Finding my Way

[Jcrc]

After months of not being able to stand without feeling like my knees were going to ‘snap’ and my hips ‘collapse’ and noticing not a lot of benefit from the large doses of Lyrica/Pregablin I was subscribed, I took some Mobic anti inflammatory medication and perhaps 70% of my pain settled. The pain at rear of neck, the pain above and below my collar bones, the shoulder joints, knees, hips….all seemed to be less painful.
However my GP wants me to try meditating..I’ve told her that it’s not something I even want to think about on the truly awful days.
I’ve had this pain since Feb and it’s all day every day. Is that what others experience? I want to continue the Mobic so I can feel somewhat like my old self.
I did have a steroid injection in my hip last month and I felt 20yrs younger and 100% pain free but it only lasted for 2-3 days.
Hello everyone and I look forward to reading everyone else’s experiences.

 

[sunkacola]

Hello @Jcrc and welcome to the forum. We are glad you found us.
Most of us do have pain every day, and all day as well as at night, although there are some people with fibro who do not have serious pain but suffer from many of the other symptoms. Constant pain is the most common thing, and people feel it in any or all parts of their bodies.

Many people with fibro are not helped by anti-inflammatories, so you are fortunate if they are helping you. I hope they continue to work well for you.

As for meditating.....that is such an individual thing. I have found that meditation is simply not something my brain will do, and believe me I have given it a good try at different times in my life. It helps some people with pain and not others, and if it is not something that seems right to you then I suggest that you do not need to try it. There are so many things we can do that may help us to feel better and even have less pain, and I always recommend to people that they not force themselves to do something like meditation if it doesn't appeal to them. Far better to make a habit of doing something that seems right to you, and probably that will be more likely to help.

I hope being on this forum is helpful to you because that's why we are here. Ask any questions you may have, and feel free to join in on any discussions at any time.

 

[SBee]

Hello @Jcrc I do find medication can be beneficial to me but I have got out of the habit of doing it regularly. The reason being is I find it so hard to fit the things I need to do into my day, let alone the things I want to do.


I said this to someone about this the other day and she simply said, instead of pressuring yourself into thinking you need to do try to fit into and already difficult day, just try for once a week and then build up if you can. It needn't be long, some medication I use can be under 10 mins.

I agree with @sunkacola, find something that appeals to you as a person, to relax you and ensure you are doing something kind for yourself. Living with chronic pain has an impact on the physical body as well as the emotional \mental health side. Any positives we find can help us so much.

 

[sunkacola]

Hello @Jcrc I do find medication can be beneficial to me but I have got out of the habit of doing it regularly. The reason being is I find it so hard to fit the things I need to do into my day, let alone the things I want to do.


I said this to someone about this the other day and she simply said, instead of pressuring yourself into thinking you need to do try to fit into and already difficult day, just try for once a week and then build up if you can. It needn't be long, some medication I use can be under 10 mins.

I agree with @sunkacola, find something that appeals to you as a person, to relax you and ensure you are doing something kind for yourself. Living with chronic pain has an impact on the physical body as well as the emotional \mental health side. Any positives we find can help us so much.

SBee, I think you wrote "medication" in the above post when what you meant was "meditation". I was trying to make sese of your post until I realized that is probably what happened.

 

[SBee]

I did indeed mean meditation @sunkacola ... This time of day (evening here in UK) my hands and brain are both getting extra tired. In my defence it's been a crazy crazy week for me so far

Thanks for pointing that out, because it kind of changes the whole tone of the reply

 

[Jcrc]

Thank you I am really enjoying sewing and listening to books gives me great pleasure so I will continue doing what gives me a bit of relaxation.

 

[Jcrc]

Thank you so much. It helps to know you are not alone. I don’t personally know anyone else with this pain problem. Before I found that anti inflammatory medication helped I simply couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life living like this. I was a very active person before and was almost crippled with pain from neck to toes. The strange thing was that the pain stayed in all major joints/limbs but wandered around from jaw to fingers to toes at random. I had no idea what was happening to me. Should I ask you or the forum in general if Lyrica helps anyone else as I am inclined to stop taking it.

 

[sunkacola]

@Jcrc you can ask any questions you like to all of us here. If you want to direct a response or a question to a particular person on the forum, simply type in the @ symbol, and the first few letters of that person's name, then choose the name from the little drop-down menu that will appear, and then they will have a notification and know that you have addressed them specifically.

As for Lyrica, it has helped some people and not others. Some people have had bad side effects from it. If you feel that it is either not helping you at all or giving you bad side effects, then discuss with your doctor whether or not you should stop taking it and try something else. It's unwise just to quit it on your own. Also, I don't know how long you have taken it. If it's doing nothing for you after two months of daily use, then it's time to try something else, but these meds sometimes take time to work. On the other hand, if you have side effects from a medication it's best to stop it as soon as you can, under the supervision of the doctor.

 

[Sibergirl]

@Jcrc

Hi, welcome to the forum. I agree with Sunkacola and Sbee. If you don’t feel like doing something that a doctor suggests, I don’t think you should do it. After all, it’s a suggestion. Personally, I’m Catholic. So I do a lot of praying. And it helps me tremendously. However, it does not help me with my widespread relentless body pain. I think it’s overly simplistic that a doctor should suggest that you meditate your pain away. If a doctor said that to me, I’d feel insulted. My habit of daily prayer does not resolve my pain, it helps me deal with the fact that I am in chronic pain, but it does not cure it or make it feel less painful. Also, for me, prayer was part of my life before I had fibromyalgia and it will be a part of my life until I’m dead, pain or no pain.

However, meditation or prayer (regardless of what one calls it ) really depend upon the kind of person you are, your personal beliefs, and what you believe brings the most positivity to your life. Those are for you to decide not your doctor. If it doesn’t work for you, or makes you feel more stressed than less, then it’s probably not for you. Some people derive tremendous peace in their nervous system, just by practicing deep breathing. And if there’s one thing fibromyalgia sufferers have in common is typically a dysregulated nervous system. But even starting a breathing practice is up to you.

I hope you enjoy the support of this platform. It really is terrific.