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Help with Terrible Pain and Muscle Spasms

acrosstheveil

Senior Member
Messages
373
I have been having terrible allergic reactions on a daily basis. I Have to take painkillers, multiple allergy meds, and even gabapentin lately just to get by. Some of my symptoms are migraines, swollen lymph nodes, muscle spasms, feeling skin "crawling", tinnitus, chest pains, and sometimes even what feels like a panic attack when it gets really bad. I feel like someone is torturing me. I wish this would all just end.

I feel like I am in a bad movie trying to play the character that is supposed to feel normal. I have to work so much and feel like I am an inch closer to dying every day. I am so exhausted and in so much pain.

Tried upping my methylfolate dose since that is supposed to fix everything :rolleyes: and i just feel hyperstimulated now and in even more pain. Are there any meds I can ask for that may help? My doc won't give me anything stronger than vicodin even though it stopped working a couple months ago. I don't like taking gabapentin because I became dependent on it several years ago and had a very traumatic experience coming off of it.

I don't know how people do this. At least if I had cancer or something people would understand. How come people don't understand lyme? Its very common. I know tons of people with lyme and none with cancer or als.
 

acrosstheveil

Senior Member
Messages
373
thanks, i don't expect any cure at this point nor anything that can help. I am just incredibly frustrated and need to vent where someone might be able to relate.

trying to get a clue of what to do next.
 

JAH

Senior Member
Messages
497
Location
Northern California
I'm sorry you're going through this. I've had many of your symptoms, including severe muscle spasming, and 3 trips to the ER. I'm not sure I can help you at all, just wanted to say that I get it, and it's horrendous. Are you sure you're having allergic reactions? Still not sure what's been happening to me, but it hasn't been allergic - hope you're doing better,

JAH
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
Antimicrobials and methylfolate got me there as well. I got out of it when I finally found an effective form of supplementing magnesium. And afterwards electrolyte balancing with potassium, sodium, calcium.
Unfortunately "visiting" ER wasn't helpful. Seeing my dr. only helped to get the urine and blood tests I needed. Treatment was self experimentation.:nervous:
 

acrosstheveil

Senior Member
Messages
373
I'm sorry you're going through this. I've had many of your symptoms, including severe muscle spasming, and 3 trips to the ER. I'm not sure I can help you at all, just wanted to say that I get it, and it's horrendous. Are you sure you're having allergic reactions? Still not sure what's been happening to me, but it hasn't been allergic - hope you're doing better,

JAH


not 100% sure. Apparently all the stuff I'm reacting to I'm not allergic to according to the allergist. That doesn't explain going into anaphylactic shock though....

thanks, just trying to take it one day at a time without losing my job
 

acrosstheveil

Senior Member
Messages
373
Antimicrobials and methylfolate got me there as well. I got out of it when I finally found an effective form of supplementing magnesium. And afterwards electrolyte balancing with potassium, sodium, calcium.
Unfortunately "visiting" ER wasn't helpful. Seeing my dr. only helped to get the urine and blood tests I needed. Treatment was self experimentation.:nervous:


what form of magnesium do you take? I currently take magnesisum chelate. Is there a better form?

and how did you supplement the electrolytes? is there a formula/supplement that I can buy?
 

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,688
Baclofen helps me with muscle spasms and also aids in sleep. It's very calming, working on the Gaba B receptor. A pharmacist told me there is no dependency potential. However, I don't take it every night.
 

acrosstheveil

Senior Member
Messages
373
Baclofen helps me with muscle spasms and also aids in sleep. It's very calming, working on the Gaba B receptor. A pharmacist told me there is no dependency potential. However, I don't take it every night.


have you tried gabapentin before? if so, how does it compare?

also, what dosage of baclofen do you take?
 

perchance dreamer

Senior Member
Messages
1,688
I haven't tried gabapentin. I get 20 MG Baclofen. They split easily, and I sometimes take 10 MG.

Ten MG is useful during the day for pain because it's not sedating for me at that dosage although it's still a little calming. If I take it at night, I use 20 MG.

