pain

[kisskiss6]

Hi doctor
Diagnosed in September 2011 with fibromyalgia.  I am having severe rib pain mostly at night and my medication is not helping. Amitriptyline 10mg at night + Dihydrocodiene  2 x 4 hourly and paracetamol  2x4hourly + nabumetone 500mg twice daily  should I be discussing a diferent regime of tablets  

[FurballsMom]

Yeah, what Tuckamore said about treating Fibromyalgia pain and how we all respond differently is definitely the way it is.  I keep noticing this one thing that is always consistent about treating Fibromyalgia.  It's definitely true about how we all respond differently to the pain treatment.  It seems like the only thing we can do is to keep making suggestions to each other about what works for us individually and to keep supporting each other.  

I do hope you find a solution to find some relief for the pain.

[marycarmel]

You have my empathy with the fibromyalgia.  I was diagnosed with it nearly 12 years ago. The first few years were really tough.  I kept looking for a "cure."  I tried a lot of medications and read up on dietary changes, etc.  In the end, I found what worked best for me.

Exercise is REALLY important.  But you have to really go easy with it.  I started very slowly with some swimming.  In the beginning I could barely swim a length.  I just took my time and tried to increase the time as I could. Some days I would walk in the pool.  It's very gentle on muscles and joints.

I eventually worked up to where I could swim 45 minutes to an hour.  From there I added in some cardio machines.  For me, the ellipitcal worked best as I have arthritis in my hip and for some reason, walking on the treadmill aggravated it.  I eventually got to a place where my fibromyalgia rarely flared up and was not impacting my life at all.

Unfortunately, I would up slowly dropping my routine, and I found the fibro causing problems.  I'm dealing with some other health issues, but I am hopeful to get back to my routine again.  It will mean starting at the beginning again, but I know it will be worth it.

Not only did I feel better physically in longer than I can remember, I was also in the best shape of my life.

I know it can feel next to impossible to do any exercise when you're in a fibro flare-up, but if you can force yourself to do something, even if it's only for 2 minutes, you can start rebuilding.  From there, you'll learn to see the signs of it acting up early on and take measures to stop the flare-up before it gets too bad.

It is not an easy disease to live with but you can, and you can live well.

[Tuckamore]

I am sorry that you are not finding a lot of helpful information. In part it may be due to the fact that everyone is a bit different. Yes there are cardial symptoms of Fibro and similar symptoms but pain perception is not always the same for everyone.

Just as if you have a headache you might find that XXX works to reduce it quickly but YYY won't touch it...... while your friend swears that YYY is the only thing that reduces her headaches. Often that's the way it is with Fibro or chronic pain conditions.

There are some good articles on Fibro, actually some good books. It's a fairly new recognized disorder and research is ongoing. Physician's opinions vary on Fibro as does the approach to treatment.

I have found OMT (Osteopathic Manipulation Therapy) to be very helpful in controlling my pain. This is performed by a physician, a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy). Not all D.O.s perform OMT and it takes some searching to find one that practices it but it can be well worth the time and effort.

If you have a specific question, other then medications please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to find the anwsers.

Hang in Kisskiss. The journey through Chronic Pain is not an easy one. You'll need all the support and information you can gather.... you are approaching this in the right way. We're here for you.

~Tuck

[kisskiss6]

Thanks
Happy to try anything, bizzarly goes away after 5 or 6 days down to a managable pain, but being new to fibro do not know what  expect. In the stage of asking everybody that might have a bit of knowledge, but the answers I have got so far have not been very much help

[FurballsMom]

I have fibro, too.  I'm not able to use those medications.  I have found chiropractic helpful.  I have a rib or two that keeps needing adjusting.  The adjusting definitely helps with this rib pain.  I would try a chiropractor to see if it is just enough relief to make your pain meds more effective.