An introduction
I suppose an introduction isn't necessarily a good thing in this case since it means another person with pain, but finding a community for this sort of thing is good.
I feel a little awkward since I know I've got it better than a lot of people. I haven't been suffering for years or anything, it actually started around the beginning of March. I remember being fine, then doing some really labor intensive yardwork and poof. Not so fine anymore. It took me months before I decided to see a chiropractor. I was to the point where I was popping tramadol (which I'd had for a tooth problem a while back) like tic tacs and resorting to appletinis just so I could sit without pain. I'm not too proud of that part, but I only did it a couple of times at least.
I didn't stay with the chiropractor long, only four visits, three of which were adjustments. I didn't expect miracles, but after three adjustments, a stupidly large amount of money, and hearing her go on and on about how doctors were evil (okay, not quite in those terms) and chiropractic care could fix everything I decided it just wasn't for me. The fact that even with her finance plan I'd be paying a year for half a year's worth of treatment didn't help either. I decided "maybe next year".
So I saw a doctor, who told me I probably strained my muscles. He gave me an anti inflammatory, muscle relaxers and tylenol 3 and sent me on my way. It didn't really work but I figured it was something I did. I admit, I'm not very good at just sitting here doing nothing. I love photography so I'd quite often push myself to take pictures even when I was in pain. I figured I wasn't letting myself heal so I went and the doctor put me on the same three medications again, this time giving me a referral to physical therapy. I didn't go because it was expensive.
Fast forward to me nearly losing my job (funding got cut) and freaking out because if I lost my insurance my chance at figuring out what was wrong with me was lost too. As soon as they found another place for me in the company my husband made introductory appointments for both of us at the doctor his parents see. I'd been going to Doctor's Care and hadn't had a family doctor since I was a teenager (I'm 28 now) and my doctor decided to talk to me about Jesus not wanting me to have sex before marriage. So y'know, I took my birth control prescription and ran from that one. :P Since then I'd just gone to Doctor's Care when I was hurt or sick.
While I was waiting for my appointment last Saturday tried to kill me. I have better days but I'm pretty much in pain non stop it's just generally dull. Last Saturday it hurt to move, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to think too hard, it just hurt. I spent a good bit of the day just laying on the floor and trying not to cry. I'm a cryer, it's how I deal with things, but I know it makes my husband feel helpless so I try not to. Thankfully the next day was better.
And Friday was my appointment. Yay, I'm almost done babbling!
My best friend's mom has fibromyalgia and that's the first I'd ever heard of it. She told me I should look it up and mention it to the doctor when I went since it took them so long to diagnose her. Imagine my surprise when after listening to me talk forever, my doctor asks if I'd heard of it. He did my exam, poked, prodded and asked questions and came back saying that's what it looks like I have. I wasn't expecting something so quickly! He put me on Savella and I have another appointment in a few weeks.
Since you start out with such a low dose I know that it'll be a while before I see any results, but I swear I feel like it's been worse int he past couple of days. I don't know if it's a "worse before it gets better" thing, or whether it's just because I'm not even trying to take pain pills now. I'd been taking Naproxen before, but all it really did was take the edge off the pain, it didn't make it go away. Yesterday wasn't quite a repeat of last Saturday but it was pretty close, and today isn't looking a whole lot better.
My biggest fear was finding out that whatever was wrong with me was something that I'd have to deal with for the rest of my life. But on the good side, it's very nice to know it wasn't because I wanted to take pictures, and that pouring thousands of dollars into chiropractic care and/or physical therapy wouldn't have fixed me.
That's my novel, and I promise to keep future posts shorter than this. And totally unrelated, but going through past entries/comments I'm amazed at how many people I'm seeing from other communities I'm in. So hi!
I feel a little awkward since I know I've got it better than a lot of people. I haven't been suffering for years or anything, it actually started around the beginning of March. I remember being fine, then doing some really labor intensive yardwork and poof. Not so fine anymore. It took me months before I decided to see a chiropractor. I was to the point where I was popping tramadol (which I'd had for a tooth problem a while back) like tic tacs and resorting to appletinis just so I could sit without pain. I'm not too proud of that part, but I only did it a couple of times at least.
I didn't stay with the chiropractor long, only four visits, three of which were adjustments. I didn't expect miracles, but after three adjustments, a stupidly large amount of money, and hearing her go on and on about how doctors were evil (okay, not quite in those terms) and chiropractic care could fix everything I decided it just wasn't for me. The fact that even with her finance plan I'd be paying a year for half a year's worth of treatment didn't help either. I decided "maybe next year".
So I saw a doctor, who told me I probably strained my muscles. He gave me an anti inflammatory, muscle relaxers and tylenol 3 and sent me on my way. It didn't really work but I figured it was something I did. I admit, I'm not very good at just sitting here doing nothing. I love photography so I'd quite often push myself to take pictures even when I was in pain. I figured I wasn't letting myself heal so I went and the doctor put me on the same three medications again, this time giving me a referral to physical therapy. I didn't go because it was expensive.
Fast forward to me nearly losing my job (funding got cut) and freaking out because if I lost my insurance my chance at figuring out what was wrong with me was lost too. As soon as they found another place for me in the company my husband made introductory appointments for both of us at the doctor his parents see. I'd been going to Doctor's Care and hadn't had a family doctor since I was a teenager (I'm 28 now) and my doctor decided to talk to me about Jesus not wanting me to have sex before marriage. So y'know, I took my birth control prescription and ran from that one. :P Since then I'd just gone to Doctor's Care when I was hurt or sick.
While I was waiting for my appointment last Saturday tried to kill me. I have better days but I'm pretty much in pain non stop it's just generally dull. Last Saturday it hurt to move, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to think too hard, it just hurt. I spent a good bit of the day just laying on the floor and trying not to cry. I'm a cryer, it's how I deal with things, but I know it makes my husband feel helpless so I try not to. Thankfully the next day was better.
And Friday was my appointment. Yay, I'm almost done babbling!
My best friend's mom has fibromyalgia and that's the first I'd ever heard of it. She told me I should look it up and mention it to the doctor when I went since it took them so long to diagnose her. Imagine my surprise when after listening to me talk forever, my doctor asks if I'd heard of it. He did my exam, poked, prodded and asked questions and came back saying that's what it looks like I have. I wasn't expecting something so quickly! He put me on Savella and I have another appointment in a few weeks.
Since you start out with such a low dose I know that it'll be a while before I see any results, but I swear I feel like it's been worse int he past couple of days. I don't know if it's a "worse before it gets better" thing, or whether it's just because I'm not even trying to take pain pills now. I'd been taking Naproxen before, but all it really did was take the edge off the pain, it didn't make it go away. Yesterday wasn't quite a repeat of last Saturday but it was pretty close, and today isn't looking a whole lot better.
My biggest fear was finding out that whatever was wrong with me was something that I'd have to deal with for the rest of my life. But on the good side, it's very nice to know it wasn't because I wanted to take pictures, and that pouring thousands of dollars into chiropractic care and/or physical therapy wouldn't have fixed me.
That's my novel, and I promise to keep future posts shorter than this. And totally unrelated, but going through past entries/comments I'm amazed at how many people I'm seeing from other communities I'm in. So hi!