Have you found anything to successfully treat fibromyalgia pain?

I’ve been dealing with fibromyalgia over twenty-five years. A few months back my brother told me about a drug Savella. It’s an antidepressant, but it was made for fibromyalgia. I tried the drug and it worked for me. I had large knots in my neck, shoulders and back and Savella relaxed them. I took took the for two months, but I had to stop taking it, because it cost too much, $430 for a thirty day supply. I’m on Medicare and have part D prescription plan and the insurance company I have doesn’t cover Savella. There is a generic, Milnacipran and it’s available everywhere, except the US. I hope your insurance covers Savella.

Anyone with fibromyalgia get numbess and tingling but not pain? I'm not sure my new neuro, who has been very thorough, has come to an accurate diagnosis.

@frichard Thank you for sharing your experience with the medication Savella used for fibromyalgia. I'm sorry you've been unable to continue it's use due to high cost. Have you tried pricing it out of insurance through Good RX?

The diagnosis is likely right. However, you probably should look into getting images and then a referral to physical therapy to alieviate the numbness and pain of an impingement or other issue. I go to an Orthopedic for that. Chasing symptoms is often the way to solving things that come up. Fibromyalgia and other autoimmune diseases have lots of "idiopathic" symptoms.

Have had MRIs of entire spine, brain, x-rays of entire spine. New neuro is physician #10. PT sets off severe symptoms that feel like a heart attack. EMG/NCV arms and neck showed possible C8 nerve root compression ergo C-spine MRI #3 coming up next week. C-spine 2017 showed nothing at that level and neuro originally did not think it was worth repeating. Several labs for autoimmune, MS, thyroid stuff, all WNL, not even close to high or low ends of normal to suggest borderline. I'm scheduling an ortho appointment on my own. My neurologist's partner did the EMG/NCV and when she ask about pain and I told her I don't have pain, but rather paresthesias, she didn't think it was fibro. The absence of pain has been a confounder for everyone. Stretching, reaching, bending, even fast walking, pushing a shopping cart, light push-ups against wall, sets it off and it takes weeks to subside.

I scheduled my own, also. I did shop for physical therapy as it is important for them to take you from where you are. Most of the program was stretching, while lying down, yoga/isometrics, pilates. It required limited standing or cardio. I just got over covid, so not sure how that exercise would affect cardio, but it certainly "fixed" my sciatica and restless legs and built up my core. I have neck and lower back degeneration and hypermobility (Elers-Danlos light).

In reply to @marye2….. I really liked your comment about “chasing the symptoms” as I recently attempted to do this with my spine specialist and he brushed it aside as “central sensitization” symptoms. This was disheartening and your comment restored my efforts to always rule “in or out” issues as they arise. Thank you.

And, as the patient, you need to be assertive about getting what you need for your own health. Besides ruling in or out, both CSS and fibromyalgia can be treated to lessen pain.
Sue

Hi again @migizii, I just read your post that mentions "central sensitization" symptoms. If you already know about that diagnosis, great. If not, I would like to introduce @rwinney. She lives with "Central Sensitization Syndrome"
every day and might have a message for you.
Chris

@marye2 and @migizii Hi folks. After reading posts regarding "chasing symptoms", I cant help but let you know how much I relate and understand, having had my own path of symptom chasing.

On one hand we know our bodies best and should listen to them. We should advocate for ourselves and feel confident that we have had all tests, been seen by the best doctors, try the top meds, and not leave any stone unturned. On the other hand, we also can find ourselves in a hamster wheel, doctor hopping, experimenting with medications, surgeries, and procedures, antagonizing our emotions from the stress and anxiety which in turn antagonizes our physical state creating more symptoms, pain, and trauma.

Each person's health experience and journey is unique to them. Only they know when they are willing to step back, examine the facts, conclude whether they have acute pain or chronic pain, and then address... "what now"?

I have been on both sides and do understand how disheartening and confusing the journey of knowing when to accept and manage chronic conditions versus continuing to search for a fix, a cure, or a bigger picture, can be.

I live with CSS and have posted quite a bit about it around these woods, as well as Mayo's Pain Rehab Center. If you have any questions about CSS , I am here for you.

@migizii You say your doctor brushed off your symptoms as central sensitization. Do you not believe or trust your doctor to make this diagnoses?