I really like tablets that are easy to split so I can tinker with the dosage. I wish they were all that way. Some just shatter when you try to split them.
 

acrosstheveil

Senior Member
Messages
373
ok. too bad it's schedule 2. i will have to go see him to ask him about that.

i signed up for online appointments which is in nice since my doc is in dc and the traffic there is insane. I'm going to ask him about some meds for pain but he can only call in schedule 3 and schedule 4 drugs. I need a hand written prescription for schedule 1/2 unfortunately.
 

NilaJones

Senior Member
Messages
647
It does sound like this could be a mineral balance thing. Are you taking calcium, zinc, copper, iron? Separate from each other and at different times of the day? Eating higher amounts of potassium and salt?
 

acrosstheveil

Senior Member
Messages
373
I take zinc and magensium. I have tried taking lots of potassium in the past and it made me very sick. I do eat tons of sea salt.
 

NilaJones

Senior Member
Messages
647
I take zinc and magensium. I have tried taking lots of potassium in the past and it made me very sick. I do eat tons of sea salt.
Zinc without copper will give you muscle problems. So will magnesium without calcium. Again, take them all separately!

Potassium from supps is irritating to the gut. You can get much more potassium from the right foods than you can from oral supplements. Try drinking a half liter of coconut water, or eating a couple of handfuls of dried apricots, and see if your symptoms immediately improve.

You can also apply minerals topically, dissolved in water, or as foot soaks.
 

JAH

Senior Member
Messages
497
Location
Northern California
not 100% sure. Apparently all the stuff I'm reacting to I'm not allergic to according to the allergist. That doesn't explain going into anaphylactic shock though....

thanks, just trying to take it one day at a time without losing my job
Ok, didn't realize you were going into shock! I have also had that - similar feeling, but different to the "attacks" I've had over last year, which I think were caused by neurological problem. All the best, J
 

Sherlock

Boswellia for lungs and MC stabllizing
Messages
1,287
Location
k8518704 USA
Since you mention shock, you might try a mast cell stabilizer. Dr. Theoharides has some good videos on youtube.

Histamine is a major product of mast cells, but there are many others, too... some of which are proteases that might be affecting your muscles.
 

acrosstheveil

Senior Member
Messages
373
Zinc without copper will give you muscle problems. So will magnesium without calcium. Again, take them all separately!

Potassium from supps is irritating to the gut. You can get much more potassium from the right foods than you can from oral supplements. Try drinking a half liter of coconut water, or eating a couple of handfuls of dried apricots, and see if your symptoms immediately improve.

You can also apply minerals topically, dissolved in water, or as foot soaks.


i can't tolerate sugar so coconut water and apricots aren't going to work
 

Gondwanaland

Senior Member
Messages
5,092
what form of magnesium do you take? I currently take magnesisum chelate. Is there a better form?

and how did you supplement the electrolytes? is there a formula/supplement that I can buy?
I tried epsom salt foot baths, oral glycinate, aspartate, citrate (which correspond to chelate I guess), and all of these made me feel worse. I was thinking I could not tolerate magnesium at all, but in the end I was trying the wrong forms for me. The only form I tolerated was magnesium oxide, and took it to bowel tolerance for about one month (600mg daily).
Zinc without copper will give you muscle problems. So will magnesium without calcium. Again, take them all separately!

Potassium from supps is irritating to the gut. You can get much more potassium from the right foods than you can from oral supplements. Try drinking a half liter of coconut water, or eating a couple of handfuls of dried apricots, and see if your symptoms immediately improve.

You can also apply minerals topically, dissolved in water, or as foot soaks.
I second the above, but I personally don't supplement with calcium. After my magnesium "load" I am able to tolerate yogurt again, so have been balancing minerals with food. At some point this supplement helped me. I took 1 capsule splitted 3x a day for just a few days.

This morning I took 40mg of Mg oxide with my B complex and had to go back to bed to sleep a few more hours. So I think I won't need to supplement with Mg so soon again...

One must watch out for low BP and other mineral imbalances.