Log #12 (Fibromyalgia)

Truth be told, I'm very tired so I won't write too much tonight.

I made it in to see my Primary Care Doctor today so we could go over the problems I had with the higher dosage of Requip and the problems it caused. Plus we had to talk about the fatigue I feel, which has been getting worse of late.

I told him everything that has been bothering me lately such as a general flu-like ache all over, fatigue in my arms and legs, feeling that my head will explode, and agitation with anxiety. All of this is added to the pain I feel in my back, legs, and groin. So I feel very out of sorts.

My wife went into the visit with me so she could bring up things that I forget. The main thing that came up is the possibility of having Fibromyalgia so he pressed a few different pressure points, which were quite painful. That is a good indication that I may, in fact, have that problem. The doctor told us that FM is hard to diagnose and that it's like the flavor of the month in the medical community. It has become the easy diagnosis for a lot of patients with muscle and nerve pains.

One of the main things I like about my doctor is that he takes the time to explain everything in detail. He listens to everything I have to say and when he gives me a prescription he explains the different medications available, what things they're supposed to do, and how they work in the body to relieve the various symptoms. He asks a lot of questions about medications I may have had in the past and how my body reacted to them. He gives me options on which medications I may want to try while offering his opinion on which one he thinks I should choose. Plus he makes it clear that with medications it can be a long and tedious task to determine what will work best for me.

No doctor is perfect or infallible, but when you have a doctor who demonstrates genuine concern for your welfare, it's easy to put some trust there. I've had far too many doctors who walk in the room, ask a few questions, write a prescription, and then leave without explaining anything except how and when to take the pills. Many of them are over booked on purpose so they're guaranteed enough patients to maximize their billing to the insurance companies. The doctor's focus is shifted to the number of patients he can see instead of the number he can help (no gender implied by this statement). It is quantity over quality in it's purest form.

Anyway, FM seems to be some of my problem and he gave me a prescription for something (the name escapes me now, but I'll make a note of it in tomorrow's log). The prescription he gave today may be changed depending on what the Pain Management Doctor says on Thursday.

Like I said, I'm tired so I'm off to bed. I hope the new blog layout looks a lot better to everyone who reads this blog. I created the new header using Photoshop Elements 7. My next step is to go through the posts and add pictures and illustrations to make my points clearer.

Here are the symptoms of Fibromyalgia: