I was just diagnosed with fibromyalgia and put on Lyrica and Norco, but they are not working any suggestions?

Question

I also have disc disease. I have been doing research, and there are alot of people who are having good results with much more potent narcotics like Oxycontin, Fentanyl and methadone. I do work out and stretch, but my back gives me the most trouble. Any doctors or nurses out there with suggestions? I have two children and work full time at home. My pain is sometimes so unbearable that I have to lay in bed all day. Please help!!!

Answer 1

drugs are not the answer you need to change you diet, basically eliminate any sugars, im not sure exactly all the diet changes but i suggest you do more research into that, my mom has fibro and so does my best friends mom and they are both seeing amazing results with diet change. GOOGLE it

Answer 2

I am one of those with Fibro who could not continue to work. I have too many days I have to stay in bed with pain, fatigue or both. Sometimes my husband thinks I am asleep, but actually I'm lying there and do not move due to the above. At first, when I FINALLY got a diagnosis Ultram worked some for the pain, although it was prescribed 2 tablets 3 times per day, but I took 3 tablets twice a day instead. It is no longer working so I'll go back to doc for something else. I'm an RN. Just know that many doctors and nurses do not "believe" in Fibro and will look down on you because you look OK even though you feel horrible. Beside the physical problems with Fibro, the worst thing is people not believing you are sick. Have also been treated quite rudely by my disability insurance company. I am going thru a 2nd bout of them stopping my check. Check on Yahoo Q and A for more postings and questions on it. Bless your hurting heart.

Answer 3

I was diagnosed app.12 yrs ago. I have been taking Guaifenesin for my fibro for over 8 yrs. It has helped to reduce the pain and fatigue. You cannot just take it you must follow a certain protocol for the med to work. Get this book:

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia by
Dr. Paul St. Amand

Also go to these websites: www.guaidoc.com

www.fibromyalgiatreatment.com

There is a link on the last site for an on line support group for people who follow the Guaifenesin protocol. This is the only thing that has really helped me. I do not have to take prescription pain meds for fibro anymore. I used to be in horrible pain every minute of every day.

Answer 4

mamma2mor........Great Advice. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia many years ago and do not use pain meds..I live a full life and have an upbeat attitude. Not to say I don,t have pain(flare-ups) I do but I found out from research and knowing other people afflicted with this problem that narcotics are not the way to deal with this malady for me at this time in my life. I do feel that I may have to use them and want to be sure that there is going to be something out there that will work for me then.
I know other woman with Fibro. and they have opted to use narc.and muscle relaxers and anti-inflamitories and sleeping pills and they are all in worse shape than when they started the therapy. They all take a vast amount of meds and nothing seems to really work for them.
I went that route at first too but then I started researching this thing and I find that I have been able to cope and live life pretty well by using other things such as I destressed my life and I mean I destressed it.I know my limits and when my body says enough it means it or I,ll be in another flare-up and each one is worse than the one before. I eat healthy and I rest alot. I exercise and practice meditation.I learned to relax my whole body and make the pain go down to a dull roar and I use ice and heat where and when I need it. I take vitimins and I laugh alot!!
Maybe I sound simple and just stupid to some of you who have this , but I,m telling you for me it works.
Stress causes something to occur in our bodies that can set this thing off ,so I opted to learn how to deal with what was setting this thing off. I did learn very well how to cope with stress of all sorts, I got rid of unnessasary stressors because my health depended on it.
Let me ask you, do you get more symptoms when you are over taxed in any way? Maybe I,m not helping you any and I don,t mean to sound harsh at all,I know the pain your suffering. I,m just telling you what I know and you can think about it or not.

Answer 5

I work for a "pain doctor" that does not use narcotics. We totally believe that narcotics are very addictive and only cover up the pain which in turn can cause more problems. Check out our website
piedmontpmr.com

Dr Schwartz is the medical director of the upstate (South Carolina) fibromyalgia support group and we have many fibromyalgia patients that come to our office. He is the top doctor in the southeastern United States for treating fibro and many other painful syndromes and diseases. I wish you all the best, but do try to stay away from the narcotics and find other options. {HUGS}

