Posted by Snoozy on April 17, 2003, at 18:32:28
In reply to Re: Sorry, new to CFS... what's a tilt table test? » Snoozy, posted by Ame Sans Vie on April 16, 2003, at 10:04:56
From what I've read, orthostatic hypotension can be caused by a number of things (I wish I had paid more attention in biology!), but a lot of the treatments for it are the same ones used to treat nmh: eat more salt, elevate the head of your bed, support stockings, Florinef, Midodrine.
I hope you find the guaifenesin helps you. My friend that took it is extremly hypersensitive to drugs and she didn't have any side effects.
A couple of years ago, I saw a doctor who was the top chronic fatigue person in the area. (She must be good - she's moved on to California.) She suggested for me to take Flaxseed oil and Evening Primrose, 1 tablet (of each) twice a day. I did take them for 2 or 3 weeks, at that point I wasn't really noticing any benefit, and so I started trying other drugs. I don't think I gave the supplements long enough to work. You might want to ask around and see if anyone has tried it.
I know it's really hard to go through this process of trying all kinds of drugs, and trying to figure out if any of them are making you better or worse. Sometimes I'll find a drug might help me with one thing, but make another thing worse. Just hang in there! It helps to know that you're not the only one dealing with this.
I'd love to hear if the guaifenesin helps you at all. I truly hope you will find something that will make your life better.
> > Orthostatic hypotension - ahh, it's like having your own amusement ride! It sounds like you have had problems with it before, unrelated to medication?
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> Yep, as long as I can remember.
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> > I have a tendency toward it, and when I was on tricyclics, I would stand up and my field of vision would go completely dark.
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> Same here, but my field of vision goes black even without medication exacerbating the problem. I referred to Nardil in my last post which, among other things, is known for the orthostatic hypotension it tends to cause. I don't really have much experience with tricyclics, but now I'm on Elavil and Flexeril... yikes.
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> > I don't know what causes it, but it could be somewhat related to nmh. If the orthostatic is caused by a miscommunication with the blood/nervous system maybe. I'll see if I can find anything on this.
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> I'd always been told it was caused by just having low blood pressure in general... I'd be interested to hear if that's really the case though.
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> > I talked to my friend about her experience with guaifenesin. About a year ago, she was taking some for a cold. After a few days, she noticed her chronic pain due to inflammation was much better. When her pain gets bad again, she takes guaifenesin. It sounds like an interesting drug - I guess there are lots of wild claims on the internet for it. Her doctor said it does appear to be effective for various things other than colds. Just an anecdotal report.
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> I called my rheumatologist and she's calling in a prescription for extended-release guaifenesin for me to start taking. She said according to her information it has no known interactions and only three or four common potential side effects, so at least I shouldn't have those things to worry about. I couldn't help but notice that guaifenesin is closely related to hydromorphone (Dilaudid)... could this have anything to do with its efficacy in FMS/CFS?
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> > May I ask if you've tried many things for the chronic fatigue? I know it sucks to be so young and feel so awful.
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> Well I've just been diagnosed very recently (about two weeks ago), but I've had the symptoms for quite some time. And through all that I've been trying various psych meds, and subsequentially was able to cross them off the list of things to try (i.e. Neurontin). And in the past I've tried several muscle relaxants (Robaxin, Skelaxin) and know that they don't do a thing for me.
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poster:Snoozy
thread:219607
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030417/msgs/220170.html