Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Beating a Dead Horse


Though I agree that fibromyalgia has gotten way too much discussion here in the last couple of weeks, I just found a diatribe by a fibromyalgeur that I had missed, and wanted to share.

It made me laugh out loud.

As did her magic wish and her desire to remain on narcotics forever.

I have a feeling this one's gonna start hitting the ER for some Dilaudid pretty soon.

41 comments:

Medic61 said...

I just don't get it. I'm not in on the fibro e-discussion, but it seems like they attack you for your thoughts and then say stuff like what she did in wanting to be magic.
How is that any better than what she perceives you to be saying? She's literally wishing pain on you; you've done nothing of the sort.
I'm all for debate and discussion, but one's discussion can't be so obviously fallacious. Goodness!

Tiffany said...

Its amazing how many quacks are out there. And you seem to be magnetic to them!

This lady is insane. She loves her pain meds, she is a straight forward drug seeker, and is even blunt about not being interested in ANY other treatment.

What a whack job!

Evil Transport Lady said...

Hmmm my anger is rising. I could go on about life with EDS, but I won't. I just wish EDS got the attention like Fibro does (media) then maybe they'd find a cure. Want pain Fibro peeps?, dislocate a few joints AND not whine about it.

Sorry........I couldn't help it. People need to get a life.

Tex said...

MonkeyGirl,
Nothin' but love for you out there, babe...
Nothin' but love.

Phillip said...

I have a friend who has Cerebral Palsy, and has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I believe she does have something wrong that can't be properly diagnosed and her doctors gave her the "fibro" label because they couldn't figure it out, since the few concessions she makes to it is to walk slower and acknowledge that some physical tasks are out of her ability. She holds down a full time job, has outside interests like amateur racing, and basically lives her life.

Based on her example of how she chooses to deal with it, I have to call BS on the people like you're referring to. I wonder if this particular one seems to have munchausen syndrome, the need to fake illness in order to get attention. Her blog certainly seems to be a cry for attention.

I'm with you in that I think that the majority of people who claim to have fibromyalgia are seeking either drugs or pity. I do think that some few of the ones who have been diagnosed with it have the pain they complain of and there is actually something wrong, but the primary care physician can't figure out what. I think the way you can tell the difference is that the people who are experiencing real pain are going on with their lives, and not going around telling everybody about how bad they hurt and all the things they can't do.

My aforementioned friend didn't reveal the ailments she had until we had started going places and doing things that required her to do things that she had to go slow at, like climbing the stairs at the fort in St. Augustine, FL.

08armydoc said...

whine
whine
whine

whine


Shall I get them some cheese for their whine?

Drug seekers.

Munchausen.

Barbara said...

I just have a hard time with these folks who think that narcotics are the answer to every ill in their lives. Even in all the debates and vents I see about it online, no one mentions the tolerance/addiction cycle, they think (as does the young lady in the blog you linked) that they're a panacea and that you can go on and on forever feeling wonderful with a few Norcos or whatever, and so "what's wrong with that?". They don't understand (and then eventually don't care) that they're going start needing more and heavier drugs to feel the same initial high or relief of pain, take your pick.. and eventually their bodies will self-destruct along with the rest of their lives...if they don't OD first.

It's the same as all those high school health class lectures against street drugs. Same principle, same source, same thing - just legal (and controlled for that reason).

And yet they take it as a personal affront when the prescribing physician is responsible enough to (a) not start them on that downward spiral and (b) keep his license and stay out of jail.

You become what you think. So if a person is thinking about his or her pain all the time, focusing on health problems all the time, then that's what that person will become - one big bag of diagnoses and problems, nothing more. I've seen terminal cancer patients who smile and tell you, "I have cancer - cancer doesn't have me!" It's sad when people allow themselves to be so wholly identified by a disease process - real or imagined. They've already allowed themselves to be defeated and destroyed.

CrankyProf said...

Look at it this way, MG -- it's therapeutic for her to focus on something other than how baaaaad she feels.

