This is topic My Drug of Choice in forum Books, Films, Food and Culture at Hatrack River Forum.


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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 
... is definitely Ibuprofen. Oh, mystery of mysteries, I call blessings upon whomever first introduced your preciousness unto the world.

Serious pain relief without mental status compromise. Lovely.
 

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Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
 
that's my second choice. the first being chocolate.
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
I hate using drugs as a general rule, but there's always that one special time of recurring-interval when that lovely little ibuprofen just makes life 800% easier.

I keep trying to not use it, but every single time I chicken out and give in.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
Aleve is about the only thing that works for me.

Aleve is magical.

-pH
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 
Novocaine. Without it, dentistry would be intolerable.

But I also admit being partial to the Ultram. And the Excedrin. Both of these have allowed me to go to work and carry on as usual, where otherwise I'd be miserable at home.
 

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Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
 
Until I found my self needing a lifetime coumadin fix, Asprin was THE wonder drug. Those Germans really knew their pain.
EDIT. Oh, the Aztecs were in there too, with Chocoloqule.
 

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Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
 
Excedrin. Headache reliever and energy enhancer in one. I'm just trying not to fall into the trap of taking one every morning. (But when you have a headache every morning, what're you gonna do?)
 

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Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by JennaDean:
Excedrin. Headache reliever and energy enhancer in one. I'm just trying not to fall into the trap of taking one every morning. (But when you have a headache every morning, what're you gonna do?)

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quote:

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Artemisia Tridentata

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quote:

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Originally posted by Annie:
I hate using drugs as a general rule, but there's always that one special time of recurring-interval when that lovely little ibuprofen just makes life 800% easier.

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quote:

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Originally posted by JennaDean:
Excedrin. Headache reliever and energy enhancer in one. I'm just trying not to fall into the trap of taking one every morning. (But when you have a headache every morning, what're you gonna do?)

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quote:

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Originally posted by Megan:
Naproxin has made me a bit nervous ever since my mom found out that it may have contributed to her ulcerated colon. She had been taking pretty regularly for arthritis, though, so that may have affected things.

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Naproxin does carry a significant risk for ulcers, but so does ibuprofin. That risk is a serious concern for people who are taking it daily for arthritis. Its much less of a concern if you take it once a month because your a woman.
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 
There is also a relatively common form of daily headache that is transformed from intermittant migraine. If you have a migraine history and currently have daily headaches, some of the migraine prophylaxis therapy (such as beta-blockers) might be appropriate and helpful.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
*wonders what the heck AT, Annie, and Rabbit are off about*

*Googles*

*is enlightened*

Cool. We'll cal that my Thing I Learned Today.
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by The Rabbit:
Naproxin does carry a significant risk for ulcers, but so does ibuprofin.

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The risk is definitely there for Ibuprofen, but I thought it was even moreso for the second generation ([not] the COX-II inhibitors) ones, like Naproxen. I will go look.

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Correction: I was thinking of Flurbiprofen (Ansaid), not Naproxen.

Carry on!

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Edited again to add: If you are taking any of these on a regular basis, you should be considered for simultaneous protective therapy such as omeprazole, lansoprazole, misoprostol, or other medications. These decrease the effect of stomach acid through one mechanism or another, and there are ongoing studies with preliminary data out.

[ March 05, 2007, 08:15 PM: Message edited by: ClaudiaTherese ]
 

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Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
 
I know that intellectually, Rabbit...but I'm still nervous about it.

I, um, don't actually take monthly pain relievers because I don't have the problem that would require them. On the rare occasion that I do have a headache, I tend to take tylenol.

Edit: When they found the ulcer, my mom told me about it by calling me post colonoscopy and saying, "Guess what: I got a tattoo! ...on my colon."

Apparently, they tattoo the ulcer to make sure it doesn't get any larger.
 

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Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
 
Any idea what side effects are there if you take acetaminophen at the same time as ibuprofen for a short period of time?
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
I wish there were pain killers that worked well for me. Ibuprofen is good for mild stuff like headaches or mild migraines, but that's about it. When the migraines are bad, or the cramps are bad, nothing touches it. But I guess it doesn't help that I get projectile vomiting, so the painkillers don't have time to get into my system to make an attempt at working.

