fibromyalgia?

Question

i have severe fibromyalgia. the pain is so bad that i only have a few days out of a month that i can get around and walk and have a day with no pain. i take ELEVIL,for the pain, but i was wondering if anyone knew of any other drug or herbs that could help. corticosteroids work wonders, but are not really safe, long term. i want my life back, and the constant aches and pains in the joints, knees and back are bad. i get fevers as well. CAN ANYONE GIMMME ANY SUGGESTIONS? I DO SEE A DOCTOR , BUT LOOKING AT OTHER OPTIONS.

some of the replies have been very helpful but some think it's a bogus condition and i assure you it's not.my dad is a phsyciatrist, so he would know. yes it is associated with depression-or can cause it,- but it is a true condition and it really sucks and trust me , ive been tested for cancer, lupus and ra and hiv and everything else. just wanted to know across the board if there was anything else to try but elavil ,tramadol and i did see the doctor. he suggested an anti-malaria drug from the 60's that is also benificial. it no longer cures malaria but works wonders sometimes for fibromyalgia patients. but THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUGGESTIONS AND POSITIVE COMMENTS! LOL MEXXXI.

Answer 1

I'm a 35-year-old male who first started exhibiting symptoms such as pain, tingling and numbness in my legs and arms seven years ago, and the pain and numbness got progressively worse. I went to numerous specialists who ruled out MS, Lyme disease and other possibilities before a doctor finally diagnosed fibromyalgia three years ago--but none of the prescription meds (Elavil is the only one I recall) helped my symptoms. I finally stumbled across a site for FMS patients and followed a couple of the suggestions that one of the site members made, and it has made all the difference in the world. Every night at bedtime I take 800 mg. of naproxen (Aleve) and a 1000-mg. flaxseed oil capsule. It has not been foolproof at controlling my pain, but it has made a huge difference. A couple months ago I ran out of naproxen about three days before payday, and by the time I was finally able to get the naproxen three days later, my pain was so bad that I could hardly walk. The difference between using it and not using it was like night and day. I also take homeopathic-strength Arnica tablets for further pain relief as needed. Check out the links below for more information.

With all due respect to the doctor who posted above that he thinks FMS is just a "filler" diagnosis, just because some people exhibit psychomatic symptoms to the exclusion of any symptom remedy or use FMS as an excuse to get a narcotic fix, that does not mean that all people diagnosed with FMS are like this. Please stick with what you can prove medically and not just what you assume.

Answer 2

OK, first of all, don't listen to that post that says this condition doesn't exist. It definitely does; I have it too. There is no miracle drug, of course, but the ones that work best for me are Zanaflex (muscle relaxer) and Tramadol (general pain reliever--works well for the joint pain). Both are prescription, but come in generic also, so they're not too expensive. I also find that stretching out my muscles when the pain begins helps a little. My doc also put me on a combination of vitamins, including riboflavin (B2) and Coenzyme Q 10. You might also try Ribose or Ginseng to give you an energy boost. I hope this helps at least a little. I'm also going to the doctor again sometime this week, so I'll let you know if I get something else that works. Hope you feel better.

Answer 3

Just caught this question when only 2 hours left for answering!!

Ayurveda offers following medication for fibromyalgia. But you have to try for at least six weeks and then observe the change.

Take following tablets:
Shilahjit Rasayan,
Rasnadi Guggulu,
Trayodashang Guggulu
Take 2 of each, each tab 125 mg, slight chew and swallow with water. after taking tablets, take Dashamularishtam, 20ml with equal water.
Medicines are to be taken after breakfast, lunch and dinner, three times a day.
Most of the medicines will be availabel online.
All reasons which can cause the fibromyalgia like symtoms get treated with this protocol.
Do not take this as a medical advice to cure fibromyalgia, but take it as a suggestion for regaining health. I am not trying to substitute any advise or treatment of regular mainstream doctor. They can keep doing their practices without any jealousy from others.

Answer 4

Fibromyalgia syndrome is often associated with persistent muscle and joint pain, along with numerous other symptoms. Unfortunately, there are few treatments available that can help to effectively reduce these painful symptoms. And those that do seem to work often come along with various unpleasant side effects. Many fibromyalgia patients do find temporary relief by turning to the pool or bathtub, though. Known as hydrotherapy, these water treatments can help to provide ongoing pain and stress relief, without any unwanted side effects.

Many people choose to take natural or herbal supplements in order to deal with pain, illness, and other physical maladies and people suffering from fibromyalgia syndrome are no different. Glucosamine and chondroitin are quickly becoming very popular amongst fibromyalgia and arthritis sufferers. Used to reduce pain symptoms and increase joint strength, glucosamine and chondroitin might be just what you need to get your life back on track.

Answer 5

Hello! My Mom, 2 sisters and I all have fibromyalgia and we have been taking magnesium malate from the health food store for about 3 years now. When we do not take it we can really feel the results of not having it in our systems! It is about $10 a bottle but it is not much money when you consider it does help take some of the pains away! Good luck!

