Hi all... I have a question for you that you all might hopefully be able to answer...

I have been on Cymbalta (90mg/Day) For the longest time... which is all well and good.. except... it is $50 a month with my insurance.. (Yes... I know I am lucky to have health insurance)... BUT... I have been without a Job since December and I am no longer able to afford this med... I have 3 other meds that I am on as well that I can not go off of.. One of which is a Bi-polar Med... so Yeah.. not going off that... and not going off my Tramadol... but... I am at the point of having to basically take myself off of this medication (My rheumatologist that I had been going to, suffered from Guillaume-Barre Syndrome (Yes I am probably spelling that wrong) and is still not back at work... and I can not go to the Rheumatologist they want to send me to because it is over an hour from where I live... and I have no $$ to put in my Gas tank to get there... sigh...
ok.. so long story short... if anyone has weaned themselves off this medication (I have weaned off of other meds in the past.. so I know in theory how to do it.. But if anyone has any advice... I would appreciate it... )


THanks!!

and before anyone flames me.. Yes i Know this is not a medical site...

Hello! Me again. Finally am getting some real answers...

Not totally relevant but I know lots of you are dealing with similar things and I would like recommendations for anything you all have tried that has worked. I'm still dealing with all the full body messed-up-ness.

Anyway...
Ok, met with my doctor about my MRI findings. Here's the verdict.

-Spondylothesis at L5/S1. This means the vertebra is slipped forward.
-Disk degeneration at L5. Exactly what is sounds like, the cushy fluid filled disks are less squishy than they should be.
-Bilateral Spinal Stenosis. Narrowing of the bone openings which nerves need to go through. This narrowing puts pressure on your spinal cord and on the nerves that branch out from the compressed areas. Hence the leg numbness and weakness.
-Bilateral Spondolysis. Degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis) of the spinal vertebra and related tissue.

Treatment options:

Currently I am not a surgical candidate so I have a list of drugs to research that could help with the nerve pain and will hopefully allow me to isolate what is from nerve pain, what is muscle, and what is the arthritis so I can treat things accordingly. I also asked about alternative treatments and acupuncture, chiropractic, etc. are options. As far as beneficial supplements Glucosamine was the primary thing he recommended. I am scheduled to see him (an osteopath) for a hands-on treatment session to start and I am going to keep up the yoga and physical therapy exercises.

Drug options so far, for nerve pain:
Elavil (Amitriptyline)
Neurontin (Gabapentin)

As far as the fibromyalgia diagnosis goes I am seeing a Rhematologist next week (finally! I've been waiting forever it seems like) and hopefully he will have good news or at least help for my symptoms.

This is from a journal for Physician's Assistants and it could be useful for some of us, our friends and family, and especially our healthcare providers. It talks about the current treatments and theories about fibro in an affirming way.

http://physician-assistant.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?cc=75636

I actually learned a thing or two from it.

I'm having one of those days where every little noise just makes me want to strangle or destroy something. I'm always noise sensitive, but I thankfully don't have THAT many days where it's this bad. Seriously, just the low hum of lawn mowers outside was making me want to scream.

I don't really know how to cope with this other than grabbing some earplugs and just going back to bed. Anyone got any tips?

Hi all,

 I've been away for awhile (I'm jessicasoderman, I've posted a few times in here and totally missed you guys), but my computer is fixed and I'm back with a brand new bag... or journal. Feel free to add me as a friend, and if you tell me, I'll add you back. My journal is mostly my soapbox to stand upon and talk about life lessons and such... at 28, I'm learning new things every day. Being an adult is hard!

 Anyway, my fibro is not under good control right now, and I'm not working... as I'm sure many of you are facing the same situation... my love goes out to you all. I'm currently taking MSContin for pain, and I'm wondering if anyone else has had any success? I was taking too much dilaudid in one day and my doctors decided that this medication would be the next logical step. I find that it doesn't control my pain nearly as well, and I'm constantly fighting to keep my muscles limber.

 Thanks for letting me vent, as always, and I can't wait to catch up!

xo
beyondcliche
(jessica)

Hi, everyone...

