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happy

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Hi,
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia last November 2013. I had cancer surgery in October 2012. Prior to the cancer, I was pretty active. Since my surgery, I have never "bounced" back. That's when all of the doctor's visits, and testing came. They tested for everything, and then decided I have fibromyalgia. The cancer part is fine. (No chemo or radiation as it was caught very early so go get yearly pap smears!) I have never been a depressed person, but there are some days when I feel sad. Like today. I am laying in bed at 4:00 in the afternoon because of feeling so tired. Some friends stopped by earlier and they said I looked like I don't feel well. So I guess I am just looking to hear if others "feel" like I do. Here are my symptoms.
Fatigue
Pain-generalized as well as all joints, and more specifically my hands, wrists, feet, & ankles.
Flu like feeling
My rheumatologist tested for arthritis and those tests came back negative, as well as a lot of other tests. He's been great but he wants me to take gabapentin. I am not a med taking person. Has any of you taken that? If so what was your response to the med? Side effects? Did it help?

Thank you for listening! :lol:
 
Hi Happy! First of all... I'd really like to welcome you to the forum :) I'm glad you found us and hope to see you over here often! Second: I'm so sorry to hear about your cancer, but so glad they found it early on. Also sorry to hear about your fatigue, I think most of us over here can relate to that pretty well, sometimes I have such a hard time getting things done and what I dread the most if the guilt I feel afterwards.

As for the gabapentin, I took earlier on, but it never did a thing to me. I'm also a person who isn't a big fan of meds either, mostly because of the side effects, but gabapentin wasn't that bad on me. Of course the side effects and the results you get depends on your organism... some people get wonderful results while on this med, but others don't. I'm afraid you will have to try it to really tell... a lot trial and error when it comes to finding the med that really works for pain when you have fibro. Hang in there!

Best of luck and keep us posted!
 
Welcome! And I strongly recommend looking thru the past posts I the forum, there have been lots of folks with threads asking /discussing gabapentin, lyrica/Cymbalta /etc.. You will find that each persons experience is different from the next and it's really all about how your own body handles the meds... Make sure to research any medication before putting it into your body so you can weigh the pros and cons for yourself.

You personal experiences with many different medications containing gabapentin were not great to say the least. I either had side effects, no help with the pain (it actually made my pain worse sometimes with different meds), and it actually made me become depressed (I am not a depressed person by any means). It was too scary of a drug for me! Unfortunately my body is very sensitive to most medications, so I really have to research and watch how my body responds carefully.

Hope this helps! And again, please research the posts, they've been super helpful and are full of information!
Good luck and wishing you many pain free days ahead!
 
Thank you Katie-opny! I will look through past posts and see what others are doing. I'm right there with you about meds in that I am very sensitive to meds too. I don't take anything, well actually I will take one Advil now and again, but that's about it. Have you had any success in dealing with your symptoms? I actually take comfort in hearing other people discuss their symptoms. It helps me to realize that I am not alone in this.

Thank you for your help! :)
 
Hi Trellum!

I'm glad that I found this forum too. I'm looking forward to reading what others are going through. I'm grateful to have a loving and supportive husband and family, but I too feel guilty about not being the same energetic person that I was before. Thank you for your kind and welcoming words. The cancer surgery seemed to be a catalyst for bringing on my fibromyalgia symptoms. Gratefully, I have a rheumatologist who listened and after extensive testing, this was my result. The only negative thing is, he is pushing me to take meds. He says he feels like he is not helping me since I will not take the med, (gabapentin) that he prescribes. Thank you again for your kindness! :)
 
Hello and welcome, happy! I'm here in bed at 4:30 in the afternoon because of my exhaustion. Actually I've been here all day! This is one of the worst parts of fibro to me.....the exhaustion or fatigue. I tried gabapentin for about two weeks, but it did nothing for me. I'd also taken a drug in the same family as that one and lyrica, called topamax. Topamax made me feel like I was drunk and didn't help my pain at all, so I quit it.

Currently I tame celexa, which is an SSRI antidepressant. It helps boost serotonin, which helps mood, sleep, and pain response. Without it, my pain is much worse. Plus I do take norco, a narcotic pain med. That is the main thing that helps my pain. I fought taking it for a long time and tried other things, but so far, it helps me the most. My GP is the one who prescribes it for me. He cares about my quality of life and knows I've tried many other things without getting any help for this.

