A Cure For What Ails Me?
Although I haven’t mentioned it at this blog yet, last month I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The good news is that at least now I don’t feel like I’m completely insane for thinking that something is wrong. The bad news is that she won’t pony up with the good meds without first trying lower-level stuff like Motrin 800s.
That’s what I get for firing my old prescription-happy doctor.
My friends, bless their hearts, have taken to sending me all sorts of interesting suggestions. One recommends I sprinkle everything I eat with a mix of chili pepper, jalapeños and habañero because the capsaicin is associated with pain relief. I try not to point out that such studies involve topical applications because, with her being a natural blond, I’d have to spend time explaining that “topical application” doesn’t mean bikini-blogging. Besides, I’m already a big fan of the hot stuff but it hasn’t done anything in the way of pain relief.
Then there’s my Ayurvedic-devotee friend who swears that fibromyalgia is an “air diseases” created by built up toxins in the joints resulting from a weak colon. Uh-huh. Her solution? High colonics. Riiiiight. I’m pretty sure my jalapeño habit’s already taken care of that for me, anyway.
I’ve also heard that colloidal silver has helped many folks with fibromyalgia, although it’s hard to know what to believe when it comes to that stuff. There’s certainly plenty of anecdotal evidence on the web from folks who praise the stuff, but there’s also plenty of stuff pointing out that colloidal silver generators sold to most home users don’t really produce colloidal silver at all.
The Feds at one point had launched a major initiative against its claims which promised to cure everything from pimples to cancer. That, some folks insist, is just proof there’s a Big Conspiracy between the FDA and deep-pocket pharmaceutical companies.
On the other hand, colloidal silver used to be a very widely respected medicine and was used as a mainstream antibiotic until the late 1930s when pharmaceutical companies found cheaper alternatives. One form of it is still used to protect newborn infants from eye infections, as a matter of fact.
Me? I’m a big fan of taking all these various claims with a grain of salt… and a shot of vodka, which as any martini lover will tell you can, in large enough doses, also serve as a high colonic. So I’m engaging in a home remedy of my own: an Absolut Peppar martini mixed in a silver martini shaker with ice then strained and garnished with a jalapeño-stuffed olive.
What the heck, I figure it’s about as scientific as all of the other recommendations I’ve received so far.
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A big part of the reason for the pain is not that you’re in pain, per se, but that you have too much of a sensitivity to it. Red finds that a high intake of caffeine in the morning helps a lot (that girl loves her some coffee…), and following it up with one of the low-sodium energy drinks out there (like the one made by Tab that I mentioned) in the early afternoon. She also takes naps, although I chalk that up as much to the pregnancy as anything else.
I like your idea too.
I swill nearly a pot of coffee in the morning. I don’t do salt. I can’t nap thanks to the Big-Eyed Boy.
Vodka it is.
Sounds good to me!
The silver stuff is great as a substitute antibiotic - topically, anyway - but I sort of can’t understand how it can do that and also help fibromyalgia. We fight the good fight against staph in this house (both boys carry it) and the spray-on variety gets rids of boils so quickly, but it doesn’t do anything whatsoever for the pain while you wait.
I love using it because it saves a trip to the doctor. TX Children’s Hospital is in permanent panic over staph - they lost some patients last year - so all their affiliated pediatricians will only give you MRSA-killing drugs, even though we went to the doctor in Mexico this summer and the plain old eurythomycin she prescribed worked great.
May I, tentatively, suggest that you try an additive free diet. I found that (difficult as it is) my headaches were greatly diminished when I did this. Not gone completely - but down to once or twice a month from 4-5 a week. And those I get now are nearly all manageable with ibuprofen. Quite a huge change for me.
I got the idea from a small (don’t know about the authenticity) study on people who had fibromyalgia. I figured if it helped people with pain all over their body…maybe it would help my head. (no comments from the peanut gallery please *grin*)
It’s difficult… nearly every friggin’ food has additives - but it’s not bad for you as it’s not eliminating any food “group”. The problem is the additives in so many things you never think of. However, pain is a tremendous motivator! If it works it’s so easy to stick with it.
