Melissa

It kind of sounds like it could be neuropathic pain.  Have you tried ultram? It is much better for that type of pain than most others.  Neuropathic pain is one of my main symptoms and I use that and Lyrica to battle it.  I have noticed some great relief with Singulair, but it took a couple of weeks and I guess since every person is different, it might take you longer.  I would get the rheumy to check it out too to make sure its not rheumatological.  If the pain is a stabbing/poking electrical type pain, could be neuropathic.  Mine is in my forearms and behind my knees/calves.  Some days it can be a bear (aching like I am coming down with flu, combined with stabbing and poking), especially when it is so hot and muggy.  I cannot take ibuprofen at all, but can tolerate an occasional aleve (not more than 1 day in a row or trouble)...however, anti-inflammatories or hydrocodone do not generally help nerve pain much.  Talk to your rheumy and your immunologist and see if you can find some alternatives that help and make sure nothing else is going on.  Hang in there....I know how bad neuro pain can be!  Others may have some ideas too...several seem to have this pain.  Kim    

It kind of hard to explain the pain. But it is a contant pain, not just a bone pain but a muscle pain too. I can't turn a door knob, turn a key, take the cap off my meds to take them, unscrew a sippy cup for my daughters. The pain in my feet has improved since this morning, almost no pain in the feet. But my left hand is still bad. Basically it's useless. When I try to use it ....like taking the top/nipple of my babies bottle I scream because it hurts so bad. A lot of things require two hands to do and I'm doing the best I can. The nurse from my rheumeys office just called and said the doctor wants to see you. She doesn't want to just prescribe prednisone. She doesn't know what she is dealing with, she doesn't know if it is a inflammatory thing or something else. I just started crying on the phone, she said well have you tried seeing your primary? I said I can go see her but she just pushes me off and says you need to see the rheumey. She said well have you tried the allergist? I said yes, I'm pretty sure he is sick of talking to me.
Where is the compassion? I need something for pain. I told the nurse I live a half and hour away, I have 2 small children and I can barely pull my pants up on my own. I told her I just saw the doctor 2 weeks ago and she told me it wasn't arthritis, probably fibro flare.
I guess the best way to describe the pain is it's like a severe sprain and when you do the slight movement you'll wanna scream.
I told the nurse I feel like a visit to her isn't going to tell me anything but what she has already told me. I need something for pain so I can function because time doesn't just stop for me. I can't go spend the day in bed. I wonder if there is blood work to determine if it is a masto flare or if it is a fibro flare? Do you know?
Melissa

Thanks you guys for your suggestions! Texan-I think the pain center is a good idea. I decided to try benadryl about an hour ago and you know what I think the pain is a little better. Hum? I have been taking extra meds a lot lately but usually I don't take benadryl. Maybe thats the one for me. The docs office called back and they are going to have me get some blood tests done for inflammatory markers and they prescribed low dose prednisone for it looks like a couple of weeks slowly tappering off. Hoping it helps.
Mike-thanks for the advise on the meds.
Melissa

Good idea about the castor oil. I'm noticing my wrist is swelling again and it looks like someone rubbed pink blush all or the area and it is very tender like it is bruised. Weird?
Melissa

Hi Melissa,
 
  Sorry you're suffering!  If Benadryl might be helping, try to time it so you take the maximum dose before bed.  If you can take Vistaril, you might alternate them, but check with the doc on that.  As long as you don't have an infection that's contributing to the pain, the low dose prednisone sounds like a good thing to try.  I use it when I feel like I'm in a flare, especially when I'm having joint inflammation.  Following the plan to taper off over a couple of weeks sounds right, too.  It can calm many types of inflammation.  Hope it helps!

  I find that a few natural things help me, too, when I'm having bad pain.  A warm (not hot) bath with a cup or two of epsom salts dissolved in it is really effective.  It contains magnesium sulfate which is calming to the nerves and helps reduce inflammation.  You can get it in a milk carton-style container at Walgreens.  I soak for 20-30 minutes.  It's absorbed through the skin, and I haven't had any problems with it, but you might want to just soak a hand or foot in a weak solution of it first to make sure you don't have any reaction.  I take an epsom salts bath every night when I'm having a problem, but the doctor can tell you how many you can do a day if they help.

  I always think of nutrient deficiencies when people are having certain bad symptoms and are having trouble eating and/or digesting food at the same time.  I don't know if this will apply to you, but Vitamin B12 deficiency can cause neuropathy.  A simple blood test is diagnostic, and the doctor will either prescribe injections or sublingual B12 if a deficiency is found.  The symptoms are reversible if treated early.  In case you want to read more, this is from the University of Chicago Center for Peripheral Neuropathy website.  The link is:  http://peripheralneuropathycenter.uchicago.edu/learnaboutpn/aboutpn/index.shtml      
         
"Types of Peripheral Neuropathy - Systemic / Metabolic

Idiopathic | Pre-diabetic/Diabetic | Hereditary | Toxic/Secondary to Drugs | Inflammatory | Systemic/Metabolic |
Compression | Other Types of PN

Nutritional / Vitamin Deficiency

Peripheral neuropathy may occur as a result of malnutrition, for which there are many causes including poor nutrition caused by an unbalanced diet and/or alcoholism. Additionally, a clear link has been established between a lack of vitamin B12 and peripheral neuropathy.

