thanks loxie for getting me back on line !
has anyone any experience dealing with Myofascial pain syndrome.....i was told this was my problem in 2012, i refused to believe this was the only thing wrong with me but. after seeing neurologist and rheumatologist i still have only this diagnosis.
I was told the pain in my back, shoulders, hands, etc, was due to myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) and related trigger points few years ago now.
Fibromyalgia and MPS get lumped together a lot but apparently MPS is a bit different to fibromyalgia as the pain tends to be more localised rather than "everywhere". Some unlucky people have a combination of MPS and Fibro. Ouch. 
Most of the treatments for MPS are basically the same as for fibro. Exercise, pain killers and antidepressants or anticonvulsants for the pain if required.
I know it is hard to accept being diagnosed with a strange chronic pain syndrome that causes bizare symptoms when there is no concrete test, no cure for and even some doctors refuse to acknowledge as real.
I think I learnt to deal with it better once I accepted there was nothing else wrong (no rhematoid, lupus, etc). My pain varies from mild to quite intense. Gentle exercise (walking, stretching) helps but intense exercise like cycling or weight lifing makes things worse.
I take paracetamol, codeine and ibuprofen on a daily basis. I've tried various other meds like amitriptyline but they didn't help.
I found some improvement in symptoms from suppplementing with: Vitabiotics B complex 1 tablet daily. 1000 iu of Vitamin D daily and Magnesium Citrate daily. I think the Vitamin D is the biggest thing as it helped reduce the fatigue and pain and there is some scientific evidence that it does actually work.
There is a decent enough book by Dr Chris Jenner (pain specialist) called "Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome". It is about £10 on Amazon. It explains things quite well and might be useful if you want to read up about the condition.
oh and I assume they have ruled out other 'obvious' causes like low thyroid or other hormone imbalances?
hello Guy....Teri here, i am going tomorrow to see an endocrinologist regarding high 'parathyroid' levels i have had for 3 years... they say this can lead to muscle problems so we will see...all other hormone levels are normal. but i do have high uric acid levels. right now i am really concerned about my knee pain, somedays i can't put weight on it at all.
hi Teri, I hope endocrinology are able to help you.
Funny you should mention knee problems. My knee is bad at the moment as apparently I have damaged some cartilage in there. I'm now I'm waiting for an appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon.
good luck to you too....i got an appointment for a coritzone shot next wed.
a little to far away for me but, i'll take it....we are off to florida on march 3 and i want to be able to walk !