Some non-emergency medical purrs, please

Nancy has had what sounds to me like fibromyalgia for a bunch of years
now. She has made a couple of half-hearted attempts to find a doc that
might be able to help her. This weekend on our trip to Wisconsin she was
pretty much in agony the entire trip. The pain continued through the day
yesterday, so she finally gave in to my nagging and made an appointment to
see the doctor about it. She goes in tomorrow afternoon.

Her previous attempts have resulted in trying a handful of different
medications, none of which offer much relief. The only one she's found
that works at all is a fairly powerful barbiturate, and she'd really
rather not get dependent on those.

So purrs that she can finally get attention from a medical provider who
knows about fibromyalgia and can offer her some real help would be
appreciated.

Yes, this is a rough time for her. Both of her parents have been having
health issues, her job sucks big time, and now her FM is acting up rather
badly. I know the FM can be exacerbated by the stress - talk about a
vicious circle.

Dan

Daniel Mahoney wrote:
Nancy has had what sounds to me like fibromyalgia for a bunch of years
now. She has made a couple of half-hearted attempts to find a doc that
might be able to help her. This weekend on our trip to Wisconsin she
was pretty much in agony the entire trip. The pain continued through
the day yesterday, so she finally gave in to my nagging and made an
appointment to see the doctor about it. She goes in tomorrow
afternoon.

Her previous attempts have resulted in trying a handful of different
medications, none of which offer much relief. The only one she's found
that works at all is a fairly powerful barbiturate, and she'd really
rather not get dependent on those.

So purrs that she can finally get attention from a medical provider
who knows about fibromyalgia and can offer her some real help would be
appreciated.

Yes, this is a rough time for her. Both of her parents have been
having health issues, her job sucks big time, and now her FM is
acting up rather badly. I know the FM can be exacerbated by the
stress - talk about a vicious circle.

Dan

Lots of purrs on the way for Nancy.
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy, Bagheera & Shadow)
Cats leave pawprints on your heart
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

Daniel Mahoney wrote:
So purrs that she can finally get attention from a medical provider who
knows about fibromyalgia and can offer her some real help would be
appreciated.

Lots and lots of healing purrs, doctor finding purrs, and overall
calming purrs on the way. Let us know how it goes.

--
Victor M. Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

"Daniel Mahoney" wrote in message
news
Nancy has had what sounds to me like fibromyalgia for a bunch of years
now. She has made a couple of half-hearted attempts to find a doc that
might be able to help her. This weekend on our trip to Wisconsin she was
pretty much in agony the entire trip. The pain continued through the day
yesterday, so she finally gave in to my nagging and made an appointment to
see the doctor about it. She goes in tomorrow afternoon.

Her previous attempts have resulted in trying a handful of different
medications, none of which offer much relief. The only one she's found
that works at all is a fairly powerful barbiturate, and she'd really
rather not get dependent on those.

So purrs that she can finally get attention from a medical provider who
knows about fibromyalgia and can offer her some real help would be
appreciated.

Yes, this is a rough time for her. Both of her parents have been having
health issues, her job sucks big time, and now her FM is acting up rather
badly. I know the FM can be exacerbated by the stress - talk about a
vicious circle.

Dan

Purrs on the way. But you might try and gently let her know that, even if
they diagnose it as FMS, there really isn't any medication that's going to
take the pain away. The "Lyrica" they're advertising on TV now is the same
thing as "Neurontin" and "Effexor" (they're all serotonin uptake
inhibitors). I didn't find that any of them helped in the least and they
have pretty severe side-effects and withdrawal effects. Tell her to be sure
to research whatever medication they prescribe for her - I know how she
feels and she's going to be anxious to try anything right away that might
help get rid of the pain, but just let her know that she might get something
that really doesn't help, just harms in the long run. The best thing I've
found is Ambien to sleep better and Flexeril to help with the muscle pain.

Chin Skritches,

CatNipped

"Daniel Mahoney" wrote in message
news
Nancy has had what sounds to me like fibromyalgia for a bunch of years
now. She has made a couple of half-hearted attempts to find a doc that
might be able to help her. This weekend on our trip to Wisconsin she was
pretty much in agony the entire trip. The pain continued through the day
yesterday, so she finally gave in to my nagging and made an appointment to
see the doctor about it. She goes in tomorrow afternoon.

