Fibromyalgia?

Question

How many of you suffer from this disorder and on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst, how do would you rate your pain, and how do manage the pain?

Answer 1

Sorry to say, it is normal. I am only 31 and 9 years ago my fibro started in my shoulders. I was working at circle K doing the same kind of stuff. One day I was driving home and I felt this aweful pain in my shoulders that I couldn't stand, but I just couldn't break away from it. It slowly began to hurt more days than not and more extreem pain until it became a 24 hour a day, everyday pain. I get huge knots in my muscles and as bad as it would hurt to have them pushed on, strangely it felt better. Everything I tried ( chiropractic, massage, hot compresses, stretching, accupuncture, ect) )would only help it for short periods of time. I didn't think I could go another second with this pain and it got me suicidal. I kept going to different doctors and hearing the same things," Work your muscles, don't work your muscles,stretch, don't stretch". I finally went to a pain specialist 3 years ago who gave me yucky pain meds and muscle relaxers which helped tone down the pain and make me very loopy.

Fortionately, they had a machine for "Cold Laser". The first time it did nothing for me. After the second visit I began noticing a reduction in my pain for about a week at a time. You don't feel the laser at all while they are doing it on you. It basically is like someone shining a red light on your skin. After having the Cold Laser done weekly to monthly for about a year. There would be days on end where I would have hardly any pain. But, when I tried to see if my pain would stay bearable with out laser, it slowly returned, but not to the original pain intensity. You may find a doctor in your town with a cold laser machine simply by putting in the search engine " cold laser and your city name. I swear by that machine! It was the best thing that happened to me.
For immediate relief-

You can either cut down a towel or use a hand or dish towel. sew the three sides like your making a pillow, put inside long grain rice as a filler. Only enough to fill 1/4 to1/3 (or more if you'd like) of the inside. Finish sewing up. Now you can either place in the freezer for 20-30 min + or stick it in the microwave for seconds to minutes until the temp you want. The rice bag will hold the temp for quite a while and will mold around your body. Great for any pain or discomfort and will last forever as long as you don't get it wet.

-Hot showers
-Keep your stress level down.

I feel for you! Good luck!

Answer 2

I have Fibromyalgia and I've been through different levels of pain. I went through a few years of pains that I'd rate 9-10, but after a lot of experiments and changes I found a way to decrease the pains and learned to deal with the symptoms. At my best the pains were very mild, I'd rate them 1-2, but those periods are usually short and the pain always increases again in my case.

I had to change my lifestyle and make quite a lot of changes, both big and small, to find a way to live with and deal with Fibromyalgia. I think the most important change in my case were my sleeping habits. After I started keeping my sleeping times regular (by going to sleep at the same time every day and getting up at the same time every day, including weekends) I started feeling a bit better. I got more rest, which resulted in less severe symptoms. I also had to simplify my life and get rid of big stress factors. But there were so many other things that I had to do to deal with the pain and keep my condition stable.

Answer 3

I have had fibro for many years. 1998-2001 I suffered tremendously. My pain level was 8-10 every day. Fibro fog was awful. I couldn't do some of the simplest things. I thought often of ending my pain w/suicide. Many people w/fibro do . Then, my granddaughter was born & I wanted to be a part of her life.
I went to Drs & take several meds that help, Cymbalta probably being the best of them . My pain level has gradually decreased to 4-6 on a daily basis now, w/occasinal flare-ups of 9-10.
Taking a med that helps you get enough sleep is very important. My stomach doesn't tolerate Ambien or Lunesta, but both of those work as a sleep aid.
Mainly, you just have to keep your mind to busy to think about the pain constantly, which is a very hard thing to do.

Answer 4

I was diagnosed in 1998. I suffered from years from severe fatigue. The pain wasn't that bad for me. Most days it is 2-4, but I don't take pain medication for it. I exercise a lot including a lot of non-recommended types, like snowboarding and hiking. I do get really sore after participating in sports, but overall feel the exercise is the best thing for me.

Answer 5

My MIL and my SO both have it. My MIL spent 3 years in bed due to the condition, my partner has been out of it for up to 6 months at a time. (Few people believe a man in his 20's can even have it.)

The only working results that they've got has been through seeing a naturopath, by using diet and supplements.

Sugar and dairy are the main offenders in making their symptoms worse.

Answer 6

I don't have this but my neighbor does and she really suffers...here is an anti-inflamatory diet you could try...

Anti-Inflammatory Diet

To supplement anti-inflammatory nutrients while continuing to ingest pro-inflammatory substances is counter-productive. These dietary guidelines help reduce inflammation for most people.

1. Decrease or eliminate red meat and dairy products. Some arthritis patients also seem to react to poultry.
2. Decrease or eliminate refined sugar.
3. Eliminate caffeine (including coffee, black tea, cola drinks, and chocolate).
4. Eliminate any likely food allergens during the initial three or four weeks such as gluten grains, citrus fruit, and night shade vegetables (tomatoes, white potatoes, red and green peppers, eggplant, paprika, and tobacco). These foods can be added back into the diet one at a time (one new food every third day) while carefully observing the effect. Forms are available to make it easier to monitor the effect of these foods.
5. Drink plenty of pure water. Chlorine is an antibiotic and can diminish our friendly gut flora. Studies have associated chlorine in drinking water with increased risk of some types of cancer. It is probably best to drink at least a half hour before the meal and no sooner than a hour after so the digestive juices won't be diluted.
6. Increase your consumption of fresh, raw or lightly steamed fruits and vegetables. Good fruit choices include apples, bananas, grapes, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pears, prunes, kiwis, and other sub-acid fruits. Use discretion if the patient has blood sugar problems although fruit often does not cause a problem if the diet is low fat and high fiber. Good vegetables include asparagus, spinach, zucchini, parsley, artichoke (without the butter), kelp and other sea-veggies, okra, snow peas and many more. Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower as well as onions, chives, and peppers are very nutritious but may create digestive difficulties for some people. The solution is often simply chewing the food better and possibly adding supplemental digestive enzymes such as Metazyme or Beano. Spices such as garlic, tumeric, etc. are also very healthy and should be used regularly if well tolerated.
7. For snacks, consider raw vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. The fruits and veggies contain lots of enzymes, bioflavonoids, and other phytochemicals, while the raw nuts and seeds are rich in essential fatty acids, especially flax seed, pumpkin and sunflower seed, walnuts and almonds (almonds can be allergenic to some people). Raw seeds like sesame and flax need to be ground for proper digestion. An electric coffee grinder works well.
These healthy snacks can be combined e.g. raw vegetable sticks dipped in tahini (ground sesame seeds) or almond butter.

These suggestions are very helpful for most people with inflammatory conditions such as sprains, strains, bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis, etc. and can be used in conjunction with supplementation. Most people find that eating this way also often lowers blood lipids, smoothes out blood sugar variations, helps with weight management, reduces digestive problems, increases energy, and more. It is important to note that fats digest more slowly so when fat is reduced in the diet, we may become hungry sooner and be tempted to eat M&M's, corn chips, snack crackers, cookies, etc. This hunger is not a problem if we have prepared plenty of healthy snacks as mentioned above.
http://www.dcdoctor.com/pages/brimhall/pdf/antiinflammatorydiet.pdf (need adobe reader)

http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsformedicaldisorders/a/antiinflamfood.htm
http://www.cidpusa.org/diet.html
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QA/QA252779/