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Posted 5/4/2010 11:54 AM (GMT 0)
Hello. I'm sorry if this had been posted before. I'm 22 and I've had fibro for about a year now. At first I was diagnosed with plurlsy but when it kept coming back they did a sensitivity pinpoint test and diagnosed me with fibro. My 'attacks' as I call them vary. They can be dull and annoying, or sometimes I pass out. Like last night. I was unable to move and eventually passed out from the pain. I was just wondering if anyone had little ways they tried to help the pain. I have the responsibility of a ten month old infant on my shoulders right now. And once...I had a very sudden very strong pain that almost caused me to drop him, since my pain usually happens in my chest to my shoulders and back. This makes it hard for me to carry him and do what I need to and the pain medications DO help when its not so bad, and I'm having these little episodes less frequently but it's still something that scares me when I'm carrying the baby or feeding him. Especially when I'm alone.

I've tried using Ice, since when I start to flare it my body seems to get a little warmer. It helps but only moderately when partnered with the medication. Are there vitamins or supplements other then prescriptions anyone would suggest?

Post Edited (Riser) : 5/4/2010 6:00:59 AM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/4/2010 1:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Riser, Welcome to the forum. I'm sorry you are having so much pain. Heat is a fibromites'
friend. Many of us are helped by using a bedbuddy. Moist heat is great, so hot showers or
soaking in a hot bath helps.

Some people with fibro also have low vitamin D levels and that can help attribute to the
achiness. You might want to get your levels checked. Mine were very low and I was put on
high dosage vitamin D therapy for six weeks to get my levels back up.

Exercise is very important to prevent stiff muscles. I'm a walker and find it good for my
body as well as my mind.

Checkout fibro 101 on the top of page one. You will find lots of good information.

I take Savella daily and use a muscle relaxer when I am flaring. It is also important to
eat healthy. We all tolerate meds differantly, so there are differant things that work for
some and not others.

This is a wonderful forum, we all understand pain and we are here for one another!
Glad you have joined our family!!!

Hugs, Robin
Posted 5/4/2010 3:23 PM (GMT 0)
Hi, and welcome!  Robin covered a lot of territory.  I, too, take vitamin D3 supplements...4.500 IU a day.  But, my doctor checked my D levels through blood work and then had me take this. 

 

I also take malic acid/magnesium supplements that have helped wiht pain and fatigue.  Many with fibro have a deficiency in this.  There is a link in Fibro 101 all about them and how they work in your body.

 

I also take ibuprofen with food and extra strength Tylenol for pain.  I take up to 2,400 mg of ibuprofen and 4,000 mg. of Tylenol when I'm in a flare.  These are the highest safe amount.  You should bounce all of this off your doctor.

 

I'm so glad you found us and joined in.  I hope to hear more from you soon.

 

Sherrine

Posted 5/4/2010 4:48 PM (GMT 0)
Hi and welcome. Have you been ultrasounded for Gallbladder disease? Your symptoms sound so similar to mine when I was that age and it turned out I had an infected gallbladder. I ended up having to have emergency surgery.

It's just a thought since your pain seems to be centered in your upper torso.
Posted 5/4/2010 6:26 PM (GMT 0)
I agree with lostnomad, it sounds like you might have potential gallbladder problems that would be worth testing. I had gallbladder attacks and pain for 2 years before anything was done, as I had my first attack right after I had surgery for GERD (I had a Nissen Fundoplication done) and the doctors all thought is was nerve damage from that surgery. An ultrasound did reveal gallstones, but a HIDA test showed the gallbladder was functioning fine so nothing was done for quite a while. I had continuing attacks and a LOT of pain for quite some time and then finally, an emergency surgery to remove the gallbladder (finally).

Never had a problem like that again.

Please do get things checked out to be sure, and take care of yourself.

hugs,
Pam
Posted 5/5/2010 2:23 AM (GMT 0)
thank you all so much <3 I had another bad flare and we plan on going to the doctor tomorrow and ask for the vitamin D test and a gallbladder test!

