HOTFLASHIN

I had my doctor's appointment yesterday. As you know, I had become irritated with him the last time I had a flare and felt like he and his nurse were not giving me the proper attention. Yesterday, I took some notes with me and we had a very long discussion about everything; how the Cymbalta 60 mgs a day worked well for the pain at first but had leveled off by 40-50%, how since being taken off Klonopin I was again experiencing panic attacks, how I felt that I needed something for breakthrough pain when I am having a really bad day.

And he really listened. He was with me for at least 45 minutes, maybe even an hour. He discussed options with me, pros and cons of each and let me decide what I thought would work better for me. One of the options was to tweak my Cymbalta a bit and add 30 mgs a day for a month to see if I can go back to the pain relief level I was experiencing with Cymbalta. That is what I opted for, as I did not want to try to get used to a new medication (Savella and Lyrica were offered). He also gave me Tramadol for breakthrough pain, which I appreciated since it is non-narcotic. He also told me I could take Advil Liquid Gels 800 mgs 3 times a day which should really help. I had no idea it would be O.K. for me to take that much. And he put me back on the Klonopin for anxiety.

So all in all I felt like the appointment went well. And on a side note, in the 4 months I have been on Cymbalta, I have only gained 8 pounds (I thought it would be a lot more) and my doc says he doesn't think I will gain more weight on it. Losing weight is still a challenge, but I did some weight bearing exercises this morning and I use my grandson for my legs. I raise him up and down with my legs so I get exercise and get to hear him giggle at the same time!!!

Thanks for "listening." I really appreciate all of you on this board!

Hugs,

Pam