Q: With both fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis, I have constant pain. Even with treatment, it never goes away completely. I’ve just been “dealing with it.” Is that OK?
A: Chronic pain is not a problem you should just put up with; in fact, you should be dealing with chronic pain in ways that are effective. This is important because an increasing number of studies showing serious consequences of having chronic pain. It may cause damage to certain areas of the brain, just as chronic stress does. Chronic pain also may lead to psychological problems, such as depression; social problems, such as isolation or decreased earning potential; and functional problems, such as decreased activity or disability.
Overall, people do far better when they're aggressively dealing with chronic pain and with their chronic pain-inducing condition(s). You should treat pain, as long as the treatments you use do not have side effects that exceed the benefits. Practicing relaxation techniques and sticking with a regular exercise plan may reduce pain in some of the same ways as pain medications. Massage and some supplements also may provide similar benefits in terms of dealing with chronic pain, but these therapies have had less research documenting the benefits.
For moderate-to-severe knee osteoarthritis (OA), the supplement glucosamine may provide some relief, as may the right combination of analgesics or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The analgesic tramadol (Ultram), four antidepressant medications – amitriptyline (Endep), cyclobenzaprine (Cycloflex), duloxetine (Cymbalta) and fluoxetine (Prozac) – and two anti-seizure medications – gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) – have been studied in people with fibromyalgia. In fact, Lyrica, which eases pain, promotes sleep and reduces fatigue, has just been approved by the FDA to treat fibromyalgia.
Tell your doctor that the treatments you tried previously are not resolving your chronic pain, and then work with him to find the right combination of treatments for you. It may take some time, but the result will be worth the effort.
Daniel Clauw, MD, Rheumatologist
3 ortho's on my right shoulder and 1 ortho on my left shoulder.
The shoulders are full of arthritis and no cartilige. the doc is talking shoulder replacement but i will try cortizone shots first. She is concerned about my rotor cuff being too badly damaged and the muscle that goes from the sholder towards the neck is damaged as that means that i would not be able to have the normal replacements but have to do a different replacement type. The pain is unbearable. Also i have bad arthritis in my hands and wrist. My primary does not give me any pain pills so i take tylenol, ha. After i have the shots i will see a rumatologist and get some pain pill that agree with me.
The warm weather feels great, but warmth and then cold A/C with the change in barometric weather always made me a predictable weather person, I'm 100% right when it will rain up to 8 hours ahead of time.
I've had three surgeries to remove spurs that have cut both rotator cuffs and ruptured a L4-5 disc.I am pain free now. I was lucky to find physicians who knew their anatomy! Keep looking for a good physician(s), keep on an anti-inflammtory diet keep moving-walking swimming Tai Chi,recumbent bike. Good luck!!
The bottom line is that if you depend on the MD's, you're depriving yourself of the wealth of holistic practitioners that have protocols to deal with RA, fibromyalgia, etc. Look for practitioners who do TBM,ART,NET,CRA and more. My prayers are with you.
Another great resource is a book called Explain Pain, by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley. A book every person in pain should have!
The old thinking about pain was that there’s damage somewhere in the tissues and it has to be fixed – think surgery – or covered up – think narcotics. Explain Pain discusses at length how this view should be revised.
A few of the major concepts which are presented in this book include:
1. If you have pain, it helps immensely to understand how your nervous system is altered. You don’t have to become a physical therapist or doctor yourself, but because their treatment approaches flow from their theories, it’ll help if you understand why they suggest what they do.
2. In chronic pain, the problem isn’t just where your original injury was, but in your spinal cord and especially your brain. That’s why you need treatment that involves these areas.
3. If you have chronic pain, your brain probably thinks there’s still danger to your body or tissue injury in your body – and thus continues to produce pain. But – and this is important – your brain gets stuck in old patterns, so you have to help it re-learn that there’s no longer danger or there’s no longer any tissue injury.
Before bed, lay in bed or on the floor with your legs up against the wall for about 10-15 minutes. I combine this with a homeopathic supplement found at Whole Foods and other like-stores called "Restful Legs", made by Hyland's (namem of manufacturer. You put it under your tongue, and it takes awhile to dissolve, but has really made a difference for me. Hope this helps all of you leg-pain sufferers.
When the back and leg cramps start setting in, i know that it's time to call to schedule a lumbar epidural.
Everyone is different, but there has to be a plan or a doctor who can help you! Don't give up and keep being your own advocate until you find relief!
MJ
1) Restoril to get my sleep at night with minimal side effects. Getting your sleep is the most important to prevent fibro pain.
2)Exercise routine at least 3 to 4 times a w like walking,swimming, tai-chi.
3)For flareup pain I use capcaisin creme, heating pad, hot showers or jacuzzi, aleve,advil for headaches.
4)Take vitamin D,calcium supplements,fish oil and watch your diet. Decrease red meat and sugar. Glucosomine Chondroitin might help.
Remember getting your rest and sleep is the first step to feeling better. When you don't sleep you will have more problems besides fibro/osteoarthritis. Your immune system will suffer. I hope this helps you.
Hang in there and keep moving!
my question is how much worse can an ankle injury get?
Also, I have five herniated disks in my back. I don't know if this is going to help, but I'm giving it a try. Tart red cherries, twenty a day, if you can't find fresh cherries, frozen variety is fine. I hope this helps.
I have taken injections and currently have the medications, Ultram and Indomethacin. I am so tired of taking meds and am considering arthroscopic surgery to at least clean the area and get some relief. I do exercise, but it is painful too. I welcome any suggestions.
Past medical questions and answers are available here.
3
I have osteoarthritis in my cervical vertabrae. The spurs are pinching nerves that go down into my shoulders and arms. At this point, my shoulders, upper back and neck are in constant pain. I take oxycodone but the prescription calls for taking one 10 mg pill every six hours. I have yet to be able to last six hours between doses.
Is there a stronger med? Should I ask for a higher dosage? Am I going to be taking these forever? None of the doctors I've seen have answers to these questions. I was hoping someone on here might be able to give me some advice.
Autogenic relaxation training has been helpful for pain relief as well.
A sleep study to determine if there are sleep problems such as sleep apnea. Apnea can aggravate pain because your muscles cannot truly recover if your sleep is interrupted.
As with others on this site I have osteoarthritis of the lower lumbar spine. There is considerable deterioration of the facet joints bilaterally causing pinching of the sciatic nerves. This has created an almost constant aching, tingling pain that radiates from my low back,down my buttocks,legs,knees and feet. The tingle is mainly in my feet and toes. I am experiencing weakness that comes on frequently and suddenly that makes it hard to walk right. I walk like I'm drunk when this happens. I am currently on oxycodone that helps minimally. I'm ready to go to my doctor and say that I'm at the point to where I need something done to keep mobile so I can work and stay active. Any suggestions? Thank you!
I have had cortisone injections in both knees and want to know how often I can safely have these injections before having to resort to total knee replacement (no cartilege in either knee).
because of debillatating pain which affects you psychologically,depression they class it as CWP.
thank you
karen
krill oil, flax oil, fish oil
Thank you
Gina Reale
I am just so tired of this pain because it has me so imobile that I can barely do anything anymore.
I do water exercises most everday in my pool but even that does not help.
Why is the medications not working?
But, isnt there a specialist somewhere who can isolate the nerves carrying the pain signals, or find the source of the pain and either treat it or surgically intervene? Getting desperate to stop the pain .
Leave a Comment