And thank you for the warm welcome <3 It feels so nice to talk to people who understand. It feels kind of lonely being the only one I know with it sometimes.
Posted 5/5/2010 3:52 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Riser!

And welcome to the family! We are here to help and support you with our experiences and knowledge. We also are here for you emotionally because being in constant pain is just down right miserable. It lowers your resistance to deal with many other things in life.

I'm glad you are getting more testing done to make a more clear and decisive diagnosis. There are other things that cause pain in the mid chest area. Gall bladder is one but on me it was in the back between my shoulder blades. But not everyone has it in the same place. Also Costochondritis sometimes afflicts people with fibro and it's very painful in the front-mid chest.

Have you considered or do you use a front pack/sling to carry baby? Maybe a a back type would help. My daughters 'wear' their babies until they are too old to be comfortable and it's wonderful for both mom and baby. Some of those slings are very expensive but I made them with a long piece of micro-fleece and a large ring I bought at a fabric store. One short seem and I had a $60 dollar sling. There are lots of do-it-yourself pages out there to explain them.

Anyway, glad you're here and I sure hope the doctors can be definitive after a bit more testing.
Chutz
Posted 5/5/2010 6:37 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you very much for the sling idea. When I go out tomorrow I'll go and see if I can find one.

Also I did some more looking into the gallbladder thing at the mayo clinic website. And one of the causes of it seems to be 'rapid weight loss.' and being mexican american and female can also contribute to it. Which I am both. And I was at one point 300lbs and fell to 170 in about 9months. So I'll defiantly be having my doctor looking into that. Thank you all so much once again.
Posted 5/5/2010 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
Please keep us informed!
Posted 5/7/2010 1:46 AM (GMT 0)
Went to the doctor. We talked, and considering my health history and my extreme weight loss and my prior obesity PLUS my ethnic background and what not he says it's a very high possibility it may be a gallbladder issue. I'll be going in for my ultrasound on Monday. As for the Vitamin D test, the last few times I'd been in for blood tests he said they automatically checked for that. (My last one being a couple weeks ago) So He says my levels are fine.

I'm a little scared. On one hand if it ends up being my gallbladder I might be able to rid myself of the pain but it means having to probably be cut open for the first time in my life. So I'm nervous on both sides but in the end it will at least clarify what it truly is and how they can further help.
Posted 5/7/2010 2:22 AM (GMT 0)
Riser, I had my gallbladder taken out in 1978. The procedure has come along way since
then. I was so thankful that I did not have to deal with the attacks anymore. Today the
recovery time is alot less than it used to be and the incision is relatively small. My sister
had her gallbladder out the new way and she was back to work in a real short time.
Good luck to you!

Hugs, Robin
Posted 5/7/2010 4:37 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Riser,

I had my gallbladder out laprascopically (sp?) and it wasn't too bad. I wouldn't say the recovery was real easy, but then I was 53.
Now, I'm so glad it's out. I used to get awful pains lying in my bed at night, almost like labor pains.....they're gone. I thought I was having a heart attack one morning and it turned out to be the gallbladder. The Hida scan showed it wasn't functioning, plus I had stones. It's kind of nice when it's something they can actually see and do something about, for a change.

Strangely, I had similar pains when my appendix was going hooey on me. Not the typical ones, no nausea or vomiting, not much fever, the pain wasn't in the "right" place....it was mostly in my back. Figures! Finally they operated because my white blood count was elevated, and sure enough, it was close to bursting.

Good luck to you! It's not easy with a little one on top of everything else you're dealing with. And do keep us posted....
Posted 5/7/2010 7:08 AM (GMT 0)
Thank you both. Recovery is really the one thing I'm worried about, due to the baby. I'm blessed with a good family though, and my mother has agreed to come by and help me if I need it so I have that reassurance. and we went out and bought a little baby sling, which he thinks is just amazingly fun.