VITAMIN B12 DEFICIENCY
Vitamin B12 is an essential dietary nutrient—a B12 deficiency can lead to a number of serious conditions including peripheral neuropathy.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is common in the United States, especially among the elderly. It is estimated that between 10% and 25% of the people over 80 years of age may have a B12 deficiency. There are several causes of B12 deficiency. A strict vegetarian diet may promote a B12 deficiency because animal-based foods such as red meat, dairy products, fish, poultry and eggs are the only recognized source of dietary B12. A lack of B12, or the inability of stomach acids to aid in the absorption, also causes this deficiency. Consequently, drugs that reduce stomach acid should be taken with B12 supplements. A number of other conditions, procedures, and drugs are associated with a reduced the ability to absorb B12. These include autoimmune diseases, pernicious or unexplained anemia, pancreatic diseases, ileal resection, Crohn's disease, HIV infection, gastritis, gastric or small intestine surgeries, malabsorption syndromes, multiple sclerosis, and use of histamine2 receptor antagonists or proton pump inhibitors.

A lack of vitamin B12 can cause serious anemia, nerve damage and degeneration of the spinal cord. It is common for anemia to develop first, but this is not always the case, especially if a person is taking a folate supplement. A lack of B12 damages the myelin sheath that surrounds and protect nerves. Without this protection, nerves cease to function properly and conditions such as peripheral neuropathy occur. Even B12 deficiency that is relatively mild may affect the nervous system and the proper functioning of the brain. The nerve damage caused by a lack of B12 may become permanently debilitating, if the underlying condition is not treated.

SYMPTOMS AND SIGNS
(Not all symptoms and signs may be present.)

Lack of coordination
Pain, numbness, and tingling in hands or feet
Sensory loss
Weakness
EVALUATION AND TESTS
(Not all evaluations and tests may be necessary.)

There are diagnostic tests to screen for vitamin B12 deficiency, to uncover the cause of B12 deficiency and to monitor the effectiveness of treatment."

Hope something works quickly!  Don't be shy about pressing the rheumy to get in soon, and a pain specialist can really be helpful.  It's so important to have back-up meds at home when something suddenly flares.

Weird question, but does gout run in your family at all?  And yes, women can get it.  It causes painful swelling of hands  and feet with redness.  If it is this or a rheumatic cause, they should be able to identify it with some blood and other testing.  I have had friends who have had it and it is very, very painful.  Probably not that, but it is out there as a possibility.  Oh yeah, predinsone=21 again.  Too bad we can only have it for short doses.  Hope you get that bloodwork done soon to get some answers.

Melissa,

Sorry to hear how bad things have been!

If you get relief from Epsom salts, you may want to try taking magnesium internally. It can be very helpful with muscle pain and swelling. People with fibro are commonly deficient in cellular levels of magnesium. The deficiency may not show up in blood tests, but they respond to magnesium supplementation, whether through the skin or orally.

Try magnesium citrate or glycinate. These are absorbed best. It can loosen stools. If that happens, back off the dose until stools are normal. When I was having severe migraines and pain a few years ago, I used the magnesium through IV. It seemed my body could absorb an endless amount of magnesium! It isn't like taking a drug, where you feel the results immediately. You need to take good doses over a period of time to get the best relief.

The other thing every knowledgeable doctor has told me, is that you cannot chase pain. If at all possible, do and take your pain remedies BEFORE it gets really bad. Now, this may not be possible for you right now, but here is how it relates.

Once your nervous system has ramped up to high levels of pain, it can take 2-3 times as much of a drug to get relief. So that Vicodin you took? You may have needed 3. The more pain, the more nerve receptors that need to be calmed by the opiate in the Vicodin. Now, I'm not telling you to take 3 Vicodin. Just that, if you took it sooner in your pain cycle, you may have gotten more relief. Same with the benedryl, or the Epsom salts.

Once you get to the pain levels you were experiencing, it would take higher and more frequent doses of anything to help. Now that you know a few things that might help, try to catch this earlier.

Don't push through the pain. When it starts, immediately stop and do some of the things that help you. Heat, Epsom salts, drugs, whatever it takes. Don't let it get away from you, because pain can always run faster than you can.

I know, especially when you have small kids, that it is hard to find time to take care of yourself, but it is important for maintenance. And you are worth it!