New fibro med, more treatment options and work improving

 

I saw

my rheumatologist on Friday and he gave me a new medication to try for my fibromyalgia. I started it yesterday and it seems to work pretty well. It is called Celebrex (celecoxib) and it is originally advertised as an arthritis medication, from the NSAID family of medications, but its a lot different than the other NSAIDS I have used, it works a bit differently. It seems to be a pretty big improvement over the meloxicam I was just taking. It doesn't make me drowsy so I can take it during the day at work if I need to, it really seems to be working for me so far. It has minimal side effects for me so far and I am glad about that. It already helps at work, I am not in nearly as much pain nearly as quickly at work with this med so far. I am definitely telling the rheumatologist that I think this one's a keeper. It also works well with my muscle relaxer so that I am able to keep the pain at a much more manageable level for much more of my days and nights. I'm pretty excited about this medication honestly. It just seems not much will get rid of all of the pain of fibromyalgia completely, and that it really takes a whole treatment plan with multiple types of treatments to really treat it effectively.

I have also spoken a lot with my primary care doctor and she has referred me for a lot of different kinds of treatments as well as trying her best to help me find meds that are helpful and work with my other treatments. She increased by dosage of my muscle relaxer tizanidine to 8mg a day (2 x 4mg pills per day) instead of 4mg (1 pill) per day. She tried me on another muscle relaxer baclofen but I reacted poorly to that and had sleep paralysis episodes all night and lots of anxiety, that's when we changed my tizanidine to a higher dosage and returned me to taking it. She referred me for acupuncture and massage therapy which I think the massage therapy is partially covered on my insurance and the acupuncture isn't covered at all. We also discussed aqua therapy which is a kind of physical therapy in the water I think, but I haven't yet received that referral. She also referred me for more chiropractic care so that it can be covered by my insurance again, as the ones under my work back injury ran out and its $55 each appointment out of pocket for it. I also had to have them send the referral to the chiropractor I already have as they were going to send it to one of the ones in my doctor's clinic system.

It is getting easier to work with the changes in my medications, some accommodations from my employer like being allowed to sit down during my shift as I need to, and the other treatments my doctors have referred me for. I also plan to start really pursuing my yoga as prescribed by my rheumatologist because it is quite helpful. I also have a yoga app on my phone that has some things I can actually use to help with my pain during work shifts that I plan to use more as well. I feel like I will be able to cope much better with the new additions to my treatment plan. I also find that blogging and journaling help me quite a bit as well, as they allow me to release my stress and celebrate my small victories as well as the big ones. They keep me a lot more positive which means they are a very good thing. I will also be back to seeing a psychiatrist and therapist soon as well which are both immensely helpful in reducing my stress and helping me cope. All in all I think my life is on a positive upswing right now and I hope it continues.