And, Acheybody, the first time i ever had one of these painful attacks....I did think I was having a heart attack and I went to the hospital. Where they took an x-ray and said it seemed like 'plurlsy'. I went with that at first but the pains been reoccurring which is unlike plurlsy which is why I got diagnosed with fibro....I have a question for you both though. When your Gallbladder was going bad on you, did you have an elevated liver enzyme count?...Because they said I didn't but it didn't really confirm or disprove anything. Just that usually when it is the gallbladder you get a higher liver enzyme count.
Posted 5/7/2010 2:05 PM (GMT 0)
Riser, I do not remember if my liver enzymes were elevated or not. They very well good
of been. My doctor didn't believe I had gallbladder trouble at the time. I was 26 years old,
weighed approx 110 lbs. He said I didn't fit the profile of being fat and fifty. After two
visits to the ER and given hypos of demerol, he thought something was going on. I remember
having to drink a chalky tasting liquid and scans were done, revealing a diseased gallbladder.
A surgery was scheduled for almost two weeks later. I never made the surgery date. They
had to do an emergency surgery but had to wait till I was pumped with antibiotics because it
was gangrene. They removed my appendix at the same time.

My pain prior to the surgery felt like labor pain in the right upper quadrant of my torso
that wrapped around my right shoulder, down my shoulder blade. It was intense!!!

My experiance was not the norm, I surely don't want to frighten you! I was told later that
some woman experiance gallbladder trouble after a long difficult labor which I had...36 hrs.

I am glad that your doctor is thorough and checking things out for you.

Hugs, Robin
Posted 5/7/2010 3:09 PM (GMT 0)
Well, I've had one liver enzyme that's been elevated for at least 18 years (the first time they tested my blood) and now another. And they don't know why. So I'm afraid I can't help you there...
Posted 5/8/2010 9:13 AM (GMT 0)

I'm 24 so nice to meet another youngin that has fibro!  tongue    What helps me is the heat pack, Rx amitriptyline and 3 advil before bed when I end my day with a really bad flare up.  I use this heat pack called Thermipaq and it can come for the shoulders and other parts of the body.  I'm not sure which because my husband bought it for me when I was having a lot of pain and running to the store for thermicare pads.  You can find it at Target at a reasonable price.  The shoulder one he got me works also to put around your waist for your lowerback so you can work and get relief at the same time.  I would heat it for 45 seconds and not the minute like they suggest.  I like heat, but not so my flesh melts off.  I also have noticed if I wear my mocosin slippers to work that the heat they provide and cushion helps my feet.  My pains are mostly in my legs and lower back, but in the last 2-3 years my hands and now wrists and feet have more arthritic pain than fibro pain.  I would put the baby in those slings they sell now and hold him like that if I was too scared to hold him.  I've seen that you can cradle them and have them sit upright and sit like those backwards backpack looking carriers do.  That way he's right there safe and you are holding him with some help.  If you can record or watch for the "Bring Home Baby" on TLC episode that had the mom with Rheumatoid Arthritis.  You can see a little bit of how so copes.  I don't know if you have help at home or what your situation is, but that sling my be that extra support you need.  I have an email on here you can email for questions if you like.

@rianna

Posted 5/11/2010 5:15 PM (GMT 0)
I got my results in today. And it came back as Gallstones with high possibility of infection, they're going to recommend me to a surgeon tomorrow.

I cannot tell you how thankful I am to all of you. I had no idea about gallstones, or infections or even THOUGHT for a moment that this could have anything to do with my gallbladder. And Neither did My doctor. He seemed surprised when I brought it up. He told me if I hadn't found out that it had the potential to cause severe issues in my liver and pancreas, especially with the amount of time I've been having the pain. Or even fatal. If I hadn't come here and if it hadn't been for all your wonderful advice I wouldn't have known. Thank you all, so much.
Posted 5/11/2010 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
I'm so glad you found out what the problem was.  You can get it taken care of now and start feeling much better.

 

Sherrine

Posted 5/11/2010 10:14 PM (GMT 0)
Riser, I'm glad that you are going to get the help you need! You will feel so much better
once that gallbladder is taken care of. It will really make a differance!

Hugs, Robin
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