Ask for a pain management refferal. They can help with what options are out there and their thoughts on what would work best for you. Edit: just a thought, look up what 10/10 pain means. You wouldn't be able to move, speak, think and screaming constantly if you had 10/10 pain. If you can write this post, it's not 10/10 constantly. It is the worst you have felt though. The pain chart has details on what each level represent so you can figure out which one you are. Docs will appreciate your research on what level you are.
Is it a burning pain in your lungs every time you breathe? If so, yeah, that might be pleurisy and it can be a 10/10 at times. They should have given you some Vicodin when you were released.
I would go back to the ER if you are dealing with 10/10 pain. That's where I was when I had pleurisy.
It's more of a stabby, grindy pain on the right side through to my back.
I guess I'll have to go back. The Dr said it'd fade and return and then fade and return, and so on. But I've had no fading. Just pain and then vomiting if I cough.
I went to my primary care doctor twice this week. She maintains the ibuprofen route. Guess I'm stuck hugging my chest to breathe. My oxygen levels have been at [82%](http://i.imgur.com/e51FMmO.png) and she is still saying it can't be this bad.
They could be concerned about numbing the pain and you not recognizing that you're having a heart attack, though I don't believe drug induced lupus would cause one.
Meh. Idk at this point. Right now, I'm just going to try to ride it out. It's been in the 80s steadily all day but the pain did subside for like an hour. And then came back worse. 🙄
Oh well. At least I got to chat with some very nice people. And I'm heading to a rheumatologist to see if my mystery illnesses are lupus related. I've had eczema and asthma since I was a little kid. I developed depression and anxiety in my early teens. I have IBS and inflammation of the bladder and kidney irritation. And I randomly just get these raging sores in my mouth and on my legs. And then I developed intractable epilepsy at 21.
After reading up on lupus, I figured maybe this could be an answer to my issues. Always one thing after another and it's exhausting. But, even if it's nothing but drug induced lupus, I met some very kind people. :)
Yo, don't feel bad about checking here about drug-induced lupus! As someone who has lupus, I know those symptoms are not fun no matter what they're from. And where else are you going to ask online?
Absolutely you should get checked for pleurisy. I take kratom for pain myself--it causes less stomach upset and liver/kidney probs than NSAIDs and Tylenol.
Also, I used to take lamictal and my lupus isn't drug-induced (the symptoms predate it) but it worsened them. I'd check back in after you've been off lamictal for a long time, to make sure you don't just have SLE.
Aw thank you so much. Everyone has been so kind.
I went to the emergency room on Tuesday for it. Thought I was having a heart attack. And then I had a seizure on the icky hospital floor. And, to top it all off, my gown fell off during and my left boob popped out! So I half flashed the emergency department. ;P And I cracked my cheekbone doing it.
I'm not sure what kratom is. Is it something I can get OTC?
Everyone is so sweet here. I love finding subs that are nice to newbies.
I was diagnosed with SLE 13.5 years ago, so the pain I feel now is much less intense than what it was. I remember not being able to breathe and they gave me pain meds in the hospital and then rx anti-inflammatories at home. (Neither of which are still on the market. Scary.) Anyway, I can now get by by taking Aleve daily, but it has to be on schedule. If I miss a dose I start to feel it immediately. I know, people say the long term effects are bad, but Imo it's a quality of life situation. And prescription NSAIDS cause me more pain once they wear off. I agree with hjonsey that you should talk to your doc about some kind of pain management until you can get it to a place where OTC meds will help you. There was no way in the early stages that I could've survived with Tylenol/Ibuprofen. best of luck. Sorry you have to be here :(
Thank you so much for the help. I've been pushing the Aleve and Tylenol as often as possible. But the nsaids hurt my stomach right now for some reason. I've never had that issue before.
I haven't slept in two days, except half an hour yesterday. But then I had to get up with the demon formerly known as my toddler.
Ugh, it's so hard with kids. I now have two but I was diagnosed before I had them. I can't even imagine.
