Fibro Friends

I would suggest finding a doctor that will do their own assessment of you, listen to your concerns, and is very hesitant to "drug" you. My current doctor took a while to find, but her view is that the pain I have will never completely go away but that my medication levels, amount of exercise, and stress reduction techniques need to be such that I can be functional. I am on Lyrica, Tramadol, and 600mg Ibuprofen each twice a day—all monitored carefully by my doctor. We have found this mix to keep me pretty stable. If you are not able to function and do what you need to most days, it might be good to talk to your doctor about possibly adjusting your current dose or trying something different.


The highest pain I can handle and still function is a 5 or 6, and most days I live in that range. There are those days when I can barely can keep from screaming—when the pain gets to an 8. I have noticed that sounds seem louder, I become irritable, and I grimace with movement. Moving even though it hurts terribly, distracting myself, etc. work sometimes when the pain is bad, but other times all I can do go back to bed and curl up in a fetal position with a cuddly blanket and hope the pain goes back down soon. I am still trying to follow such days to see what the triggers are. I do know that stress, anxiety, over-exertion, and the cold all make my pain worse. Also, I have found that if there is a different reason for pain (ie. sore tooth, when I had a cyst removed on my back, etc.) my pain gets amplified everywhere.


I had 3 doctors tell me that I it would be better if I quit nursing school, so that I could rest and so that then my symptoms would get better. I told them I had worked too hard to quit, and my current doctor worked with me through school. Once I finished school, the pain got really bad. My doctor then determined that she had been wrong, that school and work are good for me, because I can focus on something other than my pain. I have found this to be true, that if I am home and there is nothing really to do, often the pain will get out of control and I can't do anything anyway. If however, if I invite friends over, go to work, volunteer, etc. the pain comes down to a manageable level. Something to distract the mind has been very helpful for me.


I hope this is a little helpful. This is just what I have found.

I've been dealing with fibro for 6 years already. Sorry to say that these doctors are all full of it. I have changed my doctors so many times, that I wonder if I will ever find someone that really cares or know how to treat their patient. I too have been taking a lot of different meds. The ones that do relieve some of the pain are cymbalta and tramadol, but I have to take more than what my doctor prescribe cause its just not enough. I ask for something stronger and they just don't want to give me anything else, so I usually run out of medication before time and the insurance I had would not pay until the month was up, which sucks. Now my husband lost his job and we have no insurance, so I have no meds and I am in so much pain that I just want to end it. The longer I have this disease the worst it gets, My doctor also took me out of work, but my disability case was denied and now I am trying to get them to review the case which my lawyer says its going to be 1 year to 2 before I can get a date.