*sigh* This is normal for me. Painkillers work for six months or so, then it's time to find a new one.
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Mucus:
Any idea what side effects are there if you take acetaminophen at the same time as ibuprofen for a short period of time?

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quote:

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Originally posted by quidscribis:
But I guess it doesn't help that I get projectile vomiting, so the painkillers don't have time to get into my system to make an attempt at working.

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quote:

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Had you considered using rectal formulations?

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quote:

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Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese:
... is definitely Ibuprofen.

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quote:

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Originally posted by JennaDean:
Excedrin. Headache reliever and energy enhancer in one. I'm just trying not to fall into the trap of taking one every morning. (But when you have a headache every morning, what're you gonna do?)

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JennaDean, acetaminophin (Tylenol) gives me a headache the next day. It's apparently not that uncommon a side effect. I wonder if this could be why you get a headache every morning? Excedrin has caffeine (which also can cause a withdrawal headache), acetaminophin, and aspirin.

CT, I have to take some sort of anti-inflammatory now to be able to move. I took Vioxx until it was pulled off the market, then Celebrex and then Mobic until they each in turn started giving me swelling in the hands and feet, and cardiovascular symptoms (angina) (oh, and high blood pressure). So I stopped all that but still must have an anti-inflammatory. I take regular Alka-Seltzer, about 2 tablets a day (630 mg of aspirin, I think) but my doctor doesn't like me doing that because I have had anemia lately and he thinks it's some form of g.i. bleeding (though we have no evidence for that other than the anemia).

I can't take Aleve cause it gives me horrible abdominal pains (the kind where you are doubled over and can't move).

What can I take?

[ March 06, 2007, 01:59 AM: Message edited by: Tatiana ]
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 
a break, amiga!
 

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
Naproxen also wreaks havoc with my digestive system (I'm already taking prevacid). However, I have to take it with my shoulder. It helps, but every few days, my abdominal cavity mandates that I stop for a couple days.

*scowl*

My pcp nixed ultram because it has the potential to interact negatively with my psych meds.

*double scowl*

So I'm open to suggestions as well!

Though, I became a fan of a six day course of predisone when it killed my headache problems. I wouldn't want to repeat it, but it really fixed the problem.
 

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Posted by JennaDean (Member # 8816) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by rivka:

quote:

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Originally posted by JennaDean:
Excedrin. Headache reliever and energy enhancer in one. I'm just trying not to fall into the trap of taking one every morning. (But when you have a headache every morning, what're you gonna do?)

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See a doctor.

Seriously. Daily headaches are definitely not a good thing, and could be a sign of something serious.

Most likely they're not, and you should be discussing with your doctor alternatives to that daily Excedrin. Starting, perhaps, with methods of weaning yourself off the caffeine you're probably addicted to. (And caffeine withdrawal can cause headaches -- quite possibly the reason for the vicious cycle you've got going.)

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This is so funny, because in every other aspect of my life I avoid caffeine. No coffee, no Coke, not even Barq's root beer. But yeah, I'm starting to wonder why these headaches won't go away (3 weeks now, every day) and if I'm actually making them worse by taking caffeine every day. Not a lot, usually just one or two Excedrin over the course of the day - but wouldn't that be ironic? Headaches from caffeine addiction which I get SOLELY from the headache medicine?
 

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Posted by RunningBear (Member # 8477) on :
 
When I'm sick (now) nothing works but nyquil, but it has the unfortunate side effect of making me hallucinate.
 

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
Some would say that's not an unfortunate side effect.

(I am not one of those people)
 

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Posted by Launchywiggin (Member # 9116) on :
 
Adrenaline.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
Right now, Mucinex is my drug of choice. I can feel that chest congestion has been trying to get worse for the past week or so. I've kept it at bay so far, but I woke up tonight with breathing issues. Work faster, Mucinex! I need my sleep!

Mucinex and Zyrtec, in case the problem is something in my house instead of something in my lungs.

-pH
 

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Posted by Mucus (Member # 9735) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese:
There is no problem with doing this, so far as I am aware. Not only do they work via separate mechanisms, but one is detoxed by the liver and the other eliminated via the kidney.

