... arthritis. I have pain in my elbows where I cant bend them at night, they are so stiff. I have a hard time laying on my sides to sleep. The rheumatologist told me that it is fibro; but i had mri's done and they say arthritis?? I also have aching legs at night. Is that fibro in my elbows and wrist and knees ect?? The dr told me that fibro has pressure points. I believe that he doesnt tell me the truth about arthritis because I am on medical asst. Other drs told me arthritis. What is the truth??
I have fibromyalgia but I have a hard time distinquishing the difference between fibro and?
- Posted:
- 5 weeks ago by loopi1ank...
- Topics:
- rheumatoid arthritis, pain, fibromyalgia, sleep disorders, sleep
Details:
Responses (5)
Girl, I wish I could answer that. I would have a PHD. I had reconstructive thumb surgery in April and I broke my big toe again last Thursday. Guess which hurts more? Give up? My thumb. I wish I would have left well enough alone. My toe will heel. I hope without another surgery.. I am 54 yrs. old and feel like I am falling apart. I have a great Doctor, he just isn't a surgeon. I will have to go to the orthopedic surgeon to find out what to do with both. When it rains it pours....Arthritis is such a pain in the joints and they tell you to take anti-inflamatories. But, if you have a bad stomach from all the asprin you took before your stomach can't take to much more. As far as pressure points I absolutley agree with that. I bought a Tempurpedic Mattress and I find if I lay in one spot to long my elbows will hurt or my hips. I don't know if it is old age or what, but that mattress cost a fortune. I am wondering if it's all in my head, but if it is, I need to find out what to take to block it out! lol I wish you luck... Hang in there...We are all behind you.. Kim
kimmie, hi girl! I havent been around. i have been going through a lot. I know what you are talking about broken fingers and toes. You sound like you have been through alot like me. I have never been an aspirin person. i try to avoid those pills. I am sorry about your toe. trust me I know about those things. I broke so many fingers and toes and cut my toe off being stupid on a lawn mower. I like my 4 inch mattress it does me good. I am 45 and live in mn. The weather here has been extremely warm for nov. I have a bad thumb that grows so big compared to my other one. Thats the one I use the most. I guess we have to live to learn with our problems. It is great to be able to talk to someone and I really enjoy your personality. Friends are hard to come by. loopi Its is not all in your head!!!
Try to go to a Hand Surgeon. That is all they do is hands. and if you need therapy make sure it is a hand specialist. I found that out the hard way and it is now 27 surgeries for me on my wrist that I shattered 5 years ago. Good Luck. I am your age and know the feeling is it normal for our age or not. I have fibromyalgia as well as RSD/CRPS and I get all the same feelings at centain pressure points. I bought a sleep number bed. It is not in your head have you tried a rheumatologist or have they done blood work for arthtitis? Kimme I know how you feel about your thumb. Every time I have surgery it hurts more. Good Luck
Hi loop..., I also have fibro and arthritis and have often asked the same questions that you do. I am certainly not a professional on either subject. From the info I've gathered, it seems that arthritis pain is more in the joints, where fibro is in muscles and connective tissues. Fibro definitely has pressure point pain, or at least discomfort basically all the time. You can get a lot of info on this site if you go to the search box at the top of the page. The most confusing element, is that different doctors will point in different directions depending on their specialties and knowlegde. The challange is to find a doctor whom you trust, respect, and feel you can have some faith and confidence in. I hope you are more successful than I've been over the years, keemo7
I believe that the dr that I have is a quack and gets paid to keep his mouth shut. I am on medical asst. and they do not want to fork out the money ,which is understandable. A person does have the right to know what is wrong.?? I had an mri done on my hip and he didnt know that. I knew, of course ,that I had arthritis bad in all my joints. He kept telling me that it is only fibro;but I knew better. One dr. told me that I had auto immune disease .My joints arent getting any fluids in them. Rhuematoid arthritis is famous in my family. My aunts fingers are at a 90 degree angle. Awful! Your right about drs. I do need to find another arthritis dr.. I could tell the other one was lieing. thanx loopi
Loop, about the camera down the throat thing, they put me to sleep to do that and the bottom thing too. It wans't painfull and I found out a wealth of information. Best of luck.. Kimmie1
Interesting Kimmie, Can U fill me in on somemore info or is it to personal. loopi
Hey Loop, on the endoscopy "known as camera down the throat thing" at least in my experience. It's not bad, don't eat for several hours like before surgery and they put you to sleep. You wake up and i can't remember for sure but i had a little sore throat for a day or two. They print you out on printer paper some amazing glossy pictures of your esophagus, stomach, etc. about six or eight pics. I still have the pics. and luckily i just had a little redness from the acid reflux but no ulcer. Ya if you have an ulcer for sure, I would definitely recommend it because they might be able to stop the bleeding or see for sure if you have more than one but as always check with doctor. I've also had the bottom one done too but I was completely asleep because I had surgery also. So that was nothing but I've heard most the time they have the person awake while they do the colonoscopy which could be a different story.
