So I’m not entirely sure where to put this. But I was wondering if anyone on here has had a full gastric bypass after a fibro diagnosis. My wife has had a bypass. I know the ends and outs of it. But, because of that, I know that you can’t take NSAIDs or steriods after surgery. So, if you have a flare, how do you handle it? At this point im on a ton of pain medicine. Including an “as needed” prescription NSAID. My weight loss doctor has told me point blank I won’t lose the amount of weight I need to lose with medication, exercise and diet.
Also, its a major surgery. I know fibromyalgia is different for everyone but how does your body react to that kind of trauma? I feel like I’m flying blind here. There doesn’t seem to be much out there in regards to my concerns about this.
This is a totally different type of surgery, but I did have two major surgeries in one year and I got by just fine. I had two total knee replacements. Best you get the medical advice you need from your fibro specialist, though. And, best to you however you proceed.
Hi Shutterbug - I don’t have any pain meds, cos they don’t work and I can’t tolerate them, so haven’t even got a choice, but anything med or supp that fogs my brain is also a no go, cos I prefer brain with pain rather than no brain with no pain, as I need my brain to control all my other symptoms and have a quite high pain tolerance (it’s the exhaustibility with feeling of sickness that severely restricts my life by making movements and talking above 3 minutes a challenge, not the Ache that comes with it).
I haven’t had a big surgery, and am delaying any kind of hospital stuff as well as possible, since any doc exams are a big long-term trigger (a week to months) for my exhaustibility.
So generally for flares I use supps, attitude, relaxation for the general severe Ache and exhaustibility, and I dissect the rest into each symptom and their triggers.
So I know I wouldn’t react well, at the same time, I can see your predicament. What I then do is try to find functional alternatives that doctors don’t know of, or prove doctors wrong, which often succeeds. I’m “surviving” a similar predicament, the jabs: I (and my wife) knew they’d be a problem, but I couldn’t find any alternative, cos CoV would likely have been worse, so did it all the same and am working hard at the dire consequences since then…
What kind of doctor specializes in fibromyalgia? The rheumatologist that diagnosed me said he wouldn’t be of use to me so no point in going to him. My neurologist only really cares about the migraines and neuropathy. My PCP won’t touch the pain side of things. It took over a year to get sent to a pain specialist. He deals with the pain side of things. No one is dealing the the fatigue side of things and I feel like I’m not getting care from a doctor that is looking at the whole picture. On a side note is that I did sign a pain contract with the pain doctor and I can not have any other doctor prescribing pain medication but him.
Doctor’s exhaust me too. I have also been diagnosed with Major anxiety and agoraphobia. So it’s not just the act of going somewhere or activity. I get a double whammy of the fibro AND a panic attack. By the time I’m home I’m done for days.
The pain specialists I’ve heard of on the forums know as much or little about fibro as rheumatologists or neurologists or GPs. It’s more a case of finding one of these that is interested in helping and willing to listen and understand. Mostly it’s been a rheumatologist or a GP/PCP for others on all the forums.
So:
One that is so inclined… I’ve had more help from a cardio and a sleep lab psychiatrist than from the rheumatologist who didn’t dand the other who 3 months later did diagnose me.
In my case it was my pain specialists that did know a bit more about the most appropriate meds, the rest didn’t. But the meds harmed and they couldn’t help me with supps.
To find a doc that is “inclined” it’s good to research fibro experts in our area, there are some old lists out there but also just doc platforms, and then have a look and listen if they really know what they are talking about. One tell-tale sign is if they listen to you, your symptoms, triggers, reactions, rather than knowing-it-all and telling you everything.
Hmm - fatigue can just as well come from insomnia, from various mental issues like stressing, and can also be completely independent as well as being way out of proportion to the pain.
I get my local pains all under control with direct manual treatment, but my energy from fibro and post vac/MCAS is down to 10%.