Answer 6

Ahh, 'fibro' one of my favorite diseases (that I have). I REALLY get annoyed with people especially doctors & other medical folks who flip out over using narcotics for chronic pain. OOOO they're addictive--
Studies show that the majority (in the 90%'s) of people taking narcotics for chronic pain do not get addicted to their pills. As a nmatter of fact, they typically try to minimize their med taking--probably 'cuz of all the boogy man talk about addicton.
Ok, that said, here's some stuff you can do to minimize your meds--
Exercise, exercise, exercise--"just" walks are fine--do it daily, do enough to get the endorphins flowing--40 or so mins. If you can't tolerate that, just do what you can.
Hot showers & baths. Epson salt in your baths.
A weekly massage is super helpful. Find a therapist who does "deep tissue" work--let them know if it's too deep ie painful, they'll back off a bit & tell you to breathe deeply--be brave--you'll feel "lubricated" on the inside
You'll hear to ease up on the caffiene & alcohol. Not something I've been very successful at. Except when I made sure I took my meds (narcs & muscle relaxers) and then I don't self medicate with alcohol.
Email me for more stuff or if you just want info or to vent.
I could go on all night--I've had it for 45 years (in retrospect)

Answer 7

Hi Psalm

Here are some tips to help the heal your current health condition. Also, be sure to do a Colon and Liver Cleanse. This will rid the body of its current toxic state.

Quick Action Plan for Fibromyalgia


1. A healthy, whole foods diet is an important part of any fibromyaglia treatment program. Emphasize organic foods, especially fresh, organic vegetables, and drink plenty of pure, filtered water throughout the day. For even more benefits, consider adopting a vegetarian diet, which has been shown to significantly reduce fibromyalgia symptoms.

2. Essential nutrients to help treat fibromyalgia include vitamin C, vitamin E, niacinimide (vitamin B3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA-an essential fatty acid), magnesium, selenium, zinc, and the lipotrophic factors inositol, methionine, and phosphatidyl choline. The nutritional supplements cetyl myristoleate and SAMe are also highly beneficial, as it the Meyers Cocktail, which must be administered by a trained health care practitioner.

3. Herbal remedies for fibromyalgia include cayenne and chamomile. An herbal combination of tinctures of black cohosh, celery, dandelion, devil`s claw, Echinacea, and licorice in equal parts, can also be helpful.

4. Homeopathic remedies for fibromyalgia include Arnica, Bryonia, and Rhus. Tox.

5. Various bodywork therapies, such as Massage, Acupressure, Bowen Therapy, Feldenkrais, myotherapy, Rolfing, Shiatsu, Therapeutic Touch, and Trigger Point Therapy, can provide significant relief of fibromyalgia pain and speed healing.

6. Mind/body medicine therapies such as biofeedback, guided imagery and visualization, hypnotherapy, and meditation, can help relieve chronic stress, thereby soothing muscle tension and reducing pain

Conventional physicians treat fibromyalgia primarily through the use of painkiller medications. Such an approach fails to address the multiple causes of fibromyalgia, and also carries with it the risk of serious side effects. In addition, this symptom care approach is typical of conventional medicine`s failure to properly understand chronic health conditions such as fibromyalgia, which explains why it so often fails to successfully treat such conditions. Practitioners of alternative medicine, on the other hand, focus their treatment approaches on the multiple factors involved in fibromyalgia in order to eliminate them, while simultaneously stimulating the body`s ability to repair itself. What follows is an overview of some of the most common therapies they employ in order to achieve those goals.

I believe you can heal yourself, but it will take some committment.
The answers are out there, so keep searching.

Best of health to you.

Cheers

Answer 8

I was on Neurontin for 6 years, took 4200mgs per day. Mine was for a seizure disorder: complex partial seizures. But I never had a real problem with the Neurontin, even though I took so much. It helped take care of the seizures, though I am now on Keppra and it is much better and I take much less. Main side effects I had were: weight gain, not horrible, but about 25 pounds total over the years. also, eventually it led to a certain level of depression as Neurontin leaches serotonin from the brain while it works on you, so you really need to take a SSRI (serotonin replacement drug) while you are on it, if you are going to be on it for long. Otherwise: no real problems, and it also kept me from having migraines.

Answer 9

I'm a massage therapist and I've worked on quite a few patients with fibromyalgia, it seems to help alot. Some are able to get deep tissue work and others need light work. Eitherway you are benefiting from it. One of my patients also said tanning helps... but then you have to worry about skin cancer! :(

Answer 10

Magnesium malate has helped some folks with FM. Daily in divided doses to get 300-600 mg of magnesium. Reduce dose if diarrhea occurs. 5-HTP and SAMe have also give relief to some sufferers.

Answer 11

I am a 43yr old male with fm. I take tizanidine daily at night and sit in my hot tub daily every morning. I have some neck (disc) issues also so the pain is manageable with Advil, until my stomach gives out and then the zantac75