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Managing fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia | Last Active: 20 hours ago | Replies (143)

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@jyth

I have also been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. My dr sent me to a pain management program for Fibro and there we were taught to deal with stress via mindful meditation and were strongly encouraged to stay active and exercise. I too wake up most morning feeling like I have the flu...headache, stomach ache and nausea, body aches, irritated bowels and bladder, weak, fatigued, etc. It's hard enough to cope with the fibro pain..mostly in my arms and back...but feeling so sick so much of the time is really depressing. The fatigue is what we have been addressing lately. I'm using a bi-pap machine and have just switched to a hospital bed with a cushy thick foam mattress and am now getting a good 8 hour sleep. But I still fall back to sleep within the first hour i get up and need a nap later on in the day as well. I used to be hyper-active, always on the go...hard to deal with the changes. Now my dr gave me a stimulant to help with the fatigue and it seemed to help for about a week, now I'm not so sure as I've been so tired these last couple days. Of course living in the northeast, the weather changes have been brutal this winter. I'm very affected by the barometer. I tried Cymbalta...it didn't help and I only gained weight on it. Not willing to try Lyrica as it also contributes to weight gain. I've gained so much this past year due to inactivity and now my pre-diabetes has developed into diabetes. It just seems to never end.

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Replies to "I have also been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. My dr sent me to a pain management program..."

Hi everyone,
My docs haven't mentioned Gabapentin, but I think my sister takes it for fibro. I'm staying away from the narcs so does this really help? Web searches I've done don't really mention fibro as a condition they prescribe this for but they do mention nerve pain. The stimulant I mentioned..Modafinil...is helping a little, i've asked my doc to increase the dosage and we'll see how that helps. It helps with the fatigue and helps keeping me awake and functioning at a higher level which I'm very grateful for. I'm working hard at addressing my sleep issues so I can help reduce the fatigue. Now if we could only find something that could treat the flu sick symptoms that seem to go along with barometer changes in the weather. Does anyone else have these issues?
I'm also walking with a knee brace on my left knee and use a walker as i have an inflamed IT band on my right side. This is really a drag for a once very active "jock" personality!
I'm also realizing how much stress affects the level of pain I'm experiencing! A few stressful events over the last couple weeks really put me into a well of pain, sick, unable to think straight. I'm giving the mindful meditation a more serious consideration as a combatant to this. has anyone else tried mindful meditation? I was taught to do this at the pain management clinic I attended.

Gabapentin really helps alot esp in combination with soma which is a<br>schedule 4 drug. Soma or carisoprodol 350mg is for muscle pain and you take<br>it when a fibromyalgia attack is out of hand. Narc pain meds won't help. As<br>for gabapentin they usually start at 300 mg 3 a day and go up if needed. I<br>take 800mg 4 times a day for over 15 years. Works on fibromyalgia and<br>really helps my neuropathy more than anything! briansr<br>