Fibromyalgia Symptoms HOME

It is nice having someone listen to you, I have found lately that I'm feeling really alone and depressed with my fibro. Friends and certain family have stopped contacting me because they know the answer when they ask how I'm doing. I'm 22 and have only been diagnosed for about a month. Still trying different medications to see if there's anything that will provide relief. I went from being full time employed and going to university to being at home alone, at risk of losing my house, my boyfriend, my job. Try and keep your chin up, you definitely are not alone... As for me, acupuncture seems to provide a little relief, as with physio, excercise and proper sleep (haha, funny right?!). I've been told to take calcium, magnesium and Vitamin B3. I'm willing to try anything, and I'm sure you are too. Good luck hun, we're here if ya need us.

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oneday - Unfortunately, no one is too young to have Fibromyalgia (FMS). We have kids and Mom's with kids that have FMS on this board. At least now you know what you are dealing with. You don't say who diagnosed you and what medications you have been provided to treat FMS. I know that you feel overwhelmed right now. Things are going to get better. We are all here to help and answer questions.

FMS is a disorder of the central nervous system that causes widespread, chronic pain. The mechanism that causes it is not understood. There is no cure but it can be managed. FMS is recognised by the Center for Disease Control as well as the National Arthitis Foundation. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of doctors out there who think it is a figment of our collective imaginations. You will have to be your own best advocate when it comes to proper treatment for this syndrome. Take some time to throughly read all of the information in the blue boxes on the lefthand side of this page. Knowledge is power.

One of the crucial parts of treatment for FMS is sleep. FMS causes nonrestorative sleep by interrupting the deep sleep cycle with short bursts of high intensity brain activity. Your muscles need deep sleep to repair themselves from the days activities. Lack of deep sleep will increase your overall pain level. Amitriptyline is commonly prescribed for this problem.

There are several prescribed medications that are helpful with FMS. OTC remedies do not work as only certain classes of prescribed medication are effective. Lyrica, Cymbalta and Savella are the three main prescription drugs now used to treat FMS. Lyrica is advertised on TV all of the time. The most common complaint about Lyrica seems to be rapid weight gain. I use Cymbalta myself and it works pretty well. Savella is new to the US market this year. It has been used in Europe for decades. Rheumotologists seem to have 2 week trial packs available for patients to try at this time. It takes time and a lot of tinkering to find the right drugs and doseage to alleviate your symptoms.

If you would have trouble paying for prescriptions, the drug companies have programs to assist people. Google the name of the prescribed medication, find the manufacturer and go to their website to get the information. And, most doctors will give free samples to get you started.

If you use anything with an artifical sweetner, get rid of it. You should also avoid deep fried foods, and lunch meat (nitrates). If you need a sweetner, use Truvia which is found in the baking aisle with the rest of the sugar substitutes. It is made with the Stevia plant and is not toxic. Eat several small high protein meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar level and combat fatigue.

If you need to find a rheumotologist, call your local hospital physician referral service and ask them for one with an interest in FMS. You might want to investigate a pain specialist as well. I have both and they work in tandem with one another. You can also go to the National Fibromyalgia Association website and register. Then you can see a list of fibro-friendly doctors in your area.

Learn to be grateful for anything that you can accomplish no matter how small. Break chores and errands down into more managable increments so you are not overextended. Learning to pace yourself is a very important part of living with FMS.

I hope that my comments are helpful to you in some way. If you have any other questions or just need to vent we are all here to listen and help. Take care.

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I feel your frustration! In July 2008 I was out with my husband and I started to feel sick. I told him that we had to head home and he asked me to give him just a few more minutes. Next I was vomiting so we left; of course we had 2 large trucks with us at that time. I had a very hard time driving because I was getting such severe pains in my legs. I had had these pains before but nothing like this. We get home, I make my husband and my son some dinner and I go to bed. A few hours latter my husband comes into the room to wake me up to see how I was feeling and he touched my arm and I screamed bloody murder. I cannot describe the pain that I was in. At that time my son was very young and he could not understand why mommy was crying and he could not hug her. In short I was taken to the hospital and given Morphine to cut the pain. They took blood and ran all kinds of tests. I was told that I had an autoimmune disease. The second blood test came back fine. I became addicted to Percocet just to try to keep the pain at bay. It did not help. In October on 2008 I had another major flair up and went right into my rheumatologists. I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. The problem was none of my doctors would work together. This doc would put me on this, that doc would put me on that and so forth. In March, I believed I just about died from overdosing. I stopped all of my medication. I found a new doctor, she is an Internal medicine doctor and she is wonderful. I am now on Savella 100mg twice daily, and Valium 10mg to help me sleep. I also take Darvocet-N 100 for my back because I have major back issues. I have not felt this good in years.

When I was 3 months pregnant with my son I was taken out of work because of my back, I never went back to work because I could not. I had 5 more back surgeries after my son was born. At last count in March I was on 19 medications. I had had enough. I have been working since April and I work over 40 hours a week and I stand on my feet all day long. I am still very tired at night, but I don't have the major hurting in my neck and shoulders like before.

I know everyone is different, I would recommend that you do your research before you let your doctors start loading you up on all of these different medications. And the funny thing is is that I work in the pharmaceutical industry and I have a totally different outlook of it know.

I hope this helps.

Just don't give up hope. You have to remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

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