Just diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I am 54, have diabetes, high blood pressure (both controlled by meds),?

Question

asthma, arthritis and recently underwent c-spine fusion surgery. I have always believed that fibromyalgia was not really a disease, but in the last several months, have been completely disabled. I am unable to walk, drive and even cry when washing my hair. The rheumatologist I saw told me fibromyalgia is real, even though it cannot be verified by lab tests. I am going to start taking neurontin, along with my other meds. Does neurontin help and also, if the pain is so disabling that I am unable to do even simple things, what kind of prognosis do I have for things to get better?

Answer 1

Fibromalgia is a diagnosis given to a person who suffers from symptoms that cannot be explained or confirmed with lab tests. It is diagnosed only after all other inflammatory diseases have been ruled out and based on trigger point pain. I worked for a rheumatologist for awhile and quit because it became a depressing work environment that seemed like pain management. I don't believe that fibromyalgia exists, either. I think that there will be a link someday that connects it to depression from chronic pain. Rheumatoid arthritis can cause debilitating pain and all doctors acknowlege that this can cause depression (it's hard to be happy when you are in constant pain) which further aggravates the physical symptoms. Multiple studies have been done on the physical symptoms manifested from depression, such as muscle and joint pain, headaches, fatigue,difficulty concentrating,etc.The rheumatologist I worked for prescribed Cymbalta to any patient who had a generalized diagnosis of "fibromyalgia" and we saw marked improvements, both physically and mentally as Cymbalta helps with both. You asked about Neurontin. It helps with nerve pain, which you may have from diabetes. It is widely used in treating diabetic neuropathy. Do you use any biologicals to treat your RA ? Like Humira or Enbrel, methotrexate ? If you have tried these without results, ask about beginning Remicaid infusions. Remicaid can actually stop RA from progressing and give you so a better quality of life. Like I said, it is very hard to be a happy , carefree person when you have limited mobility, constant pain. One problem begets another, you lose your independance, the simplest tasks become difficult. Ibelieve that fibromyalgia is related to the depression caused by the inflammatory condition you have.The treatment for fibromyalgia is usually stress reduction, exercise, a regular sleep pattern, all things pretty hard to do with chronic pain and associated depression.What area do you live in ? Maybe I can help you find a doctor in your area.You have so many options out there. I would speak to your rheumatologist about Cymbalta and Remicaid infusions. If he can't help you, seek the advice of another rheumatologist.

Answer 2

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Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Just diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I am 54, have diabetes, high blood pressure (both controlled by meds),?
asthma, arthritis and recently underwent c-spine fusion surgery. I have always believed that fibromyalgia was not really a disease, but in the last several months, have been completely disabled. I am unable to walk, drive and even cry when washing my hair. The rheumatologist I saw told me...

Answer 5

3 years ago, I was diagnosed - hypertension with a reading of 160/100. I used to feel dizzy a lot, my legs had awful cramps, and levels were very low in my potassium, causing my fingers and toes to always cramp together. One day I started to feel really faint while I was driving with my daughter in the back seat and I passed out, hitting 3 cars and ending up in a ditch. That moment,I knew I had to do something because my meds weren't working. I heard about this diet from a friend and thought I'd give it a shot. The results have been remarkable. In just 21 days, I honestly can't remember feeling this good, my blood pressure went from 175/110 to 125/70.

Answer 6

Donna, I wish you accepted e-mail.

If you did, I would suggest you speak with a freind of mine who has the same combo.

I cope with Fibro and a whole long laundry list of other things.. many the same as yours

but not also the diabetes and high blood pressure

Most days I have difficulty walking. On the days that my feet will co-operate with walking, I fall frequently. I haven't been able to drive since '02........... these are things that you must learn to cope with and adapt around. I am sorry, I know it hurts. Yes, the pain can be immensely disabling.

If you will e-mail me @ [e-mail]

and you might consider joining
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/CopeWithFibro/

This is a goup that I started. A lady in the group named Terry is who I have in mind for you to chat with.

There are other on-line support groups that you might also consider.

Treatments for Fibro vary from person-to-person. What doesn't work for others might work for you and vice-versa.
So far, none of the meds seem very effective for most of the folks with Fibro. If you join a couple of groups, then you have a chance to compare notes & consider what might be helpful to you.

Also, a movie that should offer you some inspiration... it is about WheelChair Rugby... if Quadraplegics can find a way to enjoy life... then so can folks with Fibro.... Wheelchair Rugby is part of Paralympics (note this is much more rigorous than Special Olympics!!!) the original name for WheelChair Rugby is MurderBall... that is the name of the movie. If you have netflix, you can order the movie to watch it.. it is an AMAZING story of the lives of the men in that sport.

Hope these thoughts help

Answer 7

Donna, So sorry. Sounds like you're really going through a lot right now. I'll share with you my illness in 1993. I had Hepatitis C & others around me were getting liver transplants or dying. I went on the drug interferon (self injected shots 3 times a week). The side effects were in some cases much harder to deal with than the disease & it only had a 25% success rate after a year & half of those relapsed in 6 months.
I too was searching for answers & I got in contact w/ a naturpathic doctor & became involved in Breath exercises, certain herbs, & change of diet, to go along w/ my main stream medical therapy. I did a 21 day cleanse to rid all the toxins out of my system. It worked great &I had a much better outlook dealing with the disease & side affects of the therapy. Good Luck & God Bless

Answer 8

I Had Gestational Diabetes With Both My children But I Never Did Have Or Get High blood pressure.I Have heard That Gestational Diabetes can Lead To High Blood pressure In Pregnancy Though But I Never had to deal with it since I never got it.

Answer 9

FMS can be an ugly thing depending on the person. I would suggest that you find a support group on line so that you can network with others that have it. It can be a tricky thing to treat as what works well for some may not work for others. The neurontin helps spme but not others. Again, it depends on how you react to it. There are a pluthra of womens groups on the net. I could direct you to a few if you would like. Send me an e-mail. I own Men Survivng FMS but it's for men only just because they need to be able to talk about things openly that they may not if we had ladies in the group. Look up Men Surviving FMS and you will also find some info and links therein. God Bless.

Answer 10

Yes this is a real autoimmune disease. Neurontin may be of some help. There are also some studies and experimental meds in the works. Your rheumatoligst can answer questions about them. You might want to do a google search to get more details. While you may have good days and bad days there is no known cure for this.