I’d say my severe Ache from overdoing sort of comes with the exhaustion, not the other way round… And this Ache is a challenge for any doc, incl. pain specialists. They’re specialists for neuroceptive and neuropathic pain, but ours is a very different kind, most pain killers do not work - as well as that they suppress, don’t heal, and can increase the fatigue/fog in body and brain.
Praps more common as “underlying condition” of the fatigue would be ME/CFS or post vac or long CoV or MCAS or similar. Doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a “pill” for that tho…
However there’s loads of supps, plus LDN, which are all “pills” of a different kind, sometimes better, usually less harm.
So I do agree, @Shutterbug, that it’s necessary to find a doc that is looking at the whole picture. My pain specialists were looking a bit at other things, like they started with half-hearted cupping, and recommended Yin Yoga and a few other good ideas (all of which at the time hurt me incredibly).
Strange that you had to sign a contract, but I do understand that it’d be very dangerous if anyone else were dabbling in it.
For fatigue I use >10 supps, and whole body cryotherapy and Chinese acupuncture had a certain amount of success. My energy was down to 30% from fibro, and down to finally 10% from post vac. On the 1st I started LDN, low dose naltrexone, in my case very low dose, one of the last things on my list, and am surprised how little bad and how many good effects I’m having. More details on my blog. However this may be the post vac/MCAS fatigue, not the fibro fatigue. And LDN has varying results and no real medical evidence, just a lot anecdotal.
In my state in order to be treated by a pain specialist and prescribed control substances they require a contract. Essentially it says you aren’t going to do illegal substances, they can call you for a drug test and you have to show within 24 hours for it and that you won’t seek or accept a prescription for pain meds from someone else (like go to the er saying your pills were stolen and you’re in pain and need more). Basically trying to solve the opiod epidemic with paperwork. Not sure if it actually works that way but who am I to say. Lol
I have a physical scheduled with my GP at the end of the month. I’m going to need to start writing stuff down in my brain (aka my notebook) to talk with her about. She has been responsive in the past. Although I admit in the last 2 years I’ve told her more than once that it seems like no one gave a rats a… about how much pain I’ve been in. I’ve only had one appointment with her since my diagnosis and I figured that maybe we should have one pleasant one before I hit her hard again with questions. Lol. She’s a good doctor. I think the fall/concussion that happened 2 years ago before all this began just threw everyone off. They were all thinking concussion and no reason for the pain showing up in imagining or other tests. They weren’t thinking fibromyalgia.
She’s my wife’s GP too. After I was diagnosed, my wife had an appointment and told her about it. From what I understand it was like a light bulb went off for her. This doctor literally found a nodule that ended up being thyroid cancer on my first visit with her. The surgeon who removed my thyroid had no idea how she felt it. It was the smallest nodule that they biopsy. So I’ll give her another chance. Plus all the doctors suck around here. When you find a decent one you stick with them.
I guess I need to make an appointment with the weight loss surgeon too. See what he thinks in regards to managing the fibromyalgia pain after a bypass.
Sounds like it may be possible to have a pleasant one whilst hitting her softly with questions?
Didn’t get that. Your wife told your GP you have fibromyalgia, and the light bulb means she didn’t understand? Sounds like a talk face to face could improve that either way? A fibro diagnosis can overwhelm docs and patients alike (the UK guidelines even have that as part of the criteria). Both sides need to educate themselves and each other to overcome that, may need time.
Wow, that’s a sensitive and ‘listening’ person, I wouldn’t give up hope with fibro either.
Definitely. Sounds like you’ll be able to find many ways to talk and listen.
Not comparable, but once I myself knew what I needed for a gastroscopy, I was able to talk to the doc and nurses and say what I need, and they did it no problem. Maybe the surgeon won’t know, but who knows, once it’s said…
Communicating well can improve a lot, or at least a bit.
Great! Rare!
Ah, sort of logical that “went off” can mean “went on”, once you know it… just wasn’t familiar with it. I was wondering whether it meant she no longer had any ideas or something, but I spose there’s better expressions for that…
just wasn’t familiar with it. I was wondering whether it meant she no longer had any ideas or something, but I spose there’s better expressions for that…