Please tell me what you think

[Guest guest]

I'm new to this group and so far some of the things I'm readin from

other people I have experienced also. What is it with these doctors?

They should read these group things to see exactly how people with

Fybromyalgia feel and the terrible treatment allot of us get.

I have experienced so many things and now see that all those symptoms

must have been the fybromyalgia doing it's thing. I just got done

reading one persons post on here about how her rib hurts and I

thought for the longest time that I had lung cancer because my rib

was so tender. My doctor's diagnaosis, ITS ALL YOUR HEAD!

I have been complaining to my doctor for a year now and still I'm not

on any sort of pain medication.

These are the medicines I have tried: Cymbalta (made me very

sick),Celebrex, Tramadol, Effexor, Flexeril,Lyrica (I was very upset

when this didn't help), and Tizanidine.

None of those meds worked for me. I still take the Tizanidine to help

me sleep, but even thats starting to not work.

I feel as though my doctor doesn't take me seriously. When I finally

broke down and started crying she said I was in pain because of

depression. She then put me on the antidepressants, and the more I

thought about it, I realised that, NO the pain is not from

depression, it's the pain thats causing the depression. I wouldn't

even be depressed if someone could bring me some releife.

I feel jealous when I read things about people who say they can

handle their pain, tht it's only the fatigue that bothers them.

I was on another Fybromyalgia support group and got mad because some

lady there said that she doesn't have insurance and that if she can

handle her pain then I can handle mine without meds. I thought to

myself NO, your pain and mine are obviously very different.

My oain consumes me, I don't even remember who I am anymore.I am pain.

When I go to my doctor I force myself to be cheerful because I don't

want her throwing this off to depression.You do know that doctors

make money by getting people addicted or dependant on antidepressants

right?

The more they can sale, the more the drug company rewards them.

I was going to a pain clinic and they stopped accepting my insurance

so now I'm waiting for another to accept me.The pain clinic I went to

was the one who put me on the Tramadol.

I sometimes feel like my doctor thinks I'm a drug seeker.Beleive me

when I say this, if I was seeking some kind of high I would have

given up a long time ago!

I want to be able to live. I want to have just a momment pain free or

to at least be able to tolerate it. I cry EVERY DAY.

The reason I think my doctor might think I'm drug seeking is because

about five months ago I had a really bad UTI. Well I went to her

about it and she said, oh it's not that bad and gave me some

antibiotics. Fine I was happy. Well the next morning I wook up at 3am

and was in very bad pain. I went to the hospital and they gave me

some hydrocodones. They also told me that I had a severe UTI. Well I

wanted to let my doctor know that it was a bad UTI and that she

goofed, I don't think she liked that to well. She asked me what

hospital I had gone to, so I told her and thought nothing about it.

Well I went to the hospital about a month ago asking for antibiotics.

I didn't feel that I needed pain meds for the infection this time so

I didn't ask for them.

I then went back to my doctor after finishing the antibiotic because

I knew I still had the UTI.She said how do you know you have a

urinary tract infection? I told her well I hurt like I have one.She

said how do you know it's not just your back hurting you. I told her

I didn't know, but that it felt like a UTI.She never even took a

urine sample from me.

I ended up going to the hospital this week because it was causing me

so much pain. The hospital gave me antibiotics, but nothing for the

pain. My mom's friend was with me and told them they need to give me

somethin for the pain and all they gave me was Phenazopyridine which

brought me little releife. I have never been treated so poorly in the

hospital before. My blood pressure was dangerously high because I was

in so much pain and this was how I was treated. The ER doctor was

even a little cold towards me.

Well I think my doctor faxed them something that says to not treat my

pain.It's the only thing I can come up with.

Whats strange is that when I first went to my doctor I was having

pain in my leg which was getting really bad, but if she will remember

right I was also complaining of other things that I now know was my

fibro. One of the first things she said to me was that they do not

prescribe pain medication at this clinic. I thought it odd for her to

tell me that when I have only asked a doctor for pain meds two times

in my whole life. Once was when I was in a car wreck and the other

time was when I had a really bad kidney infection and was

hospitalized for it.