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Thanks, thats one little worry off my plate
 

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Posted by Primal Curve (Member # 3587) on :
 
I want a new drug
One that won't make me sick;
One that won't make me crash my car;
Or make me feel three feet thick.
 

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Posted by Shan (Member # 4550) on :
 
Drug of choice . . . depends on time of day, day of week, and locale.

Coffee versus tea.

Wine versus beer.

Yoga versus aerobics.

Chocolate versus long, hot bubble bath. Although the latter is easily combined with chocolate, candles, and wine.

Fuzzy socks vs. bare toes.

Chewing gum vs. illicit cigarette.

So many choices. So little time. *grin*
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Tatiana:
What can I take?

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I don't know. I expect you and your healthcare professionals have explored all the options and are still at a loss -- and in that case, it would be extreme hubris for me to pretend to have answers to fix the problem.

There is a subgroup of patients who seem to have difficulty in finding treatment for problems of many various sorts. They are usually women -- which makes me wonder if there is an autoimmune component, because we know many of those disorders tend to track along with sex -- and they find that their bodies are hyper-responsive to medications of widely different kinds, that they have unexpected and unexplained reactions and side effects, and they may be prone to systemic and hard-to-prove complaints which are, nonetheless, quite real (and such complaints tend to be characteristic of autoimmune disorders as well, such as pain and fatigue, which again makes me wonder about an autoimmune component).

I don't know if you fall into that group, but if you do, I expect you've found that physicians and other healthcare professionals have been markedly unhelpful in alleviating your distress. You may have had to argue with people to establish that yes, there is something wrong, even if it doesn't fit into one of their neat little categories. You may have felt embarrassed and ashamed because you were suspected of faking it or making it up. Or not -- perhaps that just characterizes those who've had the worst experiences.

I think this subgroup is often a funnel toward a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, and/or chronic pain syndrome, and/or depression. How much of that is just a fancy way of saying we don't know what is going on vs. how much is just naming the symptoms (i.e., unremitting pain and fatigue might -- unsurprisingly! -- eventually lead to depression) is something I don't know. I do know that there are some more objective measures that seem to be coming out from the research, such as characteristically disorded brain-wave patterns during sleep. At least that makes some steps toward establishing this as a matter which isn't just "making it up" or "faking it," which is a claim that dogs some people for a long time.

So I guess this is a long way of saying what I said in the beginning: namely, that I trust you and your healthcare providers have been creative and smart and careful in trying to piece through this, and that it is doubtlessly a very real and present problem, and I strongly suspect any pretense on my part that I could do better would be a matter of false pride.

But I can and do wish all the best for you, and I will send you all the very best vibes I have. I wish there was more I could do! I really do fear that level of arrogance in myself, though.
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
Thanks, CT. I just want some new ideas. The doctors haven't been terribly helpful, but I've been able to deal with it fairly well since I discovered that anti-inflammatories fix it. It's just that now I'm running out of anti-inflammatories to take. Aspirin is still working okay, but if I lose it, i'm in trouble.

My C-reactive protein was 5 something one time, then 14.9 the next, so that's another piece of the puzzle.

This all started with a bad virus I got in the summer of 2000, so lately I'm thinking I should try some broad spectrum anti-viral strategies. Are there any of those that you know? Dr. Joey pointed me once to Olive Leaf Extract, but I don't know how that panned out. Any ideas?
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Tatiana:
Thanks, CT. I just want some new ideas.

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Now that I might be able to do!

quote:

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The doctors haven't been terribly helpful, but I've been able to deal with it fairly well since I discovered that anti-inflammatories fix it. It's just that now I'm running out of anti-inflammatories to take. Aspirin is still working okay, but if I lose it, i'm in trouble.

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quote:

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This all started with a bad virus I got in the summer of 2000, so lately I'm thinking I should try some broad spectrum anti-viral strategies. Are there any of those that you know? Dr. Joey pointed me once to Olive Leaf Extract, but I don't know how that panned out. Any ideas?

