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Fibromyalgia -- Need help on how to handle severe pain
Fibromyalgia | Last Active: Oct 29, 2023 | Replies (156)Comment receiving replies
I'm not the person who you were replying to, but I do have fibromyalgia (diagnosed at Mayo Clinic in 2017) and live in MN. What's helped me the most with pain and other symptoms has been 1200 mg daily of gabapentin along with physical therapy. I tried Cymbalta and went through awful side effects including feeling suicidal for the first time in my life, and tapering down off of it was hell. I've had no problems like that with the gabapentin and although it's not perfect (MN winters are still pretty rough with the symptoms) it's more manageable. 2/3 of the year I walk around like the tin man needing the oil can, so it's like the fibro has aged me prematurely, I feel like I'm 80 much of the time rather than my mid-50's. I would love to see a functional doctor but haven't checked into one yet, and have no idea where I'd find one. Is anyone here from MN seeing a functional doctor and are there any at Mayo?
Replies to "I'm not the person who you were replying to, but I do have fibromyalgia (diagnosed at..."
Commenting here so I can tag along on the discussion.
Also am in MN, also have been diagnosed with FM and have been on Cymbalta for a decade. I do take Remeron to help with getting back to sleep due to nature calls and pain. Besides that, I manage by avoiding the pain flare triggers (repetitive bending is the biggie for me) and doing PT - meanwhile am living with the lower-level pain. I'm also much older than you. Also have arthritis in both shoulders and both hips. Had the arthritic spurs taken out on the left in May, will do similar surgery on the right - then I can look at doing a replacement of the left hip. I take Tylenol, but can't take NSAIDs because of bleeding issues.
At my annual exam a few weeks ago, I asked about adding gabapentin. Dr. was reluctant, but I may ask to try it.
Can you recommend a good Dr in the Twin Cities metro area that helps with your Fibro? I can't find one. I even went to a pain clinic that had Fibro listed as something they treat, but it wasn't the case once I got there. My PCP isn't helpful in helping treat my pain. He tells me to see a specialist, most are booked up for 3-4 months, and they refer me back to my PCP.
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Hi @stephanieml, Mayo Clinic offers integrative medicine and health. You can read more here:
- Integrative Medicine and Health https://www.mayoclinic.org/departments-centers/integrative-medicine-health/sections/overview/ovc-20464567
Integrative medicine and functional medicine are similar and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably. They approach healing in slightly different ways. Integrative medicine seeks to understand you as a whole person. It uses many different types of therapy to heal your mind, body and spirit. Functional medicine seeks to identify and treat the underlying cause of your condition. It centers on the idea that one condition may have many causes or one cause can have many conditions.
Integrative medicine uses a combination of therapies and lifestyle changes to treat and heal the whole person. It focuses on your complete mind, body and soul and uses an evidence-based approach to improve your health and wellness. Integrative approaches are used to help people with medical conditions — including cancer, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, diabetes and many others — feel better by reducing fatigue, nausea, pain and anxiety.
I think the thing people like the most about integrative medicine is that you work closely with the care team to understand and address your needs.
Stephanie, when you were diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2017, did you attend Mayo Clinic Fibromyalgia Clinic?