just diagnosed

Kirsty, I was diagnosed last year but have had the syptoms for about 15 years. I was put on Paroxetene (seroxat) anti depressant which did kill the pain but gave me side effects I couldn't live with including nightmares and weight gain. I now take Boots Calcium, Magnesium and Vitamin D tablets at twice the RDA. This gives me around 80% relief from pain. I've recommended these tablets to people here and some have reported that they made them very drowsy. I think this may be due to reaction with other drugs. I take Naproxen for days when the pain is worse and I walk as much a possible. I take Valerian tablets (at double the recommended dose) to help my dreadful insomnia.There seems to be no cure so it's all about managing it.

it comes and goes in serverity but in 10 years iv never know it to go .

the symptoms seem to get more as the time goes on. but the one blessing  is you have to be unlucky to have all 26 plus symptoms at once.

somedays you feel great and get stuck in some days you can barley move . 

the hardest thing to live with is the fatigue for most of us ,because at least with pain you can use pain relief of your choice i use natrual stuff no meds .but with fatigue theres nothing much you can do .

if you have a bath use magneisum seabed flakes for soaking in helps to relax and sooth muscles .apply magneisum oil to your limbs ,this may sting a little . but it soon wheres of. infra red lamp works wonders .and if you suffer from depression with  it then a sad lamp helps big time all year round not just winter. 

i use b12,q10 vitd3 and i shall be adding collegen capsuals in the near future 

i also use trace minerals, and colidaul gold ,this does add price wise.  but have no side effects ,unlike most meds from the doctor ,which have side effects as long as your arm ,and some the same as fibro .

one thing i will say. how ever hard it gets how ever painful keep moving once you stop the pain becomes worse, and you become tighter ,move every day do very gentle stretches and take a  gentle walk . i am paying the price for stoping going out .and its hard work .  you basicly have to learn to pace your self .

 

Hi Kirsty - firstly so sorry you've been in such pain, it's truly horrible isn't it.  Anti depressants are very effective for fibro, as one of the main causes of this type of generalised pain in muscles and limbs is a reaction to stress.  De-stressing can help enormously but can be difficult to achieve.  Alongside whatever medication your GP prescribes, look into things like meditation, tai chi, chi gung, aroma therapy, etc., all things that are gentle and help the mind and body relax.  All forms of relaxation techniques will help a lot.  Anti inflammatories are really very effective for fibro as its not an inflammatory disease.  Someone else mentioned valerian - it's excellent. I found out about it by accident when I bought plug-ins with valerian for a stressed cat and discovered it helped me too.  Unfortunately fibro had a negative effect on sleep patterns, so taking valerian can help with that too.  Look into supplements that have calming effects - lavender is good.  Natural pain remedies include ginger, frankinsense (put drops of the essential oil into a carrier oil or body oil and rub into achey parts), curcumin capsules (its found in the spice turmeric but only at about a 5% concentration, so its better to buy the curcumin capsules from a health food shop).  Yoga and gentle pilates are good exercises for those with fibro as there is no over exertion to damage painful muscles.  Swimming is excellent if you can manage it.  Lastly, lots of outdoor walks in sunlight - the Vit D benefits are fantastic for lifting mood and walking is great for relaxing the muscles.  Basically with this horrible syndrome, the more relaxed the body and mind are, the less the pain.  I hope you find treatment that works for you.  I've had to give in to a course of steroids recently - much against my better judgement, but my GP thought there might be a viral cause too and the short course of steroids apparently will help with that.

Thank you all for the advice I've noted down all the medication and will be having a shopping spree in boots ect soon.thankyou all