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quote:

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Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese:
There is a subgroup of patients who seem to have difficulty in finding treatment for problems of many various sorts. They are usually women -- which makes me wonder if there is an autoimmune component, because we know many of those disorders tend to track along with sex -- and they find that their bodies are hyper-responsive to medications of widely different kinds, that they have unexpected and unexplained reactions and side effects, and they may be prone to systemic and hard-to-prove complaints which are, nonetheless, quite real (and such complaints tend to be characteristic of autoimmune disorders as well, such as pain and fatigue, which again makes me wonder about an autoimmune component).

<snip>

I expect you've found that physicians and other healthcare professionals have been markedly unhelpful in alleviating your distress. You may have had to argue with people to establish that yes, there is something wrong, even if it doesn't fit into one of their neat little categories. You may have felt embarrassed and ashamed because you were suspected of faking it or making it up. Or not -- perhaps that just characterizes those who've had the worst experiences.

I think this subgroup is often a funnel toward a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome, and/or chronic pain syndrome, and/or depression.

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Uh, yeah, that's pretty much me, except the docs dismissed the chronic pain & chronic fatigue, and skipped the chronic fatigue symptom entirely and went straight to "it's in your head". But then, you've heard at least some of this from me before.

It looks like mine isn't autoimmune but genetic - defective collagen.


Back when I was 18, I saw a neurologist for my migraines. He asked me a lot of what I thought were odd questions, including ones about my joints being hypermobile and my father's aneurisms. He even asked to see how I walked, which I did. He told me I had Ehlers-Danlos.

Problem was, he didn't tell me anything about it and I had no idea that it had anything at all to do with anything about me other than my migraines & odd joints and my father's aneurisms.

Either he didn't report it back to my family doctor, or my family doctor didn't pay attention. In any case, that was the last I heard of it. I was so young - and naive and trusting - that I didn't research it any further and forgot about it. Heck, it's just joints & migraines, right?

Until Tante Shvester brought it up in another thread a year or so ago, and I started reading about it, and remembered that diagnosis from half my life ago.

And the pattern in me & the family emerges with all these seemingly unrelated symptoms...


I'm still looking for a good rheumatologist here to confirm the diagnosis from two decades ago, but it's looking like this is it for me. It actually fits with everything that was otherwise unexplained. It fits.
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 
That sounds really great, quidscribis. I'm glad you have found some answers.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
Great in the sense that I'm pretty sure it's what's going on and having a label that's accurate can make a difference in treatment and in not being called a hypochondriac and having them at least potentially take me seriously.

Not so great in the sense that there aren't any actual solutions to fix me, other than to treat the symptoms.
 

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Posted by Tatiana (Member # 6776) on :
 
Thanks for the ideas! I'm reading over the pages you linked for ideas. About to fall over right now but I'll post more later. This is just to say thanks, CT!
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 

Sleep tight, sweet heart.
 

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Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
 

quote:

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This is so funny, because in every other aspect of my life I avoid caffeine. No coffee, no Coke, not even Barq's root beer. But yeah, I'm starting to wonder why these headaches won't go away (3 weeks now, every day) and if I'm actually making them worse by taking caffeine every day.

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This is entirely anecdotal, but I got to a point when any caffeine would give me a near-instant headache. I know it's not psychosomatic because on a couple occasions I drank something (usually heretofore untried varieties of Jones Soda ) that I thought was uncaffeinated and got the headache and looked and - hey - what do you know? I haven't had caffeine since except for the time I accidentally drank it in a sports drink in Japan. I got a headache, so I read the ingredients (luckily caffeine is in katakana) and hey - there you go.

So it may wll be the caffeine, if that's the only variable.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
It's usually the absence of caffeine when you have become acclimated to it that causes headaches, I think. But it seems perfectly reasonable that some people would react to (low levels of) caffeine itself with headaches.
 

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Posted by Shanna (Member # 7900) on :
 
I can't stand ibuprofen. Unless I'm dying, I stay clear of the stuff. Unfortunately, its the only stuff available out of the first-aid kit at work and I never think to carry a bottle of Tylenol (my pain-killer of choice.)

But I don't take Tylenol too often either because I'm incredibly sensitive to rebound headaches. Usually I chug water and better manage my sleep and sugar intake for a few days before I go running for my Tylenol Extra-Strength.

