Numb Fingers...

[badstar]

Well, I finally got in to a doctor on Friday, suspicions of a pinched ulnar nerve confirmed. She gave me prescriptions for a muscle relaxer (flexoril) and something similar to ibuprofin whose name I can't remember.

I was really kinda unhappy when the pharmacy substituted a generic for the flexoril without checking with me first. I've never had a prescription filled there before (CVS on Light street)...for all they know, I might have had a reaction to the generic in the past and not been able to take it. There was nothing written on the prescription forms about generic substitutions being ok. *sigh* (When I worked in the Rite Aid pharmacy, we were only allowed to substitute generics after asking the customer, unless explicitly stated on the prescription form)

I've never taken a muscle relaxer before, and have heard stories of people getting all hopped up on them, I was kinda apprehensive. Since I've never taken them before, the doctor prescribed the lowest possible dose and told me to take it when I'm ready to go to sleep. When I took it last night, I didn't get all wonky, just fell asleep very quickly after taking it.

So anyway, the doctor seems pretty sure that this should be greatly improved within a week and pretty much cleared up within two, if it's not significantly improved within a week, I'm supposed to make another appointment to look into skeletal causes like bones out of alignment.

Comments

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Flex (and generic) make you sleepy. They also cause dry eyes and dry mouth & thirst. I need to drink more water.

Yeah, I fell dead asleep within about half an hour of taking it. I did notice that my mouth was extremely dry when I woke up...but I also have been waking up with a dry mouth a lot lately, since I started sleeping in the path of two fairly strong fans running on high all night, so I didn't think much of it. The eyes so far are okay. I would suspect that any side effects I might get would probably be less severe since I'm only taking 10 milligrams once a day.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

see..I pretty much never take medicines, other than one specific cough syrup when I have a cold, and the very rare aleeve/tylenol/ibuprofin.

[falnfenix]

i had a feeling that's what it was. if it really starts to flare up, have Gavin (that's her name, right?) or whomever might be available at the time check the muscle around/under the shoulder blade near the spine. if it's knotted, put a heating pad on it to release the knot (since you don't want to aggravate the muscle further without medical guidance or someone experienced - it's easy to hurt it further. don't ask how i know).

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Hmmm...the doctor seemed more concerned with the muscle up where neck meets shoulder (there's a spot there that, when pressed, is sore), she said that that was perfectly consistent with a pinched ulnar nerve...is this something else that you're talking about with a knot around the shoulder blade near the spine?

[falnfenix]

i know where you're talking about, and that's one pressure spot...mine's fairly well developed, and i get the tensed muscle under the shoulder blade, too. they're both related to the pinched nerve.

hope you start feeling better SOON. try mousing with the other hand, maybe? it could help reduce problems with that arm, at least for a little bit.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

I have pretty much always moused with the other hand, it's one of very few thigns that I do right-handed, and it's the left side that's affected.

[falnfenix]

ah, good. i'm a rightie and my right arm is affected, so i'll get to the point where i just can't move my arm anymore. it makes work difficult at times...heh.

[unprotoize.livejournal.com]

I have had this myself... same exact numbness symptoms, same cause. That's the upper trapezius (Trap 1 in shorthand). Meds are one option but honestly I don't think they're the best answer - cyclobenzaprine is a stunningly strong tranquilizer. Massaging that area (you can do it yourself..put your left hand on your right shoulder and move it around and make "playing the piano" motions on it with your fingertips). Also, mindfulness. When you feel it start go get tensed up, breathe and let it melt.

It also helps to massage the area between the bones of the ulna and radius..there's a thin meaty strip of muscle that runs between them. There are also a few good pressure points near the "funny bone" .. stick your thumb in the inner elbow area and move around.

You might visit a massage therapist for a consultation and they'll probably have a zillion more ideas.

[unprotoize.livejournal.com]

Hey I have a referral for ya - Dave Adams is a licensed massage therapist in the Baltimore area, he's the one who helped me out with my hand problems. I have kind of lost touch with him but he's a heck of a nice guy and he'll probably sit down with you for a few minutes for no charge. I don't have his phone number but his e-mail address as of a couple years ago was <dnabass@yahoo.com>. He is (or was) the massage therapist at the Maryland Club which is in Mt. Vernon.

