Helpful tips on medication for fibromyalgia.

@bettyboop68 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect!I’m so glad you joined us and are taking an active part already. What do you take the gabapentin for? RLS?

No long term effects after almost 30 years but not sure how it has affected my memory

I take Gabapentin for chronic pain especially the fibromyalgia pain in my muscles

Thank You

I’m kinda at my whits end. I’m 67 and have had this chronic aching for over 30 years. When I was younger it would come and go and I could deal with it lots better. I really keep searching for some answers. O have a very good and intelligent Dr. He has tried everything that has been made for fibromyalgia and wrestles leg but nothing has helped. If anyone has any more ideas, I would appreciate it.

I have had FIBRO for 34 years, along with CHRONIC FATIGUE. I too have tried every drug and vitamin anyone suggests. I have never found anything that helps with the pain, except Aleve (sodium naproxin). Opioids are absolutely useless for this pain. Of course I can’t take Aleve regularly without creating additional problems.

I have found a great deal of help with using a non-invasive device called QUELL. I have been using it for probably 20 or more years. Mayo and other places are currently using electrical stimulation directly to and within the brain and spine. I would not go down that path as I have read of problems that many people experience.

You strap the QUELL device on your leg, just below the knee. It interrupts the pain signals being sent to your brain. I wear mine 100% of the time, except when I have a shower. While showering, I recharge it. I also wear an old sock (with the toe part removed) to hold the electrode pad and device in place, so that the velcro doesn’t catch on things. Using the sock also extends the length of time an electrode lasts. They recommend replacing the electrode/gel pad about once a month. Mine can last many, many months. I can even use the gel from an old pad to patch the gel on the current one if it starts to get a bit ratty. I also wash (with soap, and rinse) the gel gently to remove any body oils.

The other thing that has made such a difference to pain management (and the frustration that no one appreciates what you are experiencing… including the medical community), is learning a method to disappear the pain (and frustration) through the skills you develop when you do a 10 day silent retreat to learn VIPASSANA meditation.

It is very, very different than other forms of meditation. The value in Vipassana is that you learn to recognise minute changes in your body sensations.

If, for example, you are dealing with pain in your forearm or leg etc, the mere act of directing your attention to that area, immediately disappears the pain. You don’t have to spend time in deep focus…. The sensation simply disappears as you think of the sensation’s location. I have not sat quietly in a corner to meditate since I learned this technique about 15 years ago. I don’t feel the need to, because I can manifest the sense of “grounded-ness” at will.

At the same instant, you are also aware of an exceptional ability to focus… an alertness that is not normal. I actually call on this skill when the pressure is on when I am in heavy traffic, or even when someone is irritating me. That sense of being very grounded and also super alert allows you the mental space to make good decisions. In the case of someone irritating you, your calmness takes over and you know exactly how to call the person out, without you reacting emotionally … you can just state the facts. Your calmness and forthrightness, somehow affects their behaviour in a positive way….. you can also still carry on conversations when you are actively in this mode….

It is such a simple technique that once I learnt it, I realised I’d been in touch with that grounded sensation since I was a young child…. It has to be innate to all of us.

You can find locations around the world where you can do this Vipassana retreat. It is free, but they hope some people can donate so they can keep it available for all….. dhamma.org

I hope people can take advantage of both the Quell device and learning the Vipassana technique…. Both have made a big difference in my life, even though all my symptoms and pain are escalating over time…..

I should have said that the Quell device may not be available the world over. I got mine while living in the USA.

Another suggestion: a site that functions as a clearing house for all research that is going on around the world:

healthrising dot org

Hi
Anyone tried cbd it does work pretty well. I was on the oil prior to getting breast cancer. My Dr recently put me on trazadone 25mg for sleep. It does get you into rem sleep which helps fibro. Hard to find the right treatment. I do use cyclobenzaprine if I get a bad pain flare instead of trazadone.

Maybe that is my problem. I’m on Gabapentin. Lots of time s I want to say something but I can’t think of the word. Frustrating.