And yes, Aleve is the best. My friend was visiting for the weekend and complaining about knee pains. He said he had taken painkillers but they weren't working. I made him try Aleve and a few hours later he was pain-free. He couldn't believe it. I get bad knees during the winter (screwed them up dancing in high school) so I always keep a bottle handy.

My favorite drug though is Actifed. Yeah, I know its not a pain-killer, but it is a miracle worker. I can't find it anymore though. I think it went behind the counter or was reformulated or something. It got me through so many flu and allergy seasons.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
Reformulated.
 

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Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
 
Afrin.

I heart afrin at the moment. it's allowed me to sleep comfortably because I can breathe through my nose.

I have two more days of use left. mmmm...
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by quidscribis:
Until Tante Shvester brought it up in another thread a year or so ago, and I started reading about it, and remembered that diagnosis from half my life ago.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Shanna:
And yes, Aleve is the best. My friend was visiting for the weekend and complaining about knee pains. He said he had taken painkillers but they weren't working. I made him try Aleve and a few hours later he was pain-free. He couldn't believe it. I get bad knees during the winter (screwed them up dancing in high school) so I always keep a bottle handy.

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I get bad knees, too. All of my joints are hypermobile, and usually, it's not a big issue (although it's fun to freak people out with sometimes), but when the weather gets colder, the part under my kneecaps starts aching really badly.

-pH
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
Tante, you are a flanken genius!


pH, if you have hypermobile joints, you might want to get it checked out to make sure it's not anything more serious. I thought mine weren't any big deal either...
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 

quote:

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There is a subgroup of patients who seem to have difficulty in finding treatment for problems of many various sorts. They are usually women -- which makes me wonder if there is an autoimmune component, because we know many of those disorders tend to track along with sex -- and they find that their bodies are hyper-responsive to medications of widely different kinds, that they have unexpected and unexplained reactions and side effects, and they may be prone to systemic and hard-to-prove complaints which are, nonetheless, quite real (and such complaints tend to be characteristic of autoimmune disorders as well, such as pain and fatigue, which again makes me wonder about an autoimmune component).

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This sounds like me! And most of the other women in my family! In addition, we have all kinds of other problems (asthma, pregnancy and period troubles, etc.) and I have weird shooting pains that started around puberty and have gotten steadily worse. We have joint problems, bone problems, allergies... I've been told by several doctors that by process of elimination, some kind of auto-immune thing is the only thing that really makes sense, but I don't have any recognized auto-immune disorder (I've had all the tests.) I think someday they will find out what causes it. Maybe they will name it after my family or something.

Really, though, name a drug and there's someone in my immediate family who can't have it. (Mine are benzodiazepans, one other drug that I can't remember, rubbing alcohol.)
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by quidscribis:
Tante, you are a flanken genius!


pH, if you have hypermobile joints, you might want to get it checked out to make sure it's not anything more serious. I thought mine weren't any big deal either...

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I've had it for, like, ever. I used to be in physical therapy, since that sort of thing becomes a problem if you run track or play basketball seven days a week. They pretty much told me it was because I got really tall really fast. I went from being slightly above-average height to Sasquatch skyscraper in....like, a year or two. But yeah, the physical therapist and my current trainer said it shouldn't be an issue, so long as I'm careful.

-pH
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
I've had it for, like, ever, too, and so has quid, AFAIK.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
Yup, I've had it for forever. You know, what with it being genetic and all. No, seriously, my joints have been hypermobile my entire life. I remember being six or seven and being able to put my feet behind my head. Both. At the same time. For example. And I can touch my thumbs to my wrist. Going in either direction. With both hands. And... the list goes on.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
It's only my knees and ankles. But DCFS got called out several times when my brother was little because he was a rowdy kid with easily dislocated joints and constantly popped his shoulder out of its socket. (Finally his pediatrician gave them a letter to put in the file and they didn't come interview my parents for that any more.)
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
That's not so bad - the knees and ankles bit only. For me, it's... everything. My shoulders have started behaving again, though - I figured out a good pillow arrangement for sleeping, and it's made a huge difference.

My back still has major problems with just about any position. Back in Canada, I had a really really really nice mattress. Firm support with pillow top - gave me the support I needed without it being uncomfortable. I had far fewer joint problems with that mattress.

