Posted by Quintal on March 26, 2008, at 15:43:59
I've just been talking this over with my social worker today and she's going to put it to the pdoc and ask him to make a referral to a special CFS/Fibro centre where they do tests. To be honest it's one of those newer diagnoses that I've tended to half-dismiss as faddy or psychosomatic. Afterall, I wake up most days aching from head to toe and have no energy, and I don't have fibromyalgia.... but over the last few weeks I've started to think that maybe I do. Or rheumatoid arthritis - the pain is that bad. On Monday I hardly dared move because I felt so rotten. I've come to realize that chronic muscle tension/pain is one of the factors behind my prediliction to painkillers and benzos. Of course I've known this for a while, but I've never bothered approaching any of my doctors about it because they didn't belieive I really had bipolar, never mind a borderline 'fake' syndrome like fibromyalgia. I just thought I would be wasting my time and probably getting deeper into the malingerer black-books, and who knows, I probably still am. Nevertheless I have someone to fight my corner now, and she told me she'd just made a referral for another patient for the same condition. Fingers crossed.
I'd like to try Lyrica because:
a) It's approved for treating fibro symptoms in the US.
b) Isn't approved for treating fibro symptoms in UK, but:
c) Is approved for treating generalized anxiety, which I also have a fair dose of, and:
d) Has mild mood stablizing and antidepressant properties (therefore useful for treating bipolar symptoms, although not yet licensed or widely accepted for this purpose).
e) Improves sleep quality and has low abuse potential (doesn't bother me, but should be a seller to pdoc).
So really it would seem like a logical choice given that I've tried nearly everything else. I've learned to expect the worst though, and when I suggested it at the last appointment pdoc ignored my suggetsion as it has no license for bipolar yet. It's such an effort to get him to think in terms of more than one diagnosis (I was hoping he would recognize that it *does* have a license for GAD, and prescribe it for that, but he seemed to have forgotten about my severe anxiety and I just didn't have the energy to contradict him). Alternatively, he suggested Depakote at the last appointment, which is vaguely similar in that it reduces neuropathic pain and acts on GABA in some way that I've forgotten. Maybe I'll have to settle for second best, at lest for a while.
Q
poster:Quintal
thread:820007
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20080316/msgs/820007.html