End of my tether!

[Vonnie13]

Good evening all,
I am at a bit of a loss as to where to turn next.
For the past 16 months I have had excruciating pain in my right hip along with numbness in my bum cheek.
A&E visits, numerous GP appointments, I thought it was sciatica to be told it was my hip. I was offered steroid
injections, which I'm still waiting for.
Last September I started experiencing pain in my smaller joints, fingers, wrists, elbows.
My fingers are stiff, my elbow hurts to lift even a kettle.
Its so bad I have had to go part time at a job until 2 years ago had barely a sick day.
I've saw a rheumatologist and yesterday had an appointment with a pain specialist who has offered me counselling.
My sleep is disturbed. I have regular migraines. Last week I was so physically exhausted I fell asleep on the way home from work.
I'm 52 and living like a woman in her 70's. Most night I'm in bed at 7 drained.
Can anyone recommend what I do next?
Any suggestions would be great Thanks

 

[sunkacola]

Greetings.....and welcome.

What did the rheumatologist say? I ask because some of what you describe sounds to me like arthritis (but note that I am not a doctor).

Have you been tested for Lyme disease, Lupus, ALS, MS, and all of the other possible conditions that could be causing your symptoms?
Has any doctor mentioned the possibility of fibromyalgia to you yet?

The counselling might not be a bad idea, or it might be just someone who is fobbing off your pain as being "all in your head", and without more information it's hard to say which it is. But counselling alone is very unlikely to help you with the pain and other symptoms you have.

My first suggestion as to what to do next is examine your life and do as many of the following as you can manage. You do not have to do them all at once! And only what you can manage to do. Even the smallest steps are meaningful.

1) Reduce stress in your life as much as possible. All kinds of stress.
2) eat the most healthy diet you can if you don't already. (A healthy diet is different for everyone, and doesn't necessarily mean any one kind of diet). Avoid sugar and alcohol.
3) Get as much rest as possible, sleep if you can.
4) Get daily exercise....whatever you can do, without pushing yourself.

5) Try to maintain a positive attitude. We can help with that ...actually with all of the above....by telling you what each of us does to do our best with all of these things, if you want us to.
You have to find out what works for you, but we can tell you what works for us and you can try those things.

I wrote a post with details on all of the above, and maybe something there will help you. Look at the top of the General forum section.
We are here to support you. You are not alone.

 

[BlueBells]

@Vonnie13

Hi, and welcome to the forums

There may well be fibro in amongst that, but it's good to get all the other possibilities checked, as one never knows.

Do get your vitamin levels checked. I used to get the numbness years ago, and tingling in the feet and hands. Turns out my vitamin B's were a bit low, and a chemist-chosen B mix has solved the issues! So, make sure you ask the doc to do all the vitamin and mineral checks next time you have a blood test.

Again, welcome

 

[Vonnie13]

The rheumatologist took numerous bloods results showed no RA. My mum suffered from rheumatism from childhood, not sure if it’s hereditary?
I don’t drink alcohol and have never smoked.
My stress levels are like everyone else’s I suppose.
I can’t really do strenuous exercise most mornings can’t bend to get my shoes on.
I’ve took the offer of counselling but im not sure how talking about my physical decline would be any help. But I’m at a stage I’ll try anything!
Should I mention fibromyalgia to my GP on my next visit? I’m trying to keep away 2024 has been one constant appointment to be honest I feel like I’m forever there.

 

[sunkacola]

The rheumatologist took numerous bloods results showed no RA. My mum suffered from rheumatism from childhood, not sure if it’s hereditary?
I don’t drink alcohol and have never smoked.
My stress levels are like everyone else’s I suppose.
I can’t really do strenuous exercise most mornings can’t bend to get my shoes on.
I’ve took the offer of counselling but im not sure how talking about my physical decline would be any help. But I’m at a stage I’ll try anything!
Should I mention fibromyalgia to my GP on my next visit? I’m trying to keep away 2024 has been one constant appointment to be honest I feel like I’m forever there.

Strenuous exercise is not at all necessary or even necessarily recommended, but it's vitally important to get some movement into your day. Gentle exercise counts. The most important thing is just to keep moving. Do yoga, pilates, take a walk, tai chi, it doesn't matter what it is, but move every day. Go online and find videos designed for gentle exercise and do a different one every day if you need for it not to get boring.

As for mentioning fibro to your doctor, this is something you need to think about. Generally, I recommend against mentioning it to doctors because some of them don't even believe it exists, others know it exists but will think you are malingering if you bring it up yourself, and others simply don't like for a patient to "diagnose themselves" and will not react well to your suggestion. However, it depends entirely on the doctor. If you know your doctor well, and don't think they will react negatively to your suggesting it, then there's no reason not to. If it is a brand new doctor, I advise against it, and instead simply list your symptoms in order of severity, without emotion.

 

[BlueBells]

Hi @Vonnie13

Hints, if you put the @ symbol before a name, it will alert that person.
Also, and extra tap on the enter key will give a gap between paragraphs and break the 'block' of writing. Some of us struggle with the blockiness of longer posts

I'd think it worth while mentioning fibro, although I think it is usually diagnosed when everything else is eliminated. Of course, most of us have more than fibro, there's often a spattering of other things as well, just to keep us on (or off) our toes

I understand the feeling like living at the docs, but I found it was the thing that eliminated the causes of the symptoms, that is, symptoms are there, but with no cause, it often turns out to be the fibro gremlins having parties

Browse the various threads, you may find mention of symptoms similar to your own.

Take care, hugs

Hmmm. Just noticed I wrote this a while ago, forgot to send