Answer 6

There are many more drugs that can be taken daily for fibromyalgia. I take ultram, klonopin, trazadone, and zanaflex every night (ultram twice a day). The fact that corticosteroids help suggest that it may not be fibromyalgia. I would suggest testing for auto-immune disorders, which are greatly helped by steroids. These include lupus.

Answer 7

ive suffered severe fibromyalgia for a few years (i wasnt diagnosed until last year). so i definately know your pain... like you, ive gone through tons of medications but the only thing i have found truly helpful is massage therapy. i have it 3 times a week, and it has really made a difference! i havent felt this good in a really really long time! you should definately try it.... i hope it works for you as well as it does for me!

Answer 8

That medicgvd is full of crap! He/she deserves to contract FM. Anyway, what has helped me is posted on my fibromyalgia page. To view it, go to my Yahoo 360 page to find the link to my homepage and scroll down to my fibromyalgia awareness link (http://www.geocities.com/seabulls69/fibromyalgia.html). Click it to find out how to learn what has helped me. There are links there to some of the best sites I have found on the subject.

To medic: I believe you either need to re-read my profile or look up the word lament. According to Merriam-Webster it means: to express sorrow, mourning, or regret. My profile celebrates my accomplishment of overcoming depression. It also refers to my 360 page where there's a link to my website which has a page dealing with fibromyalgia. I also have type II diabetes, but that isn't in my profile, because I didn't feel that dealing with it was as important as overcoming depression. In your original post, you said FM doesn't exist, then in your edit you said "not everyone who claims to have it really does". Softening your opinion? Your "opinions" clearly illustrate what a closed mind you have... reinforcing my opinion that if you were a little smarter, you would realize that you didn't know as much as you thought you did. There are many doctors who have fibro and have devoted their lives to finding treatment for this very real disease. Dr. Teitelbaum at vitality101.com is one of the leaders in this crusade. Hopefully, you will get wiser as you get older as most people usually do.

PS: It's spelled: rheum-A-tologist, and they are just as helpless at treating a very real disease as you are.

Thank you.

Answer 9

Ok ... I'm about to irritate some people ... but here goes. I, and many others in healthcare do not believe fibromyalgia exists. I can't tell you how many times I get calls for that from the same people over and over again. Now I do believe that some people have chronic pain, but fibromyalgia is a "throw away" term doctors use when they either don't know what's wrong or they have given up on the patient and or don't believe anyting is "physically" wrong.

So you know ... Elevil is the common mispelling of Elavil which is an antidepressant and it it used in depressive illness of psychotic or endogenous nature and patients with neurotic depression. It has no proven effect on pain, doctors commonly prescribe it because of what I just outlined.

Please don't flame me for my post ... there is much literature to back up my position. I believe most ... not all ... most patients with fibromyalgia are better off seeking psychiatric care.

Just my opinion.

Edit:
For those that decided to flame away in email anyway ... it does not, nor will not change my opinion. As I stated ... not everyone that claims to have it really does. If you knew how many people called 911 claiming fibromyalgia when in fact they are just looking for a cheap fix from a witless paramedic, you would be shocked. I just don’t throw out opinions based on nothing, I have had hundreds of contacts with fibromyalgia patients spanning over a decade. See, in California Paramedics do have morphine, and versed, and valium, and we do give it to patients that need it, I just won't be duped into this scam of having pain that no one else can find. See, we don’t have to ask to give meds to a patient, we operate on standing orders and I have no intention of losing my license by giving morphine to a habitual drug seeker. If you have chronic pain in the joints then see a Rheumatologist, there are tests for RA and SLE, and a host of other autoimmune disorders that cause arthritic-like pain. See a doctor and get a diagnosis, don't write off everything as fibromyalgia because you don't like what the doctor tells you. People love to flame without seeing the big picture. If your doctor, a seasoned professional can't find out what's wrong with you, go to another, and another. If they tell you it's fibromyalgia then so be it ... but if they prescribe you SSRIs, TCIs, Benzos, Thiazines or any other psychiatric drug, think twice about why they are giving it to you along with the diagnosis, and then go flame them.

PS
To the poster that says I'm full of whatever ... why is it that your profile laments about your depression and says nothing about fibromyalgia? You seem to be reinforcing my position for me. Thank you! When you cry about your depression and try to pass it off as fibromyalgia it makes it hard for those that suffer real pain. As for if fibro exists or not ... the pain may be real but the disease process has another name, you're just too lazy to go to the correct doctor to figure out what it is. You would rather cry and seek drugs than find the real problem.

Answer 10

You still need to stick with the Dr. My mother in law has Fibromyalgia, and she changed her diet when she found out. She doesn't eat meat, very rarely Dairy and cheese. Just sticks with Soy.