Fibromyalgia Community

Hi Dana,

Specific recommendations cannot be made on our boards so if you're comfortable doing so, post an anonymous email address here so others can contact you directly if they have a suggestion.

In the meantime, others here may have some ideas for how you can find what you need.

Hello and welcome....MiMi in NC...sorry that you are dealing with so much...pain medicines have been found to not really help people who have FM...perhaps this is why the doctors do not provide people with them. I have learned how to *control my FM pain* by taking vitamins and supplements and doing other things as well...pain pills are normally used for just a short time...and we, FMers, need something that will work longer....since FM is forever....

I would encourage you to be sure and ask your doctor to check your Vitamin D level...which is important for a lot of people these days...it is a simple blood test but you must ASK the doctor to run it...low Vitamin D can cause some of us to have additional pain...(it did me)...and it can also affect other illnesses as well.

I take the following vitamins and supplements....a good multi, Super B Complex, Fibro Response or Magnesium and Malate (either one or the other, not both), Omegas and Vitamin D and Calcium...I also take other vitamins and supplements since I have other health issues...but these are the ones which help my FM pain the most..

I also use a heating pad when needed...and stopain spray as needed...do gentle stretches and/or exercises....(gentle, is the word here)...I take a hot shower at night using lavender bath salts in a stopped up drain...I also drink plenty of water...(only water)...and I try to watch my diet...

I can assure you that we, FMers, all know exactly how much pain that you are probably faced with each day...getting enough sleep at night is really important as well...

Have you tried taking a muscle relaxer? This seems to work sometimes for me....for a short time span.

I do encourage you to be sure and check out the *tips* and *resources* that you will find to the right of this page...there you will find other *tools* that you might try that will help you cope better..

Take care and good luck...


MiMi

I have done the research, and although opioids do not work for many people with FMS, they have been found to work for a small group.

I have had all the lab work done and I take my vitamins daily.

I must be one of that small group, I have been taking opioids daily for about 15 years now. I am still on a small dose of long acting methadone, and oxycodone for a BT med. I have no side effects except managable constipation. I find myself sleeping better, and functioning better, although I am still unable to work.

Of course, I tried everything else non-invasive first. But, I think if you have tried everything else, and nothing works that well, opioids should be an option.

I continue to use Lidoderm patches as needed, gabapentin, zolpidem, my hot tub every day, ROM stretches twice a day, and 1 hour minimum of exercise daily.

Take care, Annette

Thank you for your reply... Yes I have tried muscle relaxers and I do not like them and I will not take them... I have been on many different meds, my Fibro pain is pretty well balance, it is the the other ache and pains that I suffer from that are not Fibro related, I know the difference in pain.... I just had a bunch of blood work done, and I believe my vitamin D level was checked, along with RF, ANA, and Sed rate, I am assuming they have all stayed the same in level as in comparison to bloodwork done prior... I do take a motrin inbetween my pain meds which is one pain pill 3 times a day....I can deal with the fibro pain, I can't take the shin pain in my legs that wake me up at night in tears.... My shin pain is due to a car accident, along with neck pain, neck injury to the car accident... I don't like to take alot of meds I really don't, I just want something that will keep me comfortable, I understand and realize that I WILL NEVER BE PAIN FREE. and I can accept that, I just want to be kept comfortable, it is sad when I can no longer go to the mall with my teenage daughter because I can not walk the a mall, the pain in my shins and hips is horrible, can not even explain it, my life has changed so much, I am an educated person, I have worked in the medical field for 25yrs up until I could not work anymore and started recieving ssi.. I am not even living I am existing! I don't sleep like a the average person, I really don't I am like I get 4hrs a sleep a night, and sleeping medication is out of the question, I will not take those either.... I have aortic and mitral valve regurge so there is very minimal medication that I will take.... Thank you Mimi for your reply.

I'm in the same boat, I go to my pain managment doctor roughly every six weeks, maybe 8 weeks. thing is, the Norco that they give me is only good for 56 days, ok, now if I take only one a day then that's no bigger, but since I have a torn rotator cuff on my dominant arm, along with a full tear in my meiscus along with a partial tear in the same knee, I sometimes need more than one a day.


Now, I CAN TAKE more than one a day, but then they won't last the full 56 days.

So what's a body to do?

Sorry about your pain situation DanaDane. It is horrible when you can't sleep. Have you ever tried prescription Lidoderm patches on your shins at night? I don't know if it is a medication your heart can tolerate. They can be expensive, depending on your copay, but can offer great spot-type pain relief for sleep. If I could afford it I would stick them on places that bother me a lot more often! I look forward to when a generic version is available. (I also like the Salonpas patches, otc.)

You might get some good ideas for managing your accident pain by posting on the pain management community on WebMD.

You can cut up the Lidoderm patches, I do and they go farther that way.

They are pricey.

Take care, Annette

Thank you all for the replies.... I was on gapabentin( neurotin) yrs ago, but it really did nothing for me, so my pcp stopped the med...Now that the weather is getting cooler I really feel the pains in my shins, and the stiffness....I do not lay around all day, I keep myself busy, walking around the house, up and down steps, taking a walk around the neighborhood... It is just horrible, but complaining about it all day every day is not going to change anything... If anyone would like to contact by email with any suggestions, information here is my email danal1116@comcast.net. All information and suggestions would greatly be appreciated...I just want to be comfortable, as I said I know that I will never be 100% pain free, I would like to be able to do the things I did before this illness took over me...Would love to go to the mall with my daughter and spend the day there, and maybe that will happy one day...

I don't have daily pain, but when it's bad I take Tramadol. It eases with the pain without the organ (liver) damage that some drugs inflict.
Lou

Where do you live - state and town?

Pittsburghh PA....

I do wish I could help you with a referral to a pain management Dr., however I am not from your area. I live in NY on Long Island. I am very grateful to my Dr who has been treating me for over 10 years. You need to find a Dr who specializes with Fibromyalgia patients. I have OA and RA as well as Fibro and I do know that my rheumatologist also treats Fibro patients. Ask around. It is a little strange that I could be walking in the grocery store slowly and I will meet someone who looks like they are hurting and may have what I have. I then find out that she does have Fibro as well as OA or RA and we talk for a little while. I have recommended my Dr many times and am open to their stories telling me about their good Dr's, as well. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Some of teh hospitals in my area have free lectures from pain management Dr's and I have found information that way. There are Arthritis Foundation Support Groups for Fibromyalgia that I used to go to. Check out your phone book and ASK! Best of luck!