Fibromyalgia

gabapentin and cymbalta (cymbalta is a hell out of a drug for most people - i have been afraid to higher than 30mg because of this) have seemed to help the super bad days happen less. i still feel daily pain, but its rarely like it use to be. if you are in a state/place with legalized marijuana, i would encourage you to speak to a doc about your options there. i didn't partake in marijuana before - always had a bad reaction to it anxiety/dissociative wise. but i guess its different if you know what you need and what you're actually getting. i hope things get better for you.

Sadly not a lot. I have had it 6/7 years, only things that help a bit are warm baths with magnesium flakes, try to do as much as I can when I can and rest after. It is not a pleasant thing to have and it can drag you down at times.

perhaps others may have other ways to ease pain but so far only the above help me. Try to keep your spirits up, you will have good days too

No one seems to know what fibromyalgia really is, what causes it and what can help ease it. Someone on this group mentioned a book by a UK doctor who has been looking at fibro along with CFS/ME who says "Fibromyalgia is just a symptom - it just means pain in the muscles. It occurs very commonly with chronic fatigue syndrome because I suspect the underlying causes are similar."

It's all about how energy is produced in cells and how all cells require energy in order to work. Our mitochondria are miniscule little energy producers that occupy each cell in their hundreds or thousands (every heart cell has 5000 mitochondria!). The cell sorts out nutrients from the bloodstream (from our food) and makes sure every mitochondrion gets its fair share so it can produce our energy. If the food isn't right or if there is some problem with the mitochondria (i.e. dysfunction) - no energy and a ton of pain follow.

Doctors don't seem to understand this idea and they think that throwing various drugs at the body will dull the pain. Sometimes they do but they don't ever cure the pain and often the drugs are addictive or destroy other things into the bargain (e.g. some cause neuropathy, others damage brain cells). If just making changes to your diet and maybe taking some extra supplements will bring relief and maybe an actual cure it might well be worth a try.

It might also be helpful to look back and see if you can remember when the pain started - often it begins shortly after a traumatic event (car crash, death of a loved one or serious illness perhaps). Maybe a continuous period of stress (which causes inflammation) can trigger it, or a period of taking antibiotics or other drugs. Inflammation and toxins (environmental, nutritional and pharmaceutical) all have a part to play in mitochondrial dysfunction.

I have stayed away from drugs except for ibuprofen. For me, I use an app called Insight Timer to meditate. The meditations focused on healing pain really help me relax. I also go to massage therapy and find it helps. I do daily yoga as stretching helps my muscles. I used to hate yoga but now I find it helps. You need to find what works for you.

My earlier reply is waiting to be moderated but I basically said the same as Chickadeesgrl - try to stay away from drugs if you can and look for natural methods of repairing your body. There are some good books about it if you look.

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia approx 20 years ago but I know I have had it a lot longer. I have tried all the different drugs that are given for Fibro but sadly none of them seemed to help me. Last year my flare ups had started to become much more severe and were leaving me paralysed down one side for about 2-3 months at a time. I was going to kill myself because all I saw in my future was pain and depression. Luckily my doctor got me to see are local mental health hospital very quickly. I was looking for hep in the Fibro groups on Facebook and started to talk to a girl who had been through much worse than me. She started me on a Suppliment that has got me back on my feet and I haven't had a flare up since October last year when I started taking the Suppliment. Maybe you could try that before things progress any further. I have my children on it as well because my son is showing signs of Fibro at the age of 17. Hope this helps.