Guest guest Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 Hello everybody, I thought I'd report on my doctor's appointment today. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and she prescribed Flexeral for that. I was able to get across to her how much pain I have in my lower back and hip. She even looked at it this time. I have been taking Celebrex, but it did almost nothing for my back so she changed it to Naproxen. I've had edema in my feet and legs since Easter, so I asked for a test on my heart which I will be getting in the next few months. Someone asked what medications I was taking for bipolar. I take Lamotrigine, Effexor, Trazodone, Risperdal, Epival. The combination of these could be causing the edema according to the doctor. She wants to get my back pain stabilized before decreasing any of the meds. I was originally on eight meds for bipolar and walked around like a zombie. I changed doctors who took me off three of them so far. I hope this new meds for pain will help. I start them tomorrow so I guess I'll find out then. : - ) Thanks to those who replied to my post, it really meant alot to me. Norma in Genelle, B.C. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2004 Report Share Posted September 22, 2004 Norma, Make sure as you talk to your doctors you let them know that you have already been on those drugs. Even though the primary use is generally for depression/anxiety, some of those drugs are used to minimize pain. I know at various points they have tried me on Effexor and Elival (I am assuming that is a typo in your original message). Especially since those are drugs that take a while to build up in the system and they need to be gradually reduced, I would hate for you to end up back on them to realize what you already know: THEY DON'T HELP YOUR PAIN! Hope you feel better. Bekkah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 23, 2004 Report Share Posted September 23, 2004 There have been studies which show that Effexor and Elavil are two of the anti-depressants which actually can help with pain, although they don't help everyone. Part of the reason is that they target one of the brain's sources of " feeling good " . I know that if I'm getting low on my Effexor and drop just one a day for a week, my pain will get worse. There's some evidence that people with fibro have low amounts of serotonin, which is why anti-d's may help them. The new med for fibro is also an anti-d, named Cymbalta. Years ago, Trazadone, which is an anti-d, was the preferred med for fibro. It's a lousy anti-d, but does help with the sleep problems associated with fibro. The initial clinical studies showed that over 50% of people taking Effexor found that it helped their pain. That's certainly not as many as the number who found Percocet helpful, but it's till a good, valid number. There are also people who have written in to the net saying that Effexor and other anti-d's are no good for pain relief, and they find parts of studies to quote out of context, which gives a false impression about the effects of these meds. I don't think that anti-d's should be the first med of choice for pain, but since pain itself can be depressing, and painkillers are CNS depressants, it makes a lot of sense to add an anti-depressant to counteract those effects, and if adding one, to add one that studies have shown helps some people with their pain. I'd add one more thing; I don't recall any of the studies I've read saying that anti-d's are nearly as effective for pain as narcotics, but for people who can't take narcotics, or are limited in how much they can take, it's a good addition. Hugs, Dix drseuss8675 wrote: Norma, Make sure as you talk to your doctors you let them know that you have already been on those drugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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