fibromyalgia question?

Question

I am 24 years old and recently diagnosed with FM I am wondering if my doctor even understands what I am going through and sometimes maybe think it may be something else..I am in so much pain constantly every joint in my body hurts and they keep trying one pill after another....I have been on Neurontin, Relafen, Voltaren, and now Mobic....I am also on trazodone, zoloft and buspar...She refuses to give me anything for the pain and aquatic therapy has done little good...any suggestions on other meds that have worked or maybe it is something else been through mri, bone scan, blood tests and everything seems normal they say...I need relief any suggestions are greatly appreciated...

Answer 1

I was diagnosed with FMS in early 2004 and have found the most pain relief from OTC meds and herbal remedies. I take 800 mg. of Aleve and a 1000-mg. flaxseed oil capsule every night at bedtime to be able to walk without pain the next day, and I take Arnica tablets (a homeopathic herb) for relief when I have flareups. If the prescription meds aren't doing you any good (they didn't do me a bit of good), try the Arnica. The links below should be very helpful. Hang in there, and please let us know what works for you.

Answer 2

I'm so sorry that you have FM, but atleats knowing whats wrong, u can now begin to make some changes in your everyday living and thats a good start :) I am a massage therapist & I work with several people with FM. Most (not all) respond very well to gentle full body massage. Also, the benefits of the massage actually seems to increase with time! Some report help with daily stretching, water therapy (some YMCA's/health clubs/org's offer a variety of programs), dry or steam sauna may help & salt water baths too. I have noticed support groups & chats on yahoo for FM too! Another thing you might consider is the power of prayer & *positive energy & thoughts. Medical research is also begining to show 'unexplained' improvement in health of people who are being prayed for! Surround yourself with all the things that you love & don't allow the negative. Some people try Reiki or other 'energy' work, chiropractic care, accupuncture, holographic medicine. Don't give up! Learn more about proper breathing techniques & pain management, too. I'll hold you in prayer, dear friend ;)

Answer 3

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in April, so I know exactly what you are going through with the pain. However my doctor gave me pain medication. You shouldn't have to be in pain! I think that I would go to a different doctor. My uncle who is a doctor told me that when diagnosed with this, it simply means that they aren't exactly sure what it going on. There is no test for fibromyalgia, so doctors can't be sure that this is what you have! My doctor has put me on so many different medications that I had to buy a pill organizer. I went to a very well known clinic here in Wisconsin, and had all the tests, and when it came right down to it, they are still unsure what it is. I am now being tested for M.S.! Another thing is that therapy is for heavier people, who have trouble doing any exercises. Just hang in there, and I hope that you have a lot of support, because you need it! No one but you knows how you feel!

Answer 4

weight loss application prosperous in darkish eco-friendly leafy vegetables and extreme in omega-3 fatty acids coupled with exercising could have an outstanding impression on Fibromyalgia whilst inflammation is a element. Plus, it relatively is merely undeniable healthy. 8~) rub down can generally shrink the severity of the aches linked with Fibro. Acupuncturist usually cope with fibromyalgia with very sturdy consequences.

Answer 5

Sounds like polyneuropathy and fibromyalgia. Does your family have a history of arthritis? Can you take Ibuprofen for the pain, but try to only use it when the pain is severe? Have you been to a renowned hospital like the Mayo Clinic? Sometimes you have to go to the big cities and research hospitals to get some different perspectives. I know a person with polyneuropathy and they feel the same way you do and they have to live with pain. You are so young to have to live this way. I hope you find help soon. God bless.

Answer 6

It's not instant relief (like a pain killer) but I found that Guaifenesin helped me a lot with my fibromyalgia. I had found something on the Net that said Guaifenesin would help break up the gunk in our systems that is causing the pain in the first place and I showed it to my doctor but she didn't believe it. However, Guaifenesin was (at that time) also used to treat people with asthma and I have asthma so she gave it to me for my asthma.

Now Guaifenesin is sold over-the-counter.

It doesn't work overnight but, in time, it helped ease my pain substantially.

Answer 7

Check out the National Fibromyalgia Association at www.fmaware.org -- and if at all possible, try to find a physician who can assist you in terms of the quality of life you are living.

Really, I have had to search and search and search . . .

Answer 8

Hon, I have fibromyalgia as well and I know your pain. I have some solutions I want you to think about because they are a bit different from the norm of taking hundreds of meds to mask the pain. This comes from a supportive and experienced place and is not a judgment call on you. It is only my experience, and I recognize we all are different.

I am 50 now and was diagnosed with FM about 8 years ago, even though I suspected I had it when I was in my thirties. After careful self assessment of my symptoms at that time, I realized I was symptomatic since I was 18. I found out I had it after blood test results revealed I tested positively for Lupus. I had gone to my internist to investigate why my thumbs were bothering me, and he sent me for xrays of my hands. He took blood to test me for autoimmune diseases and called me when the test results came back positive for Lupus. At that point he sent me to a rheumatologist, who also tested me. I still tested positively for Lupus and did so for three subsequent years, until I started testing negatively for it. Thus, FM was the real issue - even though I do have arthritis in my thumbs and now both knees.

