Yes SK, I certainly am interested in a Fibro/Arthritis group. I think you would know how to go about setting one up.
Since my doctor shooed me out of his office do abruptly I was left bewildered and now I am quite annoyed that he would send me out without discussing it with me nor talking about what I should do.
What is concerning me now is that my right hand curls when I'm sleeping so when I get up in the night(or day) I have to work gently at uncurling it. But now when I have that hand on the mouse it aches in the ball of my hand.
I'm seriously considering making an appoinment with my doctor of 24 years and staying with him til he retires in two years. I am going to ask him to suggest which doctor in the Clinic he thinks I should go to.
I'm spending time researching on the internet and asking friends like you to help me. That is wonderful, but I do need a doctor. Do you know that I have NEVER been to a rheumatologost. My doctor of 24 years is the one who diagnosed me with fibro.
This is rather off topic, but I am really wondering what my next step is with doctoring. I think my best bet would be to go back to my doctor of 24 years. This young doctor needs to ask himself what is more important............sticking to a schedule or treating people.
I have been a teacher for 42 years and now I am remembered by former students "because I cared and helped them when they needed it." I NEVER shooed them away because I had something else to do.
Yes, I am venting. Thank you for listening.
Back to the Fibro/Arthritis group I will help you if you tell me what you need..
RACHEL, I was diagnosed with that on Tuesday...My dr put me on Tramadol...I have not been on it long enough to see if it makes a difference...But I am willing to try most anything to calm this down...I never have a day without pain...And I was told that it will be that way the rest of my life......I guess there could be worse things to have...
My Dr. gave me some information that may help...American College of Rheumatology Osteoarthritis...You can print it off their web site...He also gave me the one on Fibromyalgia from the same wesite...I hope that may help you....
And interestingly enuff, fibro was on the list of a form of arthritis...fits in with what the NIH said. Oh yeah, and Sjogrens was on the list too, SK. In fact, I found a bunch of things that I suffer from, so I surely WISH doctors would make it clear to us that the pain we're feeling from things like flat feet, achille's tendonitis, bursitis, etc. etc. is REAL and is ARTHRITIS.
Excellent resource, SK. Makes me realize I'm not crazy - the pain is real and it's got a name.
Yes thank you for this information. I will check it out. It seems that we need to do lots of research to keep ourselves up to date. Doctors cannot do it all for us.
Rachel, please be sure to read my latest post on our new group. It is copied from a private message from Fibrokitty ( Physician's Assistant for an Internist). I asked her why the new disease modifying drugs (biolologics) were not being used for OA. This is such a great explanation, I have seen nothing that came close to explaining this inspite of my search and research!
Mainheart, We just started a new sub-group for Fibromyalgia and Arthritis, just click groups at the top of the page. Everyone is welcome to join, the more the merrier!
Thank you Rachel, there is a great new article by someone at the NY Times on Fibro that is much better than the explainations of most fo the teaching hospitals, you'll want to check that out too!
I'm pleased to meet you Jamey. Now don't fibro and arthritis just make a delightful pair who come to visit without being invited and don't have the good sense to leave promptly!?!
At least I am finding out that there are a goodly number of people with fibro and osteoarthritis so that's something I didn't know before.
Nice to meet you. Oh dear your OA is mostly in your spine. I can certainly see how that would affect your mobility and the difficulty in doing any household chores.
I couldn't answer that question. Perhaps someone else might know. Have you researched it on the internet? I haven't come across anything in my research that says arthritis comes first.
I have osteoarthrisits, Fibro, Osteoporosis, and degenerative disc along with extreme exhaustion. I have been living on tramadol, vicodin, and muscle relaxers.