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Have you found anything to successfully treat fibromyalgia pain?
Fibromyalgia | Last Active: Mar 13, 2023 | Replies (115)Comment receiving replies
I haven't been focusing of my FM other than identifying and avoiding triggers for the severe pain flares - been focusing on recovering from cancer/chemotherapy and getting diagnoses/treatment for neck, shoulder and hip pain. The chemo appears to have caused my arthritis to go crazy. Shoulder surgery is pending, had a cortisone injection in hip with possible replacement in the future. Tolerating the milder day to day pain of the FM until I can get connected with an expert. I see my neurologist next week and will ask about treating the FM, getting some images of the back and getting a referral to my PT guy to work on those fascial knots.
My point in posting is pain management. Acetaminophen hasn't been helpful for either the FM or arthritis. Naproxen helps a bit with the arthritis pain, but I'm not supposed to take NSAIDs per cardiology. Also have had some prescription pain meds in the past which weren't helpful. Short of going to opiates, nothing seems to work for the pain.
Lyrica gave me some wacky dreams, cyclobenzaprine wasn't helpful, am currently on Duloxetine - would have to withdraw from it to know how effective it is. Have had suggestions to increase the dose. Gabapetin and Savella are options to try.
To help with sleep issues due to pain and having to get up in the middle of the night because I'm colon-less, I use 3mg of melatonin to help get to sleep and 7.5 of mirtazapine at bedtime to get back to sleep. That helps with the sleep as long as the pain is mild.
Replies to "I haven't been focusing of my FM other than identifying and avoiding triggers for the severe..."
I feel for you! I was going on 1 mile walks again after a laminectomy and then a couple months later they removed a tumor and hit me hard with chemotherapy. The side effects were expected but I did chair yoga in recovery.
5 years later I’m back to chair yoga because of the neuropathy, fibromyalgia and arthritis.
The only thing that makes me start moving is the lowest dosage of Oxycodone even though it seems like 90 mg Duloxetine, 200 mg Celecoxib, 600 mg Gabapentine and lots of lidocaine daily. I’ve tried CBD with THC for sleep but can’t handle THC. It works for a lot of people. The art of distraction/meditation is vital. Good luck with your journey 🫶🏻
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Hello @rjjacobsen. I see why you posted because of pain management, or lack thereof. How frustrating. I'm so sorry for what you've been through.
Outside of the tradition meds that you've tried or are using that are no longer working, what self-care or self-help tools do you use? It's a sad space when you get to wanting pain relief that may not be able to be provided. Good for you for not going the opioid route. Unfortunately I did, and it back fired by actually intensifying symptoms. I know nothing of what you've been through with cancer, but I live with a chronic pain and sensory disorder and hit that dead end with traditional pain management myself.
Things like mindfulness, meditation, diaphragmatic breathing , gentle exercise and finding gratitude are tools I use to help me get through challenging days. Would you say you are an active participant in your pain-management care? Have you found any self- help tools that you can lean into?