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Fibromyalgia -- Need help on how to handle severe pain
Fibromyalgia | Last Active: Jan 9 3:16pm | Replies (158)Comment receiving replies
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.
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Thanks for your comment, it's good to hear from you. I wonder why your doctor was reluctant to let you try gabapentin. It's the first thing my former doctor prescribed for me after my debacle with duloxetine, which had me pacing in circles and banging my head on the table as I was trying to slowly taper off of it; my life is so much better and easier with gabapentin, although still far from perfect. I can relate to what you say about living in the meantime with the lower-level pain: something that's become a regular part of daily life forever. Knowing that it's a chronic condition that I'll live with for the rest of my life has caused me to see myself as an "old person," as you say I'm much younger than you. I do have to wonder how I'll feel when I am truly "old" like my parents who are in their 80s. Do I really want to live that long? Fibromyalgia is just one of the issues we deal with, besides the cancer and other stuff that's already on our minds as we get older. I hope you're having some success going along with the treatment of the effects of the arthritis and especially with the upcoming hip surgery, that is a big step; my best to you.