Zoloft for Fibromyalgia Pain?

Fibromyalgia Trigger Points

As I posted Tuesday, I've been titrating off Zoloft and replacing it with Amitriptylene so I'm able to take the Fibromyalgia drug Savella.  According to drug interaction information, Savella should not be taken with an SSRI so this change, as inconvenient as it is, was necessary.

Late last year, while conducting yet another of my countless experiments with regards to curing this dismal disease, I also weaned myself off Zoloft (as well as all other medications) in order to follow the Alpha Nutrition Diet for Aching and fatigue (original post).  I noticed when I was completely off Zoloft, that some of my symptoms, which had been absent for some time, returned.  I started again to feel as though I had the flu.  I felt feverish, sweaty and my entire body ached as one does when afflicted with a high fever.  I attributed it, simply, as another phase of the ever changing disease, however, I did make a mental note that the symptoms had appeared almost exactly to the day that I stopped taking Zoloft.

I hadn't read anywhere that Zoloft was being used as a treatment for Fibromyalgia or ME/CFS so I didn't put much stock in the idea that the timing was significant.  The flu-like symptoms did go away, though I can't remember the relationship with when I began taking Zoloft again.

Last night my two year old daughter had one of her infamous sleepless nights which, of course, meant I got very little sleep as well.  Anyone who has Fibromyalgia or ME/CFS knows that lack of sleep is a killer.  Last night, as I lay next to my daughter in her small bed, afraid to move a muscle or even breathe too deeply for fear she would awake, I felt my leg muscles begin to throb and ache, then, the pain slowly spread throughout my entire body all the way to my finger tips.  In what seemed like minutes from when my body started aching, I felt sweat begin to form on my upper lip and the fever-like chills began.  I thought,  "Oh shit!  It's back!".  I'd been fortunate to be rid of these flu-like symptoms for some time and it hardly seemed coincidental that I had taken my last Zoloft two nights before.

I've discovered through reading others' experiences, that treatments for both ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia vary greatly from patient to patient.  One of the strangest and most baffling things about these diseases is the drastically different ways they effect each sufferer and therefore, the methods of treatment that are used.  Zoloft!  Who knew?  If my experiment with Savella doesn't pan out, I'll be going back on Zoloft for sure!  If I can't be completely cured, at least I know some of my symptoms can be relieved.

Amitriptyline & Savella for ME CFS & Fibromyalgia

I'm still going strong with the vegan diet (day 26) and I really think it's helping me.  I posted the question on a couple different forums to see if anyone else had experienced cessation of symptoms after switching to a plant-based diet and I got mixed responses.  Some reported improvements while another wrote she had quit a vegetarian diet after becoming sick and found that meat protein had helped her.  It seems that like so many other aspects of ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia, diet also effects sufferers very differently.

I had a visit with my doctor last week and we decided I would try the last mainstream medication for ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia I haven't taken yet, which is Savella.  Since Savella can't be taken at the same time as an SSRI, I'm tapering off Zoloft and starting on Amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant.  After I'm completely off  Zoloft (in two weeks or so), I'll start taking the Savella and see what happens.  I'm not getting my hopes up since no other prescription medication I've tried has helped, but I feel I have to try everything that's "out there" before resorting to more extreme measures such as B Cell Depletion Therapy which involves toxic chemo-therapy drugs.  If this latest experiment fails, I'll be making an appointment for a consultation with Dr. Andreas Kogelnik at Stanford who is leading much of the research being done on B Cell Depletion Therapy for ME/CFS in the USA.  I have some links and other information about this subject on my website: ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia Awareness - B Cell Depletion Therapy.

Vegan Diet for CFS & FMS - Day 16

I have to admit, of all the different diets I've tried, this is the easiest to stick with.  Since I've been mostly vegetarian for years, cutting out dairy wasn't as hard as I would have thought.  There is actually a very wide variety of vegan food choices including pasta and marinara sauce, peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, humus and spinach wraps, brown rice with cooked vegetables and olive oil and many more meals don't contain any meat or dairy.  I try to use organic ingredients when possible because I still believe that there's something to the theory about chemical sensitivity in food and it's connection to autoimmune disease.  I can't just dismiss the presence of chemicals in our food supply as having no deleterious effect on the health of the general public.  The increase in diagnoses of strange unexplained diseases (such as Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue) is unequivocally on the rise.  The statistics are indisputable, but I digress.

