a sublingual spray.
I know it's a lot of stuff, BUT now that I'm to baseline and only have an occasional flare a couple, maybe a few times a year, it's WELL worth taking the daily supplements.
I can't tell how I feel for you and wish you all the best.
Fibro Fannie :)
I have fibro and my last flare lasted a month
this past time, just settled down about 5 days ago. I never knew I had, but on touching my shoulders wondered why so tender to the touch. Went to a rheumatologist who doing a touch test said I had fibro. This last time was horrific. My work and home life are not stressful but I do have a piece of property out of state I am selling and that is what got the flare going the last time. My grown daughter now says she will take that over for me so can relieve any and all stress I have. My body all over was 1 big ache! My legs, especially my ribs, the rib cage, arms, elbows, everything ached except for my head! Even the heavy narcotics did not relieve. I do not suffer the extreme fatigue the others are talking about but once it flares so hurtful. I hear low impact exercise helps some. Good luck!
I, too, have fibro and work part-time
I work only 20 hours a week -and so far my PS is working really well with me on the days that I am not feeling well (which it also kind of helps that work has been slow)...I'm new to the fibro world so who knows what the future holds though.
I just went through some major stuff that i think may have been related to fibro. sm
I took every narotic you can think of. lortab helped me the best without knocking me out. FYI, it did cause nausea so then i backed down to half a tablet. everything else put me to sleep. i did take BC Powder two of them and that helped some, but gave me an ulcer too so guess you gotta decide what is worse. for me, not being able to work was worse so i needed relief. i also used a heating pad and rice sock when i had to stay away. nothing took the pain totally away though. finally got a medrol dosepak and it cleared up for the severe part anyway. at least i can function now. email me........
Not flaming...cause I like ya :-) but fibro happens to all ages (not rheumatism) (sm)
I had it for years and it went away - as I got older. I hope they figure out whats causing your pain soon and that it's quick and easy to fix!!
but I do believe fibro can be a catchall diagnosis when docs can't (sm)
figure out what's wrong with you!
Hope you aren't diagnosed with fibro
because no one believes you anyway. I had heard about before, did not know really much about, if I typed on it paid no attention, diagnosed in 2004 and not having fun yet. This is so far uncontrollable for me-mine might have been better controlled if diagnosed with rheumatism- I would suppose rheumatism feels a lot better than being over the entire body.
I was diagnosed with fibro but the rib pain, front and back
started 2 years ago when I got back from vacation and has been there off and on since. Sometimes horrible pain, sometimes just there but never completely gone. I went for 1 acupuncture but it is $70.00 out of pocket for each treatment, insurance does not pay so instead I am doing the 70% chocolate, 2 pieces a day because read that might help because of the antioxidants and flavinoids. As long as I am not touched anywhere around the ribs do pretty good. Have tried the chocolate for a week now, cancelling doctor appointment this Tuesday and will see if that holds the pain. The chocolate lot less costly than the treatments. I have found absolutely no assistance with any physician I have gone to, none including pain specialists, rheumatologists, ortho, etc. I sometimes have extreme fatigue, can lie down for a while and it seems to go away. I have hurt all over with the fibro but now my pain issues are the ribs (oh, forgot about the feet but too long story on that). Did your physician give you anything for the costo? I do not take anything for the fibro nor the costo. I had to dust my fatcat today and I thought she weighed a lot, she is only 20 but still had to pick her behind up and put her in the bathtub.
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