But here, such mattresses don't exist. People here sleep either on the floor, on a 1" foam mattress, or on a 4" foam mattress. We had a 4" mattress when I first got here, but it was no good for me. So, we searched for a spring mattress - and I do mean searched, since they're really that uncommon here - and got the best we could find. It's better than the foam, but nowhere near as good as the pillowtop I had in Canada.

I'm at the point where my back is bugging me so much that I need to find a pillowtop-like solution. I'm not sure what it's going to be.
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Could you put a pillowtop overlay on top of the mattress? Hard to get, I know, but I bet you could make one, better than nothing...
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
(Occasionally it's my wrists and elbows, too. And I've got severe TMJ problems. But at least my shoulders don't go like my brother's do.)
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
That's what I'm thinking - a pillowtop overlay. But I have to have the necessary materials.

I'm thinking, basically, a quilt, only thicker, and I can sew it on my sewing machine. I'd need thick cotton so it doesn't wear out very fast, and the only kind of stuffing is polyester, unfortunately. Cotton is far better for me - I'm allergic to the unnatural fibres, but even the polyester quilt batting is difficult to get here, and is sold only in very very small quantities at a time.

It would end up costing a fair bit, relatively speaking, and with Fahim being unemployed right now, it's going to have to wait.

But yeah, I've got a plan.


My shoulders were popping out a half dozen to dozen times a night. Not so good. Which also meant that they came out during the day because the ligaments (tendons? I always get them confused) were too stretched. Now, they're not giving me problems at all. Well, relatively speaking.

My hands, though, have been giving me huge grief. Sprained my thumb a couple of months ago, and it's still not healed.
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by quidscribis:
Tante, you are a flanken genius!

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I wonder if that locution will start to catch on.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 

 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
I dislocated my elbow twice when I was very young, so I guess it's possible it started earlier, but no one has mentioned anything more serious than the danger of sports injuries. I've never broken a bone in my life, despite many opportunities (car accidents, falling out of trees, jumping off high structures...). Sometimes (but not very often) I sleep funny, and my hip feels like it's falling apart for a day. What happened to make you guys' joints a more serious issue (beyond dislocating stuff)?

-pH
 

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Posted by Uprooted (Member # 8353) on :
 
At the top of my browser it says:

Hatrack River Forum: My Drug of Choice.

I think there's some truth to that. I mean, here I am, I should be working, I must be addicted, right?

I'm with CT on ibuprofen. I remember my life before it was available OTC . . . truly a miracle drug.

I can't remember who on p.1 mentioned having their jaw wired shut--was that in due to an injury or was it for another reason?

I should have had maxillofacial surgery years ago, but I was chicken, and now I know longer have the insurance to cover it. I have a much smaller lower than upper jaw, and as dentists/orthodontists have explained it to me over the years, the treatment would involve a) braces --which I wore for over too years as a kid and hated, b) surgery--break the jaw, reconstruct it, wire it shut for 6 weeks, and c) more braces.

I know I'd be a heckuva lot better looking if I'd do it, and I know that the misaligned bite will result in periodontal disease, but it sure is hard to want to subject myself to that voluntarily!
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 

quote:

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What happened to make you guys' joints a more serious issue (beyond dislocating stuff)?

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For me, it's just that I'm prone to dislocations and resulting sprains for no reason, during normal activity (walking up a flight of stairs or carrying laundry or a baby, for instance), and they impede my day to day activity.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 
I have issues with injury sometimes, but when I first started running a lot, right around my growth spurt, I was put in physical therapy which partly involved sticking electrodes on the specific muscles that would help prevent me from hurting myself. Maybe that actually made a difference. Have you tried physical therapy?

-pH
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
Like I have money for that.

No, I haven't tried it. I did at one point do some exercises recommended by my dad to strengthen my thighs, because I was walking a lot and my calves were developing faster than my thighs, and it was putting extra strain on my knees, which were dislocating even more than usual. It helped some. But mostly I've been told it's genetic and there's not a lot they can do about it.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 

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What happened to make you guys' joints a more serious issue (beyond dislocating stuff)?