One less junkie constantly out for a fix, as she's frothing at the monitor over you.

You're performing a charitable act.

MonkeySister said...

I must be blind. I have completely missed the "Hey Stupid Trolls, come here and read my blog and then go out and complain about it in poor grammar on your own site so the rest of you troll-like nutjobs can do the same. Then come over to my site and tell me all about how awful I am" sticker you posted on your blog. Can you make it a little larger so the rest of them can find you? It's getting kind of humorous. :)

And how the crap did she find you? Did you see that crazy search line she linked to you on? I wonder if she's searching for a miracle cure? Wonder if prozac will help... Just deal with the fact that not everyone believes you (like your doctors) and go about your business. Loopy nutjobs....

Anonymous said...

SO.....we're all heartless alcoholics, those who toil for amazing wages in the nation' ERs, dealing with all those people pure of heart and ill of body.

Let her TRY.....merely attempt to fill my shoes for an hour.....oh, wait! She called in sick.....she hurts too much......

MOJITOGIRL said...

MG, you certainly are a shit magnet.....(no put down intended.

THAT'S WHY WE LOVE U!!!!

Mel said...

I was going to comment, but I just don't know what to say anymore...

NUTS!

Anonymous said...

Funny, I read her magic wish and realized she described my surgery, neurosurgery, and ICU rotations. Now, as a non-whining, non-addicted male, I just sucked it up, went to work and did the job. Humph

girlvet said...

That person can't be real...can they?

MLO said...

I do have to wonder about the "drugs will fix everything" mentality. (Not that I don't hope that the preliminary results clinicians are seeing with Xolair with food allergy remission works.) I know on a number of food allergy/intolerance support groups a lot of people had initial diagnosises of fibromyalgia that cleared right up once they got rid of their offending foods.

Too bad modern medicine (almost) completely ignores diet as treatment - with some exception for diabetes.

Ambulance Driver said...

LOL...I loved her wondering why we all took a job that we obviously hate...

...without realizing that people like her are why we hate it sometimes.

GuitarGirlRN said...

"we are very close to actually having ways to prove once and for Fibromyalgia does exist." (sic).

Translation: We almost have some tests that might help us know that this fake disease might just exist!

Yeesh.

Unknown said...

It's amazing how being fibromialgian can leave time not only for complaining about pain, drug seeking, but also for trolling and commenting!

MG, I love all your posts, but your fibro posts are the BEST.

WardBunny said...

Just keep on poking them! It makes fantastic reading and besides they aren't the only ones with chronic pain!

cwjsmama said...

her wish is granted everyday we are at work. Back aches, head aches, bad knees, bad feet. Muscle aches, I could go on and on. What about the back injuries from transfers?

She describes a day in the life of a heathcare professional.

Anonymous said...

"They are alchoholics [sic] in it only for the money."
What money? And who's got the, uh, alchohol?
Interesting to see the blogger accusing other people of passing judgements.

Anonymous said...

I have a question for babs, et al:

My mom has been using Tylenol 3 every day for the last three years. She's allowed up to six per day and has been since she started. Her dose has not changed in those three years and her pain continues to be controlled. (With meds, plus various lifestyle changes that have made her unable to leave the house but she still functions independently.) Every time she begins to build a tolerance, she takes a "holiday" where she takes /no/ pain pills for several weeks. (And these "holidays" haven't increased in frequency/duration over the last three years, either.) Isn't this a fairly common way to manage possible addiction to narcs?

I'm struggling with the fact that I have developed a tolerance to my anti-depressant. The more I think about my situation, the more I see parallels between the use of pain medicine and the use of psychotropic medication. Nobody questions whether a schizophrenic or someone with bipolar disorder will need to be on meds forever. Is that really different from someone who needs pain killers to manage chronic pain? (Not that I endorse fibro or whatever, but there have to be some conditions out there that cause legitimate, chronic pain.) Us crazy folk' develop the same tolerances, the same insanely high dosing requirements and the same staggering concoction of meds that mirror the situation of many bona-fied narc addicts. Certainly, there mind-altering consequences to our drugging: some beneficial, some harmful, some even pleasurable. Is there really that big of a difference?

