How can I cope with my nightmares?

How can you cope with fibromyalgia?

• Answer:

  Living with Fibromyalgia See a therapist who practices Acupuncture and Neurostructural Therapy (NST or Bowen Therapy). I recommend both therapies for reducing stiffness and pain. Regular exercise, no matter how little, is vital. Pilates is great and Alexander Technique helps to relieve unnecessary tension in the muscles. A calcium supplement taken at bedtime helps relax muscles and aid sleep. I have been taking Cymbalta for fibromyalgia for a couple of months. It has really helped me. A small dose of amytriptiline at bedtime has helped me quite a bit, but the thing that has decreased my pain more than anything is a treatment called intramuscular stimulation. It uses acupuncture needles, but is not acupunture. I have better flexibility than I've had in many years. Don't discount depression. A good counselor or therapist can help you deal with the changes in your life, and asses and re-focous your goals taking your health into account. Anti-depressants may also be recommended to help with clinical depression and/or sleep deprivation (seratonin related) that often accompanies fibromyalgia. Also don't rule out vitamin deficiencies. There was an article posted in Prevention magazine, I think, that stated 80% of patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia/non-traumatic whole body pain are also Vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is found in a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. The key source of Vitamin D, by far though, of course, is the sun. So plenty of fresh air and sunshine and whatever walking you can do will make a great difference. Healthy lifestyle is everything when it comes to preventing pain. Chiropractic has helped me greatly with pain. I take Zoloft for depression. I rest for the fatigue. I am adding this information. There are some great books that cover all the topics above. There is a national association for Fibromyalgia too. I tried everything above. You have to try all types of regimens. So far I have found Cymbalta and Lyrica do work very well, however I gained a lot of weight on Lyrica. So now I only take Cymbalta and I use tramadol when some parts of my body flare up rea bad. I also had my thyroid checked. Once I was put on Armour thyroid my limbs hurt a little less, I quit losing hair and I stopped bruising so easy. Good luck. Pegalita, medical administrator Oh, If you get migraines see a neurologist. Cymbalta has decreased the frequency of my migraines and the severity of it. Have your thyroid levels checked, at least for TSH, free T4 and free T3. Many people diagnosed with fibromyalgia find they are hypothyroid, and their fibro symptoms go away when they get on the right dose of thyroid supplement to correct the deficiency.