Hi everyone. Hope your all doing as well as can be expected. I haven't been on for quite a while been having a bit of a rough time. Been feeling really low as of late due to my independance quickly leaving me and struggling with that. I've been having trouble with my hands feel very weak, not being able to open bottle tops, texting takes forever, dropping things etc and I cant play games on my phone (the one thing that keeps the brain ticking). Anyway I went to docs today and I had to squeeze his hand but when I did this the right hand being the worst would tremble alot. He did the same from the elbows and same happened again. I told him my right leg is weaker too so he did things with my legs and right leg did exactly the same. He said I have a tremor in them and is referring me to a neurologist which really has me worried. I said to him is it serious. He said if its down to the fibromyalgia then I have it bad. I mean how much worse does this thing get. I just wanted to ask has anyone the same thing wrong with their hands and legs. I was also put on to sertraline 50mg for depression. Has anyone else taken these and do they work. I'm bit scared to take them.
Sorry I meant to add I get alot of pain in my hands too.
Any advice/information will be greatly appreciated.
Hugs to all
kittyfisher
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kittyfisher
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I am so sorry to hear u are having such a bad time, kittyfisher. I wish i could help more than send u big gentle hugs and loving positive thoughts. I hope u get help soon, Julie xxxxx
Thank you julie you've already helped just by replying. I'm trying to stay positive which I've always tried to do but it gets harder and harder as time goes on. Being independent was always the way for me and I could just cry now when I have to ask for help. It frustrates me and makes me feel absolutely useless.
You sound as if you really need a hug tonight so I am sending a virtual one over and a cuppa something nice like rose lee! I think the refferal will be useful you will be able to eliminate some of your worries and find out what is happening. So you will feel better. Lots of us have hands and legs that suffer with weakness in differing amounts so please take heart and go one step at a time till you have seen your specialits.
I hope that reassures you a little you can chat any time with one of us if it helps.
I wish you sweet dreams
xgins
I understand all you have said and feel the same way often. Hard to ask for help when you are the one who is used to giving it. But very positive that your GP understands the condition. I can only wish you the very best of luck and hope that you will have good results from your prescription. Happy hugs from me to you,take care xx
I am so sorry to read that you have been having this problem, and I genuinely hope that you can find some resolution and relief to the issue as soon as possible.
Please try not worry too much about it, as it could be the result of so many different things, and it may be easily treatable? It may be that you have just overdone it recently and your body is telling you to slow down? It is possible that you are having a reaction to one of your medications?
Whatever the issue is, I am confident that a neurologist will be able to advise you and offer you all the assistance that you need. I know this is easier said than done, but please try not to be too afraid.
We are always here if you need a shoulder to lean on!
Hi there Kittyfisher, so sorry you feel bad at this time, lets hope the doctor gets on to it and does some tests. I too am on sertraline and find it wonderful, I break tablet in half and have morning and night, not a strong tablet but helps me cope, so don't be afraid of it, wishing you well.
Thank you for your reply. What strength sertraline are you on? The doc has started me on 50mg and said thats a low dose. How long you been taking them and how long was it before you started to feel the depression lift? Sorry about all the questions.
Hi there thanks for your reply, I am on 50mg a day, I have been taking them for nearly 2 years and found that they started working within days but I cant miss a day at all or I feel myself going down,50mg is not a lot of medication and you may need more, your doctor will know, I find it enough to keep me in a safe place without being doped up. wishing you well and do keep in contact, Trish
Hi Kittyfisher, I also have problems with cramps and spasm's in my legs and weakness in my my hands. I work from home on the pc and have had to have voice activation software as sometime my hands and fingers hurts so much I cannot type or use the mouse. I cannot lift heavy pans, and sometimes things just drop out of my hands. So I totally understand how you feel.
Hi Shazzap I have tremendous empathy for you trouble with your hands/ fingers.
I have had my hands getting progressively worse over the last four years. Your are right typing becomes incredibly difficult as my weak fingers miss the letters when I type.
So I have to go over again and again and still they give me grief. I find I drop things or rather my hands let go this morning the casualty was a wine glass. OH will be despondent but at least no one got hurt.
My hands and the pains in them have been linked to arthritis and to a damaged vertebrae in my neck and on fibro and osteoarthritis it is a bit of a pickle. Then they think I have carpel tunnel as well so I wear hand splints/ braces.
I learnt to play the piano for two years but my bad back ment I had to give up! Hey ho we get on with it. But I certainly understand where every one is coming from.
