Here is a question. How many of you have fibro as well as RA? At my dr's visit Monday she said since my back and shoulders and ankles were tender and sore I probably have fibro as well. What the heck? LOL I finally got accustomed to sero neg RA as a diagnosis . The few people I have told this to have said more or less( I work in the medical field) " the cop out diagnosis " I understand the pain is very real for us but why do people have to be so nasty just because there is no concrete evidence (ie Blood work xrays etc) . I give all here alot of credit , this is no fun , I just hate when people give you the ole well "my this hurts and my that hurts too" . I am thinkin maybe they better get themselves to the doctor and get some help like we all did
Thanks for listening ! i arthritis and fibro. Although i dont tell many people about the fibro,because like you said. Most people think that disease is all in ones head,even doctors. I am still trying to find the right combo of meds for both. i am also on enbrel,flexaril. How much flexaril do you take at night? it makes me feel like i have a hang over the next morning,but it does seem to help some of my pain. kel Well, I told MIL that I was DXed with Fibro now too, and she said that she knows exactly how it is as she has it too, and so does her sister. So... I guess I am "lucky" there
I too have RA and Fibro. I am now steronegative but when I was first diagnosed I wasnt so that helped (i guess?). But I dont tell many peoplet that I have Fibro on top of RA. It really depends on how they comment to the RA. If they comment back saying that their friend has it and she only takes Tylenol and shes fine, I dont even bother w/ the fibro thing. My family knows and some friends outside of my AI friends. But those that do know undestand what I am going through w/ RA (as much as they can) so they have researched both RA and fibro. Its kinda cute actually..a friend of mine (my political advisor LOL) works down in Springfield IL so he finds out all the things that are going on down there as far as summits, or other gatherings so he IM'd me yesterday about a Fibro informational thing that was going on yesterday and he got all frustrated cause they didnt advertise it more then what they did. Isn't fibro diagnosed with a very specific set of trigger points, and you have to test positive for a certain number of points to confirm the diagnosis? I thought fibro was characterized by very specific criteria? Karen 20 yrs ago trigger points weren't even mentioned. I started out with Costo when I was 19 and progressed from there. I was constantly on pred paks, physical therapy, Flexeril,cortisone shots, and anti-inflams. I was miserable and thats when I started having Osteo in my hands, bursitis, and gout.UGH! The dr. told me about Fibro, gave me an article out of a newspaper and has treated me ever since. I was tested then for RA the first time but was negative, same as this time
Because it is vague in description and nothing to show in blood or urine test I guess. I don't really know
I have 2 different drs right now that have 2 different dx for me as far as the "main one" being RA or Lupus, but they both independently seem to think I have Fibro and they do both seem to take it very seriously and interestingly, they are extremely different in terms of everything else about them like their backgrounds, ages, philosophys, types of practices. It does bother me to be associated with something that it has such a bad rap - but "having it" is certainly making me a believer now if I wasn't it before.... Yup. The last dr I saw added possible fibro to my dx and I am also seronegative. I don't tell anyone even though it fits my symptoms, because everyone thinks it is a croc of "you know what"! I have a number of very tender spots I was not even aware of until they were checked and that hurt like heck! It certainly is real. How could I make up something I didn't even know about! Laker About 20 years ago a RD said I had fibro and I do have all the trigger points and everything else for the DX. My current rheumy, said that I do not, but I think that he is one of those who is doubtful about fibro. Anyway, I am sticking with him because otherwise his treatment and DX is good and in the rural area, RDs are hard to find.
My PCP is excellent and fills in the gap. Bottom line- I do have fibro on top of other arthritis. Lynne Hi, I too have fibro but it has been the least of my problems over the years. After my knee replacement fibro came on fast and furious. RD gave me muscle relaxants and a script for Lyrica. I was reluctant to add another pill to the mix but I filled the RX for the Lyrica and am I glad. It's has really helped me. My legs were the worst and I'm at least 50% better than I was prior to Lyrica. I haven't had any side effects. Talk to your doctor about Lyrica, it may be the help you're looking for. Lindy I, too, have been diagnosed with fibro and RA (among other things, like many of us). My PCP diagnosed the fibro over 10 years ago and was convinced I had an autoimmune disease. But the rheumy said no RA, but I did have fibro, after she tested for all the trigger points. She also said I had OA, which we were very aware of. But I was being treated by a pain specialist with opiod pain meds, and I still take them and am still under the care of a pain specialist. About 2 years ago, my rheumy did the RA tests again, and now the are all very high. She said she is sure I had it before and it just didn't show up in bloodwork til then. I've been told by my rheumy that with fibro, it is common to see chronic fatigue syndrome. I thought the fatigue was from RA, but I guess you could have it from more than one source. I don't know how anyone could tell the difference, though. My rheumy and pcp very much believe that fibro is real. Strangely, though, my pain specialist doesn't seem do think it is. I think, maybe, because she is a neurologist, too, she was more inclined to diagnose me with neuropathy, polyradiculopathy, etc. That is just a theory, though. I went to my first RD appointment last week and was told he doubts I have RA or an inflammatory disease, but instead have "fibromyalgia or some type of chronic pain syndrome." Still, I have all the joint pain symptoms of RA (except for positive blood tests) and none of the symptoms of fibro (from what I can tell, at least; I know there are broad parameters). I'm going for a second opinion with a new doc later this month. For those of you who have fibro, I'm curious which of your trigger points jive with the standard set of trigger points of fibro... RD is trying to get PA under control first. Derm. is trying to get psoriasis under control. That will be the last thing treated.
I was told that it would help desensitize my brain to the pain so I feel less pain. The most common side effect is dizziness and tiredness. I started on a real low dose of 25mg at bed time for 3 weeks, I am now at 50 mg for 4 weeks and than will go to 75 for 4 weeks. Not sure what my final dose ill be. I am very dizzy each time the dose goes up but it does seem to subside a little after a few days. It also seems to make my mouth very dry. I am trying to stick with it though as I have stopped most all my other meds. Its hard for me to say if its helping because there have been so many other changes in my meds lately!
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