all these meds...and work?

good morning and hi!
    I've been lurking off and on and have a question for anyone who's willing to answer.  how do you manage to work along with all the meds your pains have you taking?  i've been reading about the cymbalta, vicodin, lyrica,... and the rest of the attempts at controlling the pain.  i've gone thru alot of the same meds - but - how do you manage to work with the brain fog and the other side effects of those drugs?  
   I know I need to talk to my doctor about this. I'm getting in trouble at work because of my lack of focus.  But am wondering if there's anything in particular you do to get thru the workday without making mistakes and acting like an idjit?
   thanks, ahead of time
dorthe

I don't work outside the home but I really don't have much trouble with side effects after the first couple of days.I take morphine and oxycodone. I drive and take care of the house and usual business. You probably wouldn't want to put me in charge of a nuclear facility but otherwise I do pretty well. Maybe it isn't the drugs but the fibro fog that so many of us have. It makes it difficult to concentrate and focus for lots of folks. I don't get it too bad unless I'm very tired but some folks can barely get thru the day because of it. Good luck and do check with your doc about it.

thanks for the input.  i see the doc on friday.  we'll see what she can tell me.
take care
dorthe

I know what you mean about having problems with focus at work, etc. I have ADD as well as fibro! I have to leave the narcs for when I am not at work and use tylenol and 2 Ultram when I am. I still hurt, but I don;t need to scream. The little man who has the redhot poker with whick he is trying to pry my pelvis apart with is at least calmed a bit. Also, frequently my a** hurts (wow what a BIG pain) so I use a product called Biofreeze that will give me some relief for a while, maybe long enough for something else to take over. I like the roll on, and it doesn't stink like some products. I wish you well. I battle the work issue too.

hi granny:
   got a hour long meeting today with hr because i'm not able to work at 100%.  they suggested i talk to the doc about a medical leave - so i moved my appt to tomorrow and i'll have to see what she says when i see her.  i'm not on narcotics now, maybe it's just the fibro fog.  guess i'll try to find out tomorrow.
   good luck to you - thanks for your reply.
hugs
dorthe

One other thing, I'm sure you had a sleep study done prior to surgery, but if it is not recent get another one. My sleep specialist grinned as soon as  mentioned fibro but didn't say anything, just ordered the study. When I went back (this was a few years before I got fat enough fto have apnea) he told me my results were just as expected. Fibromyalgia patients have strange results, but basicly we don't get down into the lower levels of sleep where true rest and regeneration takes place, I was only in level three for 30 min. all night, never level4. To add insult to injury, in level 2 I had spikes to level 1 and to nearly awake umpteen times a minute. We are not aware of any of it, but there is no true rest, hence another reason we are only "half there". My specialist put me on an old antidepressant, Deseryl, or trazedone. There are many meds that can be used to find the right one. The dose I had to figure out by myself, there was a range between 50 mg. and 150 mg. A 300 lb. football player may need only 50 mg. yet a 90 year old woman weighing 90 lbs. may need 150. I have been amazed at the difference. Someone turned the lights on. I may have periods of fibro fog but not like before, and I don't feel so tired after a full nights "sleep". However, if I forget to take it or am out I spend the longest and most boring night you can imagine, half in and half out, waking and checking the clock 3 times in 5 minutes, etc. That is now, after I have bee treated for a while. It took me a while to settle in on the right dose because initially 1 would put me down. After I adjusted and got to 2 while I had a few weeks off work I felt better yet. A couple of years later I began to feel like it wasn't the whole answer and went to the full 150 mg and I feel fantastic, most of the time. You might consider discussing this with you doctor. If he is not familiar with this syndrome he might do a phone consult with my sleep Dr. I'd give you the name and # if you needed it.
If this helps solve another piece of the puzzle then I'm glad. Fibro is tough enough to deal with without one more thing.Take care and God Bless, Sue

hi again sue:
   thanks for all the add'l information.  when i saw my dr today she referred me to a rheumatologist and a psychiatrist - hopefully to get some resolution on my back problems and to deal with the meds i'm on and the fact that they're not working as well as they should.
   it would be such a blessing to get the brain fog lifted.  my job was fairly blunt about my needing to be 100% at work and right now, that's not happening, so i guess i'll be on fmla for awhile.  at least until i get my meds back under control.
   i had a sleep study done b4 surgery - yes.  i was waking up 60 - 65 times a minute.  who knew?  doesn't really seem possible but that's what they said. 
   i'm gonna hang on to your email info, sue.  once the dr reviews what i'm on and what i may need, i'll share your information with her.  so thanks again for the helpful information.
take care.  someday i'd like to feel 'fantastic' again, too.
thanks
dorthe
  

Hi Dorthe,

I have been dealing with Fibromyalgia for about 2 years.  When my dr. put me on Lyrica, i had the worst feelings.  I could not concentrate and just felt "high" all the time.  I work in a medical facility, so this scared me because i take care of patients.  He added Celexa on my next visit and this seemed to even out the problems with the fibro fog..but didnt really help the pain levels.  Now i am on Lyrica and Cymbalta, and Nortriptylin for sleep (trying to get to stage 4)...and also aqua physical therapy.  I feel 100% better.  I cannot believe the change in pain level, so much better.  I hate taking all the meds, but im afraid of going back to all the pain i was in before. 

I am also having RNY in about 6 weeks, so i am excited that my pain is under control, so i can get on with the next phase of my life...working to make myself healthier. 

Melissa

I work in a very high stress environment and I have to be totally aware of what is going on around me (Federal Prison). The fibro fog was really bad & could have really endanged my life or someone around me.

I was already taking Savella & Lyrica, but he doc added Amitryptylene at night. I take 100 mgs. It has really helped eleviate a lot of the foginess during the day. I haven't zoned out in a long time. You might talk to your MD about adding this old anti-depressant at night. It worked for me.

thanks, Junquejo.  I'll take that question to my next meds appt.  take care of yourself.
dorthe