[snowflower]

hi
i am new to this board. i have been diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome..my doctor has me on a few meds since i also have sero negative arthritis and tendinitis/plus nerve pain.
the main problem i am having is alot of pain in my neck and shoulders which are casuing headaches..by the letters i have seen on this board alot of people share the same symptoms.
i am having a hard time getting doctors to rpescribe pain meds for the really bad periods i go thru
does anyone else hae that problem?

[Darlene]

Snowflower,

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. Great to see you have come to be with us. You will find a great number of caring, supporting members here willing to help each other as they can.

You could into this link to find some others to assist you.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...ome#post146679

Again welcome, looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene

[MooseasaurusRex]

One big, warm, tight, hug, handshake, and howdy, moose-size official type welcome to the site. This place is amazing!

I'm not familiar with your diagnosis but there are many here who are. So remember:

You are not alone.
You are one of us.
And we are here to help.

[ali12]

Hey,
Welcome to Neurotalk, if you need anything just ask, I will try and help you if I can.
Sorry about what you are going through
Take care

[Kristi]

Hi,Snowflower welcome to NT I hope you like it here I sure do this is a great place.

[braingonebad]

Originally Posted by snowflower

hi
i am new to this board. i have been diagnosed with myofascial pain syndrome..my doctor has me on a few meds since i also have sero negative arthritis and tendinitis/plus nerve pain.
the main problem i am having is alot of pain in my neck and shoulders which are casuing headaches..by the letters i have seen on this board alot of people share the same symptoms.
i am having a hard time getting doctors to rpescribe pain meds for the really bad periods i go thru
does anyone else hae that problem?

Welcome aboard!

I have spinal doisorders and also have had trouble getting pain meds.

My neuro will RX anti seizure meds and ADs to treat the pain, muscle relaxers, that kind of stuff, but no pain meds. PCPs won't do it either anymore. And they will not come out and say that, they make you wonder why you can't have them.

I figure you have to see a pain management clinic for that sort of thing these days. PM will do more than pills though - I'm not familiar with MPS, so I can't say what they'd do for you. Check Spinal Disorders forum, and see if others have the same thing, and what they can tell you.

I have had ESIs to help with my sx, and next the PM doc wants to try diagnostic facet joint injections. My neuro thinks he (PM doc) should do pain meds for me, so I asked him to contact the pain guy on my behalf. We'll see about that.

I do get topamax for migraine prevention, relpax and zanaflex that's it for now.

I know, it's tough. Over 10 years in constant pain w/o meds and it's enough to make ya crazy.

Good luck, and keep us posted, okay?

[MSCherokee]

Hi Snowflower and welcome to NT!

[AfterMyNap]

Hi, Snowflower! Welcome to NeuroTalk!

Cool screen name!

I see that Dar has offered you a link to get started, so I'll add that you are welcome to join in anywhere, and do let us know if we can assist you in any way.

[gizmogirl]

hi, welcome to a caring bunch of people whom I wish I had known about years ago. I have a rare chronic pain problem called central sensitization, which you can get only when you have severe somatic pain that is not treated for more than a year, in which even if the original pain is taken away, the nerves have set up a pain generator that is perpetual and recruits other nerves to make it even worse. I have lots of tiny holes in my brain MRI's from the migraine-like brain inflammation that regularly ensues (migraine drugs DO help a bit since they are cerebral vasoconstrictors, but migraine preventatives do not work). If you are getting inflammation of the meninges with your headaches, you should try a cerebral vasoconstrictor like Relpax (more modern than imitrex), and preventatives if you have migraines, a tendency for which is inherited.
You need to get a pain doctor to prescribe medications that are strong enough to let you function without making you a zombie. Sometimes opiates are the only thing.
For you to get either the migraine meds or the pain killers, you should keep a diary, even if you just print off a calendar off the internet and write a few abbreviations per day. You should say what your pain level was for how many hours, anything you did that kicked it off (this may also document how disabling your pain is), anything unusual about that day (Eg great day! had slept well and moved bowels and drank extra water yesterday...don't we all wish it were that simple!).
Gather your "objective as possible data", and go to nytimes.com and search "jane brody pain management" for the articles she has written over the past year or so on statistics for how undertreated pain is and how to get treated right - especially read her own all-too-common experience with breakthrough pain relievers rather than pain relievers after her knee surgery. Many doctors will listen to someone of her stature. I think you can google her but you might get too many extraneous references.
Armed now with your diary and informed by Jane Brody and with quotes and stats, you can better find out why your doc doesn't feel comfortable giving you pain killers - maybe he has the valid concern that you are not yet diagnosed with enough specificity - is your nerve pain neuropathic? Can the doctor or the specialist who documented your myofascial pain either prescribe, recommend prescriptions, or refer you to a doctor who can?
By specifically asking, you can sometimes get them to put you on the right road to treatment.
Good luck and keep posting to these people - there are people who know a LOT more than me, and maybe just haven't seen you yet.
Jane

[KajunButterfly]

Hi SnowFlower and welcome!