Lissabird Makes Good: I am a (mostly accidental) Genius

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I am a (mostly accidental) Genius

I just went to visit my hormone guru, Dr. Foster to consult about my fertility woes. Things should be looking up from here.

Anywho, I told her all about my Body Project. She cringed when I said Lyrica and Cymbalta, but I explained about the ascending and descending pain pathway theory, and that my goal was to interrupt the pain cycle. She later said that L and C are fine-- she just saves them for people in really desperate situations, and she agreed that they were a good idea. She said, "I bet the doctor you went to is giving that combination to other patients now." I said probably not, since he refuses to treat Fibromyalgia.

Dr. Foster said that by flooding my brain with neurotransmitters and then going off the drugs and plunging into withdrawal, I essentially hit the reset button on my central nervous system. While I feel better than I can ever remember, I hesitate in recommending this strategy to the faint of heart. I was highly motivated to get off the drugs so that I could get pregnant again. Otherwise, I think it would have been much more tempting to go back on the pills, just to bring the awful withdrawal symptoms to an end. I read many posts online from other people trying to beat a Cymbalta addiction, and they were all very disturbing.

I also told Dr. Foster about the supplements I took, (mainly Fibro Response by Source Naturals, Glucosamine/Chondroitin, Omega Mom, and Vitex) and she commended me for approaching my pain with an inquisitive, open mind, and for doing my "homework." She said I did a good job helping my body heal itself (even if I used scary pills to do it.)

It was a lovely visit, and hopefully my hormones will get back under control soon. A little boost of Progesterone will also help ease inflammation, so I'm looking forward to feeling even better!

5 comments:

Tough Cookie said...: Glad you are feeling better! I had an easy time going off of cymbalta and lyrica/neurontin, but am back on neurontin at my pain docs request. I honestly don't think it helps that much or at all (not sure) but I gave it another go. I'd hate to be on something that I don't really need... raw vegan and all ;-) Just goes to show that everyone reacts differently to these medications.; January 7, 2010 at 5:06 AM
Lissa said...: I'm glad you didn't have a hard withdrawal. Did Lyrica help? They say those type of drugs all work differently for different people. I have taken Neurontin at least three separate times, and it never did a thing for me. But I know other people who experience complete relief on it.

However, the Lyrica and Cymbalta had very little effect on my RSD pain. I only have RSD/CRPS in my left foot, and that's relatively unchanged. My Sensitivity is much better though-- I'm definitely in an ebb phase of the whole ebb and flow that is RSD. Or else I'm more able to deal with it, because my overall pain level is so much lower.

I thought for a long time that the rest of the pain in my body was also RSD. But I never had the physical symptoms like the tendon shortening, color and temp changes etc in my other limbs. Now I think it is caused by the stress the injury had on my whole system.

Since I was able to be almost pain free on the drugs it gave me time to repair my sleep patterns and give my body a rest.

Did you have any luck with the drug that stops the glial response? I'm anxious to know how that worked out. Congratulations on being such a great for advocate for people in pain! Keep it up :); January 7, 2010 at 9:42 AM
Somer Love said...: Cmon hormones get under control.... :)

(hopefully that will work); January 9, 2010 at 11:18 AM
Tough Cookie said...: Hi, Lissa! Thank you for the sweet compliments! I really appreciate it! I had a strange reaction to the drug. It's an antibiotic essentially, and it had me feeling soooo strange. My dad said that is the way an allergy to an antibiotic feels -- you know on the first day. Oh well. There are many more being approved as we speak! Lyrica didn't help AT ALL. I mean, zero change, zero side effects. It was as if I was taking nothing. The neurontin I think helps a little, but not nearly enough as I have heard it helps some people :-( That's the nature of the beast, I guess! I am enjoying my new naturopath, so we'll see what happens.

Good luck with your hormones!; January 11, 2010 at 3:32 PM
Lissa said...: It is so odd how drugs affect people differently. From almost the first moment I swallowed the Lyrica, it was as if my head was detached from my body.; January 11, 2010 at 8:47 PM

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Who am I?

I have lived with Chronic Pain for 20 years-- that's two thirds of my life. I have RSD/CRPS in my left foot as a result of an auto/pedestrian accident when I was 10 years old. RSD has been called one of the most painful diseases out there, and the stress of it on my growing body caused a whole host of new problems. After a few years, pain took over every inch of me.

A few years ago, I decided to look at my health (or lack there of) from a whole new perspective. Whole, being the operative word-- whole body and mind. I have resisted the idea of the mind/body connection because, to me, that meant the pain was somehow in my head. But I have come to realize that of course stress would affect my overall health and my pain level.

So I decided to face the greatest source of stress in my life, even though it had been one of my most closely guarded secrets: mental illness devoured the last recognizable shreds of my mother's personality when I was a teen. I didn't know what was happening, and I worried that it was somehow my fault (because she told me it was). We didn't really have the internet back then (Yep. Feeling old-- and loving it!) and mental illness is one the last taboos to fall, so I was pathetically alone in my attempt to understand my life. This is my shout out to anyone else stuck in a similar situation. Life can get better, but you have to take care of yourself first.

My mom eventually did take her life-- a few weeks before I found out that I was pregnant. Suddenly, I found myself facing motherhood, and feeling slightly less than ready for the task. So I started writing. I wrote about my mom. I wrote about living in pain. Then the two began to intertwine in ways I had never let myself consider. It was an amazing experience.

Once the mess in my head was a little more organized, I went back to the doctors to learn all that I could about what happened to my body. I read the research myself, I did everything I could think of to break the pain cycle long enough to let my nervous system reset. Regular massage and chiropractic appointments lowered my pain levels on their own, but on top of that I did yoga, walked regularly, and took a laundry list of supplements and natural remedies. (Most effective: Fibro Response by Source Naturals: Magnesium, B and D complexes, MSM and Apple Cider Vinegar) Check out the Body Project Tag to see what I did.

I still have RSD/CRPS in my foot and I always will. But I learned to separate that from the pain I felt in my other limbs, back and face. I have determined that it was all a giant breakdown of my body's natural cycle and ability to process pain signals caused by the RSD, and the stress of losing my mother. This breakdown is sometimes called Central Sensitization Syndrome or Fibromyalgia. The way I thought about the pain went from it being a horrible disease that would never go away, to being an interruption that I could correct.

I'm working on it.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

I am a (mostly accidental) Genius

5 comments:

Who am I?

me and the hubs

Rosabella Eliza Alice

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