Fibromyalgia Advice with Doctors

Do you have a question related to an arthritis condition that doesn't fit in any of the other boards? Perhaps you're living with spondylitis, spondylosis, rheumatica, polymyalgia, fibromyalgia or something else we've not covered? Your questions and discussions can be posted here.

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Kaymumstheword
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Joined: Sat Sep 24, 2016 3:28 pm
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by Kaymumstheword on Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:39 pm

Fibromyalgia Advice with Doctors

I suffer from CFS/M.E. diagnosed 2008 & Fibromyalgia diagnosed 2013 I also have Chiari Malformation diagnosed 2008 & B12 Deficiency diagnosed 2008 injections every 8 weeks. My question is how can I get my Dr to understand my conditions and take them serious. I changed dr a year ago & they just dont seem interested(had to change drs because moved house old dr was brilliant) I have all over pain which gets worse especially at times of upset & this time of year, recently I have had more pain than normal I do have pain medication but i will only take if I am absolute agony I dont like to rely on medication but some times needs must. Just some advice to approach dr especially when I have a new symptom because when you you have something wrong I seem to put it down to that when it isnt & trying to convince dr it isnt? I wish I could attend the online discussion but I have a dentist appointment at that day & time.

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Arthritis Action
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Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:27 pm
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by Arthritis Action on Sun Oct 23, 2016 1:10 pm

Re: Fibromyalgia Advice with Doctors

I'm sorry to hear of your troubles and that you feel that doctors are not listening seriously to your problems. GPs unfortunately have very little time during a consultation and are sometimes forced to focus on what they feel is the most serious potential problem and sometimes that can lead to communication difficulties. I would suggest that you ask your GP to refer you to a pain specialist or specialist in fibromyalgia who should be able to give you advice on how you can best help yourself. Pain medicines are often not very effective in fibromyalgia but there are lots of things that you can do to help yourself with both fibromyalgia and CFS, including improving your sleep, pacing your activities and most importantly both aerobic and resistance exercise. It is likely that you will need some help getting started with exercise which is essential, and so again, get some advice from a pain specialist.

If you prefer to deal with your GP, in order to get the best from your consultation you may be sensible to think about what you need in advance and write things down. Write down your worst problem first as GPs will not be able to discuss everything in one go, and take someone with you to help you speak up and remember what has been said. Doctors are only human, so don't be afraid to ask questions if you don't understand what has been said. If you are unhappy with this result, you should ask for another opinion. Also it can be helpful to find out as much as you can about your conditions so that you can go prepared to the doctors and ask for appropriate help.

I hope this helps a bit and good luck.

Dr Wendy Holden
Consultant Rheumatologist and Medical Advisor to Arthritis Action
www.arthritisaction.org.uk /
info@arthritisaction.org

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