Hey everyone. I have posted a few times but I don't come back as often as I would like since I work full time and have two little ones and a husband that craves attention on top of it all =)
Well, I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia about two months ago. Just last week I started seeing a new doctor who actually has the experience of a 15 year clinical study of Fibromyalgia patients. I thought this would be a great change for me.
She has since started me on several anti-depressants: Depakote (mood stabilizer), Sarafem (anti-depressant), she has also kept me on my Norco, Soma, Clonopin, and Savella.
I am praying that the mood enhancers give me a better outlook on life and hopefully that reduces my pain. I have several mental illnesses that run in my: family bipolar disorder, paranoia, etc.
Here's the issue: I have a very physical job and the Norco helps quite a bit with getting through my daily life. I have tried taking my other medications without it and they don't seem to work, which leads me to believe that the Norco intensifies the effects of the other medications.
There are several reasons why I am even considering going off of the Norco, the first being that I have recently found out that my husband has been abusing this drug off the street and stealing them from me. Now he is trying to quit but he feels that he cannot do it if he knows I am taking this medication, especially if it is in the house. The second reason I want to try to go off of it is that I am starting to build a tolerance to it to the point where it takes the edge off, and I fear there is never going to be a medication that will keep me pain free. I have ran short on my Norco a few times due to taking a few more than directed and also my husband taking them! Without the medication, my anxiety and emotions run wild trying to fathom how I am going to make it through work, support my family, etc, with this debilitating pain that I can barely function with.
The third reason I was pondering coming off of it is that my new doctor said that in her experience Norco doesn't do any good for Fibro patients.
What am I going to do?? My husband says he wants me to be strong and work through the pain because that's what I need to do to support our girls. The doctor did not want to switch me to Ultram because she feels it will not work well since I have tried Lyrica before and that did not work.
I am at a loss of what to do. I worry so much about how I am going to function on the long term rather than making day by day. I don't know if I should continue the Norco or try to come off of it to see what happens. I have a week off next week which would be the ideal time to detox if I am going to do it.
Any helpful or encouraging comments on the subject??