Hi everyone, just thought i would introduce myself.
I have 2 children, 2 dogs, loads of tropical fish and my husband works full time, but bless him he does his best for me and the kids when at home.
i have suffered from chronic back pain for 20 plus years, had 2 ops, nerve block and other injections. i am also asthmatic, i take morphine and a few other pain killers, but nothing works.
i have recently been diagnosed with fms and was abit of a shock as was hoping it they would discover what was going on with my back and why it is so painful.
I have joined a few other groups tp try and help me understand better about this invisible condition, which i am slowly doing, but i have managed to cope with my back pain and how to deal with it and what i can and cant do, now i feel like its a whole new ball game and if i will ever know when i flare up is happening.
i see my doctor again tomorrow to hopefully try and get some painkillers that will work, pyhsio doesnt work for me either and have been to pain management and tried ketamene etc again with no joy.
getting fed up with all the pain, when all i would love to do is play football with the kids. :-)
Welcome to the group! I can relate to the back pain. It took me about 7 years to find out mine was from Psoriatic Arthritis, the spondylitis type, meaning it mainly targets the spine. This diagnosis came from a Rheumatologist, I think they are our best hope of getting to causes. I take an Enbrel shot every week to slow down the progression of the disease.
It took me going to my second Rheumatologist to get the right answers. Hopefully, you will find your doctor very soon, get some real answers as to the cause of the pain, only then can you be properly treated.
they are sure what caused it, but thats why i have had 2 ops, one to fuse and then pin removal. have been told it degenerative, but the rhemy that diagnosed me said there is no arthritis anywhere else, but it was definitely my back that was the problem, and they cant op or doing anything for my back, so am fighting to try and get something sorted for my back. as hubby has to help with most things and its a good job i have oldish kids 8 and 12 so they can help with most things.
but least most of my other problems are solved and also being tested for carpal tunnel as well. oh the joys. lol
Welcome to the group! I know exactly how you feel. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in October of 2012, so I'm sorta new to this too. I have my good days, but it seems lately that I've been having more bad days. I don't know if it is due to the weather or lack of activity or what. Today is just horrible for me. I'm in pain right now as I speak to you. It feels like I'm being stuck with a needle over and over again from my shoulders down to my feet. I'm trying to keep a positive mental attitude, but I have to be real about this, it truly sucks! I take 300 mg of Lyrica a day and I'm sorry to say, it's not working. So, that doesn't help matters any either. You will learn to know your body and when you are having a flare up. I'm sure that others on here will also be able to help you determine when you are having a flare up. I can tell you for me it's cold, damp weather that causes me the worst pain. Stress will also cause a flare up. I hope that your doctor will prescribe you something for the pain. Just know that you are not alone and that you don't have to deal with this all by yourself. Kind and gentle hugs to you my dear.
at the moment i dont know if i have a flare up or not cos i have had pain everywhere for months, my back for obvious reason and my legs, feet and hands are the worse.
it was rheumy that said it was fibro cos of my back, so hence the difficulty i am having deciding whats what.
hopefully with more understanding and advice i will get there. :-)
gentle hugs to u and hope u feel better or should i say slightly better with plenty of warmth etc. x
Hi Sally and welcome! You certainly sound like you fit right in here! Believe it or not, back pain is one of the major complaints of many fibro sufferers. Like you, I was seeking and seeking an answer to my back pain for several years, right up until I got a new GP who diagnosed me with fibro. Fibro really likes to sink its teeth into your back and not let go.
Here's a possibility for you: if you also suffer from arthritis in the back, it might be radiating to a different place to feel the pain and the fibro might be aggravating it. If so, you might get relief from radio ablation, which is a fancy way of saying your nerves in your back get cauterized. I had it done and it did help for about 6 months. However, the first 3 weeks after the procedure were horrendous, pain-wise. It did offer me quite a bit of relief for those six months but now it's coming right back again. Short of cutting out backs off, I don't know any other way of getting some meaningful relief there.
At any rate, we're glad to have you here and hope you enjoy our site. There are many nice people here who help you cope with the pressures that fibro puts on you. And goddness knows, we face enough of them!
Feel free to write more in the discussions or even just read them. I know that fibro can be overwhelming, so you might try looking up old discussions by typing a topic in at the top right search bar for the site. There's a lot of great info available there.
FibroFrenzy, are you also getting the big Northeastern snowstorm? If so, your flare up might be tied in with it. I've had the same stabbing with a needle feeling in my knee, the same as I did the last time we had a snowstorm here. Just a thought for you to consider.
Sally, please feel welcome to join a group that I started for my friend and fellow moderator, Rachel when she was diagnosed with OA. It is a group for everyone who has fibro and any type of arthritis. I try to keep up with all new treatments, tests, and meds. It is beneficial to anyone who even suspects arthritis.