Fibromyalgia: Functional Medicine Dr & Supplements Helped Anyone?

So, are you taking any of the drugs meant for Fibro? If so, which ones and how much relief is provided? Also, what is "tapping"? Thank you.

Yes I thought I was writing on another post where I mentioned that I take sevreal meds recommended for Fibro;
Lyrica 200ms 3x day
Cymbalta 60mg day
Morphine extended release 30mg 2 x day. This changed my life for the better
Tizanadine 4mg up to 4 at bedtime.
Nortriptyline 100 mg at bedtime
Remember I have been on various meds for Fibro since 2000, so my tolerance or need has gone up over time.
I take high quality multivitamin, magnesium powder [Calm} for Restless Leg and Triple Magnesium supplement at times for IBS, Qunol Turmeric 2000mg, Vitamin D3, Calcium for Osteopenia, Vitamin C.
Tapping for Emotional Release is an incredible, well- researched and scientifically proven , tapping of certain areas on the face and chest which stimulates the meridian points on these areas. You can find videos on Youtube. [Nick Ortner Tapping for Pain Release, or something like that]. I am a skeptical person and I do my own research on things before I believe. I am a strong believer of this. The Tapping Solution is a free [FREE!] app that breaks down the information. It is a simple technique that stimulates parts of the brain that help with pain, anxiety, sleep problems, etc. It is miraculous. It often turns my day around. I use it every night when I try to ease into sleep. And every morning to lower my pain before I get out of bed.
As far as the relief I get from the Fibro medication. I would not be still on this Earth without the help they provide. My quality of life is greatly improved with the medicine. Chronic pain for 40 years certainly has made me depressed. I have never had any bad side effects. With Lyrica, a Doctor starts a person on a much lower dose than me. I have been taking it for 16 years.

I am so happy you are finding your way versus taking a lot of medicine. I resisted all the medicine offered to me for Fibro, until I was desperate and could no longer work a regular job or keep a schedule. But I have have had recurring and then chronic back pain for 25 years before my Fibro diagnosis in 2000. So I am grateful for the easing of the symptoms on "some" days. But I also found that having a nasty disposition due to pain, makes you lose people in your life! I found hope with Progressive Muscle relaxation and guided meditation. I also added tapping for emotion release. These things, done daily, absolutely changes my very high pain levels, to tolerable pain. Take care of yourselves!!

Thank you. It’s not easy and some days I get quite depressed as I’m no longer able to be active like I once was (I used to be very outdoorsy), nor can I work or function as I’d like. Family and what friends stuck around don’t understand Fibro, most think it’s psychological. My own spouse knows what I suffer but “forgets” and has unrealistic expectations. And like so many others, I have other complications and health issues that started first, and now have worsened. There are days I consider changing my stance on drugs for pain, but having once worked in ER, I know all too well how those can lead to other problems.
Like so many, I am exhausted. Chronic pain has taken over my life, has cost us loads of money on supplements etc. that MD’s, NP’s, recommend but insurance won’t cover, as well as common prescription meds and tests, and visits our insurance also won’t.
I, too, have been dismissed or offered antidepressants countless times, which I rejected because they all cause weight gain which, being unable to exercise, I cannot afford. I completely understand those who likewise, cannot afford to NOT use pain medication because they must work, or have children of other family to care for and don’t have the luxury of taking breaks when needed.
I’ve just heard that they have confirmed that Long Covid, and perhaps other viruses hide in muscle and other tissues to escape our body’s immune system from attacking them. It is now thought that Fibro and Chronic Fatigue with its brain fog, similar to Long Covid, may be the result of viral infection that was cleared from the bloodstream (giving false negative of from blood tests) but has hidden in tissues and eventually builds up within them to cause pain and fatigue by hijacking the energy producing/utilizing systems within (mitochondria), which in turn cause a host of other health and metabolism problems. This means that while a fix for me may be unavailable, at least future generations may not have to suffer as patients now are.
It does make one wonder, if anyone had simply prescribed anti-viral medication at early stages, if all of this suffering could have been prevented.

