Firbromyalgia...Chronic Pain. Help!?

Question

my mother has firbromyalgia which is a chronic condition of widespread pain... she is in her room lying in tremendous pain... unable to even sleep... how can i help her, i hate to see her like this.... it depresses me but currently medications don't cut it... the pain is bad... to clarify... put your index finger to the back of your shoulder and push in until you feel pain... the pain is half of what individuals with this incurable disease suffer through. she has had it since i was 6... and now at 16 she seems to be worse off...it breaks my heart... can't help but cry. any alternative ideas?

It also scares me because I read something that said it might be hereditary.

Answer 1

If she has been diagnosed with this, the doctor can give her some mild pain killers, such as Darvocet. Let her doctor know that she has been unable to sleep. But also try to keep her moving around. The more she is immobile, the worse it will get - and the more depressed she will get, which will make it worse, and on and on.

Don't give up - it can get better. But she needs to be getting quality sleep to help heal.

To Your Additional Details:
Please don't worry. They really know very little - to nothing about this problem. It also "might be," caused by wood smoke, a viral or bacterial infections, etc. etc. So don't believe ANYone knows enough about it to say it is hereditary. And, as far as it being "not accepted by society," it is accepted as a bonafide reason to get disability from Social Security.

Answer 2

I have something similar. It's not fibromylagia but what I have has the same symptoms as fibromylagia (the difference is mine isn't a permanent condition). When it was at its worst, it was 24 hours a day non-stop for about a year and a half. Fortunately, I'm passed the worst of it but I can imagine what she's going through. It is absolutely torturous because it's a constant nagging pain, especially in the extremeties, deep into the muscles and around the joints. It makes it impossible to sleep and the longer you stay in bed, the more it aches yet at the same time, it's too agonizing to get up and move around.

When I was at my worst, I lived in the bathtub - 3 to 4 looong hot baths a day (the hotter, the better). The only reason I even got out of the bathtub was because I would use up all the hot water. After the bath, I would cover my arms and legs in Aspercreme (and concentrating on the joints - shoulders, wrists, knees, and ankles). Going through a tube of Aspercreme in 2 days was fairly common (and expensive). Soaking in hot baths and the Aspercreme helped SOME but it's not a fix. The hot bath only helps while in the bathtub - the pain creeps back as the muscles cool down and the nerves start pulsating again. But anyway, you might want to suggest the bath. It may only alleviate the pain for an hour or so, but trust me, when you have to live with that kind of pain 24 hours a day, you get desperate for any kind of relief, even if it's just for an hour. You also might want to suggest the Aspercreme.

I assume they already put her on Cymbalta and it's not working or didn't work. Have they tried Amitriptyline or Neurontin? As much as I hate to say it, the only medication that worked for me was Vicodin (and the cough syrup with codeine I had leftover from a cold). But doctors prefer not to prescribe narcotic pain killers for long term use. They prefer to exhaust every other possibility first.

You might want to check out this link. http://www.fibroandfatigue.com/outoftown.php

Also, you might want to check out the fibromylagia forum support group. http://www.efibro.com/forums/?utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&utm_sponsored=fibromyalgia_support&utm_campaign=fibromyalgia_support

Tell your mom I feel for her and I hope she gets some relief from this debilitating condition. And keep your chin up too.

Answer 3

I have RA and I do understand what pain is...My fingers are deforming and geesh the pain can get unbearable. As someone said on the boards here "one can not die of it"....but like RA it does not go away and sometime makes one wish death would come knocking, it can not hurt this much!

I have had or have taken every kind of pain killer known to man at one point or another even those that put me into a seizures, make me throw up, shots, and other things. I have been using one now with success. This is cannabis (depending on where you live if it is legal or not).

I also notice when one dwells on the pain it gets worse. Sometimes one can not help to dwell on it! I have had these problems over 20 years now and been misdiagnosed I do not know nor do the doctors now know for how long. Pain is just a fact of life for your mother too is sounds like. Sleep is hard to get when in pain.

You can not do anything for your mother, this is something she has to come to grips with. She might be crabby some days, or quiet. I used to scream in my pillow before I started using this. I did not want the kids to hear me.
The link below is to the pain management commission our state has. It has many tips on managing pain, hope it helps your mother out!
You sound like a great kid as mine are!

Answer 4

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 4 years ago and I know exactly what you are talking about. True there is no cure however there are several different medications that can help take the edge off. Currently I am taking a medication called "cymbalta." It is widely used for depression but also works for alot of "fibro" sufferers because it has a pain inhibitor in it as well. Have Mom check with her doctor. Hang in there!

Answer 5

I have had horrible back pain for the past year. It now constitutes itself as chronic and I will probably have it for the rest of my life. Surgery typically does nothing for back pain. I feel so guilty because I cannot play with my five year old the way I want to and when she is 16 (like you) I hope my pain does not upset her. If your mother is on prescription medication I would recommend that she talks to her Dr. about getting something stronger. You could offer her 2 or 3 benadryl or a dose of NyQuil to help her sleep. First make sure that she can take these things with medication she may have taken today. You do not want her to have a drug interaction! I hope everything is ok.

Answer 6

Fibromyalgia isn't really accepted by the medical community. Wikipedia says that:

"The following factors are said to temporarily increase the suffering of patients:

Cold weather, especially when damp
Changes in atmospheric pressure (such as with the onset of a cold front)
Malnutrition, hunger, or starvation
Physical activity
Lack of deep (REM) sleep
Increase of stress"

Answer 7

Well, it seems to me that a lot people who have this condition (and a lot of Docs say there IS no such condition), don't seem to want to do a lot about it.

BUT - there's a hundred remedies, etc. that she COULD try - if she will. They're easy to find - check out the other answers for recommended sites.

Good luck - it's an unhappy thing to be around.

Answer 8

I get it too but perhaps not as bad as your mom, every case is different. I don't take any medication other than aspirin, if it gets really intolerable I take 2 or 3 pills every 4 hours, it helps. When I go to bed I get myself as comfortable as possible. My symptoms is not chronic but sporadic. I have been told that acupuncture has helped a lot of people, maybe your mom should try that. Praying also helps. Our prayers will go to her. Good luck.

Answer 9

She needs to go see a pain management. They can give her trigger point injections with lidocaine. Physical therapy helps for some people. I just got diagnosed with this and just got a injection and it helped some what. Good Luck, I know exactly what your mom is dealing with. My heart goes out to you and your mom.

Answer 10

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/fibromyalgia/DS00079
Fibromyalgia - MayoClinic.com

go to this link and then click on alternative treatments. It is very helpful and has a lot of information for you. Or do a web search for fibromyalgia and most of the sites that come up are for treatments.