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Have you tried physical therapy?

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For me, it's just that I'm prone to dislocations and resulting sprains for no reason, during normal activity (walking up a flight of stairs or carrying laundry or a baby, for instance), and they impede my day to day activity.

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Yup. Except for the baby bit, yup.

My joints hurt when I'm cutting chicken or chopping vegetables. My thumb dislocates if I hold a pot the wrong way. My back hurts from sweeping, standing... If I have a bad cough, I can (and do) dislocate my ribs. Just walking, I'll dislocate my knee, hips, ankles.

I haven't been able to knit for the past couple of months because of my thumb that dislocated - but in a worse way than normal - and still hurts.
 

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Posted by pH (Member # 1350) on :
 

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Originally posted by ketchupqueen:
Like I have money for that.

No, I haven't tried it. I did at one point do some exercises recommended by my dad to strengthen my thighs, because I was walking a lot and my calves were developing faster than my thighs, and it was putting extra strain on my knees, which were dislocating even more than usual. It helped some. But mostly I've been told it's genetic and there's not a lot they can do about it.

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They told me it wasn't my thigh in general that I needed to worry about...since I played basketball seven days a week (sometimes many hours a day on weekends), my inner thigh muscle needed developing more than the rest of my leg. I needed to work on that "teardrop" muscle that soccer players get. Hence, funky electrode deals that shock the muscle around the inside of the knee. It felt cool.

-pH
 

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Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
 

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Originally posted by quidscribis:
Conditions like EDS are not common - EDS affects between 1 in 5,000 or 20,000 depending on who you talk to - and frequently go undiagnosed for years or decades if they ever get diagnosed at all.

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Originally posted by quidscribis:
That's what I'm thinking - a pillowtop overlay. But I have to have the necessary materials.

I'm thinking, basically, a quilt, only thicker, and I can sew it on my sewing machine. I'd need thick cotton so it doesn't wear out very fast, and the only kind of stuffing is polyester, unfortunately. Cotton is far better for me - I'm allergic to the unnatural fibres, but even the polyester quilt batting is difficult to get here, and is sold only in very very small quantities at a time.

It would end up costing a fair bit, relatively speaking, and with Fahim being unemployed right now, it's going to have to wait.

But yeah, I've got a plan.


My shoulders were popping out a half dozen to dozen times a night. Not so good. Which also meant that they came out during the day because the ligaments (tendons? I always get them confused) were too stretched. Now, they're not giving me problems at all. Well, relatively speaking.

My hands, though, have been giving me huge grief. Sprained my thumb a couple of months ago, and it's still not healed.

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Originally posted by pH:
They told me it wasn't my thigh in general that I needed to worry about...since I played basketball seven days a week (sometimes many hours a day on weekends), my inner thigh muscle needed developing more than the rest of my leg. I needed to work on that "teardrop" muscle that soccer players get. Hence, funky electrode deals that shock the muscle around the inside of the knee. It felt cool.

-pH

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I AM a flanken genius!

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Yes, yes, yes, yes you are!

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quid, My sister in-law has Ehler-Danlos and she has had good success with finger braces that allow her to knit and do other types of hand work without dislocating her finger joints. I will ask her what kind they are and where she got them.

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Thanks, Rabbit. I'd appreciate it. Knowing my luck, they have to be special made and cost a fortune... On the other hand, it might be enough to get pictures off the internet to get some specialist equipment maker person dude guy to make some for me. Maybe. *sigh* I can hope, can't I?
 

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Posted by OMAGAOFTHEALPHA (Member # 10295) on :
 
Oxycotton and morpheme work wonders.
OMAGAOFTHEALPHA
 

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Posted by kojabu (Member # 8042) on :
 
Ibuprofen never works for me, mine is acetamenophin or however you spell it. Other than that, it's caffeine.
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
*snicker* Was that a spammer trying to get us interested in Oxycontin and morphine?


 

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Posted by OMAGAOFTHEALPHA (Member # 10295) on :
 
No I am not a spammer I am a madman.
OMAGAOFTHEALPHA
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
Who can't spell. Gotcha.
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
*laughs* Go, rivka!
 

