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.

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Rheumy visit

PegZo
PegZo
I went to the dr today and was told that the pain in my shoulders, back, hips and legs is due to fibro but the hands and feet are most likely osteoarthritis. She wants me to take prednisone for 5 days and see if it helps. If it does then it is osteoarthritis and if it doesn't then it is from the fibro. She also wants me to have x-rays of my feet because the x-ray will show arthritis, not fibro. I'm not sure what to do because no matter what is causing this pain the fact is that I am stiff upon waking up and trying to walk and if I walk too much then they start to burn. It is so bad. The only thing that helps is to put a cool wash cloth on them and turn the fan on them. Then they calm down and I can go to sleep. The horrible side effects from the drugs that are suppose to help make me feel worse then the problem.
So, what do you do?
Community LeaderMid
Mid
Peg, I had to try several different things to help when it seemed like the mess was building instead of getting smaller.

Five days will give you some needed relief and help separate the pain.

Once I was able to get the feet cooled off like you are, and I put the gel packs in the freezer to get them chilled a couple of times, it was easier to work through the other pains which are strong, then disappear.

Hope you feel better soon!
OutsideSmile
OutsideSmile
I know what you mean. The meds that are supposed to help, just end up adding to the problems we have because of side effects. And I do know prednisone is really crappy when it comes to side effects!

If your dr wants to do Xrays, maybe you could do that first to see if it's even osteoarthritis? Like the dr said, it won't show anything if it's from the fibro, and I don't think taking pred would have been necessary at all then. If you do decide to try the pred, at least it's only 5 days and shouldn't cause as much problems for you as more
long term treatment would. Hope you find something that helps!
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