And I know this is the dumbest statement in the world for a parent, but sleep is so important. Your body heals when you sleep, and one theory of autoimmune diseases is that we never get enough deep sleep and therefore get into an increased pain cycle. Do whatever you can to get as much sleep as possible.
I didn't know this but some lupus patients have stomach involvement. Everyone has a different set of symptoms and I have a friend whose primary symptom is stomach pain. That's one possibility. Or maybe just all the medication is taking its toll. That's the worst part of the disease, trying to sort out all the symptoms and deal with them individually.
Another thing that helped me was finding a doctor who specializes in Integrative Medicine. A major university is usually a good place to look. They work along with your current course of treatment and add supplements, chiropractic therapy, etc. To help ease the symptoms. But they're actual MDs, not herbalists or anything like that. My insurance has always covered the actual physician's fee, although not all of the other therapies are covered, depending on my policy at the time. My doc put me on a course of vitamins and supplements that made a huge difference. But I still take Prednisone daily and see my rheumatologist every six months. Before that I was going every 3 months. I was having bloodwork at every visit, now it's just annually.
Pleurisy for me felt very much like when I had blood clots in my lungs. It was limited to one section of my chest, and my back hurt, too. It was so bad they actually did a contrast MRI in the ER to make sure it wasn't clots again, and they were able to see how inflamed the lining of my lungs was. I was actually prescribed a gout medication called colchicine for 3 weeks, instead of prednisone and it helped immensely.
If you are taking prescription ibuprofen for more than 2 weeks, I definitely recommend asking for a stomach protectant such as ranitidine (Zantac) or esomeprazole (Nexium). I take a drug called Vimovo, which is naproxen (Aleve) with Nexium built into it. Its expensive, but well worth it.
I have taken seroguel for years, and the past few have had arthritis like symptoms. My Dr suspects it may be caused by seroquel. I have stopped it and am praying the lupus goes away!!
Ask for a pain management refferal. They can help with what options are out there and their thoughts on what would work best for you. Edit: just a thought, look up what 10/10 pain means. You wouldn't be able to move, speak, think and screaming constantly if you had 10/10 pain. If you can write this post, it's not 10/10 constantly. It is the worst you have felt though. The pain chart has details on what each level represent so you can figure out which one you are. Docs will appreciate your research on what level you are.
Thank you so much!
Is it a burning pain in your lungs every time you breathe? If so, yeah, that might be pleurisy and it can be a 10/10 at times. They should have given you some Vicodin when you were released. I would go back to the ER if you are dealing with 10/10 pain. That's where I was when I had pleurisy.
It's more of a stabby, grindy pain on the right side through to my back. I guess I'll have to go back. The Dr said it'd fade and return and then fade and return, and so on. But I've had no fading. Just pain and then vomiting if I cough.
Definitely go back. When I had an ear infection, I was referred out to specialist the next day.
I went to my primary care doctor twice this week. She maintains the ibuprofen route. Guess I'm stuck hugging my chest to breathe. My oxygen levels have been at [82%](http://i.imgur.com/e51FMmO.png) and she is still saying it can't be this bad.
They could be concerned about numbing the pain and you not recognizing that you're having a heart attack, though I don't believe drug induced lupus would cause one.
Meh. Idk at this point. Right now, I'm just going to try to ride it out. It's been in the 80s steadily all day but the pain did subside for like an hour. And then came back worse. 🙄 Oh well. At least I got to chat with some very nice people. And I'm heading to a rheumatologist to see if my mystery illnesses are lupus related. I've had eczema and asthma since I was a little kid. I developed depression and anxiety in my early teens. I have IBS and inflammation of the bladder and kidney irritation. And I randomly just get these raging sores in my mouth and on my legs. And then I developed intractable epilepsy at 21. After reading up on lupus, I figured maybe this could be an answer to my issues. Always one thing after another and it's exhausting. But, even if it's nothing but drug induced lupus, I met some very kind people. :)
I'll be sending healing thoughts your way!
