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Jul 2, 2014
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16
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DX FIBRO
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Country
US
State
PA
I haven't seen a doctor of any sorts except a massage therapist, a midwife for the birth of my son, and a chiropractor here and there until this past winter when I established care with a new doctor.

How would you go about discussing fibro/cfs with a new doctor.:shock:

I kind of have a little bit of a game plan. The pain is not really the big issue for me as much as the fatigue. Headaches are a big issue and I feel like I need something to rely on in the case that I need it, but don't need something on a daily basis for pain. So I don't think I'm going to look like a drug seeker. Imitrex that they gave me(my second visit with her) 2 weeks ago isn't working. And I know there are other things out there that we can try. She seems like a caring doctor, but I have had a bad experience with a doctor before when I tried to discuss fibro.

I am hoping there is some kind of something we can do for the fatigue. It has seriously changed my quality of life at 40 and I have two young children. My 85 year old grandmother is more active than I am.

And something new this week, I have a rib that keeps popping out so add tietze ? syndrome to the long list. My massage therapist popped it back in Thurs, My husband Fri and today. It's out again, so after this message I am going to ask him to do it again.

I have been keeping a daily journal of how I feel physically, emotionally and self care measures to take with me on the 21 when I see her again.

TIA for any advice.
 
Best of luck with that! I guess you just have to get talking about it, but you need to pick your words wisely. Sometimes thing go wrong no matter what, so don't feel bad if you think you picked the right set of words but it didn't turn out the way you wanted. It happened to many times, I had so many awful experiences with doctors as well. Just take it easy, you know very well that you aren't a drug seeker, so be confident and open with her. I'm sure everything will be alright!
 
I'd say the most important thing is to tell the doc everything you're experiencing. I've often heard that it helps to write down the things you want to mention and ask about so that things aren't forgotten.

Personally I'd try to stay away from diagnosing myself (especially since you said you haven't seen a doctor before) because they'll still have to go through the same testing whether or not a patient thinks they know what's going on.

Maybe most importantly is that I wouldn't mention medications I've heard might help... well, at least not until after diagnosis, then I'd not hesitate to mention it. Pretty sure mentioning particular fibro meds before being diagnosed wouldn't be a good thing (and most probably one of those red flags your doc will have been trained to watch for.)
 
Since you're likely not going to have a huge amount of time with the doc, I'd make a list of symptoms so she'll understand the breadth of the problems. Then focus on the first couple that are the biggies. You can revisit the others in later appointments. Tell her the imitrex doesn't work and ask her advise. There are a number of migraine meds that could be used that are not opiates. Even imitrex comes as a nasal spray to work faster or as an injection. There are also other meds like amytriptiline or Inderal (blood pressure med) that you can take daily that can help decrease the number and severity of migraines. (I've had migraines for over 40 years.) Exploring options and not jumping to opiates not only shows you are not a "drug seeker," but it should help you find something that works better.

Hope your visit is successful.
 
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