Her previous attempts have resulted in trying a handful of different
medications, none of which offer much relief. The only one she's found
that works at all is a fairly powerful barbiturate, and she'd really
rather not get dependent on those.

So purrs that she can finally get attention from a medical provider who
knows about fibromyalgia and can offer her some real help would be
appreciated.

Yes, this is a rough time for her. Both of her parents have been having
health issues, her job sucks big time, and now her FM is acting up rather
badly. I know the FM can be exacerbated by the stress - talk about a
vicious circle.

Dan


Fibro-- the most common ailment doctors don't know WTF to do about. BIG
time purrs on the way.


--
Theresa, Stinky and Dante
drtmuirATearthlink.net

Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh

Purrs on the way. But you might try and gently let her know that, even
if they diagnose it as FMS, there really isn't any medication that's
going to take the pain away. The "Lyrica" they're advertising on TV now
is the same thing as "Neurontin" and "Effexor" (they're all serotonin
uptake inhibitors). I didn't find that any of them helped in the least
and they have pretty severe side-effects and withdrawal effects. Tell
her to be sure to research whatever medication they prescribe for her -
I know how she feels and she's going to be anxious to try anything right
away that might help get rid of the pain, but just let her know that she
might get something that really doesn't help, just harms in the long
run. The best thing I've found is Ambien to sleep better and Flexeril
to help with the muscle pain.

Chin Skritches,

CatNipped

Based upon the discussions I've been reading for the last couple of weeks,
I figured I'd be able to get some good advice for her here.

Back when we still in CA I took her to an FM support group, where she got
a little more info and heard basically the same advice you just gave. She
had a prescription for Flexeril that was some help. She went off that
prescription - it was interacting badly with something she's taking for
her arthritic hand and wrist, if I remember right, or with something she's
taking for her ulcerative colitis. I'm going to encourage her to discuss
all of her prescriptions with the doc, and will go in with her if she
wants, to be sure we can find something that helps her. I know there's no
real cure, but even finding some pills that would allow her to have a few
hours free of the pain would be a huge blessing.

Between her sometimes crippling chest pains, arthritic joints, GERD, and
colitis, she's got an awful lot of pain and discomfort to deal with. I
really wish I could help her to feel better, but I don't have a clue what
I can do. I feel completely helpless when she's having a particularly bad
time.

"Daniel Mahoney" wrote in message
news
Nancy has had what sounds to me like fibromyalgia for a bunch of
years
now. She has made a couple of half-hearted attempts to find a doc
that
might be able to help her. This weekend on our trip to Wisconsin she
was
pretty much in agony the entire trip. The pain continued through the
day
yesterday, so she finally gave in to my nagging and made an
appointment to
see the doctor about it. She goes in tomorrow afternoon.

Her previous attempts have resulted in trying a handful of different
medications, none of which offer much relief. The only one she's
found
that works at all is a fairly powerful barbiturate, and she'd really
rather not get dependent on those.

So purrs that she can finally get attention from a medical provider
who
knows about fibromyalgia and can offer her some real help would be
appreciated.

Yes, this is a rough time for her. Both of her parents have been
having
health issues, her job sucks big time, and now her FM is acting up
rather
badly. I know the FM can be exacerbated by the stress - talk about a
vicious circle.

Dan

Purrs for a good doctor, a good diagnosis and good treatment.

There are some good Fibro support groups on the net. A good place to
get some ideas of what works at least some of the time for some of the
people.

Jo

"Daniel Mahoney" wrote in message
news
Purrs on the way. But you might try and gently let her know that, even
if they diagnose it as FMS, there really isn't any medication that's
going to take the pain away. The "Lyrica" they're advertising on TV now
is the same thing as "Neurontin" and "Effexor" (they're all serotonin
uptake inhibitors). I didn't find that any of them helped in the least
and they have pretty severe side-effects and withdrawal effects. Tell
her to be sure to research whatever medication they prescribe for her -
I know how she feels and she's going to be anxious to try anything right
away that might help get rid of the pain, but just let her know that she
might get something that really doesn't help, just harms in the long
run. The best thing I've found is Ambien to sleep better and Flexeril
to help with the muscle pain.

Chin Skritches,

CatNipped

Based upon the discussions I've been reading for the last couple of weeks,
I figured I'd be able to get some good advice for her here.

