Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
Saturday was a bad day for me...
Oh the symptoms!!! Feeling light headed... both wrist, hurting... right thigh, hurting... right ankle, hurting... pain in my right lower abdomen... sharp pain on the right side of my hip... Sharp pain where my right kidney is .... Oh my goodness people did I have a crapy day Saturday! But I survived. We all survive are flare ups, it hurts like a b***h don't get me wrong but we will make it, we have to make it because in all honesty sometimes that's the only thing that gets me through a flare up, that and I get to talk about it with you guys now and you understand. So that's always a silver lining I suppose.
Now down to the business, I have questions my fellow survivors...
So I have only been taking pain medications for you know the pain duh.<-*(Please see long comment below)* And so now the question is near Should Thow Lovely Medicate or Not Medicate? Lol. My symptoms are getting a lot worse lately and I am finding myself wondering if I should take the medications for Fibro. And yes I have been doing research like a good girl but I hear for some people the medication is a blessing or for others it's like the medications made symptoms worse. And I'm in the dark here, some of you survivors have been dealing with the Fibro thing a lot longer than me and I am asking for your opinion. What medications have you taken? How did they affect you? Are you better? Worse? (I hope not) Do I just have to pick one and find out myself? I'm still researching all the possible medications you can take for Fibro but it would really be a big help if you guys to kinda pointed me in the right direction, if there even is a right direction. But either way I would appreciate to hear your guy's experiences.
*Comment*
So about the pain medications... I would just like to clarify I am not a drug seeker! I know I probably don't even have to say this because on my last post someone said that it's really common for people with Fibro to be looked at as if we were drug seekers but we're not, we're just in pain and we want to be okay. But now that we are on the topic, I would just like to say I hate taking medications, especially my pain meds, if I can take the pain I will. If I'm having a flare up you can most likely find me curled up in fetal position crying in till the pain stops. I only use my pain meds when I seriously can't take the pain, like to the point I feel like I'm gonna die or something; and then when I wake up and realize I survived that painful flare up so I go get myself an ice cream as a reward lol. I'm just like in my head saying to myself "Damm Lily, I’m proud of you girl we survived".
As for today, it’s still early here, it's 11:06 a.m. but for now it seems like a good day. (I really REALLY hope I did not just jinx myself, I'll give you guys an update later) So I hope you all have a lovely "good" day today. If you're not just remember we're survivors! You and we will survive this flare up and the next. Just take one day at a time. Oh and quick side note here, I know I didn't respond to you guys and I'm sorry I feel like a butthole but now I promise to respond as soon as I can ;)
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I'm alive, I'm sleeping like a rock, and for some reason I wanted cherry juice so that seems to be helping. (??? Weirdo that I am.)***Infamous therapies over history:1. The Attic. The madwoman in the attic is a motif in literature going waaaaaay back: the nutty female relative is locked in the attic. (See: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte for a grotesquely racist version of it, and Charlotte Perkins...
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We're all troubled.WSo, to remind ourselves we're not at rock bottom (this is a reverse optimism thing I learned as a kid):We are not living on the island of Krakatoa when the volcano goes boom!Yeah, okay, that sucks.***Toay in 1942, Pierre Laval announced that the way to free France was for Germany to win WW2. Pierre did not win a lot of friends. When the war ended, quite quickly he was tried...
But there are other drug classes to try, like the newly approved fibro drugs (some act like SNRI antidepressants and some work on nerves). The thing to do is to try them all, one at time and give each one a week's trial, if not longer (to let the side effect fade somewhat) and try to be objective (record its effect on your pain on a one to ten pain scale). I also use clonazepam during flareups that don't respond to hot baths and increased amount of my pain meds.
It's trial and error. I also recommend learning to pace (see Bruce Campbell's self-help website) your activities depending on your physical tolerances. Good luck!
Expect side effects, stay well hydrated with water and give any medication a minimum of two weeks to see if it helps and the side effects lessen.
I'm the person who commented that Fibromyalgia patients are often perceived as drug seekers when they go to ER. Pain is subjective and doctors are now on red alert when it comes to handing out scripts for opioids thanks to the government. Doctors who write scripts for opioids are now subject to extra scrutiny. They can lose their license which makes them reluctant to even consider it. Unfortunately, their opinion of people with Fibromyalgia is coloured by years of not understanding this illness and putting it down to hypochondriac like behavior. There is no way to *prove* that we are in pain so they automatically view people with Fibromyalgia with a high level of suspicion. Welcome to being the red headed step child of the medical world.
I'd like to comment that using pain killers once your pain is out of hand is not the best method. You need to be proactive and take the medication as soon as your symptoms begin to change or on a regular basis. Once pain becomes unbearable, it is extremely difficult to get it back under control. By not taking your medication as prescribed, you are suffering needlessly. None of us like taking pills but it is a necessary evil to maintain a better quality of life.
I hope that my comments are helpful to you. Take care.
Shakota6
I am actually looking in to getting something to help me sleep because sometimes I stay up for almost 48 hours and I know that's not good. I am starting to think that the only way to find out what works for me is the trial and error way. But my only concern with that way is my flare ups aren't constant so I might have trouble identifying if it's working or not. I'm definitely going to check out that website, thank you.
Fantod
Your comments are helpful to me thank you so much for responding, it means a lot. And I do remember you recommending to get the Fibro book and I haven't got the chance to get it but I will for sure! And about the pain killers, I do understand what you mean and because of it I am considering Fibro medication.
Sending loving huggies to all... xo Lily
I am going to ask my doctor about that at my next appointment. Like I said I sometimes go for almost 48 hours without sleep and sleep is very important. Doing a sleep study huh... I never even thought of that, thank you :) I actually talk in my sleep .... I know weird huh, but true. My mom tells me when she comes to check on me I almost have like a conversation with her?! And the next morning, I remember nothing.
Okay thanks for all the advice hon, you're a big help! You take care too :)