I've been thinking of putting together some sort of informal support group for women under 45 who are dealing with chronic illness -- something, in person, for the social aspect as well as the support.

Would anyone in Massachusetts be interested in something like this? I figured we could maybe meet a couple times a month for coffee or lunch or something. The idea is that we'd all be younger women (I just turned 33) who have found our lives impacted to various degrees by our chronic pain/illness: career, social life, relationships, etc. I'm not looking to put together a bitchfest, so much as an opportunity to spend time with other women who are dealing with similar issues in their life. Seems like it could be a positive, pro-active thing to do, no?

Anyway, if you're interested, please let me know via comments or PM. I'm in the Boston-area, but we could always alternate locations around MA, depending on who wants to be involved. And don't be shy -- I'm totally not scary, I promise. :)

x-posted to a few comms.

I got a denial letter from Medicaid today. Medicaid that I desperately need. Apparently I'm getting denied for refusal to provide enough information, but I sent in the form they asked me to send in.  What more can they want? My blood. Grrr. I've gotta try to keep it together until my husband gets home. Right now, I want to scream and break things. (My bark is way worse than my bite, but I feel this way.)

OK, so you know that weird slightly-dizzy feeling you get in your head when you have taken a painkiller, a muscle relaxer, maybe had a little wine, or maybe one hit of weed....just a slightly "off" feeling, not like being completely hammered or stoned or whatever, just a little bit...
Well, every day lately when I get home from work I have been feeling like this in the head. the problem is, it is before i have taken anything! Now if I had popped a Soma, or maybe decided to swig a Mike's Hard Lemonade or something I could understand it, but I haven't had anything! And it doesn't bring any benefits with it, I am still in a lot of pain, etc. I just feel slightly dizzy and loopy. I feel like it is an effort to keep my head up, to focus my eyes, or even to think for any length of time. In fact, typing this is quite the feat, I have to use "delete" a lot.
I haven't changed my diet, I haven't done anything differently, I haven't been taking anything out of the ordinary, and I am not getting any less sleep than I normally do...which is to say not a lot, but not any less than usual.
And speaking of not sleeping...the pain has been getting worse as far as sleeping goes. I must wake up every 30 minutes. The worst pain is in my biceps and shoulders. It is a burning in the muscles, like I had just been doing pull-ups in my sleep. There is so much pain that the muscles feel so stiff I cannot move them immediately. It's almost like they seize up. Then my hands get all prickly and numb. If I sleep on either side, I wake up to intense pain on the outer ridges of my ears! MY EARS! they burn! Even the one without the cartilage piercing!
And on my days off where I get to 'sleep in," my bladder wakes me up. But not just the "I really gotta go" sensation. When my bladder is full and I am sleeping, it makes my lower back ache like nothing I have ever felt before! (No, it's not a kidney infection, I had it checked, the full bladder just seems to cause lower back pain. It's weird.)
can anyone else relate? I am feeling crazy.

Hey guys.

I've been struggling with my weight a bit recently. About five years ago I was 120 (a bit underweight, my now boyfriend was determined to fix it.) Now I'm pushing 170 and feeling self conscious about being overweight. Obesity runs in my family, and I'm determined to fight genetics as much as possible.

I finally discovered the other day that I crave greasy food and sweets when I flare up. All I want is to order pizza or go to Denny's, and I'll do nothing but snack all day. Now I'm kind of a grazer to begin with, unfortunately most people seem to pick it up from being as much of a gamer as I am, but I'm MUCH worse when I flare up. If I'm feeling okay, I'm more likely to take the time to prepare a healthier meal with a meat, veggie, and starch and not eat as much between because I plan on making the meal.

Personally, I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring this out. But now I've come up with a problem, and that's what to do to stop these cravings. I'm thinking of trying to just drink white tea with a sweet raw honey so it's not nearly as bad as eating as much as I normally do. I just thought I'd pick everyone's brains and see what people think.

I just found this group from another members cross post. I never thought to look on livejournal for a support group.

I have had fibro for as long as i can remember, my mom says i started complaining about my pain when i was 7. I have only been officially diagnosed for 5 years. I cant wait to have others to talk with about my good days and bad days.