Back when we still in CA I took her to an FM support group, where she got
a little more info and heard basically the same advice you just gave. She
had a prescription for Flexeril that was some help. She went off that
prescription - it was interacting badly with something she's taking for
her arthritic hand and wrist, if I remember right, or with something she's
taking for her ulcerative colitis. I'm going to encourage her to discuss
all of her prescriptions with the doc, and will go in with her if she
wants, to be sure we can find something that helps her. I know there's no
real cure, but even finding some pills that would allow her to have a few
hours free of the pain would be a huge blessing.

Between her sometimes crippling chest pains, arthritic joints, GERD, and
colitis, she's got an awful lot of pain and discomfort to deal with. I
really wish I could help her to feel better, but I don't have a clue what
I can do. I feel completely helpless when she's having a particularly bad
time.


Yeah, there are some things that you shouldn't take with Flexeril (like
Sudophed) - the combination could cause liver damage. So be sure to tell
her to also ask about OTC medications, not just the prescriptions.

The thing that Ben does that helps the most is *gentle* massages (be very
careful not to knead down into the muscle - there are spots where that will
send her through the roof in pain), and *LOTS* of patience when I'm grouchy.
Constant, intractable pain can just wear you down both physically and
emotionally. Emotionally, you feel like someone has been pounding on you
for every little nit-picky thing they can think of. Just like you'd get
angry at that person, you get angry at the pain (and God and/or the universe
for giving you constant, horrible pain).

Also be aware that a *LOT* of people with FMS end up committing suicide (3
of Dr. Kevorkian's patients suffered with FMS). It is *extremely*
depressing and disheartening to hurt every minute of the day and *know* that
you're going to hurt like that for the rest of your life. You feel that
your "quality of life" is not just zero, but in the negative numbers! The
best way you can help with that is to try to take over as many chores as you
can and give her times when she can "recharge" enough to face the pain.
Some spouses end up feeling resentful and feel put-upon by having to do
"more than their share" of chores, but imagine having to do whatever it is
you're doing and feeling like you've just swum 25 miles the day before after
not having exercised for 25 years before that. Believe me, every little bit
helps!

Nose Kisses,

CatNipped

Sending purrs and prayers to Nancy. Pain you cannot get away from is worse
than horrible.
"Daniel Mahoney" wrote in message
news
Nancy has had what sounds to me like fibromyalgia for a bunch of years
now. She has made a couple of half-hearted attempts to find a doc that
might be able to help her. This weekend on our trip to Wisconsin she was
pretty much in agony the entire trip. The pain continued through the day
yesterday, so she finally gave in to my nagging and made an appointment to
see the doctor about it. She goes in tomorrow afternoon.

Her previous attempts have resulted in trying a handful of different
medications, none of which offer much relief. The only one she's found
that works at all is a fairly powerful barbiturate, and she'd really
rather not get dependent on those.

So purrs that she can finally get attention from a medical provider who
knows about fibromyalgia and can offer her some real help would be
appreciated.

Yes, this is a rough time for her. Both of her parents have been having
health issues, her job sucks big time, and now her FM is acting up rather
badly. I know the FM can be exacerbated by the stress - talk about a
vicious circle.

Dan

"Daniel Mahoney"
Nancy has had what sounds to me like fibromyalgia for a bunch of years
now. She has made a couple of half-hearted attempts to find a doc that
might be able to help her. This weekend on our trip to Wisconsin she was
pretty much in agony the entire trip. The pain continued through the day
yesterday, so she finally gave in to my nagging and made an appointment
to
see the doctor about it. She goes in tomorrow afternoon.

Her previous attempts have resulted in trying a handful of different
medications, none of which offer much relief. The only one she's found
that works at all is a fairly powerful barbiturate, and she'd really
rather not get dependent on those.

So purrs that she can finally get attention from a medical provider who
knows about fibromyalgia and can offer her some real help would be
appreciated.

Yes, this is a rough time for her. Both of her parents have been having
health issues, her job sucks big time, and now her FM is acting up rather
badly. I know the FM can be exacerbated by the stress - talk about a
vicious circle.

Dan

Purrs and prayers lovingly sent from us to Nancy to be well, and unstressed.
And for her parents as well.
Hug
Kyla