Has anyone out there ever heard of "girdle band pain" or "the hug"? I sure hadn't; girdles were those things your Grandma used to wear and hugs were just a nice show of affection. Until, you guessed it, MS. So many new and weird things to learn. Anyway, I have this pain that starts in my mid back and wraps around my right torso to my breast bone in the front. It feels like a huge hand with super-long nails digging into your skin and muscle and then to make matters worse, it itches and burns so deep that you can't touch it. Really, extremely annoying and painful. Before my doctor told me that this was indeed a symptom of MS, I thought that I had just gone overboard with the under wire miracle bras from Victoria's Secret or something; it is much worse when there is pressure on my ribs. My GP prescribed me a drug called Lyrica and it usually works for a short amount of time or if the pain/itching/burning is not too severe. But...I'm already taking Low Dose Naltrexone and Fluoxetine - I feel a bit too young to be starting this huge drug-regime and don't want to end up at the pharmacy requesting that they organize my prescription drug blister-packs! Can anyone else relate? What do you do about it? And before you say "just smoke pot", remember that I can't simply light up a fattie at my desk in the middle of the work day. If you are allowed to do this at your job, let me know where you work and I'll forward you my resume.
3 comments:
Hi Allison. I was diagnosed with RRMS two years ago. I had the MS Hug (what a misnomer!) as one of the symptoms during my first relapse. It was, as you descibe, like wearing a really tight girdle. I had the sensation around my whole torso. Unfortunately, I have no words of wisdom about it. It remitted after 6 months. I haven't had it since.
Hi Bean1304; I'm sorry that you had to experience this too. You're right; I don't know who decided to call it a "hug"! It's certainly not warm & fuzzy AT ALL. I hope that your remission continues and that you're doing well. Ali.
Ack! Sorry I spelled your name wrong. My sister has two ll's. Seriously it is more like the MS squeeze-the-****-out-of-your-insides Death Grip than the MS Hug. So great that you've started a blog. Those days after diagnosis are dark. Doing well, thanks. No attack since the second one that confirmed the dx two years ago.
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