Sometimes life gets in the way....

...of blogging! I've been so busy this past month. It's been crazy, but fun. Sometimes not fun. :-(Let's start from the beginning I suppose. I write as well as I remember.I was feeling very depressed so I requested to go back on Pristiq again. They started me off slow to try and avoid seratonin syndrome. I started at 25mg for a week and then bumped it up to the full 50mg for another week. About 3 days into the 50mg dosage I got seratonin syndrome. It was aweful. I was hot and dizzy and my heart was all thumpy. I went to the ER and they did an EKG, and made me sit for about 2 hours then told me not to take Savella and Pristiq together. Well, duh. So long story short I played phone tag with my doctors for a while and am now no longer taking the Savella. The best part is that I am not afraid to leave the house as much. I even got the mail on my own for the first time in months. The worst part is that I am having more pain.
About a week after I came off my Savella was my very first fashion show. Well, ok I've been in shows before, but as a model. This was my first show as a designer. We left Saint Cloud on Thursday and checked into a hotel since I had to be there at 12 on Friday. We thought the hotel would be a convenience, but in reality it just made things harder I think. I've been doing gluten free for my IBS, and the continental breakfast was anything but. Also, the hotel room was super small and the bed was hard. So I won't be staying there again. In all the show went great. I must have run up and down 2 flights of stairs at least 60 times that day. By the end of everything my legs were shaking from the pain. But the show was awesome.This is a photo of me and my models from the show.
In true Fibrolita fashion I managed to forget my clothes for the show at home. So I am wearing clothing from Scoundrelle's Keep. Photo by Photosynthetic. Check out the shop for my clothing at seraphimfeathers.etsy.com

The next day was the birthday party of my friend, and I drank too much and danced too much. Relaxing on the couch at the club, my back was hurting.
Relaxing on the couch at the club, my back was hurting.

Sharing Lambic with Jon. Turns out it's not gluten free.

A cosmopolitan. It was yummy.

So by Sunday I was in full on flare mode. But I wanted to visit the Mall of America before I had to go back to Saint Cloud. So I got pushed around the mall in a wheelchair for the day.

I am just now beginning to get over the flare, which is nice, but being laid up for a week was not.

Yesterday I went apple picking with my friends too! I will make a different post for that. :-)

My Adventures with Savella: An overdue post

So I have been on Savella since June 18th, about 3 months and 2 weeks. I do have to say that it has been helping. I find that I am able to do a little more on regualar days, and a cut down in my horrible days. I still am living life with a pain level of 6-7, but it takes longer to get worse. Last week I cleaned out the garage and went through totes in the house. About 2 full days of activity. Only did things get really bad when the day after this I took a walk down the block. My legs were in horrible pain and my neck was burning. So I took the next day for rest, and have been feeling better. I still have trouble sitting in the same position for too long, and tired easily. I haven't noticed any adverse side effects, so I am going to continue taking it to see if things get any better.

I am having trouble with my depression and anxiety though. I had to come of my Pristiq to start taking Savella so there wouldn't be a bad interaction. Since then my anxiety and depression have ruled my life to the point of me not even being able to get the mail by myself. I stay quiet in the house, so that no one knows I am home. With the Pristiq these things were under control and I would even take the bus places on my own. I brought this up to my doctor and he wants to start me on the Pristiq again. I will start with 25mg for the first week and call them after that to see how it's affecting me. I hope that if I were to get my depression and anxiety under control, that maybe my fibro would be a little more controlled too. I will be sure to keep you all updated on that.

I have another appointment with RNA tomorrow as well, and those have always gone well. :-)

My Adventures with Savella: Weeks 2 and 3, Almost a month!

I've been putting off this post for a while now. I noticed that I only have 3 days left of my titration pack of Savella and thought I better get to it!

