What's on your Wednesday Menu?

Glad you're back and on the mend. :) And thanks, another part of the journey.

I take many medications and use a psych for medication management. My primary didn't feel comfortable since multiple doctors are prescribing so many medications monthly.

I've also had to advocate for myself when medical professionals, not usually the doctor, give factually inaccurate info. I am forced to address the issue, in order to get the appropriate care.

Keep up the good fight! Sunnier skies ahead.

Oh hey, similar story. We're supposed to be able to trust doctors, so it's always a bit of a shock when they're wrong or have outdated knowledge.

I did start talking to a holistic doctor who might be an option for total management. Guess yours is working out?

There is a saying that goes like this "Medicine is not an exact science" sometimes it is an educated guess on what is going on. Think of it as a mystery where you put clues together to determine the culprit causing the problem. Unfortunately sometimes the wrong culprit is identified and goes to jail.

True. And we humans are also inconsistent about descriptions and such. You do have to find a doctor who is willing to keep growing. I think my PCP is just waiting for retirement right now. I like her APRN so much better!

Watch with the gabapentin. It is hard to get off of and has terrible side effects. They made DH go down that path and once I noticed extreme mood swings and him not being is easy going self it took over a month for him to get off of it. I personally would not take it. Especially if they do not think it is nerve pain you are having. Just my Opinion. But do your research like you would with any medication.

Thank you for the feedback. Your DH's reaction sounds like when a friend of mine was on Cymbalta. Drug are scary and there really are tradeoffs.

I did ask the doctor yesterday what made her think what I have is nerve pain. She said it was a combination of my descriptions, reactions, and lack of any kind of marks from the burning. And she wants to do more testing. I also asked the pharmacist about it today and he had surprisingly few concerns. Guess it's literature time.

Remember that everyone responds differently to medications.

Don't be alarmed if your weight increases while you are on the steroid. They are good for water retention that will come off once you are back off the medication. Geez, why are they all so resistant on ordering a CT scan of your abdomen? Maybe I just don't understand all of your symptoms. Didn't you say abdominal pain? Do you also have joint pains? What other symptoms? Sorry if too intrusive and you don't have to answer if you feel uncomfortable.

I don't mind. It started March 23rd as what felt like food poisoning, plus the pain under my ribs that never went away. It evolved over the next week to everything from my ribs down being on fire when I ate solid food. Gas, cramps, bloating. I eased back to soft foods. Based on GI symptoms, they ordered the EGD. I still can't eat without pain and cramping, even with the two prescriptions and gas-x. After I eat, my intestines roil painfully for a couple of hours. I can feel things move under my hands. I'm doing a lot of abdominal massage these days. I did go back to protein shakes for two and a half days. That did seem to help a bit.

The day after the EGD test, which did diagnose bile reflux, I took a hydrocodone pill to see if it would help me sleep, and I woke up with all of the loose tissue in my upper body on fire, in addition to the GI pain. The burning pain has been spreading. It's under both arms into my chest tissue, backs of my shoulders, down my sides and hips and is progressing down both my thighs and forearms. Sudden movement brings stabbing, burning pain. Like a massive sunburn being slapped repeatedly, maybe. It's starting to move around the front and back and may be involved with my tendons/ligaments, but that could be from me moving so carefully.

The surgeon isn't treating for the new onset pain. He's only looking at GI issues related to what was found on the test. Even with what I've described, he's not looking for anything more. I don't know how bile reflux causes some of that but he seems to think it is.

The burning pain is now being addressed by my PCP. There's one outstanding blood test, and then she wants to draw blood to start immunological testing. All she'll say is she doesn't know what it could be but it's nerve pain in her mind. So yeah, a couple of compounding things that are being treated completely separately.