Myofacasical Pain Syndrome vs. Fibromyalgia

I have both conditions but i think i have more fibro. im always tired and cant sleep at night wake up with constant stiff pain also . ive tried every thing from injections to massage therapy medications . and nothing seems to help me it takes away the pain short time. is there any other treatments i can try with medication. ive tried lyrica and it was giving me blurred vision. im afraid that i feel im getting worse and need something else to help me . the weather does not help. if you can suggest somthing else that mabe would help im so tired of feeling like this everyday

Hi Missy,

I too have both and the fibro is worse for me but when the myo starts up it feels like my skin is on fire. I've used Advil and ice. The ice is absolutely instant coolness and does help greatly when you can get to it. Hard to get those ice packs to lay everywhere you hurt lol! I ice for about 15-20 minutes and reuse if I need it. When I'm out and have no access I order a drink at the drive thru and sometimes an extra cup of ice. The first drink is cold enuff to hold for my hands that need cooling and the other cup I pour into a paper towel if I have forgotten my ice bag at home. In the summer months I carry a cooler any time I leave the house. I have frozen bottles of water in the freezer and they last pretty long out in the heat and can be broke up with a rock if need be. The advil or any ibuprofin is good only if you take it to stop the pain and then again to keep the inflammation down and under control. Just my two cents. Hope it helps you.

marylizmo

hi all you out there w/same prob,my MPS started from a pulled muscle that i did not let heal all the way, i was helping lift a patient up in bed i had plenty of help but had just returned 2 wks prior from total hysterectomy was not as strong as i thought. anyway i first thought it was my kidney it was in same area, ultrasound on kidney showed nothing so then i started having more and more and more pain between my shoulder blades. it got awful, there was no doc that could figure out what was wrong, it was all in my head and i was just drug seeking according to a couple of the many docs that i went to see. i finally went to a doc that was not in my network but this was 4 yrs after the fact, i had no life by this point. my day consisted of going to work as an RN taking care of my patients,running home tearing off my clothes running a hot hot hot bath staying in there took pressure off and the heat took mind off cuz it was so hot,all this and trying to do all the other things a wife does,shopping,bills,kids,house cleaning i don't know how i did it. anyway back to this new doc,i paid cash,he dx'd me w/MPS,thank God someone knew what it was but since he was not in network i simply let my other docs know what he said,nobody knew what to do. the trigger point doc said he would,if i were his pt, he would weekly x4 give me lidocaine inj into muscles in between my shoulder blades. i did not give it much thought if figured w/enough meds i could live w/it. well that was nov 2005 by jan 2006 i was ready to kill myself,had a plan and all,the ONLY reason i did not do it was cuz my oldest daughter wrote me a letter that made me cry and brought the old person i was out and i started fighting. my ins company was of little help they could not help me,i started calling every dermotologist in my area to see if they could help. finally found a rehab/trigger point doc that could do it in my network. well lido inj were grt for about 1 hr pain came back. then doc said myobloc (form of botox) ins did not want to pay,i paid out of pocket, much much money but compared to my life $1200. was nothing. man oh man i was a new person,back to ME ME ME. it was grt. then 30 days later i flew off my deck slipped on icy snow shattered my L1 vertebrae,wow how grt a broken back, yay. over the next yr still had to work  on MPS spots as it came back after about 4 mths. i got a total of 3 myobloc inj,i guess that is the limit,i was out of options,i was back to suicide thoughts.my mother came w/me gave the doc a talking to "help my daughter and do it NOW"  now that i have made a very long story i ended up w/a medtronic pump implanted in my abdomen w/a muscle relaxer giving me medication directly into my spinal fluid. my 17 y/o is now going through the same thing for last 3 yrs. but she is "just a depressed teenager" what a crock,she is a mess. i am taking her next week and once again going to pay out of pocket to hopefully give my baby her life back. sorry this is so long i hope it helps someone. i am still on PO meds for my FM pain,broke back pain and squished discs in my back. life will get better, i am lucky to be walking and not paralyzed i trully believe that God spared me that for a reason, now to listen and see want he wants of me. Good luck God bless