Hi, I am from North Central Texas. I have been taking anti-inflamatories for cronic pain from fibromyalgia and arthritis. Now due to the meds I have bleeding ulcers that has made me very anemic. Any suggestions for help in keeping down pain and swelling; and to help with the anemia? Thank you.

Hi tuani and welcome to NeuroTalk. Here is the link to our Fibro forum....

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum12.html

I'm glad you have joined us.

I had the same problem quite awhile back -- ulcer from anti-inflammatories (I don't think mine was bleeding, but, it sure hurt).

Make sure to get yourself tested for Helicobacter pylori. The current wisdom is that that's responsible for a lot more ulcers than ever thought possible.

Now -- the drugs. I was on anti-inflammatories (ibuprofen -- 800 mg 3 times per day for over ten years). What they don't tell you is this class of drugs will leach calcium out of your bones.

Every time I took an ibuprofen, I also took an omeprazole. Come to find out that also leaches calcium out of the bones. The omeprazole kept me from EVER getting an ulcer again from an anti-inflammatory.

An anti-inflammatory is not going to do a bloody thing for fibro. I've had fibromyalgia since early 1990.

Initially, I took Prozac. That took the 'sharpness' off the fibro and kept me sane and able to work full-time.

Then came a different class of drugs -- SNRIs -- Cymbalta, Effexor XR. These (for me) knock the pain out totally.

SSRIs (Prozac and Paxil) and SNRIs (Cymbalta, Effexor XR) are VERY-VERY addictive. You can go into withdrawals just from skipping a few doses of a few days' worth of pills -- for me this has happened due to weather problems and actually being able to get to the pharmacy in the winter.

Stopping these drugs has to be an EXTREMELY SLOW taper or you will end up with MONTHS worth of brain zaps.

That said, the drugs are useful tools, because the alternative is intolerable.

Now, as to the arthritis. I have osteoarthritis in my spine in addition to some crumbling architecture and some flawed design work by the original creator ( ). If you take long-term anti-inflammatories, you risk ending up with osteopenia or osteoporosis. Speaking from my own experience-- I'm not a doctor -- I would try not to take these drugs very often.

I ***** (to myself) all the time that I haven't been given *BETTER* drugs for pain control. But, I am seeing over-time the logic and the wisdom behind this.

There's a lot to be said for actually having to LIVE WITH the pain. I never in a million years ever thought that I would say that. I am a person that has an extremely hard time coping with chronic pain when combined with problems in the psyche. For me to actually say "learn to live with it" is unbelievable. I'm actually aghast that I'm saying it

Somebody a long long time ago (from Mass. General, I think) said that if you take a drug for a headache, it doesn't just work on the headache, it affects your entire body. True-true.

These drugs -- Prozac, Paxil, Cymbal, Effexor XR, yah-dah, yah-dah actually change the wiring and the chemistry of your brain PERMANENTLY.

Looking back at my life, I had no other choice than to take these drugs because I would not have survived without them. But, if I were younger and had the knowledge that I have now, I would take a second and a third look before starting any long-term drug.

There are a lot of things to ease chronic pain -- biofeedback, relaxation techniques, Reikki, Therapeutic Touch, swimming, heat, ice, exercise, getting your weight down to normal, religion, strength-of-will.

We, as consumers of medical services, need to keep ourselves really smart and educated and up-to-date about what's available to help us, how that 'thing' (whether a drug or a technique) is going to affect us long-term.

Welcome to NeuroTalk. Very BIG, soft, gentle hugs. You're gonna like it here. Fantastic people. We tend here at NeuroTalk not to stay confined in our own little home forum, we tend to wander and to support someone who needs it, but also to find out what's going on around us and to just feel part of a huge Cyber family. You're gonna like it here.

Oh, finally -- fibromyalgia -- you're gonna have to learn how to live an entirely different life with this disease. The most important thing in your life is YOU. You HAVE TO sleep enough and well or you will not be able to function. When I was still working, I took "mental health days" just so I could sleep -- you HAVE TO. Take good care of that body of yours.

Barb

PS: I like to do medical. I've got a bunch of bookmarks about fibro: http://public.murl.com/moose53/HEALT...TIGUE_SYNDROME (press the [page-down] key once to get to the appropriate section.

Yes, unfortunately, one of the problematic side effects of taking that kind of medication over time is the possibility of stomach damage. And with that often goes the possibility of nutrient malabsorption, which is certainly not going to help any other conditions you have.

This may be the time to consider supplementing with certain vitamins and minerals. Some essential fatty acids from fish oil to help the mucosal membranes of your gastric tract, and some of the B-vitmains, perhaps.

We have a lot of info on this sort of thing over at the Vitamin and Mineral forum:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum49.html

I appreciate your inputs Alfie, Barbara and Glenn. I have realised the having to live with it of fibro; not the many ill effects on the body of the drugs given for the pains. Fibro is rampant in my family so more than just me will benefit by being here to learn more. At this stage of my life the only exercise I am able to do is swim and that hasn't been easy finding a pool in the winter. Our only health club with a pool went bankrupt about four years ago and none have replaced it yet. I moved into a Senior community after my house was flooded by the June floods in North Texas. There is a pool there to use when the weather gets warm enough again. I am sure the doctor will take me off the inflamatories when I go in tomorrow. I am one that was raised up on aspirin for every pain; which changed to other pain meds after I became adult. So I am surprised that it has taken this long for ulcers to show up. My Mother lived with pain all her life and wasn't aware of the effect of aspirin and other meds. I will check out the links that were given me and keep checking in for more info; and to help when I have something I know will help. I'm very happy that I ran across NeuroTalk in my search today. May all of you be blessed.

Lynda

welcome lynda. i'm from north texas too.

let me know if you need any help around here.

Hi, Tuani! Welcome to NeuroTalk!

Ulcers are no picnic, I'm sorry you're fighting this additional condition. You've received some good tips on where to get started, so I'll just add that you should fee free to join in anywhere and let us know if you want a little help navigating the forums.

Thank you, Curious. I am in the Sherman/Denison area.

Thank you, cindy.

Hi Lynda!! I feel really bad for you. I also suffer from FM and have to be careful of what to take. So many things bother my stomach also.

Barb said it quite well in her post. FM is so unpredictable. When the barometer changes, I flare BIG time. It's just something that we have to try to live w/every day. I take EffexorXR and it helps, but also have Tramadol to take the edge off when the pain is escalating.

Take care and hope you get some relief.