I'm sitting here all on my own and have been all weekend my fella helping his dad out on his narrowboat down in Leeds and I'm in too much pain to have been able to go.
I saw my doctor on Friday to explain to him all about my aches and pains how all my meds don't seem to help and I wonder why I even bother taking them, I'm not sleeping my head is pounding and has been for over a month I have very sever tinnitus and sometimes struggle to hear, restless legs and knees that feel like any minute now they are going to snap my legs off constant cramps also in my legs. Pain and discomfort where my pacemaker is ohh the list goes on.
I feel like I'm am wasting his time, I explained all the above and more to him he has decided to take me off my pain meds (naproxen) ad put me on sertraline he thinks all my pain in just me being depressed and anxious, I've refused this medication before and will not take it now either as I have epilepsy and do not feel safe plus I have only been diagnosed with depression since all this messing around with my PIP application over a year ago and the pain I am constantly in that no-one seems to get. They just want to tell me I'm depressed give me a pill and send me away, I really do not know what to do, I feel very alone right now.
I'm sorry for depressing tone of my writing tonight thanks for reading
Hi abra, dont feel alone, ive been fobbed off for years with "just back pain from Old injury"
But ive seen a different gp at same
Practice who is actually sending me for bloodtests even though frustratingly slow invetween with no actuall readon for pain so far just "inflammation showing" need to
Retest ffs.
Please go through all gps at your practice if you have too as all are trained/know different what one isnt bothered to help with another will be more than happy to look i to it x
Hi Abra....You are not alone, you are amongst a group of very special people who understand how we feel. I cannot understand why your GP has taken you off pain meds and replaced it with an anti depressant...I may be wrong but it does seem odd as many of us are on pain meds and anti depressants....
PIP has a lot to answer for!!! Talk to us again, it will be good to hear from you...xx
Hi Abra, I'm sorry to hear that you've been fobbed off by your doctor. Sounds like you've been through the mill. As Cookie 16 said, go through all the GP's at your practice. You could ask the receptionist who the GP with a special interest in pain is and see if you can see them. I just hope it's not the same doctor you've been seen by already. Also see if you can be referred to the pain clinic.
Please let us know how you get on.
Please don't feel alone, there are so many people on this site who are willing to listen and advise.
Hi Hidden I'm so sorry you are feeling so low & having so much pain, its horrible when you miss out on things because you just can't do it. What I will say is,you sound like me 30 yrs ago, the pain & all the other symptoms just gets you down & i was same, I kept saying, why does he keep saying I am depressed. I mean, I was depressed but it was because I was in pain all the time and constantly being ill, I wasn't in pain because I was depressed, I really could not get my head around it at all but finally gave in & started taking amitriptyline & slowly but surly I felt so much better. I still take them now, I have come off them a couple of times & reduced the dose & upped it over the years, I can honestly say it is one of the drugs that has helped me massively over the years. It helps to relax the muscles, so helps with cramps,which eases the pain, they also help sleep.
It is a drug that's used a lot for fibromyalgia. I also take Quinuine which helps with cramps.
You must never feel like your wasting the doctors time, you have every right to be there & be listened to as much as any body else. That's their jobs, that's what they get paid for honey & you should not feel like that.
Have you been referred to a Rheumatologist ? Do you take gabapentin or Pregablin ?.
Pip is so stressful and it really isn't good to get so stressed and its awful what people have to endure to get what you entitled to my friend. So many people are having so many problems at the moment. I haven't had mine yet but I'm absolutely dreading it.
Don't be sorry honey, that's what were here for, to talk about what's bothering us & support each other ☺
So sorry to read your post but never apologise for feeling low it happens to the most resiliant of us as the constant pain can really drag you down. I have those spates of headaches for weeks on end and as mysteriously as they come they go and it really gets you down. Somedays you wonder if there is one part of the body that hasn;t been attacked by some symptom of fibro.
As far as GP's are concerned you will often find a young GP is more familiar with fibro as it is more known now and might have been mentioned to them whereas often older GP's have very little knowledge of it. Not always the case but definately worth a try.
Yes I can understand your reluctance with new tablets as my OH has Epilepsy and also depression and anxiety I know when his GP wanted to prescribe an anti depressant he actually referred him to his specialist as he didn't want to do anything that might interfere with his epilepsy medication as in his case it had taken 3 years to get a drug combination that worked,
Good luck with everything and do let us know how you are.x
Not been referred anywhere, I had scans to confirm osteoarthritis and was sent off for physio that was around 4 yrs ago, they've only just discovered my heart stops when I have a seizure so hence the pacemaker but they seem to just want to give me depression meds to "fix me" I try not to even visit the doc and only went on Friday out of desperation from all the pain.
I don't take the any of the meds you mention in fact never heard of them. looks like I'm spending time on the phone in the next few days trying to sort my health out. As my parter says I need to take control.
Hi abra, you are not alone. I too suffer from constant pain due to a list of problems. I have an excellent GP and Rheumatologist who are willing to try different things when some of the meds don't work. I also suffer from depression and take a number of medications for it. Since last month my GP said I had to stop taking duloxetine, mirtazapine and codeine for a while and try amitriptyline which I have found to be helping a lot! I know we all have different illnesses and it differs from one person to another but we are blessed to have such a place where we can share information and give each other support. Just keep pressing on with GP you will get there ! It is so frustrating when you feel so low. Remember we are in the same boat and let's sail together! Whenever you feel lonely just come to this platform someone will be ready to chat. Hope you get the meds you require for your pain . Good luck and keep on keeping on! Xxx
I have read your post with so much pain and sorrow for what you are having to endure my friend and I completely agree with your other respondents and keep doing the circuit at your surgery to try and find a good doctor. If you have a 'walk-in-centre' near you then you could always try there as well?
I want to sincerely wish you all the best of luck, and please take care of yourself.
thank you so much for your wonderful words of support. I have for the last few days stayed home in the quiet and tried some meditating with my OH, he has found some sleep music in the hope it helps me rest. I have avoided any contact with doctors ect so that I can calm myself down. I will be in to get bloods done in a week so I will take a step forward and make an appointment to see someone in the pain clinic....fingers crossed as I'm not even sure we have one!
Hi Abra, sounds to me like they need to realise that anyone that is putting up with what you are if they are a realist would also exhibit signs of depression, because you are faced with a multitude of problems that you feel you are not getting help with. We all need to recognise and treat these diseases on a holistic basis but sometimes its worth focusing on the parts that need addressing because it can become a little like a jigsaw when you know that all the pieces are there but you cant get the first few to connect so you leave that and look at the whole puzzle again, that can be straight back to overwhelming. Do you think you deciding what is most important to you to try and improve at this moment may help you?, we all need to accept these fights are only fought and won with baby steps and like the jig saw one piece at a time may be the answer.
You definitely not alone, somehow doctors get intimidated with illness they can not figure out. It is true though caring of patients is supposed to be patient -centred they want to push their own agenda. All I can say is good luck and don't bow down to their agendas, hopefully soon you may come across a compassionate doctor who might not get chronic illness all the time but work with you.
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