The Nightmare Continues

Ach, I'm sorry you can't sleep. That's always the pits!

Good for you, taking action to try to get in to see that other PA. I sure hope you can...

Sleep well tonight!

Debbie

Hi Angel, I agree that narcotics aren't for everyone. Many years ago I even had a post polio specialist complain to me about them.

People with post polio are sometimes in terrible pain and if the problem isn't identified and dealt with, it can result in terrible psychological damage. I think this is true for many muscular/skeletal /neurological conditions .

I remember reading about a woman who ended up in a psychiatric institution because doctors were denying her pain. The very bad old days.. I forget what she had but I think it was ms or something hard to diagnose.

But no, not for every fibromyalgia patient, and everyone is different.

I'm happy for you if getting off narcotics was the right decision for you. I would love to know what you do in lieu of prescription pain management.

Debbie, Thank you so much! Hey, I meant to comment that I also have a shoulder that is freezing, I can't even lift it to put on a coat, I have to kind of slide the coat on lol. sigh...

Post Edited (DiscoLadyCA) : 2/4/2014 2:53:43 AM (GMT-7)

I'm so sorry you are having to deal with this. I have ankylosing spondylitis, which is an extremely painful disease of the spine, but I have been able to manage it with ibuprofen with food, Tylenol, magnesium malate, vitamin D3, and a prescription muscle relaxer, Robaxin, that has made a significant difference with my pain and fatigue. (The Robaxin, especially, helped with fatigue for me. I was waking up at least 5 times during the night due to pain. I would have to get up, walk around to help loosen up, and then try to get back to sleep. But, after taking Robaxin, I now only get up once to use the bathroom. I also only take half the amount the doctor prescribed so I have no side effects from this...no drowsiness, dizziness, etc.) These things help with my fibro, too. I did try Vicodin and also Tramadol but they didn't touch my pain but these over the counter things did.

I also keep moving. I know I talked to you about all this in another thread but don't have the time to search for it right now.

I HAD a frozen shoulder and of course the doctor wanted to give me a shot of cortisone in my shoulder. Sure, that could help the pain, but it also isn't good for my osteoporisis AND it would only be treating the symptoms and not the problem. So, I tried trigger point therapy and corrected the problem. Trigger points can cause a lot of our pain and it is referred pain, too. The trigger points for my shoulder were found in my chest wall, top and back of my shoulder, and my neck. I get pain in my side many times where it hurts to breathe and I can't get comfortable. But, not anymore. I know the trigger point for that pain is along my spine. I massage that and the side pain goes away.

I bought a book called The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook off of Amazon but it is sold in bookstores, too. Amazon will let you read a little of it to give you some idea about the book. It really is excellent and has diagrams of the body that shows where trigger points are located. That's how I knew where to look to help myself.

I no longer have a frozen shoulder. Before I did the trigger point therapy, I couldn't raise my arm above my shoulder, couldn't reach for anything, and also couldn't put my arm behind my back. The pain was terrible. It did take me a couple of months to get total mobility back in my arm but every day it was better. So this might be something you would like to try.

I hope some of this helps you.

Sherrine