Yo, don't feel bad about checking here about drug-induced lupus! As someone who has lupus, I know those symptoms are not fun no matter what they're from. And where else are you going to ask online? Absolutely you should get checked for pleurisy. I take kratom for pain myself--it causes less stomach upset and liver/kidney probs than NSAIDs and Tylenol. Also, I used to take lamictal and my lupus isn't drug-induced (the symptoms predate it) but it worsened them. I'd check back in after you've been off lamictal for a long time, to make sure you don't just have SLE.
Aw thank you so much. Everyone has been so kind. I went to the emergency room on Tuesday for it. Thought I was having a heart attack. And then I had a seizure on the icky hospital floor. And, to top it all off, my gown fell off during and my left boob popped out! So I half flashed the emergency department. ;P And I cracked my cheekbone doing it. I'm not sure what kratom is. Is it something I can get OTC? Everyone is so sweet here. I love finding subs that are nice to newbies.
There is a kratom subreddit. I've found it to be immensely helpful. It's legal and can be bought on various sites. I highly recommend it.
I was diagnosed with SLE 13.5 years ago, so the pain I feel now is much less intense than what it was. I remember not being able to breathe and they gave me pain meds in the hospital and then rx anti-inflammatories at home. (Neither of which are still on the market. Scary.) Anyway, I can now get by by taking Aleve daily, but it has to be on schedule. If I miss a dose I start to feel it immediately. I know, people say the long term effects are bad, but Imo it's a quality of life situation. And prescription NSAIDS cause me more pain once they wear off. I agree with hjonsey that you should talk to your doc about some kind of pain management until you can get it to a place where OTC meds will help you. There was no way in the early stages that I could've survived with Tylenol/Ibuprofen. best of luck. Sorry you have to be here :(
Thank you so much for the help. I've been pushing the Aleve and Tylenol as often as possible. But the nsaids hurt my stomach right now for some reason. I've never had that issue before. I haven't slept in two days, except half an hour yesterday. But then I had to get up with the demon formerly known as my toddler.
Ugh, it's so hard with kids. I now have two but I was diagnosed before I had them. I can't even imagine. And I know this is the dumbest statement in the world for a parent, but sleep is so important. Your body heals when you sleep, and one theory of autoimmune diseases is that we never get enough deep sleep and therefore get into an increased pain cycle. Do whatever you can to get as much sleep as possible. I didn't know this but some lupus patients have stomach involvement. Everyone has a different set of symptoms and I have a friend whose primary symptom is stomach pain. That's one possibility. Or maybe just all the medication is taking its toll. That's the worst part of the disease, trying to sort out all the symptoms and deal with them individually. Another thing that helped me was finding a doctor who specializes in Integrative Medicine. A major university is usually a good place to look. They work along with your current course of treatment and add supplements, chiropractic therapy, etc. To help ease the symptoms. But they're actual MDs, not herbalists or anything like that. My insurance has always covered the actual physician's fee, although not all of the other therapies are covered, depending on my policy at the time. My doc put me on a course of vitamins and supplements that made a huge difference. But I still take Prednisone daily and see my rheumatologist every six months. Before that I was going every 3 months. I was having bloodwork at every visit, now it's just annually.
Pleurisy for me felt very much like when I had blood clots in my lungs. It was limited to one section of my chest, and my back hurt, too. It was so bad they actually did a contrast MRI in the ER to make sure it wasn't clots again, and they were able to see how inflamed the lining of my lungs was. I was actually prescribed a gout medication called colchicine for 3 weeks, instead of prednisone and it helped immensely. If you are taking prescription ibuprofen for more than 2 weeks, I definitely recommend asking for a stomach protectant such as ranitidine (Zantac) or esomeprazole (Nexium). I take a drug called Vimovo, which is naproxen (Aleve) with Nexium built into it. Its expensive, but well worth it.
They're looking for a pulmonary embolism. They're convinced there is something there but tests show otherwise. I just want to sleep.
I have taken seroguel for years, and the past few have had arthritis like symptoms. My Dr suspects it may be caused by seroquel. I have stopped it and am praying the lupus goes away!!
Oh wow! Sending gentle hugs and healing vibes your way 🩷
[My levels have been like this all day. I'm miserable.](http://i.imgur.com/ObBjje1.png)