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QUESTION:
This used to happen once or twice in a row, very infrequently. Tonight I can't
make it stop. I'm getting scared and thinking of waking my husband to have him
take me to the emergency room. Does anyone else ever experience this? It
starts at the base of the skull on the right side and only lasts for a second
or two, but it feels like a hot poker. I'm so nervous that something terrible
is going to result. Any comments?
ANSWER:
I'd get to the doctor. While it could be FM-
related, you need to get a work-up to rule out anything
else. I know it's scary to go, but I wouldn't mess with
this.
I had it for a long time, usually in the morning, from a muscle problem which I saw a chiro and
acupuncturist for (yuurs may not be like mine so do try and get a doc to look at it). It did not
resolve until I started MSM--no exercises, acu or manipulation, drugs or creams did it. Mine was
most likely a combination of muscle and blood vessel (or similar) problems. I was told that that
was where my body "detoxed" and used a lot of castor oil compresses and all that did was ruin a
bunch of sweatshirts (and once I scairt meself to death when I used the microwave as a half-hour
timer and accidently put it on cook and never noticed and burnt out the oven and expected to be
sent away to a nursing home for becoming so incompetent. But I'm still here and the oven
recovered)
You know I think this is the worst "side effect" of fibro. We have a
tendency to believe that every pain is fibro related and ignore signs of
serious disease. It is so hard (if not impossible) to differentiate between
serious and FM pain. I'm a textbook case of this myself. All those years of
shortness of breath attributed to fibro when I could have been in treatment
for the real cause.
Muscle spasm. Some spasms are really painful. Spasms in that area are
often described as hot or electrical. Many of us have tension in that
area and if you have fibro, it is even worse. Have your husband
massage this area every night. And stay away from the keyboard, that
makes it worse!
Well, if what you are describing is confined mostly to the head and neck, you are
describing exactly what I experience. Though I am sure there may be other causes,
in my case, the cause is a herniated disk and wearing a colar has helped a lot.
It was the pulmonary hypertension (PPH) that I have. One of the first
symptoms is shortness of breath. But it started so gradually it was hard to
notice. In 1979 I was dancing in a little local show (Irish dancing) five
times a week for three weeks. I was very proud that I could dance so long
without getting out of breath. In 1982 I had a workshop for my dancers and I
found I could not get all the way through the warm up steps the workshop
teacher had them doing. I couldn't understand why and thought I must be out
of shape! I figure I must have developed the PPH in those three years
between 79 and 82. Oddly enough my fibro was triggered during that time
also.
When I was diagnosed with fibro nine years later, I (and all of my doctors)
figured it was the cause of my SOB. I couldn't dance then anyway because it
hurt so bad. If I had been treated for the PPH earlier, the drug I'm taking
now might have been able to reverse some of the disease. Now my pulmonary
arteries are blocked with scar tissue that can't be removed.
My family doc felt really bad when I was diagnosed with PPH. This is why I
feel it is so important to follow-up on new pains and symptoms. Sure it
might be fibro but it could be something else too. Something dangerous.
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