I just got back from my neurologist appointment, I had over 14 shots from my neck down to my hips and I am getting some relief from the pain right now. I had a “come to Jesus meeting” with him, he is foreign so he didn’t get the joke but I told him that I am doing my part by staying away from sugar, eating non acidic fruits and vegatables and I hurt all over, especially my hands and feet, it feels like they have frost bite, so he changed my meds from Gabapentin to Lyrica, I am on cymbalta which really doesn’t do anything as I am not depressed but I am anxiety driven, I am on xanax when needed, Maxalt for migraines and very limited tramadol 50 mg three times a day…I told him that I am doing my part, he wouldn’t prescribe anything above Tramadol. I am a caseworker so I need to keep working to support my daughter and I but I am losing the battle. Does anyone on the Vicodin, Oxy, etc, do you get relief, even if it is for four hours?
I take dilaudid, hydromorphone, and it helps me. It takes about an hour or so to kick in and then it usually lasts most of the day. I use it sparingly, only when I really need it.
Hi Wyoming,
Sorry I didn't catch this sooner! Sounds like you got a good going over. I hope that the shots have given you relief and you have recovered by the actual injections. I had all of the lower back injections years ago.
I take Opana, and need to use the Phenergan 1 hour before. The relief is usually immediate, to some degree. I cannot take codeine at all. Lyrica takes care of the nerve pain most of the timeand as a NSAI, I take Oxiprozin. I have never taken Cymbalta, they are using that for arthritis pain though. I did try Savella, that worked very nicely until I started to shake uncontrollably! Needless to say that was the end of the Savella.
I think Fibrokitty takes Vicodin and gets relief, but she has arthritis, as I do. Off the top of my head she is the only one I can think of who uses it regularly.
I hope that you get continued relief. We are all pulling for you!
Hugs,
SK
Hi Wyoming,
It's very difficult to find a doctor who'll prescribe anything beyond Tramadol these days. I do hope the Lyrica helps. (It does give me some pain relief by dialing the pain down several notches. I think. Well, it did. I'm not so sure anymore.)
I hope those 14 shots helped. That's a heck of a lot of shots all at once! I can only get one at a time. You must be made of tough stuff to handle the after effects of 14 shots. Not killer but not fun.
Cymbalta is not just used for depression, it's also used for fibro pain. But if it's not helping...you could ask for a dose increase, however. I know that with Lyrica the doctors start you out on a very low dose that does very little to help with the pain, then you get increases as you go.
I really don't know of much else to recommend to help. The part about your hands feeling frostbitten has me stumped. I wish others would chime in as to whether this is a normal symptom of fibro or not. Is it possible that you have an autoimmune disease? Like Raynaud's Syndrome? http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/raynaud/
No, my GP does. It's easier that way.
The Rheum only prescribes the disease modifiers, currently it's Enbrel.
Yes, Petunia, I meant to mention the Raynaud's. I have that autoimmune disease, and your description is classic. My fingers and toes turn white with exposure to cold, it can also affect the nose and ears. I'm the nut with gloves on in the summer in the frozen food section of the grocery store to handle the foods out of the freezer! Your Dr can prescribe a vasodilator for this to increase blood flow, and by all means bundle up!
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/raynaud/
I’m surprised your Neurologist ‘shot you up’! I’ve always had to go to pain management, but I guess he could do both!
Thanks for adding your expertise to this, SK. I really didn't think this was a fibro symptom but not having Raynauds, I wasn't sure if the symptoms matched or not.
You know, it's eerie how many fibro people also have autoimmune illnesses. Almost all of them, it would seem. Why do they go hand in hand? Is one illness the trigger for the others? There is just too much overlap for this to be coincidence, I feel.
Petunia I don’t remember the link I posted the other day but they considered fibro to be a Rheumatic condition.
When my GP first diagnosed me with Fibro, he told me it was just the beginning of the diagnosis.