Hey Leslie,
I am SO glad you are reconsidering the massage therapy. I honestly believe you will benefit from it. I am recieving it 3 times a week now (well, I missed yesterday, had a bad day) but I am on a two week regimine of only upper back trigger point release and neck stretching. I get that for just about 15 minutes then they wrap my upper shoulders and neck in heated towels and put the TENS unit on my upper back muscles. See, just even 15 minutes of trigger point release makes a world of difference. My upper back doesn't hurt at all today. I will be going tomorrow and I'm supposed to get massage, then my therapist is going to let me work on my strength training a bit. I will be reminding my therapist that he OWES me a massage still!
My therapist is considered a "hand therapist". That is part of his title. He works with his hands, so he is specially trained to use his hands to give treatment. And like BLL said, it hurts like the devil, at first, but then you notice that your upper back is not tight when you wake up! Yippeee! And like BLL said, your back will be sore after the massage the next morning, it'll feel sore and tender, but that goes away after a couple of treatments. And I know what she means about the tears and trying to talk while you are getting the massage! LOL Your eyes are all watery and you can't even speak!
But I truly truly think you will benefit from this. My aunt is a cancer survivor, and for some reason the chemo has destroyed the muscles in her legs. They are always sore and they get more sore the more she uses them, so she is going next week for a leg massage. It's a special free leg massage that is offered at her hospital to cancer survivors and patients. Also, us Fibro's usally don't get the strengthing exercise we need for all our muscles, so they knot up. I imagine given your conditions that your muscles are also pretty weak, that's when they knot up. So, I was happy to read your post saying you were reconsidering the massage. Good for you.
I understand about the injections and the anti-inflammatories. Celebrex, and Vioxx, are non-steriod anit-inflammatories, they are the Cox2 Inhibitors and yes they are nasty buggers. That is why they are now pulled from the market. I personally never noticed any relief from them. I also took Bextra and Relafin and they both messed up my stomach and my digestive tract. Cortisoid injections are a little different than steriod injections. Pain Management clinics do offer injections for different types of pain. The most common are Epidural Steriod Injections which are injections into the spinal column for cervical and lower lumbar disorders. I have had injections in the back of my skull for headaches. These were nerve blocks. These are also done, although, some are considered to be a bit contraversal, but some PM clinics do nerve block injections. Trigger point injections are often done with an anti-inflammatory agent like
Triamcinolone. I get that injected into my hip and shoulder for bursitis.
I do know that Prednisone is used as a short term treatment for many inflammatory conditions, even asthma. Although, like BLL said, it has some nasty side effects. Your face swells up (called "moon face") and it's pretty tough on your system, but it can be beneficial if used short term. RA and Lupus patients used to be given Prednisone as a common treatment, but now there are so many new medications and treatmenst out there, Prednisone isn't used so much.
When do you see the Fibro Specialist? Is this doc an Ortho? I've heard of docs who specialize in Fibro, but they usually are Rheumies or Orhopedic docs. But getting a doc who specializes in Fibro is like hitting the jackpot! Most of us get docs who have had to learn about Fibro like we have, so sometimes it feels like we as patients are more informed than our docs! And some of us have gone to many different docs regarding our Fibro and it seems like each doc has his or her own opinions about Fibro. That is what is so frustrating. My first Rheumy treated all her FM patients the same, my second Rheumy had a pitiful beside manner, but he is supposedly a highly recommend doctor. I chose not to see him any more because I would rather have a good beside manner. If you are a doctor who treats people with chronic pain, I believe you should have a good bedside manner. We are in pain, and it's important that our doctor's have a compassionate bedside manner, IMO. That's a long shot for some docs though! LOL
So, I'm very anxious, Leslie, to hear about your appt. with your Fibro doctor. I'd be interested on hearing what a Fibro specialist has to say about this condition. And I'm also anxious for you to go to the Pain Managment doctor. Is it a PM doctor in private practice or are you going to a Pain Management CLINIC? There is a difference in the kind of treatment offered. Mine is in private practice but he refers out a lot. He is my hero! Last month I brought some roses from my garden to give to him and his nurses (they work their butts off) and his nurse took be back to my little room and asked about my pain, yada yada yada, and as she was leaving the room I asked her did she not want to take the flowers? She giggled and told me to give them to the doc! He is a young guy, well young for me, he's probably in his mid 30's, and he's pretty good looking. So I ain't letting him go unless he leaves the state or I die! I'm very lucky, he works with me so well so that my pain is managed. I'll tell him this or that isn't working and he's more than willing to change my meds, and more than willing to up the dose, or try a new med when I'm in the "tweaking" stage. The "tweaking" stage is the worst part, trying to find the right med that works for you and your type of pain can take months sometimes.
So, Leslie, I'm happy to hear that you seem to be looking forward to seeing these new doctors and possibly get a better handle on what's going on with you. It's an ongoing process, very trying at times and frustrating, but you gotta do it so that you can be the best you know you can be for yourself and your babies.
Hugs,
tk
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