Myofascial pain - Myositis Message Board

hukleberrie · 11-17-2007, 05:51 PM

I don't think this is the right place for me... but maybe someone can help or point me in the right direction....

have had chronic pain for the last 5 months. I am hoping someone will know what this pain is caused from & what I can do to try to fix.

It is on my left side, in my back, between the 9th & 11th rib. It is horrible pain & I have posted everywhere, since there were other symptoms that I had besides pain (but seemed to be from other causes). I have had many, many tests, without a positive diagnosis. I have had an abdominal MRI which showed increased signal in the subcutaneous tissues of that area, which I was told by my general surgeon that there seems to be swelling in that area. (I had to see a surgeon to have an EGD/colonoscopy because of blood in the stool & weight loss — which ended up being caused by colitis, we believe).

This pain spreads through me to the front rib area also & also radiates up my back beneath my left shoulder. It is a constant pain that is less in the morning & progressively gets worse through the day. Sometimes it feels like Ben Gay is rubbed all over that area. Touching or pressure on that spot makes it all worse. When it gets really bad, it feels like something is being stabbed right through me. The pain is horrible & I have been on vicodin for 4 months. I want to get rid of this pain & quit taking these pills.

My primary care physician doesn't know what the problem is. She said it's myofascial pain, but she doesn't have a specific diagnosis. She is now sending me to physical therapy (I hope it doesn't make it worse. I had SIJ problems years ago & PT made it all worse.). I will try anything though. I have already seen an osteo & have had multiple manipulations.

I did see a different surgeon for a consultation & he thought it was nerve pain, possibly from arthritis. (Kinda a weird area to get arthritis, I thought.)

I have had blood tests, urine tests, x-rays, IVP, CT scans, a bone scan, MRI, ultrasound, colonoscopy & EGD. The only things found besides the swelling were issues unrelated (colitis, mild chronic gastritis). They did find numerous ("too numerous to count") phleboliths, but those are just calcified veins & are nothing. This all started after having a pinched nerve in my shoulder, then a severe kidney infection. I was on Cipro for 3 weeks & then this pain started. They thought kidney stones, but nope. Then they thought spleen problems, but the ct showed otherwise. I also have ovarian cysts & nasal polyps. I also get headaches & neck/shoulder pain & palpitations. I was also diagnosed years & years ago with TMJ....

I am looking for any input on what to do & what this could be. What could cause inflammation/edema/swelling in that area? Has anyone had this type of pain in this area before? Am I in the right place? What is myofascial pain?????

mmee · 03-05-2008, 09:52 AM

Hi, I am not sure if I can help or not. But I have also been diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome and alot of your issues sound like mine. I have the palpitations which have turned into tachycardia and I have had several heart tests done and am going for another next week. I found alot of info on sover.net about myofascial pain. It really helped me alot. If you would like to ask me any questions, please feel free. I have a ton of symptoms too that just do not seem to make any sense.
Thanks.

gorgee · 03-05-2008, 10:15 AM

I have tmj, and myofascial pain syndome too. I was diagnosed with the mps from a oral surgeon. I have been battling chronic pain since last September. The surgeon told me to rest and use heat. Hard to do with a 2 and 4 year old. I see my pcp every 2 weeks for osteomanipulation, and I think it helps, especially with the neck, shoulders, and migraines. I am not sure yet what this means for my future. Am I always going to battle this? I also have chronic migraines, and I have body pain all over, which leads my dr to think fibromyalgia. I am 31 and I can not be sick or in pain, I have to battle it on my own, my husband is not a fan of pain medications, and believes that they are causing my pain as as a side effect of taking them. It is so hard. I do believe that stress and anxiety caused a lot of this agony I am going through. I would like to know where do you go to get help for myofascial pain and is there a chance I will not to battle this for a long time?

Thank you.

hukleberrie · 03-05-2008, 10:26 AM

I am very confused right now. Seems there is a rib/joint problem where it connects to my back. I went through physical therapy & all kinds of things. Nothing has really helped. I get OMT as needed but it just doesn't seem to work for me. Although, getting a trigger point injection has given the most relief for that pain. I have NOT been diagnosed with Myofascial Pain Syndrome, it was just that at the time I posted this thread, that's all my PCP could think it was: myofascial pain. Now, I guess I know it is not, but more likely a joint issue.

I still use heat all the time. Still do yoga. I had to change my Norco pain meds to Darvocet due to a problem with digestion. They still don't provide the relief I would like.

What I am finding is that some of my pain & other symptoms (except the rib pain) may be due to a new diagnosis I just received a couple weeks agoâ€”IBD. (Inflammatory Bowel Disease). It is a chronic illness & I am still trying to understand why I have this auto-immune disorder & how I am going to handle it. I understand your frustration, I am annoyed with this myself. I wish I could give some great answers, but I know nothing & don't feel any better. Maybe just knowing that someone else suffers as you do will provide you some sort of comfort....

mmee · 03-05-2008, 12:35 PM

Hi, I am hoping that we can all find answers and ease our suffering. It is quite a battle all of the time.
I go to a clinical myofascial pain release therapist which seems to help some. I also go to a reflexologist which seems to help some too. I also go to my chiropractor once a week which seems to help some too.
Thank you all so much for sharing your stories. It does help to know that there are other people out there like me. I really appreciate it.