http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:08:09 +0000 60 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/33546-post-exercise-leg-pain/
Most people here know that I had a bug chew up portions of my brain, peripheral nerves, digestive system, sinuses, and possibly my pancreas... but most don't know that I was born with some congenital cardiovascular issues, the worst of which were corrected by surgery... but God knows what went wrong in the periphery.

Basically, I've found out that after doing aerobic exercise, I have to remain standing or walking for about 10 minutes post-exercise. If I sit down with my feet on the floor, I have minor pain in the shins. If I recline and have my legs in line with my body, I have The Worst Shin Splint-Type Pain Ever™ in both of my legs. Seems as if I have an exercise recovery issue.


So I just want to know if anybody has had similar issues with post-exercise pain that's dependent upon posture....]]> Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:08:09 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/33546-post-exercise-leg-pain/ http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/33332-sciatic-nerve-pain/
Four days later, I woke up and the same thing happened again. I went to health services on campus and they referred me to a physical therapist. I was scheduled that day and put in as an emergency patient. The nurse practitioner was going to give me flexeril, but it interacted with my quetiapine so she withheld it. Physical therapy began with having a heated pad on my back and then getting up on my shoulders and then back down again.

About 4-5 days after that, I woke up again with the chronic pain. Physical therapy had to go 2 steps back to the basic techniques for me, since I couldn't bend, walk properly, or twist my back.

Anyway, I've been taking Tylenol, and my mom bought me some Aleve when she visited me today on campus. She said the doctors in the orthopedic surgery department suggest Aleve for inflammation (she's a medical assistant). This hasn't really been cutting it, since I still walk with a limp, and I have trouble bending over, not to mention that whenever I take painkillers, my stomach feels like it's going to explode and I get bad pain.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for me. My dad had the same problem (back issues run in my family) and was out of work for 2 months.]]> Sun, 25 Oct 2009 00:51:42 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/33332-sciatic-nerve-pain/ http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/33324-frustrated/
I'm not on anything for fibromyalgia at the moment because I went for almost a year in remission, which led me to believe that maybe it had all been caused by stress and depression (I was in denial). Well, fibromyalgia is back with a vengeance now and I'm frustrated to see that the FDA-approved meds for it are two SNRIs and Lyrica. To me it looks like all the meds being approved seem to be as bad as just suffering through it.

Back when my diagnosis was depression and my doctor was beginning to suspect fibromyalgia, I took Cymbalta for just over a month. When I say I took it, I should say it took me... through whirling storms of agony in my brain, from racing suicidal thoughts to crippling vertigo and more. I've seldom felt "crazier" than I did on Cymbalta. My doctor didn't have me taper slowly enough, so the withdrawal was almost worse than being on it in the first place. I know antidepressants make some people with bipolar hypo/manic, but I think it's more accurate to say Cymbalta triggered a mixed episode. (My reaction to antidepressants, several that I tried over a few years, is one of the reasons my pdoc changed my diagnosis.) Since Savella is also an SNRI, I'm terrified to try it. Cymbalta is not the only SNRI I've tried -- Effexor was just as horrendous for me. The thought of taking a similar med is daunting at best, but maybe if I were on a mood stabilizer at the same time it wouldn't be as bad...? I know every drug in a class won't work the same way but I'm honestly scared to go through that anguish again.

Lyrica is just a different formula of what's in Neurontin, isn't it? Neurontin was OK. It stopped my clothes from hurting my skin (tactile allodynia), I slept through the night, and it even helped with anxiety. On the down side, it made me forget words, which I consider a reason not to take it as I'm a writer/editor. Racing thoughts were no longer a problem -- I was lucky if my thoughts would even crawl. I put on weight, but I guess most meds do that. *sigh* For fibromyalgia I ended up being on generic Neurontin along with Flexeril PRN (because Neurontin did nothing at all for the muscle pain, just the allodynia and sleep disturbances), while taking Lamictal for BP. (I'm wondering if Neurontin and Lamictal combined just made the language problems worse.)

So this leads me to my questions. Has anyone here with bipolar disorder tried Savella (aka milnacipran) without hypo/mania or mixed episodes? I know not everyone will react the same way to it, but I'm wondering how it compares to the other SNRIs. Has anyone had experience with both Lyrica and Neurontin? Is Lyrica as likely to give you the stupids, the sleepies, and 20 extra pounds? I know every med has side effects, but honestly, I'm already fatigued and need to lose some weight, so I don't need any more of that, thanks.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.]]> Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:47:00 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/33324-frustrated/ http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/33323-lamictal-and-chronic-pain/
However... it's also supposed to increase muscle pain. I've noticed a lot of soreness lately... but I'm not sure if I should chalk that up to the Lamictal or the surge of neuropathic pain I've experienced recently.

Anyone else have any tips for managing chronic pain + Lamictal?]]> Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:58:05 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/33323-lamictal-and-chronic-pain/ http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/32842-as-if-a-crappy-childhood-wasnt-enough/ I was diagnosed with a tethered spinal cord when I was 24.
That's a congenital spinal birth defect in the family of Spinal Bifida.

My entire left side is 1/2 inch smaller and shorter then my right side, and because my parents were MY parents, it went untreated until I was 24.
The physical strain of being lop-sided has caused my right ankle, right knee, right hip, and right shoulder to grow in deformed. On top of that, the strain has cause arthritis in my hip, knee, tail bone, and neck.
Then, do to the stress of being lop-sided, my joints sometimes pop out of place with no provocation.

So to some it up...I hurt really bad almost all the time.

Mix that with the physical pain that comes with depression and anxiety....

3 years ago I tried a great experiment to see if food was causing some of my pain. It took 10 months, but I cut out all artificial additives and preservatives. Then I cut out soda completely. Then I did an herbal body cleanse and for 1 week I was completely pain free. It was amazing.
Then I got pregnant and my life took a shit, which means my diet took a shit too.

I'm really struggling to get back on track.
But now I'm starting to wonder just how much of my pain is caused by my mental status.]]> Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:40:50 +0000 http://www.crazyboards.org/forums/index.php/topic/32842-as-if-a-crappy-childhood-wasnt-enough/