If you want a list of additives, I have it.
It not only helped with the migraines, but with a post nasal drip problem I had. It also helped with my hayfever (who knew). Best of all I’m not hungry all the time like I used to be.
Take or leave as you will. Many offer advice in these cases. That doesn’t mean it will work.
If the additives are exacerbating your symptoms, this would help, if they aren’t, it won’t. It’s easy to try (except for all the cooking *grin*) and like I said - not a freekoid diet or a pill you have to take.
Best of all, you can be sure that if you try it - you won’t have any “bad” consequences from a reaction with something. Oh, and you wouldn’t have to give up any martinis (although you may have to change your brand of olives to ones with out preservatives)
There is another suggestion, this time one of mine you could try….but when Red and I tried it, she ended up pregnant.
The bad news is that she won’t pony up with the good meds without first trying lower-level stuff like Motrin 800s.
Ah, step therapy. Where insurance companies, not doctors, decide what meds are best for you.
For five years I took the strongest available medication for one of my conditions. Then my company switched from BCBS to Aetna, and Aetna said nay-nay. I had to try the lowest possible dose (gave me headaches), then the second-lowest (totally ineffective), before finally deigning to allow me to pay twice the usual copay for the medicine I actually needed.
*sigh*
Move to California. I think medical marijuana is still legal there.
Move to California. I think medical marijuana is still legal there.
What, and deal with packing on even MORE pounds thanks to the munchies? Gah.
WG, ain’t. Gonna. Happen.
Theresa, I tried doing a “pure foods” diet for almost a month. It didn’t reduce the headaches or the pain, but it did keep me in the kitchen longer and more often. Plus I couldn’t get VH to help out with the cooking at all. That meant I was even more exhausted. Ugh.
Tari, I wonder if the staph thing is more prevalent in Texas. When my dad was stationed at Corpus Christi back in the late 60s, early 70s, all four of us kids had staph problems regularly. As soon as we moved to California they stopped. Weird.
WG, ain’t. Gonna. Happen.
Well, you don’t have to take it to its logical conclusion, of course. Modern medicine’s great that way. Red pointed out to me last night after I posted that that it’s a short-term solution at best, because the endorphins wear off. My response, of course, was that one doesn’t have to let the endorphins wear off if one would take a steady supply of one’s …er… medicine.
Yeah, I know. She wasn’t entirely amused either.
My wife’s a fibromite. Has been for quite a few years. If you’d like to pick her brain, drop me a line off-line and I’ll give you her email. One of the best things she ever did was the U of Nebraska’s Chronic Pain Clinic. Six weeks to drive into her head, “You have chronic pain. You’re always going to have chronic pain. What are YOU going to do to manage it? Here, these are the tools to manage it.”
That’s the hardest part to accept, Timmer. We’ve all been so conditioned to figure that pain is something we can make go away with enough of the right meds (or in WG’s case, frequent sex). So it seems unnatural to accept that pain is going to be a natural part of life.
Fortunately, VH seems to understand that whole concept better than I do. He’s been pretty darned good about ordering me (yep, ordering) to take it easy more often, to go to bed earlier than I used to, and to stop thinking that my ‘good days’ should be spent busting ass to catch up on all of the stuff I let slide during my ‘bad days’.
That’s actually helping a LOT.
We know lots of people here who have kids with staph problems. Weirder still, Christopher gets boils when he goes to the beach. I know Galveston isn’t the cleanest place to swim in the world, but he had 2 huge breakouts this summer, both immediately following days at the beach. Given that you can get listeria from the Gulf (slim chance, but it does happen) I think next summer will be beach-free.
I’d be careful of .
???
Not overdoing it when you’re feeling more “okay” is by far the hardest part of a chronic pain illness, in my observer’s opinion. My advocating sex as a solution was largely due to a running joke between Red and I, not necessarily because it would help. It’s hard to feel frisky when you hurt everywhere and your feet are doing pins-and-needles for hours. I understand these things and try to deal with it with humor for the most part.
