Just b een told I have fibromyalgia & osteo arthritis

[ashprington]

At the moment am taking amitryptaline & naproxen. Pain is variable what does anyone else take. Also have restless legs and take ropinerole for that.

Just want to get back to normal and go walking again.

Anyone got any helpful advice

[Hidden]

I have had fibro 23 years, diagnosed at 25 ... Osteo arthritis came to stay over and never went home 5 years ago.. I really hope the meds that you have been given help you. I really don't know what to say, everyone is different , but back to normal is a big ask.. You can have a good life, I do . But it's certainly different from how I expected to be at 48.... You don't say where you have osteo arthritis I have it pretty much everywhere important , so walking any distance is out for me but I have a mobility scooter and a great family. I am also allergic to,lots of meds so I can't take the ones you do so you may well get out and about a lot better than I do. There is a good support network of members on here and to will get lots of help and advice..

Please keep posting and let us know how you are getting on

VG x

[jillylin]

Hi,

I have the same too :-). I take the amitryptaline, Ropinerole, Tramadol, etc. I am allergic to some of the NSAIDS but Meloxicam is ok for me.

It can take time to get back to normal, I am finding, I used to be a super fit ballet dancer, now a flight of stairs is a problem.

You have found a great place to come. I'm a recent joiner and the help, support and the humour here has really helped me.

Hugs

Jillyxx

[theshadow]

Hi Ashprington

I too have Fibro & OA along with a long list of other medical complaints.Since Fibro,I get bad reactions to most drugs so have given up on them! I only take one co-codamol 30/500 at night to help me get off to sleep as they kinda make me feel woozy. Unfortunately I don't stay asleep more than two hours, but guess that is normal for us fibromites!

I read on this site about using a bar of soap for restless legs. I get shooting pains down my legs & up my heels when I sit for a while or in bed. I have one bar under the thigh of the jumpy leg & rest my foot on another or tuck it down my sock. It works for me!!! The electrical impulse that is sent out by the brain is supposedly absorbed by the soap.Sounds weird, but worth a try! I couldn't do without it now!

I force myself out on a daily "plod round the park" with my dog. Keeps me moving (just!) & mentally makes me feel better. There is something special about seeing mine & my dog's lone footprints over a snow covered field. Thankfully the weather is much warmer now, so I get comfort from the birds singing & the butterflies that flutter by!

The hardest thing to face is that you can't get back to what you were, but you can & will still get pleasure from life in different, more gentle, slower ways. I now joke, you can see where I've been by the silver trail I leave behind me! Lol!

Take care, keep plodding!

The Shadow x

[ashprington in reply to theshadow]

Will certainly try the soap, sounds a good idea.

[Multismiley7 in reply to theshadow]

Hi .... My name is barb, and im gonna try that soap treatment for my legs. I too have fm and osteoarthritis. And i get shooting pains down my shins. I have it in my knees. The steps going up to my apartment is pure toture, it hurts! But i too force myself to go out. I walk but not like i,used too. Im only 52. But i do what i van, and i try to enjoy my life. Thank you for the tip.

...

[sandycat]

hi ashprington

i have had fibro for nearly 2 years, i am on amitryiptaline and naproxen tramadol.my pain varis from day to day, i also have osteoarthritis in my knee, i have no cartilage, they say they wont opperate untill i have lost weight, bit hard when you cant exercise, i use a stick all the time now, as my knee gives way a lot. hope you have lots of good days xx

[Sarah-Jane in reply to sandycat]

Hi Sandycat, they used that excuse on me too! Almost. I wanted help to lose weight but was unable to excercise. I slowly built up the amount of walking I was doing but when I lost the weight [pre-FM] they said I had to lose more! Then FM hit me and I can barely walk the driveway at the end of the week!

[Sarah-Jane]

Hi Ash

Welcome to this site. When I first joined 2 years ago the cries for help put me off and scared me for a bit, but I came back and have found this site a very valuable source of information and support - so do keep coming back, even if you don't get the answers you may want.

I have FM [since Feb 2011] and osteoarthritis in my feet, hands, hips [and my lower back I think]. Its minor but causing me a lot of pain in my hips as it set off my bursitis extenuated by FM!

I cried buckets when I found out. Not because of FM exactly, but because of all the things I could no longer do. Nothing major really, just pop out to the local shop for that bag of sugar; take the dog for a walk, which by the way I had got to get fit! She was just about ready for longer walks when I became ill and the beach walks I had planned never happened the way I planned.

It took time for me to accept my new life. But if I had had an accident I may have had to do the same, so I counted having FM as an accident of life and allowed myself to grieve for my lost plans. I knew that I would not always be able to do everything I could; I could no longer do the yoga cross legs which allow you to walk on your knees for instance. I had never realised how much I would miss things. It took a while, but I now look on things as 'at least I did them' you know the cup is half full, not half empty. Get FM for idiots - its a great help.

I am on Amitriptyline and Tegretol at night, Lyrica 7am and 7pm, Co-Dydramol for anything they don't cater for. I don't take them all the time, just when I need them. Then its two every four hours and I cannot manage without them. I also love my TENs machine which helps me when my lower back screams at me and my wheat bags which I heat in the microwave and drape around my kneck, lay alongside my thigh, warm my very cold feet at night - though not all the time. Meditation Podcasts help me sleep when I can't. Pillows to prop me up, raise my legs and keep my thighs off the mattress all help too.

