Fibromyalgia Doctors in the Kingsport area? (Johnson City: insurance, home, allergies)

[sprintuser2014]

I'm starting to think I may have Fibromyalgia as I am having on and off issues with pain. It's quite bad at times yet random. I've been to my doctor a few times and had some tests ran and an X-Ray. So far everything is coming back as I'm fine but I'm not. I've brung up Fibromyalgia but my doctor seems to be dismissive of it and I think she is one of those ones that don't believe in it. Which some doctor's don't and it can be a controversial disease. My question is there anybody in this area that legit believes in it and treats it in this area? Also I currently have no insurance so budget is a bit of a problem for me as well. I need a good doctor that knows about this disease and field but yet may have a sliding fee scale option or some other payment options since I have no insurance and am on a limited income.

Thanks

[Serious Conversation]

Mom and girlfriend both need rheumatologists. The only one I can recommend locally is Dr. Gerald Falasca. Dr. Abril is the Kingsport rheumatologist and I'd avoid her.

[Beretta]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

Mom and girlfriend both need rheumatologists. The only one I can recommend locally is Dr. Gerald Falasca. Dr. Abril is the Kingsport rheumatologist and I'd avoid her.

Why would you avoid Dr Abril?

[in_newengland]

I had fibromyalgia and went to an actual fibromyalgia specialist in Boston. He told me what to do and it cured me.

You need to know if you really have it--my symptoms were no pain unless I used my muscles. So if I sat on the couch all day, I'd be ok. But if I got up and made dinner, maybe walked down the front steps to go outside...the muscles I used would hurt. If I used my arms, my arm muscles would hurt later on. If I used my legs, my leg muscles would hurt later on. It was like getting punished for using your muscles. Also, trouble sleeping and always tired.

The fibro specialist had so many patients that he met with people in groups. Same message to all: 20 minutes of aerobic exercise every day. That was fine for some people, but others of us were too weak to exercise. For us, it was to be 20 minutes per day in a swimming pool. My local Y had a wonderful person who designed the exercises for me--20 minutes in the heated pool and on the non pool days, some lying on the floor exercises that kept me moving constantly for the 20 minutes.

Probably took about five weeks before I WALKED to the physical therapist's office.

I did have a relapse several years later after an illness. Started right in with the heated pool again but oddly enough, I took an amino acid supplement called L-Glycine to help me sleep--I had been reading about it. Next day the fibro pain was totally gone. I walked and there was absolutely zero pain! There is very often a connection between fibro and certain amino acids, but I'm not telling you to take any. I hardly know anything about that aspect and for me, I just happened to get lucky and took the correct one for me.

But the 20 minutes of aerobic exercise works if it's really fibromyalgia. The worst thing I did was to see a rheumatalogist--he knew nothing about fibromyalgia and just wanted to give me pain killers for it. This is muscle pain, not joint pain, although the muscles around your elbow or knee joints can hurt.

I hope you don't mind me jumping in on your forum, but fibro was a really debilitating and depressing thing to try to cope with so if I can help anyone else, I will gladly do so. Doctors around here certainly believe in it and at the time I was lucky enough to be living right near Boston with some really good hospitals and doctors. It will be muscle aches in certain tender spots--the drs who know about fibro will sort of pinch your muscle in these certain areas and a normal person will not scream in pain. A person who has fibro, probably will.

With fibromyalgia, you will be having trouble sleeping and you often have undiagnosed allergies too, all making you very tired. Not a lot is known, but if somehow you can swim or even just keep moving in the water for 20 minutes every day--or if you can't swim every day (who can?) do some light exercises at home that are aerobic. If you are well enough, then simply walking for 15-20 minutes straight can take the place of the swimming.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-...s/syc-20354780

https://www.healthline.com/health/be...ain#stretching

If you can do the light exercises, be sure to be gentle with yourself. Nothing strenuous. I can't explain how it works, maybe the article can explain, but it does work and the light 20 min of daily exercise should be done for a few weeks before even considering medication. If it's fibromyalgia, you can probably cure it yourself! If not, then you do need to see someone--and you probably do not have fibromyalgia. Good luck to you.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by Beretta

Why would you avoid Dr Abril?

Trying to make long stories short...

Girlfriend has RA and lupus. I didn't know her then, but according to her, Abril was the first rheumatologist she saw. She was put on such a high dose of prednisone for so long that it basically caused the ball joint in her hip to collapse. Abril never seemed to keep tabs on it and scale back the dose to prevent the hip deterioration. Because of her age and underlying medical problems, no local doctor would do the hip replacement, and it was done at Vanderbilt. She likes Falasca much better.

Mom went through the fibromyalgia symptom song and dance with Abril. Abril never came back with a hard diagnosis. Falasca was able to get her to another specialist, and at the time, the condition being diagnosed was not autoimmune.

[sprintuser2014]

Thanks for the suggestions. Basically I have leg pain, seems to mostly around my joints. I can sometimes hear my right knee pop in and out. They've tested me for Lupus, RA, and a few other things. My leg pain has calmed down some but my right shoulder is now killing me. They've done some X-Ray's on my neck and right shoulder and once again everything came back OK. The thing is my pain isn't consistent it comes and goes. Rest has helped me more than anything.


I've also at times had my left arm go completely numb, my leg sometimes will do the same thing. Sometimes it takes me a few minutes to get going. The doctor put me on an arthritis medication but I haven't noticed much difference. Especially in this damn shoulder which continues to be an ongoing issue. She's thinking I may have bursitis in the shoulder but since the X-Ray came back as I'm fine I'm not so sure now. My grandmother has noticed in the past that sometimes my shoulder twitches and I don't even notice it. I will admit some days my hands get a little shakey and sometimes even numb. It's just odd because so far every time I've went to the doctor I'm having a good day. My issues and how I feel seem to vary day to day. Today I'm fine so far expect shoulder pain, tomorrow I may feel different and have another issue.

[Serious Conversation]

I’d look into at least UT medical center. Try to find an A+ guy. You don’t want to risk long term health with the doctors here.

[sprintuser2014]

Originally Posted by Serious Conversation

I’d look into at least UT medical center. Try to find an A+ guy. You don’t want to risk long term health with the doctors here.

Yeah it's just being on an limited income and no insurance makes my options limited, I have to say though the health care in this area is terrible regardless.

[fourwinds]

I would try Dr Ward at the Women’s Nutrition Center in Johnson City on Unaka Ave.

His technique is nutrition based and removes chronic stressors like chemicals and toxic metals by natural herbal chelation. Finds the toxin causing it and removes it by natural chelation and finds what your body has special needs for as far as nutrition, which cause your muscles to test stronger even before consuming them.

$35 per visit plus supplement costs. Had a much more severe disease than fibromyalgia and much better. Met some patients that formerly needed heart and kidney transplant but now don’t. Some people don’t like it because sugar consumption needs to be severely curtailed and protein and vegetables are emphasized..

No blood tests or other expensive tests.

Heard that he loves seeing fibro patients because they all get much better.

Hippocrates said the food and probiotics was the key to good health and doing no harm to patitients and he obviously agrees.

I went to Atlanta for a while and didn’t get better. Looked up the Dr practice now and they are now using the same technique. The Tri City Doctors are mostly wretched, and don’t listen, and just want to keep you sick and stable, which I don’t want. I want a cure.