Has anyone had similar problems with their doctor?

I was just wondering, do they ever make you feel like your some kind

of junky searching for a high?

My mom is going to my next appointment with me and we are going to

ask for a copy of my medical records. I know this much if this doctor

has me labeled as such, she is in so much trouble! It is illegal to

deface someones character wether it be medical or not if they havn't

done anything to earn a bad title.

I would really like to hear your thoughts, or experiences.

Sorry this is so long.

[Guest guest]

same with me, only i just started asking for something for pain.

i think the truth is the docs are getting audited more everytime they

write a script for a controlled substance, so i really do feel and

beleive that they are now not even bothering to acknowledge our

symptoms nor are they making the proper diagnoses so they won't have

to write scripts and treat us, looking at us like we are nuts.

i have been close to writing a list of all my dxs, all my meds, and

all my ongoing symptoms getting worse, handing a copy to my docs and

asking them to sign my copy that they did receive the information

from me. this would be evidence, in a court of law, of their ongoing

negligence, if needed.

hang in there, it is really hard,

marg

>

> I'm new to this group and so far some of the things I'm readin from

> other people I have experienced also. What is it with these

doctors?

> They should read these group things to see exactly how people with

> Fybromyalgia feel and the terrible treatment allot of us get.

> I have experienced so many things and now see that all those

symptoms

[Guest guest]

I think that most doctors have never experienced true pain. Maybe if they did,

they wouldn't be so stingy with the pain meds.

/Mi

Re: Please tell me what you think

same with me, only i just started asking for something for pain.

i think the truth is the docs are getting audited more everytime they

write a script for a controlled substance, so i really do feel and

beleive that they are now not even bothering to acknowledge our

symptoms nor are they making the proper diagnoses so they won't have

to write scripts and treat us, looking at us like we are nuts.

i have been close to writing a list of all my dxs, all my meds, and

all my ongoing symptoms getting worse, handing a copy to my docs and

asking them to sign my copy that they did receive the information

from me. this would be evidence, in a court of law, of their ongoing

negligence, if needed.

hang in there, it is really hard,

marg

>

> I'm new to this group and so far some of the things I'm readin from

> other people I have experienced also. What is it with these

doctors?

> They should read these group things to see exactly how people with

> Fybromyalgia feel and the terrible treatment allot of us get.

> I have experienced so many things and now see that all those

symptoms

[Guest guest]

> I feel as though my doctor doesn't take me seriously. When I finally

> broke down and started crying she said I was in pain because of

> depression. She then put me on the antidepressants, and the more I

> thought about it, I realised that, NO the pain is not from

> depression, it's the pain thats causing the depression. I wouldn't

> even be depressed if someone could bring me some releife.

I understand your frustration. Of *course* you're going to feel

depressed when you're in constant pain! And of *course* it's not why

you're in pain! But there's a vicious cycle with pain and

depression, that once we're in that cycle, the pain feeds the

depression, and because of chemical changes in the brain, the

depression feeds the pain. Antidepressants can and do have a role in

the treatment of fibromyalgia. No, they won't fix the problem. But

if you think of the cycle as a bicycle wheel, antidepressants are

like a stick poked through the spokes in the wheel. They will stop

the spinning wheel in its tracks (the analogy stops there, not with

the rider taking a header over the handlebars ;D ;D).

Part of the cycle is how the brain handles seretonin and other

endorphins. Chronic pain can suppress the production of these

natural painkillers. In some people, they get gobbled up by the

brain so fast that they can't do their job of alleviating pain. Pain

makes the situation worse. And the fewer endorphins that are

actually produced and functioning, the more depressed we get, which

suppresses the function of the endorphins, which makes the pain

worse, and so on.

We need to do certain things to get us functioning again. Exercise

is really important in controlling fibromyalgia, if for no other

reason than that it improves overall health, and gives us the

physical strength to not injure ourselves constantly, creating even

more pain on top of the fibro. But there is nothing more impossible

than movement and exercise when you're trying to not scream in pain.