What can I say though, being at 50mg 2 times a day for almost 3 weeks now has been pretty swell. I haven't noticed any adverse side-effects, other than the appetite suppression. Which is good for getting off the almost 50 pounds I gained while on Lyrica. There is no increased fog like I noticed with the Lyrica. I also think I am having some improvement with pain. Today I sewed for 4 hours or so with no distractions and no pain, almost finishing an entire dress. Inevitably my back screamed "STOOOOOOPPPP!", so I did. I am very happy with what was accomplished and haven't done this well since getting sick. I'd say that is an improvement right there.

So it's not anywhere near perfect, but I have noticed a difference. I think it can only get better from here.

In other news I should be hearing about my SSI/SSDI with in the month, which will really make me feel better about my reduced work hours. Life with fibro is expensive, and very stressful when you can't work as much as you need to. I've also opened up an Etsy store selling clothing I have made. The link is www.etsy.com/seraphimfeathers If anyone here has an Etsy shop, I would love to have a look!

One last thing before I am off: The dress I was working on today is going to be featured, along with 3 other garments by me in Full Fashion Panic at SGMS. I've got until August to finish all the garments, and I feel that with this new found productivity I will be able to do that no problem. :-)

If you have any questions for me about Savella or anything covered in this blog that haven't been answered here please feel free to email me at fibrolita@gmail.com

My Adventures with Savella: Week One

Last Friday was marks the first week of being on Savella. So far there is not much to report since at that time I had only been taking 25mg 2 times a day. I did notice a decrease in my appetite, but no nausea or sleeplessness. At least no more nausea and sleeplessness than usual.

Since I haven't got much to report, lets talk about side effects. WebMD lists the most common side effects as:

High Blood Pressure	Less Severe
Dry Mouth	Less Severe
Incomplete or Infrequent Bowel Movements	Less Severe
Dizzy	Less Severe
Chronic Trouble Sleeping	Less Severe
Excessive Sweating	Less Severe
Temporary Redness of Face and Neck	Less Severe
Loss of Appetite	Less Severe
Head Pain	Less Severe
Fast Heartbeat	Less Severe
Heart Throbbing or Pounding	Less Severe
Feel Like Throwing Up	Less Severe
Throwing Up

When my aunt was on Savella it gave her high blood pressure, which is something I am a little concerned about. It runs in my family and I am on The Pill for endometriosis, which can cause high blood pressure too.

So far, everything on the Savella front is A-OK. I'll report on things again on Friday for week 2.

My Adventures with Savella: The Titration Pack

I started my dose of Savella last night. The first day is 1 12.5mg tablet. The next day bumps it up to 2 12.5mg tablets and you contune on that dose for 2 days. Days 4-7 are 2 25mg tablets each day, and days 8-28 are 2 50mg tablets each day. In the image you can see it's all layed out for you, sort of like a birth-contol packet.

Savella, also called milnicipran HCI, is an SNRI (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) and works by balancing out certain neurotransmitters. It works in the same way as an anti-depressant. Savella is the first drug approved by the FDA that was specifically formulated to treat fibromyalgia. Lyrica started out as an anti-seizure medication, and Cymbalta is an antidepressant.

It's too early in my dosing to know if it's made a difference, but I have high hopes for this medication. Even if it doesn't work for me, that brings me one step closer to finding something that does and having more answers.

For more information on Savella check out webmd.com or savella.com

My Adventures with Lyrica, Begining Savella

In April I came off Lyrica after having been on it since August. I started out with a small dose and was kept on it for a long time. It didn't really make a difference. After the does was doubled to 150mg per day I began to see the difference. The pain was less. I did have increased fibro fog though, and I began having moodswings, nightmares and hallucinations.

For me the hurt was more than the help so I cam off it. I am not trying to discourage or scare anyone off from this medicine, because everyone is different. It can be helpful. My aunt that also has fibro is on it and it's making her life easier again and she is doing really well on it. On the other hand she couldn't tolerate Savella.

Anyways, I post this 1.Because I haven't posted in ages, and 2.Because I have just been prescribed Savella. I will be posting over the next few weeks how Savella affects me, hoping that the info can help someone out there.