AtYourCervix said...

I have said this before - not all people with fibromyalgia are drug seekers, or even use narcotics. I work almost fulltime as a nurse, exercise on a frequent basis, and take nothing stronger than naproxen for pain. Losing over 160 lbs from my very obese body also helped. However, I still am ultra-sensitive to touch. It literally hurts to have my child sit on my lap or hug me. Some days are worse than others. Some days I wake up to an awful flare-up with a muscle or muscle group totally spasmed up, requiring - not narcotics - physical therapy for at least 2-3 weeks. Rarely do I call in sick to work.

AtYourCervix said...

Adding this: my last big flare up was when my neck and shoulder spasmed up last fall. I was in physical therapy for several weeks, and would break down and take a muscle relaxant at night (only!). PT was 3x a week, and I think I missed only 2 days of work - simply because I could not move my head or neck in any direction, and could not drive.

Sarah said...

This woman obviously doesn't work in healthcare or deal with the generally ill public. She also might live in fairy land.
I do think that fibromyalgia is an actual disease. But I think too many people are "misdiagnosed" with it and many are actually drug seekers (or in her case a royal pain in the ass) I'm sorry, having a disease does not give you the excuse to be a ginormous BITCH.

MonkeyGirl said...

AtYourCervix-

Surely you recognize that you are the exception, not the rule?

I don't think that everyone who has been handed a diagnosis of fibromyalgia is a drug seeker. I have never said that.

I think that anyone who manages chronic pain (whatever the cause) without narcotics is to be commended.

Joeymom said...

Hmmm. I didn't know I was alcoholic. And when did I land a job in the ER? I could use the money!

RehabNurse said...

MG:

I guess all her spelling and grammar errors are due to being under the influence.

Too bad she's not driving...she might get pulled over.

I just have a hard time believing people with so many spelling mistakes.

Lorelei Armstrong said...

Well, pain killers are more fun than taking the magnesium supplement they need and getting some exercise.

Angry Nurse said...

Wow this person actually uses using "Magical Thinking". Last time I saw a better example was in an 8 year old....

The little tech that does... said...

She called you a bitch like it was a bad thing. Last time I checked having an professional opinion about something you deal with on a regular basis shouldn't make you the bad guy. Too often people who are discontent with their life are often envious of others who have got it together and try to bring them down to their level. She probably ran out of narcotics and is just bitter.

Anonymous said...

Who ever said that life should be "pain-free"? I am in pain every single day, whether it be from a bad back or a pinched nerve in my neck or just the pounding headache that comes with child-rearing. (And I'm only 29.) I think people these days are just wimps. Think back to when the founders and builders of this nation were putting this land together with their bare hands. Do you think they started complaining that they were in too much pain and didn't have the proper drugs for it? I must have been born in the wrong era. Get over it. Suck it up. Pain means that you aren't dead yet.

Anonymous said...

DAMMMMMMN, Monkey Girl, you have pissed off the Fibros.....Next thing you know, you'll be saying Restless Leg Syndrome and Migraines are, gasp, a farce? I'm not sure if I'll even be able to rub your boobs anymore...the hate may be contagious and rub off on me...

Anonymous said...

From her profile, she is also a member of online support groups for chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic pain, HPV, IBS, and obesity, just to name a few.

Funny, I always thought the obesity support group was the gym.

Barbara said...

