Recent content by tombraun

If you have found specific things that helped you by all means share.

I take Tramadol as needed. I avoid taking it on an empty stomach as it can definitely cause discomfort. I've never experienced cramping though. If you're on high doses, make sure your doctor is monitoring you. I understand it can cause damage to some organs.

It is too bad your surgeon was so dismissive. However, there are two important things to know: one is that MRIs can show false positives, in fact they have something like a 10-20% rate of false positives when doing spinal scans. The second thing is that back surgery is very drastic, takes a...

That sure sounds like either fibro or CFS. Agree that you should see a good rheumatologist. They can do the trigger point test on you. They may also do some other tests to rule out other things. That's the hard part about fibro - it is basically diagnosed by ruling out other things. It often...

Now, I know some of you will look at the subject of this post and laugh bitterly. Exercise! That must be nice. If you are in constant, debilitating pain there is probably not much you can do. So I don't want to make you feel bad. But for people who are in a little bit better place, who have...

That's really tough! Hang in there. Welcome to the forums.

That's great! 'My broken body' is a very apt title.

I'm not gay but I can sympathize with worrying about being a couch potato. During my current flare up I have gained back just about all the weight I so painstakingly shed over the last year. Ugh.

I read somewhere that there is some cases that fibro may not be permanent, but last 20-30 years. That's still a very long time! Unfortunately, if you truly have fibro, it is not going anywhere soon.

Thanks everyone, you're very kind! I am hoping this flare-up will pass before too long... how long does everyone's flare-ups usually last?

My rheumatologist is similar. However she will fit me in within a week or so if I start having problems. I know she doesn't work all the time. Sometimes she goes on Sabbatical? My GP says that having to constantly deal with people with chronic pain who don't get better is even hard on doctors...

The good news is that I don't believe that the treatments for fibro are very expensive or difficult to obtain. Not that they are always effective, but at least they are not extremely expensive. In the US, the drugs Lyrica, Cymbalta and Lexapro are often prescribed. But you also need to do things...

I have tense neck muscles pretty much constantly. I try everything: heat, ice, massage therapy. I have various anti-inflammatory medications and I've also tried some pretty industrial strength muscle relaxants (prescribed by my MD of course). But when the muscles in my neck are locked up, seems...

When I first began having problems a few years ago I was MRI'd and cat scanned pretty much from top to bottom. Everything looked good. I was also checked out by a neurologist and given a pass. If there's a silver lining to fibro it is that it won't actually kill you!

Hey everyone, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Tom. I'm in my mid-thirties. I have been struggling for about four years with what I have since determined to be fibromyalgia. For me this manifests itself in pain throughout my back and neck, and also as tiredness and a lack of energy. It...