Fibromyalgia pain: Let's connect

Lioness,
I recommend anyone who has been dx'd with FM and CF be retested for Lyme Disease & Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever by a lab equipped to do it properly. There aren't a lot around who can do it correctly. Mine was done by LabCorp.

@Clownscryto,
I can appreciate what you are/have gone through for a very long time. I use a lot of safe health food store medicinal things as well and found that "Two Old Goats" Arthritis, FM, & Essential Lotion works good. Also, "Dr. Bronner's Magic Lotion" for Hands & Body (Peppermint).

You can usually find both at any health food stores and online, too. Just google either one. (www.twooldgoats.com) (www.dbronner.com).

Just wondering, @basslakeview, if you know how you were exposed to either of these diseases.

Hi all!
I wanted to share an article with you. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/america-is-losing-the-war-on-chronic-pain#29

Among other things, they discuss the reactions gotten by health care professionals when asking for more pain meds.

Here is the link to the article....
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/america-is-losing-the-war-on-chronic-pain#29

@ckeys
Thank you.
Ronnie

Two thing to note off the CDC website:

1) https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/data/prescribing.html
From 1999 to 2016, more than 200,000 people died in the United States from overdoses related to prescription opioids. Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids were five times higher in 2016 than in 1999.1--
Yes it is a problem.

2) https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/tobacco_related_mortality/index.htm
Cigarette smoking causes about one of every five deaths in the United States each year Cigarette smoking is estimated to cause the following:
More than 480,000 deaths annually (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
278,544 deaths annually among men (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
201,773 deaths annually among women (including deaths from secondhand smoke)
Cigarette smoking causes premature death:
Life expectancy for smokers is at least 10 years shorter than for nonsmokers.
Quitting smoking before the age of 40 reduces the risk of dying from smoking-related disease by about 90%.

Note that the opiod related deaths were over 17 years
Note that the smoking related deaths are ANNUALLY!!!

Why is it that Opioids are a "CRISIS" that requires the Government to crack down on EVERYONE that uses/needs them
and smoking is just a warning on the label??
The "CRISIS" is WAY overplayed in great part to the "MEDIA" and yet our elected officials cave to any partial truth in order to make headlines and LOOK proactive despite who their arbitrary decisions and laws truly hurt.

Sorry for the rant. I have been in steadily increasing chronic pain with all kinds of guessed diagnosis for the last 15 years and the ONLY thing that has helped are the opioids - but now I am told I cannot use them - and there are few if any affordable alternatives to try.

I currently have a Stimulator and a DRG stimulator implanted in my back, we've tried over 20 back injection, every medication you can think of (a stack of over 4" high of warning sheets) - even Medical Cannabis with no appreciable reduction in pain.

Not looking for sympathy. Just pissed.

Carl

@cbrackle. I totally get your frustration and you bring valid points. And although opioids have caused deaths, a very small amount of them have come from those who were prescribed opioids and took them as directed.

We do need to draw together as chronic pain sufferers and help our elected officials understand that there is a role and a place for opiate medications in our world, at least until something better is created.

It is really frustrating to be labeled, denied what we need to live a full life, and have to fight for what is readily available and legal. It’s horrible to live in fear of losing the medication that gives you the ability to live a full life. It all sucks!

It reminds me of the way mental health patients used to be stigmatized. Thanks to Incredible efforts from many organizations and individuals we no longer look at people suffering with mental health disorders was so much disdain.

Most don’t realize that opiates are not addicting to those who use them properly. Cigarettes are much more addictive. Primarily, those who use opiates inappropriately are the ones who become addicted.

Really, everything you’re saying makes sense… But how can we get it to the people who need to hear it? The only way that happens is with ALL of us writing, calling, engaging our representatives; tell them how much we need our medications to function; tell them how addiction really works; tell them ways that we can reduce over prescribing, while enabling those who truly need meds to have opiates available. We need to write, we need to talk, we need to be heard. It’s great for us all to have a forum like this, but truly we all have a responsibility to inform those around us and those who we elect.

I encourage all of you to write a letter today to your elected officials about the role opiates are playing your life and why you think there is a need to have access to them. We are being stigmatized, labeled, discrimated against, denied our right to pursue happiness!! It’s time to stop the stigma and open up reasonable treatment options for those with chronic pain.

One statistic missing in your argument is the importance of quality of life. How many people have committed suicide because they did not have an option to manage their chronic pain. I was there once.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES ... local, state, federal, DEA, media who incorrectly represent addiction vs pain management.

@ckeys I'm new to this group. I hope you won't mind if I jump in. In the pain department, I have osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia syndrome.

You can most certainly become addicted to opiates that are prescribed for you.

About 15 years ago, I was prescribed two of them to take three times a day. Every night I had nightmares. I woke up in a pool of sweat. I could barely get down the stairs without falling. Over the course of six months, I weaned myself off of the opiates and never regretted it.

Opiates are constipating, so anyone with IBS or more serious intestinal problems should avoid them. A couple of years ago, my colon burst and I had a colostomy that was later reversed. Being on opiates was harmful to my colon.

I now take all the prescription pain medication that isn't narcotic. And I would like to ease off of those. I find that when my mind is fully engaged in an endeavor -- painting, writing, reading, etc. -- I don't feel the pain at all. So I stay busy.

@mwcates I would caution you to understand the difference between “addicted “ and “dependent.” Many medications can not be stopped abruptly without consequences making us dependent. Addiction involves taking the medications inappropriately, like to get high. I’m not arguing that opiates (and many other meds) have side effects, only that when taken properly for pain, using opiates does not make you an addict. I’m glad you found something for your pain that works for you, do you mind sharing what it is?