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Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
 
Yeah, taking on a spambot. Go, me!
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 

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painful joints, fatigue, IBS, asthma, cataracts, periodontal disease, painful problematic periods, light headedness, low blood pressure, headaches & migraines, aneurisms...

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*checks off 8 of the 11*
*marks the other 3 as "family history of"*
 

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Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
 
Hey, kq, that was not, by any means, an exhaustive list. That's just what I thought of off the top of my head, also based on personal or family history - we have all of them. (More specifically, the only one I don't have is aneurisms.)
 

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
I don't have aneurisms, cataracts, or periodontal disease, but some woman or another in my maternal line has all of them.
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 
Of note, it's a list of complaints that are common to many disorders, particularly systemic ones like those with an autoimmune component. For example,

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rheumatoid arthritis: morning stiffness, painful joints, general malaise, weakness, unexplained fluctuations in temperature, weight changes, pain in the muscles, pain in the tendons, inflamed and tender joints

polymyalgia rheumatica: pain and stiffness in the muscles, feeling worse in the early mornings and late at night, stiffness after prolonged sitting, low grade fevers, weight changes, fatigue, depression, decreased range of motion of joints secondary to pain

hypothyroidism: lethargy, generalized weakness, thinning hair, menstrual irregularity and pain, forgetfulness, fullness in throat, weight changes, muscle and joint pain or weakness, inability to concentrate, headaches, constipation, emotional lability or depression, pallor

[paraphrased from eMedicine articles]

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Originally posted by ketchupqueen:
I don't have aneurisms, cataracts, or periodontal disease, but some woman or another in my maternal line has all of them.

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Lupus: low-grade fever, fatigue, malaise, nausea, weight changes, painful joints (often more than would be expected from physical findings), painful or painless ulcers in the mouth), rashes, headaches, sometimes difficulty with memory or reasoning, cough, vague abdominal discomfort

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Fibromyalgia: depression and/or anxiety, headache, irritable bowel syndrome, pain of various areas that is sometimes called "exhausting, burning, miserable, or unbearable," fatigue, poor sleep, difficulties with attention and memory, weight fluctuations, allergic symptoms (eg, nasal congestion), hypersensitivity to environmental stimuli (eg, odors, bright lights, loud noises) and medications, fainting or lightheadedness

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Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
 
CT, I've been tested for everything, and while several doctors have concluded (mostly by process of elimination) that something autoimmune is going on with me (and most of my family), none of them know what it is. I'm okay with that; my symptoms are manageable so far. If they stop being manageable, I'll have to go back for a twenty-fifth opinion, I suppose.

I would add that while it's true that these things are fairly common, I would guess that it's not as common to have MOST of them in ALL the women and some of the men in the last three generations of your family. (We're lucky, though. Cancer and heart disease don't seem to run in our genes.)

On another note, is fibromyalgia recognized as a real disease now? I thought that there were still people who didn't believe in it.
 

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Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
 

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Originally posted by ketchupqueen:
CT, I've been tested for everything, and while several doctors have concluded (mostly by process of elimination) that something autoimmune is going on with me (and most of my family), none of them know what it is.

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I would add that while it's true that these things are fairly common, I would guess that it's not as common to have MOST of them in ALL the women and some of the men in the last three generations of your family.

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Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see this reported -- I'd agree not as common, but still not unusual enough to pick out one thing. But that's an educated guess, not an evidence-based assessment.

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Edited to add:

[By the way, I pointed these out as common not to argue with the hypothesis that they were connected, but rather (and explicitly) to note that they could be connected with any number of things. That is not to imply that there isn't something autoimmune running in your family. Far from it; I am in no position to evaluate you or yours! I just don't think the list picks out any specific disorder, which sounds consistent with what you have already been told.

Additionally, commonality wouldn't rule out any given particular diagnosis, quid's no less than any other. Of course.]

[/end additional edit]

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On another note, is fibromyalgia recognized as a real disease now? I thought that there were still people who didn't believe in it.

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Originally posted by ClaudiaTherese:
Of note, it's a list of complaints that are common to many disorders, particularly systemic ones like those with an autoimmune component. ... Not that it isn't real, just that there is a huge category of disorders with somewhat overlapping symptoms.

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