Not all meds suit everyone. It takes time to find what suits you and I am currently thinking Amitriptyline is responsible for my very swollen body. I had to increase by 5ml and suddenly found my slippers hurt me. I am trying to get to the doctors to talk this over and see if there is an alternative. I cannot take or use anti-inflamatories as I have reflux either. Oh the Tegretol is for epilepsy, which apparently can be used for FM too!

As I said, do stay with us or come back whenever you want or need to. Take things easy for now. Do keep up your fitness where you can, but avoid repetative movements as that causes a wear and tear reaction where FM thinks you have seriously overdone it! Swimming is good but can lead to overdoing things.Unfortunately FM seems to have a memory too, so once done or a problem caused it will return. When I do walk a distance I pause, give myself a chance to recover and begin again. That works for me.

Everyone is different. Remember that. What works for one may not work for another. Trial and error until you find your best solutions. Get that book. Reading all of this may scare you. Please, don't be. There is no telling how things will go for you. You may be lucky and get times when things calm down for you. People work with this, I do. Get help. Seek help. Accept help. Try to smile. Honestly, things could be worse.

Soft hugs

[ashprington in reply to Sarah-Jane]

Thanks for your support. Just bought a Tens Machine and it certainly seems to help.

Everyone on the Blog ius very helpful. Many thanks

[Sharonsspot]

Just read you have restless legs. I have been telling people to try putting a bar of soap under your fitted sheet, down at the foot of your bed. Irish spring, or actually any kind. I have a few chunks down there. An elderly lady shed the light on why I kept finding soap under the sheets on the beds at the nursing home. Most of the ladies used slivers of soap that were left kicking around.

Since I had restless legs, I stuck a few bars of soap under my bottom sheet. You dont need to put your feet on it, just in the area. It works like a charm. It took a few weeks to start working, but it works so well, that if my legs act up, I check and sure enough the soap has slipped down the end of the sheet onto the floor. Give it time..it does take a few weeks. Hope it works for you

[ashprington]

Thanks. Your the second person to recommend this. So hopefully it will work. Many thanks.

[ejclinto in reply to ashprington]

I use 1000 MG taurine organic for restless leg and not being able shut mind off and magnesium spray on feet people this really works taurine is a amino acid had insomnia i now sleep 6 hours where i did just get 2 1/2 hours i have fibro 40 years and OA in every joint had to retire early 4 years ago i go chiropractor and gym freaking pain in muscles and joints some days drive me insane it is a fight to not to just give up the past 4 years pain has went up 10 times worse if some one has had good luck with HGH shots or STEM CELL injections please let me know

[N_hanif]

I have Fibromyligia and Oreo arthritis I have tred most of painkiller but gabbapatin help me to eas my pain

[ErikaDuBose]

Hi my name is erika I am 29 years old, married, and have a beautiful almost 15 month old baby boy. I have just been confirmed to having osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia as well as a laundry list of other things including lower back pains with sciatica that goes from my back down into my legs that get so severe I have had to grab onto things or had people catch me to keep me from falling on the ground, of which I'm fixing to have laser spine surgery done on on the 17th of this month, as well as horrible migraines, nausea all the time, lack of appetite, severe fatigue, and multiple surgeries on multiple body areas. I'm taking numerous types of medication just really wanted to know what's worked for you guys that I possibly have not tried, I have a TENS unit that doesn't seem to help much. The only thing that really seems to help the most is Norco 10 325 every 6 hours, Flexeril 10mg twice daily, Lyrica 7.5 mg twice a day, clonazepam Odt 1mg as needed, buspirone 10mg twice daily for migraine prevention, razatriptan odt 10mg as needed for migraine, zofran odt 4mg as needed, and laying on a heating pad constantly. Please help.... I have also read that stress can make things worse but it's extremely hard for me to not be stressed right now as I've just lost my last living grandmother and then found out today that my uncle has also passed away as well, it has been an extremely stressful year as my husband lost his father and his grandfather also. Please feel free to send any type of helpful comments as to relaxation things to try or medications that you guys have tried or anything else helpful that you could possibly think of thank you. I guess I'm really just looking for support mainly as that my family doesn't really understand what I'm going through and there answers to it r always just deal with it stuff still has to get done..... Which of course doesn't help at all and just makes me feel worse. Thanks for any help y'all provide even if its just for y'all reading my story and having some understanding

[60Chrissy in reply to ErikaDuBose]

Bless ya hun as it really isn't easy sometimes. Sending air 🤗 hugs as they don't hurt. You are going through such a difficult time and unless folk have walked in your shoes they will have no idea of what you are going through! You are on a good site here where many folk are going through similar stuff so you will always have support and understanding from everyone. Don't lose hope as you will have better days!

I am reading "Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" by Dr R Murphree as it has given me hope and a better understanding of how to help myself in a more natural way I bought it off Amazon. Hope this helps. Hooe you have a better day 😀Take care.