my shoulders hurt badly, around the blades near the bottom and sides exp. Hurts so bad darvocet barely touches the pain. Ducks wont give me anything, as I look like a druggie. Any thoughts welcome.
Posted by IMHisda (Member # 6998) on :
James what really helps me for joint pain is a TENS unit on the muscles around the joint. A doc can prescibe this. Antifungals may help. Heat helps me, especially those Thermacare heat wraps- now they have them for joints. I take Vicodin 7.5/750 and it's the only thing that keeps me going some days (wet/humid,cold). Also I think massage might help to get the blood to the joints by getting the muscles around the joint. Some chiropractors work on shoulders (mine ) doing deep tissue massage and some will put moist heat on or use STIM pad (giant TENS). Hope that helps. I have tons of joint pain.
Posted by Robin123 (Member # 9197) on :
James - I use a hand-held massager called an Equalizer. I "vacuum" my back with it - it vibrates and has a medium pressure and always takes down muscle pain, especially where muscles attach.
Drugwise, clindamycin knocked muscle pain to zero in one week. I did 150 mg 3-4x/day.
Posted by jamescase20 (Member # 14124) on :
Sounds like I am already doing those things you mention...thank you though. I just helped it with a super hot shower...killer buggies too. Wish I could get some vicodine...ducks always think I am just alittle drugie.
Posted by CD57 (Member # 11749) on :
Try Tigerbalm!
Posted by CaliforniaLyme (Member # 7136) on :
Treating Babesiosis!!!!!!!!
Posted by DoctorLuddite (Member # 13853) on :
Does the problem affect both shoulders equally?
Posted by just don (Member # 1129) on :
My joints are killers too when I DONT take my Osteo Bi-flex glucosamine/clondrition.
Plus a couple citrical and a magnesium EVERY day!!!
It all helps,,,what helps you may or may not be the same,,but IF you look long and hard enough you can find 'something' usually!!like --just don--
Posted by stormton (Member # 14412) on :
James. Aren't you treating yourself? You might want to keep an eye on the cipro you have been taking. Could be tendon damage, but then again could be a herx.
I have had this same problem after taking levaquin. I had to stop. The pain was sometimes in the shoulder but mainly in the tip of the shoulder blade on my back. I think it is more tendon related.
Posted by treepatrol (Member # 4117) on :
Continued treatment minocin and tindamax now minocin rifampin BUT the biggest differnce was B-12 shots. Overall pain down to 1to2to3 was 8to9to10 scale.
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Tizanidine (brand name zanaflex). It's an antispamodic used for MS.
I've got the same pain. I've had it for years, and the tizanidine has worked wonders. I take 4mg at bed, 2mg with breakfast and 1mg in the afternoon. I can't take more during the day or it causes fatigue.
I also did really well for a while on Flexeril, a muscle relaxer. But it is not meant to be on for longterm, and I could no longer wake up on it after a couple years.
Posted by Foggy (Member # 1584) on :
Time, ice heat, abx, TENS PT.
Posted by lymebytes (Member # 11830) on :
This was where my LD pain began and still hits...and I can tell you 2 things that helped. Heat and ibuprofen. I mean long term heat like Thermacare heat wraps - they really if worn all day as recommended. Can be bought just about anywhere. Info/pictures http://www.thermacare.com/products.jsp Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
I want to add, high doses of magnesium can help too. It won't get rid of the pain, but it might help a little. 1000 mg or more. It's recomended you increase until you have bowel intolerance, and then back off.
My doctor recommends magnesium malate.
Have you actually tried going to pain specialists? I've had really good experience with both physiatrists I saw. Physiatry is a medical specialty that looks at the whole body, and many pain specialists are physiatrists.
They usually combine drug therapy with other modaliteis like physical therapy, acupuncture and even psychologists who specialize in teaching pain coping techniques.
You might also want to put together a written medical history of your pain, including where each pain is on a pain scale of 1-10.
And is there a family member you can bring with you to an appointment? Doctors may be more willing to believe your pain if somebody is there to back you up.
Tizanidine, which I recommended above, is not a narcotic. So it isn't something drug seekers would be seeking. You might have better luck with a doctor prescribing that.
Unfortunately, the DEA has really screwed up pain treatment in our country. But there are prescriptions besides narcotics that can help. In fact, the tizanidine is much better than vicodin for my shoulder pain, although I still use vicodin for breakthrough pain.
Posted by bunnyfluff (Member # 14117) on :
I suffered for years with that pain you are describing. I had tried EVERYTHING! Someone w/ Lyme referred my to her person that does Rolfing. It is similar to massage, but it is myofascial release. They can do it light or deep.
It took him 2 mins to get the tension to release, and it has NEVER come back. I felt like an idiot to have suffered so long!
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