Hannah, your mother would be in the minority. There is a fine line between dependence and addiction but it is a very fine line and one all-too-easily crossed, often through no intention or fault of the new addict - but if one doesn't recognize his/her own change in pattern and that they're running out of their pain medicine too soon - and consistently - then the result becomes the fault of the new addict. There are very effective non-narcotic pain medications out there that will even ease kidney stone pain. People on long-term narcotics or benzodiazepines do have to be weaned off in order to prevent withdrawals, which can be very nasty. However, it does behoove a person to recognize the fact that they have become dependent or addicted and to recognize the effects this is having on their lives and those around them. When they start needing more to make it, there exists a problem...and they often don't seem to mind driving while taking this stuff either. The drug-seeking behavior is a highly common byproduct of that tolerance/addiction cycle and it is largely responsible for bankrupting the resources - both financial and human - of the modern day healthcare system, not to mention of the addict him/herself. It should be a clue to people when they start utilizing the ER for pain medication instead of maintaining a consistent relationship with their physician or pain management, and when they start finding themselves discharged from medical practices for this behavior, that there is A PROBLEM.

Your mother would certainly be an exception in her ability to recognize and control her situation, and I absolutely applaud her for that. But it's a huge gamble. Those working in the ER/ED for any length of time are in a unique position to see the folks who are unable to control it continually manifest more and more signs of addiction and watch them deteriorate right before their eyes...until one day somebody's running a code on a 35 year old woman who has graduated from Lorcet to Demerol to Dilaudid and already maxed out on Dilaudid dosing and who still can find no "relief". And it's all starting out with a chronic pain complaint and someone's being willing to write script after script after script and being too tired to argue and/or of being yelled at to stop it (ER docs included).

Does that make it right? No. Does the system tie their hands? Absolutely.

To answer your question regarding psychotropics, it is true that one can reach a point when a med regimen isn't working anymore, including (and especially) the spring/summer cycling in those with varying forms of psychoses or manic episodes. Surely medication regimens do have to be continuously re-evaluated under close medical scrutiny. But in my 20 years as a nurse I have yet to see anyone showing up in the ER screaming, cursing, and threatening staff for a dose of Prolixin or Seroquel. They show up screaming for Demerol or Dilaudid or Lorcets every day, sometimes several times in a day, sometimes several different ERs in the same day. That's the difference.

Jeff B said...

I found her opinion of us "scum" in the ERs kinda accurate:

"They are alchoholics in it only for the money. They also pass judgment on those of us who can't work and have Medicaid."

Yeah, so?

Shalom said...

@Babs: You said "in my 20 years as a nurse I have yet to see anyone showing up in the ER screaming, cursing, and threatening staff for a dose of Prolixin or Seroquel."

That's because they do that at the pharmacy. I had one patient nearly wreck my store because we couldn't find her Seroquel (because her home health aide had picked it up for her and forgot to tell her).

Anonymous said...

I can understand that working in ER, the majority of people who you see who claim to have fibromyalgia are drug seekers or hypochondriacs.

That's because the people who really do have fibromyalgia tend not to go to ER, but will be getting long term help instead of short term fixes.

Do you judge everyone with diabetes by the people who come in as a way to get out of jail?

MonkeyGirl said...

Why do the Anonymi insist on comparing fibromyalgia to diabetes?

It takes one drop of blood to prove that you are having a diabetic emergency.

You could use all of your blood and still never prove a fibromyalgia emergency. Because such a thing does not exist.

Stop comparing real diseases to fake ones.

Anonymous said...

And 100 years ago, you couldn't prove diabetes either. What is your point?
Is medical science really so advanced that we know everything about every disease?

I don't have fibromyalgia, but I have a related condition. One with a clear genetic trend, which 5 years ago no one believed to exist. Now it is known that it does. The same could well happen to fibromyalgia.

(the same anonymous who posted at 8.17)

Anonymous said...

OK...I'm late to this but had to throw in my 2 cents. I've noticed in my years and years of typing medical reports that there are several similarities amongst them, chief being obesity and unemployment, therefore I can only conclude that most, and I say MOST not ALL, fibromyalgics are fat and lazy! Get off your fat ass, take a walk, lay off the junk food and GET A JOB and you'll be amazed how quickly you'll feel better.

I feel so much better having said that.