Wishing you a good day and everyone who reads this too.
You poor thing that's a whole bunch on unwanted gifts.
There's NO ANSWER to your question, I think it progresses differently in all of us. You seem fortunate in having a GP who's on board. Anti depressants have a proven record of pain control and I hope this one will do that too. They can take a while to settle down so have as much patience as you can. Mine took nearly 3 months and there will be further reviews. Meantime I've had time off work - unhelpful.
I can offer gentle hugs and a tiger striped virtual hot water bottle to cuddle. By the time you get it, it should be orange and iridescent blue.
Hi kittyfisher, so sorry you're having a tough time at the moment. I know it's probably futile to suggest this but, if you can, please try to compartmentalise your worry until you see the neurologist. Worrying will get those stress hormones working overtime and make you feel so much worse. If you can get your hands on some mindfulness/self-hypnosis DVDs or phone apps they can really help you get through the days. Try to focus on the fact that you are being referred to the correct place to find out exactly why you're getting these symptoms and to find the best treatment to help control them. If you're not already seeing Occupational Therapy it might be asking neurology to refer you. There are so many practical things they can help you with and the emotional support they gave me was a real life-saver when I was trying to come to terms with my diagnosis.
I can't take anti-depressants as allergic to sertraline and amitriptyline actually makes me anxious and depressed! I do so like to be different Having said that, there are a lot of people on here and the RA site that find them really effective in helping relieve pain and aiding sleep. You will probably feel a bit zombyish for the first few days while your system gets used to taking them but it soon gets easier. If the neurologist does diagnose bad fibro there are other meds they can give you to interfere with the nerve impulses that are causing the tremors so there really is hope out there.
I don't know how you're placed financially but could you afford a few reflexology treatments? It's wonderful for stress control, aiding sleep and generally improving wellbeing and the therapist would be there to support you emotionally. If it's something you think you might like to try PM me and I'll help find a properly qualified bod for you in your area (rather than someone who's just done a short course).
Good luck with you diagnosis, I hope the referral comes round quickly for you xx
Hi Kittyfisher I am having similar problems to yours and when I went to see my consultant rheumatologist last week he suggested all new blood tests and referral to a neurologist. I was a bit alarmed but he explained to myself and my hubby that he is just making sure that it is only Fibro and that they are not missing anything. So my alarm eased a bit, and now I am counting myself lucky that I seem to have found a GP and Consultant that cares about me and is willing to listen to what I say and act on it, rather than putting everything down to Fibro.
I am trying (not that easy) to put the neurologist referral out of my mind for now as I may be waiting a while for an appointment so no point in worrying myself. So I would say try to do the same.
I am trying gentle relaxing and de stressing yoga, which is helping me at the moment.
Hi Kittyfisher, I'm sorry to hear you are having a difficult time. Your symptoms sound very much like mine. I get pain all the time in my legs, arms, hands, feet, hips etc and can no longer walk more than a few steps even with my walking stick and can't drive anymore. I had to give up my job which I loved and have ended up housebound much of the time unless I am well enough to go out on my mobility scooter. My depression has been very bad because I feel so low with the huge changes to my life due to my fibro and Lymphoedema which causes my legs and feet to swell enormously. I am much weaker on my left side both hand and arm and leg and suffer with spasms and twitches. I fall over regularly and due to my hand pain can't do my crafts which I used to love and so I really do understand how you are feeling. I saw a neurologist due to the weakness and spasms etc and was told following an MRI scan etc that it was 'Just my fibro'! I almost wanted there to be another explanation as the doctors blame everything on fibro and dismiss it as being not very serious and although I don't want to be unwell at all I need to be taken seriously. My family and friends dismiss my condition as some sort of laziness and this is so upsetting because if they could feel how I felt they'd understand how awful this is for us who have it. I take antidepressants and anti seizure medications but haven't tried Sertraline. I really hope it works for you and that you get the answers you need from the neurologist and that if this is your fibromyalgia causing your symptoms they take you seriously.
Hi Moonstonebright, I am so sorry to read how unwell you are, what a struggle for you. It is horrible when doctors and family dismiss or make light of your illness, I have a similar situation . I hope you can deal with your depression and be kind to yourself, lots of rest and perhaps get your family to read about fibro. Wishing you well. Trish
Hi denvajade, I'm very sorry to be so slow to reply to your message but I really appreciate your kind words to me. I hope that you too are being kind to yourself.
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