I have been diagnoised with fibro and after a long journey to find out answers found that arthritis and fibro can go hand in hand along with several other conditions. After quite a bit of research on the subject many doctors are mystified by the condition and can't really provide helpful answers or treatment. Although many fibro patients find they can get help from rheumatoligists who treat arthritis. Many of the folks I have read about in my research had to try several doctors before getting one who would take their condition seriously and could actually find a treatment that works for them. It is in many ways a very vague condition which can take alot of testing and trial and error before coming up with a treatment that works. The number of trigger points with tenderness seems to be the main way of identifying fibro as but some of those same points can be spots where one could also experience the pain of arthritis. Also, there can be differences from day to day and situation to situation that can trigger a more severe symptoms. I have been blessed to thus far have a mild case on a regular basis but stress, illness changes in regular routine can trigger a more severe case of pain and fatigue. Many days my pain feels joint related but my Doc (who I trust) says it can be referred from the muscles. If you have not done any research on fibro there are several good books on the subject. I went to my local borders and Barnes and Noble and spent an afternoon just browsing the books on the subject. Some are too "technical" but there some that proved to be quite helpful. The Arthritis Foundation has a couple on the subject that were helpful as well as the one Fibromyalgia for Dummies was pretty easy to read with good info. I don't know that your Doc is not telling you the truth but it is a complicated condition to diagnois and find a treatment that works. It is not a cut and dry condition and many Docs still don't really view it as an actual condition. Don't get discouraged and if you don't have confidence in your Doc there are resources that can put you in touch with Docs who can help with fibro. Good luck in finding an answer and don't give up searchng for relief of your symptoms!
your case sounds similar to mine, I also have fibro and arthritis, pain in my elbows,knees, feet, and the legs are the worst, sometimes the pressure on my thighs just from sitting on a chair is terrible.the best way I have found to sleep is in a reclining possition on my back with lots and lots of pillows under my arms knees etc. Im no princess, but I sure can relate to to the princess and the pea story! any little rumple under my body when I sleep feels like a rock! I've tried Lyrica, which helps some, mobic helped for a couple weeks ,now trying tramodol with lyrica Find a dr. that takes U seriously, and keep trying dif meds till U get relief,its true every case is diff, good luck, and may God help U find help in your situ, dont give up!
Instead of buying an expensive bed; I got a 4 inch egg crate from a medical supply company. The ins. company will pay for it too. It feels like your sleeping in a cloud. I cannot sleep in any bed or couch. Its tooo painful. The egg crate does wonders. My stomach has a bad ulcer! I have been procrastinating on the camera down the throat gig. I am so sick of drs and dentists! At least the dentist project is over.! Actually my pain meds that I am on now help with every painful nic and cranny there is. I am 45 and my body started breaking down at the age 39. It happened in one day! I swear!! loopi