
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.

deleted_user
Hello, it's been a few weeks since I posted here.
Things were pretty rough back then...and then they got really pretty good:
Her MRI came back with no overt cause for alarm...
Her physical test went really well
Her cymbalta seems to be working
she was sleeping well..
and she was feeling pretty good...no chest tightness and all those severe pains I reported...
but she has not been able to shake two problems:
1. Neck/ear pain fairly constant
2. Increasing vision problems
Last night she says she didn't sleep well at all because of 1 and 2 noted above. I know she is worried about her sight and irritated that she can't shake the neck/ear pain.
When she said she wasn't sleeping, I asked if she had been taking her sleeping pill and that's when she snapped at me..."Don't go there with me." I think she thinks I'm being patronizing or not really believing her pain/vision problems. I do. I've encouraged her to go to an MD to check her eyes. I don't know what to say about the constant ear/neck pain.
Nothing shows up medical and the neurologist believes her to be in relatively good shape. She doesn't minimize her pain, mind you, but she is encouraged by her overall strength and positive clinical signs.
I'm just sort of wondering what the deal is with 1 and 2. Can it be Fibro related? What can be done? How can I provide the "right" help.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
Things were pretty rough back then...and then they got really pretty good:
Her MRI came back with no overt cause for alarm...
Her physical test went really well
Her cymbalta seems to be working
she was sleeping well..
and she was feeling pretty good...no chest tightness and all those severe pains I reported...
but she has not been able to shake two problems:
1. Neck/ear pain fairly constant
2. Increasing vision problems
Last night she says she didn't sleep well at all because of 1 and 2 noted above. I know she is worried about her sight and irritated that she can't shake the neck/ear pain.
When she said she wasn't sleeping, I asked if she had been taking her sleeping pill and that's when she snapped at me..."Don't go there with me." I think she thinks I'm being patronizing or not really believing her pain/vision problems. I do. I've encouraged her to go to an MD to check her eyes. I don't know what to say about the constant ear/neck pain.
Nothing shows up medical and the neurologist believes her to be in relatively good shape. She doesn't minimize her pain, mind you, but she is encouraged by her overall strength and positive clinical signs.
I'm just sort of wondering what the deal is with 1 and 2. Can it be Fibro related? What can be done? How can I provide the "right" help.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts.
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Recommendations: A special memory foam pillow, cutting down on foods that take a lot of time to chew (silly, but works), cutting out jarring exercise, good pain medication (percocet helps me a bunch!), neck massages (please look up trigger point therapy massage--it can help!), heat packs (warm, moist heat), chiropractic adjustment (especially if she has headaches accompany this pain), accupuncture.
Also, just let her talk about it. Don't make a bunch of suggestions ALL the time--instead just try to do. That is the best thing I wish my husband would do for me. I wish he would just call and make me an appointment to sit in a spa hottub (the one in my town--private for one hour session is only $22! That would be a great treat for her) or make her a hot pack, or offer to rub her trigger points.
I hope this helps!
Blessings,
Jan
I would recommend that she sees and eye doctor as well. They can use digital iaging called the optomap to look at her retina etc and check all is well. She may also need prescription changes. Eye pain can be caused by straining eyes. A lot of people do not even know they are straining as their eyes will try very hard to adapt themselves.
I hope this is useful.
XX
Here's a great article on head/neck pain with some diagrams that should help locate any trigger points she might have. http://www.round-earth.com/HeadPainIntro.html
CMP can also cause some vision problems and is one reason fibro sufferers often need new glasses every year. There are some trigger points in the middle of the eyebrows that cause lots of problems for me.
With headaches and neck pain, you can't believe the difference locating the offending trigger points in my neck has made. I've gone from having what I termed a 'cinder block headache' in the lower back of my head that was like having a fractured skull to virtually no headaches at all. This headache would last for weeks if not months on end and absolutely nothing helped it. Turns out it was caused by a trigger point in a muscle in my neck. Now that I know what's going on, it's basically under control. And all I did was massage a muscle for a few minutes!!!
Another great site to check out is triggerpointbook.com. I use this book along with a two-headed percussion massage in doing trigger point massage on myself. It's made my life bearable.