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Pegleg84

Active member
Joined
Mar 8, 2017
Messages
82
Reason
DX FIBRO
Diagnosis
05/2017
Country
CA
State
ON
Hi,
Here to vent, obviously. I'm having a rough week. Just when I think "wow, this Cymbalta crap is actually helping", BAM here comes the pain. Was stuck at home on Friday, and again yesterday with the aches. On top of which I'm having bad period cramps this month (first since my diagnosis). On top of which I can't tell if I might have gotten glutened/eaten something I shouldn't have on the weekend. Having multiple conditions with similar symptoms can make it damn hard to tell what got you this time.

Does anyone else also have Celiac Disease, or another condition with symptoms that overlap with Fibro?
Ladies, do you find your monthly visitor is a bigger pain than it should be?

I think it's especially bad this month because I can no longer do my usual ibuprofen regimen that usually gets me through. It might help the cramping a bit, but seems to make my fibro worse. Tylenol is useless. Yey.

On top of which I really can't tell if the Cymbalta is working or not. I've had lots of good days on it (little to no pain), but some really bad days too/ Hard to say if it would be worse without or not.

On top of which I ran out of my emergency percocet. only took half a tablet occassionally when the pain was really bad and I couldn't sleep (no opioid addictions for me, please). Instead, I resorted to muscle relaxants (Robax) and gravol to knock me out last night. seems to have worked, but not a good long-term solution.

Anyway, all of this to say AAARRRGGGHHH! I hate my stupid body right now for being so freaking useless! I want to be able to get to work and focus and get stuff done and go home and get more stuff done and relax without being in pain. Is that so much to ask!?

Thanks for listening to my freak out. Any advice/consolation/pity parties welcome.

Peg
 
Hey Peg, I'm hearing you!
The monthly pain is over for me but I remember all too clearly...
I react severely to gluten although not actually diagnosed with celiac. I haven't looked into being tested due to already being on the diet for years and therefore the biopsy would probably come back negative as I understand it. In any case, when I am accidentally 'glutened' I not only get a big swollen painful tummy, I also have pain just about everywhere especially joints. On those days I am useless and would be better off staying in bed because achieving everyday tasks is impossible and nothing takes that pain away. What I do is try to drink extra water on those days to help cleanse my system along with some bowel cleansing fibre like metamucil. Restaurant meals are the most tricky and I always feel embarrassed asking for gluten free options but now that I know the connection, it is imperative to my health.
It's nice to be able to talk to someone who has similar issues. I'm glad you had the 'vent' but hope you feel better very soon.
 
Hi Peaceandquiet,
Yep, you are right that testing for Celiac when already gluten free is kinda pointless, but from the sounds of it. you might as well consider yourself as having it. Bloating, stomach pain, bowel issues (usually D rather than my standard C), tired, achy, irritable, etc. It sucks. Thankfully I haven't been seriously glutened in over a year.
I've probably had Fibro for the past 3-4 years, but always assumed that my achy days were just another Celiac thing, even though they would come out of the blue with no gluten in sight. I've gotten extra strict with my diet, cook mostly from scratch, and rarely eat out. So when I realised the aches were happening with no stomach pain and I hadn't eaten out of the house in a couple weeks... maybe something else is going on. Now, if I get CCd I imagine my fibro pain will go into overdrive too. Yey.
On the bright side: so far so good today!
 
I feel your pain!

My period pains have gotten worse over the years as well. I blame fibro as usual! They are now accompanied by severe headaches, IBS, pain shooting down my legs, fatigue, the electric shock like cramps that feel like they are ripping me apart, while there is minimum bleeding. I have not been to the gynaecologist in years...I am not very good with going to the doctors to be honest. I just try to survive them with lots of paracetamol/ibuprofen, hot packs and counting down the days for some normality.

I don't have coeliac disease, but I do have IBS. It is almost always triggered by stress, and since I have a number of anxiety disorders, I can stress about the smallest things and will have a gassy & bloated belly, diarrhea/constipation, and lots of discomfort and pain for days. I try to eat well and drink LOTS of water. And do lots of breathing exercises and mindfulness meditation.
 
Vent away thats what we are here for! Hope you have improved some what now.
 
I can relate with you. I have been on cymbalta for 6 months now and yet every month right before or during my period i feel aweful.

Since i can take narcotics because of my job, my doctor gave me robaxin to try to help on those bad days. It still doesnt help. I used to take tramadol to help with the pain and that helped me sleep. It is now considered a controlled substance so Im not aloud to have it in my profession.

I have multiple conditions that flare up during my period too. My ibs and painful bladder syndrome both seem to flare up around that time too. Fun stuff.... hang in there. You're not alone.

Feel better,
Jess
 
Hey guys. Thanks for the sympathy. The monthly beast is gone, and I've had more good days than bad the past week. Yay! (I shouldn't say that too loud or I'll probably end up in a ball of pain by afternoon). This past Saturday I probably overdid it a bit, so Monday was rough (thankfully a holiday).

I really wish this condition had a reliable instruction manual. With Celiac, it's fairly easy: Don't eat gluten. Easy (well, it's more complicated than that, but that's the gist of it). With Fibro, I don't know what I'm supposed to do or not do, how much exercise/rest is too much/little. It's so much more arbitrary and I have no idea what's what yet. Do you ever manage to figure it out, or is it always guesswork? Of course, I know it's going to be different for everyone, but over time, there's got to be a pattern, right? RIGHT? Ugh...

Anyway, trying not to stress about it too much and enjoy feeling decent while I can.

Thanks!
 
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