I still believe my experiment with diet change is having good results.  They aren't drastic by any means but I do feel as though I have more energy and I even lost five pounds.  I hope that as I continue eating a plant based diet, the results will become more noticable.

To change the subject a bit, I'm also experimenting with an over-the-counter supplement called Zyflamend by New Chapter which was recommended to me by Dr. Richard Podell in New Jersey.  The capsules are quite expensive so I want to know they really work before investing any more money in them.  Zyflamend is a supplement that was created to address joint and muscle pain (among other ailments).  I started taking two capsules a day back in January and I felt as though my muscles didn't feel as weak as they had but I couldn't be sure the Zyflamend was responsible.  I'd cut down to one capsule a day for the last couple weeks to extend my supply.  I've been noticing increased muscle weakness and knee pain.  Yesterday I took my last capsule.  If the muscle weakness and joint pain continues or gets worse, I'll try taking the Zyflamend again and see if it was in fact what had alleviated the weakness and pain initially. 

Here's the link to the Zyflamend site if you want to check it out.
http://www.newchapter.com/zyflamend

Vegan Diet for ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia - UPDATE

So, I've been on a strictly vegan diet for a couple weeks now.  I still don't have any definitive answers regarding the effectiveness of this diet on my condition but I do think I generally have more energy, as I wrote in my last post.

The only negative thing about this diet I have discovered so far, are the...well...digestive issues.  Without going into much disgusting detail, I'll just say that the dramatic increase of fiber in my diet had some pretty gross side effects.  I went online to see if others were having the same problem and they most certainly were.  Apparently this is a common issue for many people during the first couple weeks on an exclusively plant based diet.  I made a few adjustments, such as, reducing my daily intake of legumes and fruit and it seemed to eliminate the "problems" almost immediately.  In fact, the very first day I adjusted my diet, I experienced almost no stomach discomfort.

So, if you're struggling with some of the same issues, hang in there.  Just try adjusting things a little at a time and I'm sure you too will find a balance that makes your digestive system happy.

To follow up on an earlier post (Being a Mom With ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia), my time has officially run out with regards to the St. Patrick's Day fundraiser at my daughter's pre-school.  In last months newsletter, the teachers had asked if parents would plan to help with the corn-beef and cabbage dinner (talk about digestive issues) they were having to raise money for the school.  When I attended a parents meeting, the director brought this subject up and I sunk down in my chair, hoping no one would notice that I hadn't volunteered for anything.  Since then, I've been wondering what I would say when someone finally asked me point-blank if they could count on me.  Fortunately, the request came in the form of an email which didn't put me on the spot as much as I had imagined.  I explained that while I would be happy to bake cookies or cupcakes for the event, I wouldn't be able to work at the dinner due to my "Fibromyalgia (among other things)".  I continued by writing that I had many physical limitations and that I had been forced to quit my job as a result.

I don't know what the director's reaction will be when she reads the email tomorrow morning, but I'll find out when I drop my daughter off.  I will also have to admit that neither my husband or I were able to sell even one of the eight tickets to the event each parent had been given.

I know, intellectually, it's not my fault that I won't be participating in the St. Patrick's Day dinner, but emotionally, the whole situation just makes me feel like a terrible mother and I fear that's how others will view me.

Vegan Diet for CFS/FMS - Day 6

Well, I don't want to get my hopes up prematurely, but I think I may actually be feeling a bit better.  I think I have a little more energy than usual.  Since my last post, I've spoken to more people who have seen the documentary film "Forks Over Knives" and were also inspired to "go Vegan".  They also reported feeling better than they ever had.  Of course, none of them were suffering from chronic illnesses that I'm aware of but just the fact that a change in diet could have such a profound effect on one's general well-being is so exciting.

