Glad you found our board. Seems like we all stumbled upon.
Pain management that is the real hard for us all. Some doc are getting afraid of giving anyone anything. For those of us that NEED it is scary. We need relief. We sure understand each other here.
So welcome and gentle hugs your way and keep us posted how you are doing.

i have me been on the obesity site for prob 6-7 months now. my fibro is at an all time high - today is the first time i logged onto the Fibro message board - I am so glad i found you all!

I have been fighting my reg dr for pain meds - i see her again on monday- its like when we are in person she gets it and then when i have to call to change or reorder she forgets

i have requested the liquid lortab - which worked - yeah! but she gave me a 30 day supply no refills and lasted 2 weeks


i was on the patch once - then she wouldnt give me the refills cause she said they were really for cancer patients

even once she suggested i call my surgeon - what -she was treating me for pain way before my surgery

so i have done lots of research on my own - i found a rheumatalogist but they dont have an opening till may and they dont give pain meds

i found a pain dr who needs to read my regular dr files to decide if he will see me or not - so i faxed them and i am still waiting...

i am also trying to find a job - the job interviews have flared my IBS and anxiety

i feel so worn out so depressed - oh  yeah cymbalta was working wonders and on monday i am asking for prozac liquid instead

my family is so done with my fatigue and depression - my friends think i am comptelelty hopeless since my surgery(and maybe i am)

seems that in addition to the fact that i used food for most everything and now i cant - my pain and depression were managed before surgery and i cant get a hold of it now - due to the malabsorption

I truly am so happy to have found this blog - i pray for monday - i had a hair appt because my hair fell out - again!!! but i couldnt get to it today - too much pain

so monday morning i hope to get new meds and i pray that monday afternoon i can throw on a wig and a smile and get to my job interview!

speaking of jobs - pre WLS and I guess pre obesity - I could do and loved to keep 3-4 high pressure never stopping always using my brain to the fullest jobs - now - i know i am capaple of a highly demanding corporate job however sometimes i feel as if being a greeter at walmart is all i can physically do - and partime at that. WTF!!!

My life verse is "I can do all things through Christ"  I can do all things through Christ"  I can do all things through Christ" I can do all things through Christ" I can do all things through Christ"

does God know about Fibro???

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

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.

I am currently waiting for my surgery, but I can tell you that yes, surgery of about any type will cause a flare. I had a bunionectomy a few years ago and my pain was way worse than other pts. usually experience, so I required a lot more pain medication than a "normal" person. Then I had a flare that was the mother of all flares, lasting 2 months. (I was working and attending college at the same time, thought I'd die). Every person with fibro reacts differently and I hope you do well, but I decided I would hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I figure the surgery is worth any amount of pain. I won't die from pain, I will die from my obesity. Good luck.