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Posted 11/5/2013 4:50 AM (GMT 0)
hi every one. i've recently been diagnosed with connective tissue disease after suffering for five years. my rheumatologist feels that plaquenil is sufficient to control it but i have such agonizing low back pain and rib pain especially on the left that travels to around to my back. none of my drs. seem to care. i'm extremely anemic and soo tired that i'm hours late to work because i can barely get up. can anybody tell me what might be causing the pain in my left side . it's constant and it's the first thing i feel when i wake
Posted 11/5/2013 7:26 AM (GMT 0)
Welcome to hw,
My rhuemy tells me the rib pain I suffer from is fibromylagia. Which loves to hitch ride with lupus. If you hurt constantly all over not at the joint but at the muscles then that's fibro.
You may need to get a mattress topper to give you extra cushioning for those tender points.
Plaquenil takes about three to four months to fully kick in. It will help some with the fatigue.
You also need to start avoiding all sources of UV light. Cover up with hats and long sleeves. I even wear gloves and sun glasses. You can purchase special UV protective clothing at Acadamy Sports, coolibar.com, and sungrubbies.com.
I'm very light sensitive and I even have heavy blinds on my window, LED lights in my house, and UV glass on my car.
Because many of us are light sensitive we have to take vitamin D. Make sure to get yours checked.
Posted 11/6/2013 7:18 AM (GMT 0)
thank you joy for such a quick response. i do have fibromyalgia but the pain on my left side is separate from the rib pain. also i took plaquenil, mobic and sulfasalazine for a year but the fatigue and anemia didn't get better. any ideas about what else i might need
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