At my last Rheumy appt., she suggested that I may have Fibromyalgia as well as Lupus.
Then Monday I go to see my primary & he confirms that I have Fibro. along with depression & anxiety issues. So he writes a Rx for Cymbalta - the "magical" cure all for my overall aches, pains, depression & anxiety. ( I'll believe it when I feel it ) He also wants me to start physical therapy due to muscle weakness & poor range of motion.
So here's the real kicker. I feel the most anxious with winter driving & have panic attacks at the thought of doing it. I barely get in a vehicle in the winter with somebody else driving. So, I had to refuse the physical therapy, I told him that I would consider it in the spring and my new Rx is still sitting at the pharmacy because I haven't been able to pick it up. My dear husband, who drives me around has been sick & not able to pick it up either.
Today, it is not snowing & the roads are mostly bare so I hope to get out today. I have several errands that have to get done. Also, I have to get just about ALL of my Christmas shopping done. The only shopping I have done thus far has been on line - which Im getting pretty good at.
After running errands, I hope to get my Christmas decorations out of the attic & attempt to decorate the house & tree. It all has to get done today. I go back to work tomorrow & wont be home till Sunday night. I know I wont physically be able to do anything on Monday, experience has shown me that after working the weekend, Mondays are my worse day. And well, after that, its Christmas Eve.
Hope I have enough "spoons" in reserve to get everything accomplished - tis the season to be jolly, right?
I also have fibro,auto immune disease, depression, anxiety. I take Cymbalta,Lyrica,Abilify,anti inflammatory,blood pressure med. I recently switched from Pristiq (anti depressant) to Cymbalta because its the "magical" pill. The 60mg dosage did nothing for me. The 120mg dosage helped tremendously with my aches and pains....but did nothing for my depression and anxiety. As a matter of fact, my anxiety built up to an overwhelming degree. Ended up at my primary's office last week. So, she lowered my Cymbalta to 90 mg and added Abilify for the anxiety. The 90mg of Cymbalta has been helping the aches and pains as well as the depression. I don't know how much the Abilify is helping the anxiety. I can get through the day ok, unless I have to socially interact with people I don't know. That's when I get panic attacks. I see my primary again next week. We'll see what happens then. I really hope you get the relief you need :)
The best thing about therapy is they give you a home exercise program- generally you only need to go twice a week so you might want to reconsider. There also is physical therapy available through home health where they come to your house. Getting your muscle tone and range of motion back up to par will help with the overall pain in the long run. Cymbaltacan be a wonderful drug and is widely used in chronic pain syndromes not just fibromyalgia - it takes a few weeks to take effect but for many it can be like a miracle drug.
Ann, my Vitamin D levels were actually a topic I brought up at my visit last Monday.
Last June my Vitamin D level was 11 & my primary started me on 2000 IU daily. Then about a month and a half ago, my Rheumy started me on Calcium with 800 IU of Vitamin D . So I was concerned that the combined amount of 3600 IU might be too much. My Rheumy was aware that I was already taking 2000 IU's from the primary & said it was fine. But, I wanted to double check with my primary who also said that it was fine. My current level, as of last week is 29, which the primary said is just "barely low". So, I think Im doing OK in the Vitamin D area.
Do you have any additional input in this area that might be helpful?
I know I really should start the physical therapy but right now my anxiety is so high, I'm just not able to do it. My blood pressure was threw the roof at my check up just from taking the drive to get there. And, unfortunately, I don't qualify for any type of home health care. Spring time & better weather can't get here soon enough for me. poobie said:
The best thing about therapy is they give you a home exercise program- generally you only need to go twice a week so you might want to reconsider. There also is physical therapy available through home health where they come to your house. Getting your muscle tone and range of motion back up to par will help with the overall pain in the long run. Cymbaltacan be a wonderful drug and is widely used in chronic pain syndromes not just fibromyalgia - it takes a few weeks to take effect but for many it can be like a miracle drug.
I was getting tired reading all the things you need to do today. I couldn't accomplish that in 3 days. I went to Macy's this AM at 7 and I was home by 8. I hope you get everything done and you have a great Christmas.
I managed to get some of the things done. I made it to the eye Dr & ordered a new pair of glasses, went to the pharmacy to pick up 3 refills only to find out 1 of them is out of stock & wont be ready till today. I don't have time to go back today.
Then I got about 1/2 my shopping done. The Christmas decorations are out of the attic but not out of the boxes. :-/
Today, Im off to work till Sunday evening. I still have Monday & Tuesday right?
Merry Christmas to you as well
freightliner said:
Hi
I was getting tired reading all the things you need to do today. I couldn't accomplish that in 3 days. I went to Macy's this AM at 7 and I was home by 8. I hope you get everything done and you have a great Christmas.
Actually 29 is better than mine and by lab results here is a low normal. Recent studies are showing that low Vit D can be an indicator of increased disease activity and can be low in spite of adequate intake in the auto-immune diseases. Somehow our disease whenactive overutilizes the Vit D keeping us in a chronically low state. And just taking Vit D isn't the solution- you still have to treat the disease.