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Suggest Treatment For Severe Body Pain Caused By Lupus And Fibromyalgia

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Posted on Fri, 20 Jan 2017
Question: I would like to talk to a doctor regarding pain management. I have Lupus and Fibromyalgia. I'm at a 7 out of 10 for pain. Please help!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (36 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
There are many issues on pain.

Detailed Answer:
First the quality of the pain tells not only the likely aetiology of the pain but also what medications and procedures are likely to work. For example, Lupus is hot, inflammatory pain of the joints so quite a long list of immune dampening drugs would be reasonable to try.
Fibromyalgia is an ache in areas that are predisposed to get pain. Therapies to modulate the feeling of pain overall are quite effective. Mostly, causing pain such as with intense exercise (built up over weeks to months) is quite effective in modulating pain.
Particular areas of the pain would imply particular aggravating factors that can be addressed.
Obviously, things that make it worse or better would be things that indeed make it worse and better and that directly implies what can be done (or avoided).
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (8 minutes later)
Okay. My hands and feet feel like needles poking from the inside out. My shoulders and neck are so tense with deep constant aching pain. And, lastly, I have a head ache right at the top of my head X 3 days. Please help!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (2 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
ah.. that type of pain.

Detailed Answer:
Ok, tingling, needles, at the ends of nerves. This is certainly a nerve pain from sick nerves. It might be lupus or fibromyalgia but it is also more commonly associated with diabetes, or thyroid (also alcohol, lead poisoning, or b12 deficiency but they are not common unless you already know you have them). There are good treatments for those conditions and there are also a lot of treatments for the pain itself. Any medicine that damps down nerves is likely to work. There is amitryptiline, lyrica, gabapentin, among several others that are similar to those.

tension issues are pretty common. Generally trying one treatment first to see if that worked on others would be the usual course. So, while muscle relaxants, tylenol and a variety of other mild drugs and several procedures help tension in the upper body, I would go with one thing first (like the medicines outline above all of which often also work on tension).
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (8 minutes later)
I have taken gabapentine and amitryptiline before and have had great results. How do I get an Rx? I have been taking ibuprofen and alternating heat and ice. Sadly, I'm not getting good results. What else could I try?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (4 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
ok, sounds like a plan

Detailed Answer:
gabapentin and amitryptiline are inexpensive and are not controlled substances. We do not prescribe on this particular site. Furthermore someone with lupus would need regular check ups.
So, would recommened you have a regular doctor. The medicines mentioned would not be problems.
Then, exercise , rather a lot of it, is generally recommended, but the risks of it have to be assessed by one's regular doctor.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (1 hour later)
Thank you for your help. I do exercise as often as possible. I also have a 9 year old that I chase around. Always wears me out! I think that energy is wasted on our youth and should be kept for us old people!
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman (15 hours later)
Brief Answer:
It's.....complicated.

Detailed Answer:
The hallmark of human consciousness is that integration of multiple hierarchical levels simultaneously.
You have the experience, but then you have the reaction to the experience, and indeed you have how you feel about your reaction to the experience.
So, putting all the bad (pain, tiredness, forlorness) into the larger context that regular exercise is therapeutic, it prevents lots of bad in the future, there are reasons for feeling this way and the feelings will improve after the exercise all work well in this context to improve...well... absolutely everything.
Furthermore, happiness is simply a first order slope function>i.e. it is a change in circumstance not the circumstance itself. So directed misery (i.e., exercise) results in much happiness (when NOT doing the exercise; less cynically, when it produces increased stamina, improved muscle coordination, lower risk of heart disease, etc.).

Happy to help out. Not just yelling at me because I didn't immediately fix things speaks boatloads about you that will really help you out in the future!
Note: For further information on diet changes to reduce allergy symptoms or to boost your immunity, Ask here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Dr. Matt Wachsman

Addiction Medicine Specialist

Practicing since :1985

Answered : 4214 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Severe Body Pain Caused By Lupus And Fibromyalgia

Brief Answer: There are many issues on pain. Detailed Answer: First the quality of the pain tells not only the likely aetiology of the pain but also what medications and procedures are likely to work. For example, Lupus is hot, inflammatory pain of the joints so quite a long list of immune dampening drugs would be reasonable to try. Fibromyalgia is an ache in areas that are predisposed to get pain. Therapies to modulate the feeling of pain overall are quite effective. Mostly, causing pain such as with intense exercise (built up over weeks to months) is quite effective in modulating pain. Particular areas of the pain would imply particular aggravating factors that can be addressed. Obviously, things that make it worse or better would be things that indeed make it worse and better and that directly implies what can be done (or avoided).