Considering how long I have had it, I am in pretty good shape. Why? Attitude is everything. While it is true that my FM has worsened as I have gotten older, and I am prone to flares that last 6 months in winter or any extreme weather, including heat and humidity, my basic attitude is POSITIVE. In effect I do not give FM the power to control my life or how I live it. I work a hectic job, I manage my home and my marriage. I feed our cats and fish, clean house and socialize with friends. I do not assign it power over my life because if I do it is all over for me. Due to hard lessons I have learned in life - especially about loss and death - I know life is too short, and I will not and can not invest any energy into the FM by allowing it to control how I live. I have never been out sick because of my FM - strep throat and flu yes, but FM? Never. Despite any pain, stiffness or achiness I have, I function in my life. This is very important.

We are all different so we all tend to react to medications differently. I take Serzone - well, its generic equivalent called Nefazodone, as Serzone itself was taken off the market, but the generic wasn't. I take it for panic attacks that occurred while driving some years ago. I am 99 % cured of that now, but take it anyway, just in case. I still get tiny waves of panic, even though I learned that my attacks were a direct cause and effect of perimenopausal hormone insanity. I take Neurontin occasionally, even though my MD wants me to take it regularly. I simply won't do that. I hate drugs. I was initially put on Flexiril, a muscle relaxant, and it worked like a charm at first. I passed out and actually slept through the night, but my body adjusted to it and I started having the same sleep disruptions I always had...waking up 12-20 times a night, which drove me mad. He then put me on Tizanidine, another muscle relaxant, but it doesn't do much for me. I only took the muscle relaxants on weekends because they left me so foggy and brain dead I barely could function the next day. Now, I basically take Neurontin only and very occasionally.

The one thing he told me was that I needed to exercise. Frankly, I thought he was insane since I barely could move while in a flare. And yet, he was right. The more we exercise (and we have to push through the pain, seriously, before we see a positive effect) the less pain we will have as our bodies adapt to the exercise. Exercise raises our pain threshold significantly and we can cope with movement better the more we move. They key is to move and not avoid it at all. At first it hurts like the devil, but gradually it does really improve. For example, before I actually was diagnosed (and I had FM) I used to lift weights. My body was a mean fighting machine, then...I never got sick from a cold, and I never had pain at all. Then I injured my right knee and I stopped. I was in pain. I did yoga for two years and had no pain, but I stopped when my schedule interferred with it. I had pain again. Now, I walk an hour at lunch - fast - and have no pain. To add a comment, I have severe osteoarthritis in both my knees but the exercise helps strengthen them as well. I walk a lot.

Aside from psychologically training myself not to allow the FM to control my life, I have been forced to make some changes in it. First, I set limits and boundaries in life, and have learned the fine art of saying NO. No was always hard for me because I was a people pleaser...I did anything whenever someone asked for help, even when I didn't feel like doing it. Now, I say No. If people don't like it this is not my problem. I have placed me first. Learn the fine art of saying no. It's hard but worth it. Your real friends will support you.

I know my limitations. My body stiffens up when stressed so I have learned how to state some hard truths in life.

1. I do not work beyond my regular work hours as I used to because my system cannot handle it. So, I have let it be known that I will leave when my day is done and will only work weekends or late nigths (I'm an event planner) if I have to.
2. I cannot sit in a car and drive longer than the hour and half drive I have to make to get to work. My husband does the driving for long distance trips and knows I have to stop, stretch and walk around after a while. So we stop.
3. If I am too exhausted to see people for dinner dates, I decline.
4. If I am so exhausted after work and I HAVE to go to bed at 7 p.m, I do exactly that.
5. If I have to sleep on my carpeted floor (which I do when my body is so stiff it hurts), my husband doesn't object.

KNOW and HONOR your limitations. PLACE YOURSELF FIRST.

Honey, I know you are in agony, but please understand that if your doctor gives you pain medication to assist you, you will actually make yourself worse than what you are now. She isn't prescribing it to you because she doesn't understand how you feel. She does understand, but she knows something you don't: taking numerous medications at the same time causes a variety of reactions in our bodies, most of which are toxic to us. Every drug has a different chemical reaction in our systems, as well as their own adverse reactions. Take 5-10 different drugs and you will over toxify your system to the extent you could kill yourself or fall and crack your head open. I write that not to scare you but because I personally know another FM person (my age) who is so over drugged she cannot function at all. She is on hundreds of medications (pain killers, antidepressants, muscle relaxants, sleeping pills) and is so stoned all day she literally has to wear a helmet on her head. She has fallen asleep at the dinner table and fallen off her chair or off the couch or down the steps countless numbers of times because of her over medicating herself. She cannot enjoy holidays at all - in fact, she wears pajamas to her sisters' homes during the holidays and sleeps half the time, sometimes to the extent her head has fallen into her food. Her middle sister is a nurse and tells her that what she is doing is dangerous, but she will not listen to her. She has convinced herself that drugs are the only way. Worse than this, because she doesn't exercise, she is grossly overweight - not only is she exposing herself to diabetes, but she is putting herself at a greater risk for heart disease. And all those drugs could actually destroy her liver and her kidneys.

Please be careful and see that there are other options in coping with this. It is very hard. TRUST ME I know how hard it is, but you can get through it and you can live a normal life, provided that you honor what your body is telling you. Remember - FM is not a disease. It is a syndrome. Lupus is a serious disease, so there is a huge difference.

Rest. Take care of you.