Again, it's a cycle: pain feeds inactivity which makes us injury-

prone, which feeds pain. And then we're back to the other cycle,

where pain feeds depression, which makes the body crap out on using

endorphins, which feeds pain, which makes the body crap out even more

on using endorphins.

These miserable cycles need to be interrupted somewhere. I can't see

those of us who are in daily, constant pain, interrupting the cycle

by taking on an aggressive program of physical activity, when getting

up in the morning is doubtful. But it's possible that you can, with

your doctor's help, poke a stick in the spokes of the wheel with

antidepressants.

The caveat is that you've got to have someone prescribing them who

knows what they're doing. I have a " meds shrink " , a psychiatrist

who's a MD, who has managed my antidepressants since 1997. She

doesn't participate in Medicare, but I really don't care. I see her

about twice a year, unless we're trying something new, or I'm having

trouble. She's never failed me and has worked with me establishing

protocols that work. She is cautious, and a trial of meds usually

takes several months of careful management, unless there's some side-

effect that I can't tolerate.

If I were in your shoes, I would ask my doctor point-blank if she

thinks it's " all in my head " . If her answer is yes, you might

consider looking elsewhere. But if she explains that it's part of

the possible treatment, a beginning, then maybe you can work with

her. See if you can get a referral to a good " meds shrink " who

specializes in medication management. My own PCP admitted, after

several months of trying to get me started on antidepressants in 1996

- 97, that she was simply out of her league, and referred me to the

psychiatrist that I mentioned above.

You've got to start somewhere with managing the pain. I wonder

sometimes if there isn't an " acute " stage of this disease, where

absolutely everything flares. I have flareups like this, usually one

or more a week, but I also have days when it's flared down and I feel

quite good. That was not always the case. Even though I have good

days in between, I sometimes get quite desperate when I'm in that

amount of pain, and I understand the desperation that people express.

> I feel jealous when I read things about people who say they can

> handle their pain, tht it's only the fatigue that bothers them.

> I was on another Fybromyalgia support group and got mad because some

> lady there said that she doesn't have insurance and that if she can

> handle her pain then I can handle mine without meds. I thought to

> myself NO, your pain and mine are obviously very different.

I call this " pain-upmanship " . It's totally ridiculous. Everybody's

different, although we have a lot in common on this list.

Everybody's also different in how they respond to meds. I tend to

respond very strongly to meds, and opiates backfire badly for me, so

I avoid them like the proverbial plague. Others function quite well

on them. I make no judgment about those who choose to go the opiates

route. There have been many times, when in a flare, that I've wished

that I had something really strong to take.

See if your doctor will work with you. If she thinks that

antidepressants may actually help, but is out of her league (as

indicated by the extensive list of meds you've tried, presumably in a

very short space of time), see if she can refer you to someone who

knows meds inside and out.

May you have as good luck finding help as I have, and may you

eventually have the really good days that help you to get past the

really bad ones.

Z

[Guest guest]

I hear you and I think most of us have had similar circumstances..

the only thing I can say is hang in there! My mom has fibro {she

knows she had} when she was in her early 30's. It took her until

she was 55 until she was diagnosed or taken seriously! She is

emotionally scared for life from it and she is 65 now. I thinks

things have become better since the 1970's, at least for diagnosis,

now we just have to get dr. to listen to us. they think everyone

with an ache or pain is a drug addict! I'm sorry I can't offer more

help... soft hugs, Gretchen

-- In

Fibromyalgia_Support_Group , " chainedtoabutterfly "

wrote:

>

> I'm new to this group and so far some of the things I'm readin

from

> other people I have experienced also. What is it with these

doctors?

> They should read these group things to see exactly how people with

> Fybromyalgia feel and the terrible treatment allot of us get.

> I have experienced so many things and now see that all those

symptoms

> must have been the fybromyalgia doing it's thing. I just got done

> reading one persons post on here about how her rib hurts and I

> thought for the longest time that I had lung cancer because my rib

> was so tender. My doctor's diagnaosis, ITS ALL YOUR HEAD!

> I have been complaining to my doctor for a year now and still I'm

not

> on any sort of pain medication.

> These are the medicines I have tried: Cymbalta (made me very

> sick),Celebrex, Tramadol, Effexor, Flexeril,Lyrica (I was very

upset

> when this didn't help), and Tizanidine.

