Question:
Let me just say that for anyone out there that lives with alot of pain, my
heart breaks for you.
I live with a moderate amount of pain everyday. As a matter of fact, there
are periods of time, say 3 minutes or so, when I won't feel any pain, and
I'll start to panic, like I'm going to die. I know this sounds sick, but
heck, I am.
Yesterday morning I woke up with "toothache" type pain in my knee, that
radiated throughout my entire leg. The stabbing pain would come and go,
similiar to labor pains. It literally took my breathe away every time, and
occasionally brought instant tears to my eyes.
Is this what FM pain is like?
My Neuro said I had FM, and the specialist at UofM said CFIDS. They both
agreed I had both, or that they were the same thing, just different ends of
the spectrum.
What I want to know, is, is this how full blown FM feels? And is it in all
your limbs?
I went to the hospital last night because I couldn't concieve of pain this
bad being nothing! Wrong again. The doctor on staff said he couldn't find
anything wrong, and that is sounded like nerve pain to him. Is FM pain,
nerve pain/based? Lately all my pains have been increasing, but if they all
get like this, then I might as well get the gun, this is intolerable.
Answer:
have FM, and yes, the pain can be that bad. But for heaven's sake,
don't get the gun yet! The right meds can make a huge difference.
The trick is finding a doctor who knows enough about fibromyalgia to
believe you when you tell him how bad the pain is, and is willing to
medicate you appropriately. I've had marvelous results from moderate
to high doses of NSAIDs (first ibuprofen, later ketoprofen), and I'm
now doing pretty well on Celebrex. Some people on the group have had
similar good results with Neurontin. A few need narcotics. But most
of us, FM or CFS, are able to find some relief once they find
compassionate care.
Unfortunately, ER doctors can be very unsympathetic to pain they can't
"see". If you are not bleeding or throwing up, the chances of getting
help for pain in an emergency room are slim. Your regular doctor
needs to advocate for you in a case like this. Call him, or ask
someone in your household to call him, before you go to the ER.
By the way, Demerol shots--which is probably what you had in the
hospital before--make everyone deathly ill unless they are given in
combination with phenergan or tigan (spelling???), and even then, some
people just can't tolerate Demerol. It would be a good idea to ask
your doctor to check the records and see what pain med it was that
made you so awfully sick, so you can stay away from whatever it was.