Oooh ooh one more - Yoga Christy can almost certainly help you with this problem - you know her?

MDs are good for some things but when it comes to altering your neuromuscular patterning some complementary therapy is definitely in order.

HTH,

[chironcentaur.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's her name and don't worry, I'll take goooooood care of her. ;-)

[fuego.livejournal.com]

*backs away with a reproachful look* Don't like!

[chironcentaur.livejournal.com]

Oh you'll like it .... you'll like it.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Pffft. Sure.

[falnfenix]

haha, good, didn't want to mess that up. :)

[fuego.livejournal.com]

She'd get over it, really.

[falnfenix]

*snort*

[fuego.livejournal.com]

:-)

[fuego.livejournal.com]

:-P

[lustez.livejournal.com]

Your state could be a generic mandated state (like here in MA). That means if a generic is on the market and the doctor does not write "no substitution" on his rx, the patient gets the generic every time.

And if you had a reaction to the generic, chances are you would also react to the brand. They have to be the same for the FDA to approve the generic.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

wow, hey...here's a name I haven't seen in a long time...how are you doing???

Your state could be a generic mandated state (like here in MA). That means if a generic is on the market and the doctor does not write "no substitution" on his rx, the patient gets the generic every time.

I don't think so...at least, that wasn't the case back when I worked in a Rite Aid pharmacy, we had to ask about generic substitution unless the prescrition form specifically said that substitutions were ok. Though, it was a few years ago...could have changed I guess.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

And if you had a reaction to the generic, chances are you would also react to the brand. They have to be the same for the FDA to approve the generic.

The active ingredient needs to be the same, the inactive ingredients, from what I understand, don't.

I know of one case of an acquaintance who was given the generic of a particular medication, and had all sorts of unpleasant issues. Upon talking to her doctor found out that this was something he'd seen a good bit of with the particular generic- having something to do with an inactive ingredient, so she was given a prescription strictly for the name brand.


Also...I did a bit of checking around, from what I can tell regarding substituting generics, MD law is as we followed when I worked at Rite Aid, generic substitutions if the customer agrees.

[pinkpolarity.livejournal.com]

It's a CVS thing. You have to tap-dance on their forehead screaming "BRAND, GOD DAMMIT!" to get brand. I've gotten brand Percocet for the last however-many years I've been on Percocet because I react to the binder in the generic (which one charming night pharmacist told me was all in my head, to which I told him "whether it is or not, you'll still be filling brand tonight". We tell them this every month, yet they still frequently manage to fuck it up. They also screw up "no safety caps" probably 60% of the time, and they have me in the computer 3 times under three different misspellings of my name. There's a reason I call CVS the Fuckup Factory-- if there were another 24-hr pharmacy in Annandale/Falls Church, I'd drop them in a hot second.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Awesome.

Makes me so happy I generally never require prescription medications (this is the first time I've had a prescription in seven or eight years).

Yeah, I really have no idea how I react to anything until I take it of course...and because I take anything so rarely, I could have a bajillion drug allergies and not know. Allergies run in my family, and weird drug reactions are way up there on the list. I only discovered my first drug allergy a few months ago.

[needa.livejournal.com]

Hmm. For me, the Doctor needs to check a box saying that it can't be filled with a generic. So far, that's never happened — although in a few cases there was no generic version.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Based on a little google-fu, it looks like in MD, pharmacists can substitute generic *with the patient's consent*.

Basically, my beef is that my doctor said one thing, I was given another without asking if I was cool with that. Yeah, I should have checked the bag before I left the pharmacy...but based on prior experience, silly me I thought I would be getting what my doctor prescribed unless otherwise asked.

[peaceful-fox.livejournal.com]

Pinched nerves suck. I had one in my neck. Anyway, the muscle relaxers really do help ease the pain and discomfort of a pinched nerve. I hope it goes away soon.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I do too :-)