My Wellness Journey Ep. 6

My kidney pain cleared up with the help of antibiotics and a ton of cranberry juice. The other pain continued. The doctor felt perhaps some of the pain was caused by my IBS, so he prescribed Dicyclomine. Surprise Dicyclomine did not help. The generalized pain in my face, neck, shoulders, back, hips, legs and feet remained. I was so sensitive that when my cat would jump up on my lap, it hurt. I couldn’t sleep at night without using Voltaren on my hips, because the pressure of my hips on the mattress hurt. So the doctor felt I should increase the Zoloft. I went through 3 medication increases on the Zoloft. Eventually, with help from the gel the insomnia resolved but the generalized pain remained. It can take up to 6 months to see decreased pain with using the gel, I was desperate for relief. Little p was still waking up on average 3 nights per week. So not as much but I was still so tired, I would have to lie down after a shower.

My doctor ran blood work and everything came back “within normal range” except for one inflammation marker that was “slightly elevated”. Then my doctor reviewed my symptoms: Anxiety, IBS, Sleep Issues, Fatigue, Chronic Pain, Stiffness upon waking or after staying in one position for too long, Tension or migraine headaches, Jaw and facial tenderness, Sensitivity. He said: "I think you have what is called Fibromyalgia, Do you know what that it?"

I cried in the doctors office. My pain had a name, it was real and I wasn't crazy. I was prescribed Lyrica for a 2 week trial, and he discussed changing me over to a SNRI (Cymbalta). I asked my doctor if he felt a IV therapy with vitamin infusion would help, he said since all my levels were ‘normal’ it would be a waste of my money.