This is a very difficult disease to live with. I've been diagnosed for 6 years, and I can't really say it's gotten any better. My pain is pretty much all over, with the worst being in my legs, feet, ankles. No fun at all!

I wish you the best. Ask your doctor about trying something else. Or you might give it a few weeks and see. He probably would want you to try it before moving on to something else. I would recommend reading all you can about fibro, so you know what you're dealing with. Fibromyalgia for dummies is a great book.

Elizabeth
 
Thank you Katie-opny! I will look through past posts and see what others are doing. I'm right there with you about meds in that I am very sensitive to meds too. I don't take anything, well actually I will take one Advil now and again, but that's about it. Have you had any success in dealing with your symptoms? I actually take comfort in hearing other people discuss their symptoms. It helps me to realize that I am not alone in this.

Thank you for your help! :)

You're are definitely not alone! Lol unfortunately we're all in this mess together! And as far as my symptoms go, unfortunately, fibro is not my only ailment... I've got issues with herniated and bulging disc's, nerve damage, shoulder issues, titled pelvic bone, and they're looking into a diagnosis of CRPS... All from 2 car accidents... I was hit from behind, and then rear ended a second time a year and a half later, so my body never had enough time to properly heal from the first accident... My body has been put thru the wringer....
I have some medications that help a little sometimes, but only to make the pain more tolerable... And this winter has been awful! Since my pain started with the accidents, this has been by far the worst 6 months yet! I can not wait for summer, or at least the snow to stop falling and the temperature to warm up and stay warm! Just this weekend, we had 50 degree weather Thursday and Friday with rain Friday, yesterday we started at 45 and slowly decreased to the high 20s thru the day and we got 8 inches of snow in 6 hours! Only to go back upto 40 now tonight and the 50s for the next couple days. More than half of the snow we got last night has already melted! My area is known for nasty winters, and I'm not one to complain about the cold or snow normally but enough is enough already! Lol
If you ever need to vent or have questions, don't be afraid to message me!
 
The worst part about this disease (I haven't been officially diagnosed) in my opinion is the fatigue part. I think I have a mild version of Fibromyalgia, so I only really feel pain every now and then, but being tired all the time has really put a hamper on my social life. I use to hang out til all hours of the night, now I am tired before the sun even sets.

It is very stressful and depressing at times. I recently have started working out again and I can feel the difference. Starting Tuesday (April 1st) I'm going to be start an anti inflammation diet and hopefully that will help with the pain.

As far as the fatigue part goes, hopefully me exercising on a regular basic will help with that part of things.
 
Do you get this all the time? Because this is what my cousin feels like too. Just stay strong and remember that the people around you are there to support you in this situation! Try to do some exercise and you will feel a bit better.
 
Thank you Elizabeth for sharing with me. I understand completely about your legs and feet and ankles. Those areas bother me as well as my hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. My feet and hands are the worst. So odd this fibro stuff. The exhaustion is tough at times. I look forward to the time when they research deeper into management of fibro. It seems there isn't enough information on it yet. Hopefully one day. I wish you all the best. :)

Sandee
 
Oh my goodness! You have been through soooooo much! One of the many things that I keep realizing/learning is that everybody has things going on with them. I'm sorry about your car accidents. Thank you for listening and responding. I wish you well! :)
 
Hi Takedon,

It comes and goes. In that I always have pain in my hands, wrists, feet, and ankles, but the rest of the body pain comes on then increases each day, then decreases day by day. Also, flu like symptoms as well. Thank you for your kind words! :)
 
Hi Youngnova,

I agree the fatigue is stressful and depressing. And I am not a depressed type of person but I can see how being tired can lead to depression. We laugh here in my house as some nights, by 6:30 I could run up to bed, not to sleep yet, but to just crash and relax. I love your idea of the anti-inflammatory diet. Keep me posted on your results of the diet. I wish you the best! :)
 
It's okay to feel frustrated. Just remember to stay out of depression, there is always some happiness in the world for you!
 
Yes, by all means don't let the "d" pull you down. Relax and pray to the lord, at times like this he is your #1 advocate!
 
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