Help- Rheumy took me off meds

Help please ...

I have been having a really hard time and wanted to check in with you guys but my lap top died! Ugh. Saw my rheumy Tues and told him of my major complaints...insomnia, daytime fatigue, pain, headaches, nausea, clumsiness, hard time getting up in the morning, hot flashes, chills, sweating...not functioning in general. Horrible PMS and painful periods. I have had fibro over ten years. I go through these spells of sickness...and this time I have been suffering for months. Really bad this last month. I've been on every anti depressant. Cymbalta, Lyrica and pain meds...muscle relaxers, etc. I am kinda anti anti-depressant for me because my body is SO sensitive. I had a horrible time getting off cymbalta.

Rheumy said Tuesday he wants me to get off Ultram, Vicodin and Inderol for migraine prevention. He also said not to take anything to sleep except muscle relaxer (Zanaflex), so I said what do I take for pain? He said Tylenol Arthritis and Advil. This started Tuesday. I feel like I am losing it. Not to mention it is that time of the month and I feel like double poop for that. My job is freaking out. I am crying and inconsolable. I am considering going off my birth control pill too because when I go off it my body is a mess. Hot baths, heating pad... I am in so much pain in my wrists and ankles and in general. I am so sick.

Any ideas before I totally lose it? My Dr. wants to do a sleep study, wants me to see a psychiatrist and get new bloodwork. Seeing primary tomorrow to get referrals for those.

I left message for rheumy that I am SUFFERING. I want to pop a vicodin and stop the misery, but he told me not too...ugh.......

Thanks for listening so much.

Hugs

Hi Speppy,

I know you won't want to hear this , but maybe the sleep study will help your doctor to figure out how to help you better. I am rather surprised that he didn't wean you off your meds a little more gradually. Maybe when you find the date of your sleep study, you will be able to find out how long it takes to get narcotics or whatever drugs they need to have out of your system and you will be able to have more time to do so.

Thanks ladies for your help. He is worried my fatigue and morning grogginess is affected by the ultram & inderol. He is weaning me off the inderol, but I was taking 2 ultram 50mg up to 3 times a day. And Tuesday he said I could just stop. I was taking xanax for sleeping and he stopped that too. I am just suffering so much. So much pain.

Dr's asst just called and said I can resume the ultram if I need to. I am so frustrated.

Thanks for all your help. I see the primary tomorrow to set up the sleep study and psychiatrist.

Hugs

Thanks Sherrine,

I told him about the magnesium/malic acid and he said I can absolutely try it after the sleep study. He did tell me I can take advil & tylenol arthiritis together, but didn't say how much. I took 4 - 200mg advil + 2 - 650mg tylenol arthritis approx. 2x a day and it didn't seem to do anything. Did I give up too soon? 48 hours was all I could take. How much advil and tylenol do you take, and how often? I haven't been able to get out of bed or off the couch since Monday. My job is at their wits end with me. And I don't have ANY leave so I don't get paid when I miss work.

He does think the meds may be causing my fatigue and other symptoms. I just don't know why we went cold turkey on a pill I've been taking for like 10 years...

Thanks for your help. I look forward to your reply.

HUGS!

Speppy, you might want to try to convey to the rheumy that not only are you suffering, but that you are in jeopardy of losing your job. This was something that I had to bring up with one of my doctors. I explained to him that "if he/we can't keep me 'functional' enough to be at work, that means I lose my job. If I lose my job that means that I lose my benefits. And if I lose my insurance that means that I stop seeing you. And if I stop seeing you, that means money out of your pocket too." When presented to him that way, he was much more cooperative on working with me.

I know how miserable it can be with the sudden loss of pain relief. When I lost my insurance alomost a year ago, I really thought I was going to lose my mind for the first few months till I got my new insurance. I'm in agreement with searchingforanswers about being surprised that they didn't wean you off. Stopping anything abruptly (whether it's a drug that causes withdrawl or not) can be a miserable experience. You have had relief from some of these feelings and to have them SUDDENLY again is like a shock to the system.

I'm sorry that it's been such a miserable experience lately for you. The only thing that I can say is that I hope that this sleep study actually provides them some amazing information that helps you down the road.

It sounds like you are having heaps of side effects to the meds thats why he took you off but he should never of totally stopped.Say to your doc that its to much stopping everything and ask his help.  

i am so sorry you are going thru this situation with your rhuemy....i stopped seeing mine because he was of no help at all....he would only script celebrex which did not work at all and made me sick to my stomach.....he wouldn't even script elavil!!!!!

my primary care doc is way more sympathetic....still she also wants me to see a pin management doctor because she has had bad experiences with patients who become addicted to opiate meds.....thats fine with me...i am on tramadol and it is ok....not great, but ok....

i hope you find some relief soon.......

Speppy,

 

First of all, I don't think I ever welcomed you, and I apologize for that.  I hate using the excuse that I've been busy, so I'll just say that life got in the way.  Yeah, I know-still an excuse, huh?   LOL

 

I totally agree with Holly (hhh).  You may be suffereing from withdrawals.  I am NOT calling you an addict, but if you've been on the meds for awhile, your body gets used to them.  So, in my opinion, your doc should have had enough sense to wean you off of the meds.  I don't know how long you've been on the meds, but any moron (sorry, doctors frustrate the **** out of me) should know to never cut you off cold turkey.

 

I'd strongly suggest that you see another doctor-or at least a pain doc who knows his or her stuff.  It always shocks me how little docs really know about pain management.  Why can't they understand that everyone is not a junkie?  And, this may surprise you, but I AM a recovering addict.  Maybe that's why I'm such an advocate for true pain mangement.  Trust me, I've had a lot of docs tell me to "get over it" when I told them I was a recovering addict.  I even had one who told me that he couldn't give me anything when I had a BROKEN LEG!

 

Anyway, I really do hope you can find relief and if there's anything I can do to help, please let me know-even if it's just talking-cause everyone knows how I love to talk.