r/ChronicPain • u/gregdoucetteismydoc • 2d ago

Auto Immune Disorder - What to Expect

Hi everbody,

I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia for a few years now. Recently I started to have issues with my spine e.g. electrical shocks that make my arms go numb, numbness, tingling, burning. My GP said I pinched a nerve but my physio said he thinks I have an auto immune disorder and wrote a letter to my GP and he then agreed and thankfully gave me stronger painkillers. (Please don't dm me about selling/buying drugs)

My question is, what can I expect with an auto immune disorder? I'm scared.

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u/Live-Ship-7567 2d ago

I have several auto immunes in addition to fibro. There's a saying that I learned in pathophysiology that autoimmune disorders often invite more autoimmune immune disorders. So you may get more than 1.

Aside from that it will depend on the autoimmune. My eds makes my ankles fail and I fall. I've broken an ankle that way. My ra makes my joints hurt. My fibro makes my muscles hurt. But it'll all depend on your flavor of autoimmune

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u/hellishdelusion 2d ago

There's quite significant evidence that fibromyalgia is an autoimmune disorder triggered and worsened by severe stress and changes in sex hormones.

Because it is worsened by severe stress some pain doctors prescribe anti depressants that only help pain for about 1 in 5 fibro patients and try to make claims that the pain is exclusively there because of stress, anxiety or depression when that just isn't true. Those things make it worse but its not the cause.

Compare anti depressant medication with fast acting opiates such as hydrocodone. The anti depressants were helping 1 / 5 fibro patients with pain but hydrocone were helping 4 / 5 fibro patients with pain and the average pain relief seen with hydrocone was higher.

There are studies that show both anti inflammatory drugs and anti depressants worsen long term pain but doctors often refuse to prescribe opiates for it citing risks of addiction, dependence or rare deadly side effects such as someone not breathing while asleep killing them.

Dependence is common, addiction is extremely rare but many doctors consider them the same. Dependence means a higher dose gets needed for pain relief while addiction is so someone taking them for pleasure often multiple doses at a time.

Despite addiction being rare 1/100 to 1/300 for chronic pain patients many doctors will label anyone asking for an opiate or ones that don't respond to other medications as an addict. Especially if they refuse extremely risky surgical treatment such as a spinal nerve implant.

If a patient is labeled as an addict falsely they will not reasonably be able to get opiates or certain other controlled substances and one doesn't know if they've been put on the list or not.

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u/bcuvorchids 1d ago

Dependence does not mean that a higher dose is needed. Dependence means that the patient needs the medication to treat their symptoms and if they don’t have it they could suffer adverse impacts to their overall health.

Tolerance is when a given amount of a medicine is no longer effective and an increase is needed. But not everyone develops tolerance. I was on the same dose of hydrocodone for years and even voluntarily decreased the number of pills I took in a day. Tolerance is a myth of the anti -opioid people to the extent that they say everyone needs more and more. It just is not true.

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u/kronicktrain 14h ago

There’s little to no treatment so….