> None of those meds worked for me. I still take the Tizanidine to

help

> me sleep, but even thats starting to not work.

> I feel as though my doctor doesn't take me seriously. When I

finally

> broke down and started crying she said I was in pain because of

> depression. She then put me on the antidepressants, and the more I

> thought about it, I realised that, NO the pain is not from

> depression, it's the pain thats causing the depression. I wouldn't

> even be depressed if someone could bring me some releife.

> I feel jealous when I read things about people who say they can

> handle their pain, tht it's only the fatigue that bothers them.

> I was on another Fybromyalgia support group and got mad because

some

> lady there said that she doesn't have insurance and that if she

can

> handle her pain then I can handle mine without meds. I thought to

> myself NO, your pain and mine are obviously very different.

> My oain consumes me, I don't even remember who I am anymore.I am

pain.

> When I go to my doctor I force myself to be cheerful because I

don't

> want her throwing this off to depression.You do know that doctors

> make money by getting people addicted or dependant on

antidepressants

> right?

> The more they can sale, the more the drug company rewards them.

> I was going to a pain clinic and they stopped accepting my

insurance

> so now I'm waiting for another to accept me.The pain clinic I went

to

> was the one who put me on the Tramadol.

> I sometimes feel like my doctor thinks I'm a drug seeker.Beleive

me

> when I say this, if I was seeking some kind of high I would have

> given up a long time ago!

> I want to be able to live. I want to have just a momment pain free

or

> to at least be able to tolerate it. I cry EVERY DAY.

> The reason I think my doctor might think I'm drug seeking is

because

> about five months ago I had a really bad UTI. Well I went to her

> about it and she said, oh it's not that bad and gave me some

> antibiotics. Fine I was happy. Well the next morning I wook up at

3am

> and was in very bad pain. I went to the hospital and they gave me

> some hydrocodones. They also told me that I had a severe UTI. Well

I

> wanted to let my doctor know that it was a bad UTI and that she

> goofed, I don't think she liked that to well. She asked me what

> hospital I had gone to, so I told her and thought nothing about it.

> Well I went to the hospital about a month ago asking for

antibiotics.

> I didn't feel that I needed pain meds for the infection this time

so

> I didn't ask for them.

> I then went back to my doctor after finishing the antibiotic

because

> I knew I still had the UTI.She said how do you know you have a

> urinary tract infection? I told her well I hurt like I have

one.She

> said how do you know it's not just your back hurting you. I told

her

> I didn't know, but that it felt like a UTI.She never even took a

> urine sample from me.

> I ended up going to the hospital this week because it was causing

me

> so much pain. The hospital gave me antibiotics, but nothing for

the

> pain. My mom's friend was with me and told them they need to give

me

> somethin for the pain and all they gave me was Phenazopyridine

which

> brought me little releife. I have never been treated so poorly in

the

> hospital before. My blood pressure was dangerously high because I

was

> in so much pain and this was how I was treated. The ER doctor was

> even a little cold towards me.

> Well I think my doctor faxed them something that says to not treat

my

> pain.It's the only thing I can come up with.

> Whats strange is that when I first went to my doctor I was having

> pain in my leg which was getting really bad, but if she will

remember

> right I was also complaining of other things that I now know was

my

> fibro. One of the first things she said to me was that they do not

> prescribe pain medication at this clinic. I thought it odd for her

to

> tell me that when I have only asked a doctor for pain meds two

times

> in my whole life. Once was when I was in a car wreck and the other

> time was when I had a really bad kidney infection and was

> hospitalized for it.

> Has anyone had similar problems with their doctor?

> I was just wondering, do they ever make you feel like your some

kind

> of junky searching for a high?

> My mom is going to my next appointment with me and we are going to

> ask for a copy of my medical records. I know this much if this

doctor

> has me labeled as such, she is in so much trouble! It is illegal

to

> deface someones character wether it be medical or not if they

havn't

> done anything to earn a bad title.

> I would really like to hear your thoughts, or experiences.

> Sorry this is so long.

>