My conscience is so much clearer now too.  I gave up eating meat quite a few years ago but still ate fish and dairy.  I always felt guilty, since I knew of the tortured lives chickens and dairy cows endure, never seeing the light of day or breathing fresh air.  I love the taste of fish, so I always rationalized eating it by thinking that since fish lived in their natural habitat and basically led a normal life up till the time they were killed, they weren't nearly as inhumanely treated as other farm animals.

I never had a rationale for eating dairy, I guess I was just lazy and simply avoided thinking about it.  Anyway, I didn't mean to get on my animal rights soap box since it's not really relevant to the topic.

I'm displaying the link for the film "Forks Over Knives" here again because I highly recommend watching it.  I think it can be very helpful if not life-changing.

Plant Based Diet for ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia?

I recently viewed the documentary film Forks Over Knives.  I'd been seriously considering a vegan diet for some time but hadn't been motivated enough to actually start.  I haven't eaten meat for many years but I always ate fish and dairy products.  This film was so inspiring that I haven't eaten a morsel of animal based food since watching it.  I'm already on day three of a completely vegan diet.

Anyone who's read previous posts in this blog knows that I've tried at least three different diets as well as countless medications, supplements, etc, in an attempt to get some relief from, or even a cure for my debilitating ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.  So far I've had little to no results in the more than two years I've been suffering with these diseases.  So now, I'm hoping, once again, that this will be my "holy grail".

Forks Over Knives is an excellent film that I think could really change your life.  It's amazing how profoundly healing a plant based diet was for some of the subjects in the film.  Drs. Campbell and Esselstyn go into scientific detail on why animal based foods are detrimental to your body and how plant based foods can actually stop and even reverse damage to your heart and other organs.  In my opinion, they prove that eating animals is not good for you as well as being (unknowingly) unethical and inhumane.  I loved the film and recommend everyone watch it.

Yesterday, while walking home from the market, I met a friend who knows I haven't been well and she asked how I was feeling.  I told her that I was hanging in there but was still feeling pretty bad.  I then briefly summarised my experiences since I had last seen her.  She said she could completely identify with not feeling well, then went on to tell me how she'd been having bad headaches and that she and her husband had finally decided to start a vegan diet, hoping to feel better.  I couldn't believe the irony of meeting her and having this discussion only two days after my having seen the film.  She went on to say that she and her husband had never felt better, that her headaches had gone away and that both of them had lost weight.  It must be a sign...maybe I'm actually on the right track this time. 

I'll continue updating as my latest battle with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia continues.

How DARE They!!??

Two days ago I received a letter in the mail that really pissed me off.   It was a solicitation from the hospital I recently visited, for a donation to their "foundation".   I couldn't believe it.   I posted recently about this particular ER visit last month.
My Very Unproductive Visit to the ER
ER Visit Follow Up
To sum the incident up, while I was in NJ for the holidays, I ended up in the ER with a severe bout of depression that I think was a side effect of some medication I was taking.  After stagnating in a psych ward screening cell for about eight hours, I was discharged without being treated or even being seen by a doctor.  The next day, still not able to leave my bed, I received a call from a psychologist from the hospital who apologized profusely and twice, tried to get me to come back to be admitted.

I don't have insurance and am currently unemployed due to my illness.  I spent thousands of dollars last year on doctors visits, blood work, medication and hospital visits.  I'm still paying for blood work I had done in 2010 and my credit cards are nearing their limits.

The fact that the hospital, after sending me huge bills that I'll be paying for years, would have the audacity to ask me for a donation is mind-boggling!  Something is really wrong in a country where health care costs are so high that the patients cannot afford to become ill and apparently even those sky-high fees aren't enough to keep the hospital running, even as hospital administrators are paid obscene salaries.

My hometown hospital does the same thing.  Every few weeks I receive a plea for money in my mailbox.  Every time I open the envelope it gets my ire up and I enthusiastically throw it in the recycling bin.

Does anyone else feel offended by these solicitations?  Ok, I'm stepping off my soap box now...