I’m glad to see your hubby has picked up on the need to have you pace yourself somewhat - I’m sure having the maid service coming through regularly has a lot to do with it, since removing that significant a portion of your “gottagogetthisdonegogogogogogo” workload would bring with it the obvious results of relief and relaxation.
As soon as we can afford it, which should be soon, I’m going to insist on the same with Red.
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The cleaning service coming every Monday has really made a world of difference, although it also means that come Sunday I’m usually found poring over our checkbook and wondering where we can cut even more corners.
I did cancel the next cleaning (which was scheduled for tomorrow due to the holiday), mostly because I woke up with a cold and don’t want to have to clear out of the house by 9:30 in the morning. Fortunately, the Big-Eyed Boy loves playing with my feather duster so he’ll be taking over that duty, and VH has agreed to do a quick vacuuming, which means I just need to go over the bathrooms with a Clorox wipe and be done with it.
Another thing that’s been great: nightly soaks in our hot tub. It’s the “getting out and shivering on the dirty back patio while I put the lid back on” part that’s not so much fun, but at least I’ve learned how to do that quickly.
I’ve been living with chronic pain since 1988. One thing is for sure, my pain tolerance level has increased exponentially. I try not to medicate unless I really, really need it. I use heat a lot, heating pads and those wonderful thermacare wraps.
Watch out for the colloidal silver though. You don’t want to end up like this guy. If you do, we’ll have to start calling you Smurfette!
I’ve just seen a commercial for a new fibromyalgia med on TV. Commercial says it’s the first FDA approved med to treat the underlying fibromyalgia, not just the pain.
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That poor man. I saw the story about him last night on CNN and, since I don’t look particularly good in blue, decided that I’m definitely shying away from that remedy.
Unfortunately, the pill you’re talking about — Lyrica — has some side effects that are actually identical to my symptoms: swelling of the hands and feet. (Not to mention weight gain.) So that’s definitely a no-go for me.
Bummer about the dietary thing. I was hoping it might offer you just a bit of relief if not a lot.
Oh well, keep trying things that look promising. Maybe something will click one day. Although I think the colloidal silver gives me the willies… ewwww…
Too bad about the Lyrica, but are the side effects only temporary? I’ve been on some meds that have a side effect only for a little while until you get used to it, like a bad taste in your mouth side effect that lasts a few days…
Weight gain… that’s another story. In my mind I look just like Jennifer Love Hewitt (even in those bikini shots). She’s built like a real woman, as am I, but you need to add several inches to her measurements to reach mine. Pears rule! Boobs, hips, butts, and thighs.
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I was on Lyrica for a while as an additional anticonvulsant that also helped the tingling and numbness I got from the Topamax I was on for my migraines. The Lyrica completely negated any weight loss effect I was getting from being gluten-free and being on Topamax. It did help with the parasthesias and peripheral neuropathy, though.
I’m going to email you about the fibro thing.
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Ok.. Before you do the “silver stuff” you mihgt want to look into the guy who moved from Oregon because the people stared at him all the time - you see he turned blue from the coloidal silver. there’s info HERE and video all over. I googled “man turns blue” so it’s simple to find and there are lots of links out in the intertubes
SarahK, you know me: if there’s a side-effect I’ll get it. So I’m certain I’d have more swelling and weight gain problems, and I just don’t need that on top of everything else.
Plus, although it makes me sound like a Tin Foil Hat wearer, I’m reluctant to try newly-released meds after Cymbalta nearly killed me earlier in the year.
Neal, since I don’t look good in blue so I definitely won’t be trying that remedy.
Bosslady and her mother both have fibromyalgia. They visit a local holistic doctor and have had great success with various holistic treatments. That’s not to say they never have pain, they just manage it better than they used to.
If you would like, I can put you in touch with Bosslady. She’s always willing to help others when she can.
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