My goodness, I understand and have experienced that all as well. Honestly, I get so offended when people “joke” that I’m a mooch off off my husband for not working or say things like “ Oh, yeah I have aches sometimes in the morning too”. The public really needs to understand Fibromyalgia more, and general practitioner doctors and NP’s should HAVE to learn about it to practice. We are not all drug seekers, nor is it in our heads. Mine struck me suddenly when I was training for a triathlon! I began waking up feeling like I had been run over by a truck and scraped off the highway and became worse from there. The fatigue alone would be debilitating enough, but the pain…everywhere, everyday plus never feeling as if you’ve slept at all, even with the help of magnesium and melatonin…my goodness how do you describe it so as to make anyone understand when there is nothing to compare it to?

As far as what I do take, it is this: Methylated multivitamins (esp. B complex), zinc and chromium because I am now pre-diabetic, digestive enzymes and probiotics because I no longer digest or process food properly, calcium citrate because I can no longer tolerate dairy and have lost bone mass, high potency vitamin D because I am deficient, *low dose* Naltrexone which has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation, and the melatonin and magnesium before bed to aid sleep. If the pain is unbearable, I take Aleve, but too much ruins GI micro biome and leads to a whole host of problems in turn.
Most days I “power through”, but I won’t pretend it isn’t mentally and emotionally difficult to do so. Sometimes I break down and cry just from being tired of having pain 365 days per year for nearly 13 years now. Even getting hugs from godchildren or being jostled by our dog sends additional waves of pain throughout my body. I must take several breaks while doing house chores and walking up and down stairs has become very painful as well, and that is pain on top of the generalized joint and muscle pain and weakness I, and most with fibro, experience every day. And I am considered to have only moderate symptoms. I’ve known some that are bedridden almost every day.
Health care workers need to understand the frustration, financial stress, emotional toll, marriage strain and self esteem loss that comes with having such a hopeless condition.

My goodness, I understand and have experienced that all as well. Honestly, I get so offended when people “joke” that I’m a mooch off off my husband for not working or say things like “ Oh, yeah I have aches sometimes in the morning too”. The public really needs to understand Fibromyalgia more, and general practitioner doctors and NP’s should HAVE to learn about it to practice. We are not all drug seekers, nor is it in our heads. Mine struck me suddenly when I was training for a triathlon! I began waking up feeling like I had been run over by a truck and scraped off the highway and became worse from there. The fatigue alone would be debilitating enough, but the pain…everywhere, everyday plus never feeling as if you’ve slept at all, even with the help of magnesium and melatonin…my goodness how do you describe it so as to make anyone understand when there is nothing to compare it to?

As far as what I do take, it is this: Methylated multivitamins (esp. B complex), zinc and chromium because I am now pre-diabetic, digestive enzymes and probiotics because I no longer digest or process food properly, calcium citrate because I can no longer tolerate dairy and have lost bone mass, high potency vitamin D because I am deficient, *low dose* Naltrexone which has been shown to reduce pain and inflammation, and the melatonin and magnesium before bed to aid sleep. If the pain is unbearable, I take Aleve, but too much ruins GI micro biome and leads to a whole host of problems in turn.
Most days I “power through”, but I won’t pretend it isn’t mentally and emotionally difficult to do so. Sometimes I break down and cry just from being tired of having pain 365 days per year for nearly 13 years now. Even getting hugs from godchildren or being jostled by our dog sends additional waves of pain throughout my body. I must take several breaks while doing house chores and walking up and down stairs has become very painful as well, and that is pain on top of the generalized joint and muscle pain and weakness I, and most with fibro, experience every day. And I am considered to have only moderate symptoms. I’ve known some that are bedridden almost every day.
Health care workers need to understand the frustration, financial stress, emotional toll, marriage strain and self esteem loss that comes with having such a hopeless condition.