Hi, I stumbled across this site whilst looking up something on the NHS website. I just wanted to let you all know how I got my Fibromyalgia under control. I suffered severe symptoms for over 5 years in all. I was unable to sleep, could barely walk, couldn't drive & was in constant pain when sitting or lying down in bed. I also got the feeling of 'Chinese burns' in my arms on very bad days as well as all the painful symptoms . After seeing a physio who diagnosed me & gave me a letter for my GP, I got a hospital appointment 18 months after first symptoms. The hospital put my in a very low dose of Amiltriptylene, co codamol & an anti inflammatory which I can't remember the name of. I also had to take Diazapan when I was particularly bad. I was back & forth to the GP before the dose was right - 75mg Amiltriptylene. I eventually gave up my part time job to try & get myself better quicker. I muddled along for the rest of the time I had it, having occasional good days but most days, I felt lousy, did nothing & felt life was passing me by. I had 3 young children at the time & my poor husband was having to do everything as well as work a full time job. I then reached a point where I was ok as long as I took all my meds but didn't feel back to my normal self. Then six years ago, my husband & I went away for a weekend & by the time we got home, I looked like I had mobility issues from walking around site seeing. The pain was really bad. It was after this, a friend gave me a book by Dr John Eaton called ME, chronic fatigue syndrome & Fibromyalgia - The Reverse Therapy Approach. She had trained under him as a hypnotist & wasn't sure what the book was about but thought it was worth a look. It's a small book & unlike many other books I'd been given about Fibromyalgia, I decided to read it. I sat down & read the whole thing in two sittings with a view to perhaps going to see him as a patient. Everything he says in the book made total sense with plenty of analogies to explain what he meant. He explains how the body makes chemical memories every time you experience something in your life & the more you experience that feeling associated with it, the more chemical your body releases in response until eventually your body is flooded & shuts down, hence Fibromyalgia flares up. He helps patients identify their triggers & in turn how to deal with these feelings. Through reading this book, I actually worked out what my trigger was & as soon as I did, I started to cry. It was like letting go of the all the emotional baggage that had been weighing me down for years. It wasn't like normal crying but more like someone turning a tap on to let the water run out. This happened for about 10 minutes & then I stopped & thought no more of it. I got up the next morning with no pain & with ease for the first time in a quite a few years & have been well ever since. It took a long time to get back to proper fitness level as my muscles were pretty wasted. I started with walks & then short bike rides, eventually even managed to join a gym. It used to wipe me out but slowly that overwhelming feeling of exhaustion has gone. Now I am 6 years on & have had no flares ups at all but I still take the Amiltriptylene to keep everything on an even keel. There have been a couple of occasions where my arms started to feel fizzy when I was under a great deal of stress but now I don't hesitate to say that I am not coping or walk away from the problem & let it go. It just is not worth risking your health over. The book is available from Amazon & is well worth a read. I hope it helps at least some of you as much as it did me.
I don't have Fibromyalgia anymore. - Fibromyalgia Acti...
I don't have Fibromyalgia anymore.
I agree absolutely with many of the ideas you put forward from the book though I agree they sound extreme. It fits with everything I understand from my knowledge of psychology and training as a therapist. The mind and body are one and the same and things that cannot be expressed through emotions and particularly let out from emotions via putting them into words will alternately be expressed through the body. Hence some people have been cured of asthma they have had since childhood as a result of going through the process of psychoanalysis. I find the process of the relationship between mind and body and mental and bodily expressions of pain fascinating but completely logical, we all experience painful events, the result depends upon whether we can express and share the emotions or convert them into bodily symptoms. Freud called something similar conversion hysteria which does not suggest it is all in the mind, but rather that if the mind cannot tolerate an experience the body will express it. Sue
Mmmm so ur basically saying in a nut shell, it's all in our heads then!?
No, Fibromyalgia is a physical illness. I'm only relaying what has worked for me & suggest you read the book to understand better how chemical responses to emotional problems affect the body.
soooooooooooooo true
Scrabella 888 just maybe u didnt av fybo in the first place and why u still takin meds? Boohoo xx
booohooo, can I remind you of the HU guidelines:-
Community Guidelines
Last Updated: Oct 29, 2013 10:27PM UTC
As a member of HealthUnlocked you're expected to follow a few basic guidelines to ensure that every member feels safe and comfortable engaging with others in their communities.
Community Atmosphere
Your participation on HealthUnlocked should be with respect, honesty, and in the spirit of supporting and learning from your fellow users.
I hate to appear cynical, but surely if this was a proven medical cure for fibro, documented evidence would be with our doctors and they would be recommending it to all their Fibro patients.
Also, I have to say everyone's experience of fibro, though many classically have the same symptoms, but in fact each persons' experience is individual to them and how badly it effects each one of us.
Could I possibly ask, are you based in the UK or the US, just for interests sake
Wishing you well in your continued recovery 
Foggy x
Hi, I'm based in the uk. It's hard enough to get a diagnosis as many of you have already outlined so it's hardly surprising that GPs may not have heard about it. My doctor was very interested when I went for a review & some months later, contacted me for the name of the book for her sister.
All I know is that I did have Fibromyalgia & reverse therapy helped me.
Hope you find something to help you with yours.
I had a wonderful childhood and never had any major traumas in my life but still got fibro. I don't believe you ever had it. Probably depression or similar
Fibromyalgia came onto my life 15 years followed by Sjrogrens and SLE. I take various medication to try to keep everything under control. I maybe thick, but fibro is not in my head, it hurts - it is as real as sjrogrens and sle. Unless, of course they are in the head too.
I saw a specialist on Friday and was told I will have it for life I would have good and bad days ups and downs but it will never go away it will always reappear at some point in life if you get a good long patch
Thanks for the recommendation Scarabella, alwsys worth checking out anything new, you never know what may he useful until you try.
Hello scarabella888
I think it's marvelous that you found something that worked for you but as it's not a proven medical treatment for Fibromyalgia I cannot endorse or advocate it.
As a new member I thought you may be interested in reading the FibroAction community guidelines on the following link
healthunlocked.com/fibroact...
Please can I remind all members that your participation on HealthUnlocked should be with respect, honesty, and in the spirit of supporting and learning from your fellow users.
xxxsianxxx
Thank you for reminding us all of the guidelines zeb73. It is very important that we all treat each other, at all times, with the utmost respect and support each other in accordance with the forum guidelines.
I always advise members that we are all unique individuals, and with this in mind, I believe that we all respond differently to both our medications and to our illness. Therefore, what works for one person may not necessarily work for another and we must always bear this in mind.
It is also always advisable to discuss all treatments and medications with our GP's prior to commencement of any new medications or ceasing to take existing drugs.
I sincerely hope that everybody is feeling as well as they possibly can be?
Ken x
Scrabella, can I ask you to be mindful of the HU guidelines:_
Community Guidelines
Last Updated: Oct 29, 2013 10:27PM UTC
As a member of HealthUnlocked you're expected to follow a few basic guidelines to ensure that every member feels safe and comfortable engaging with others in their communities.
2. In posting about health or medical information outside of your immediate personal experience, show a clear distinction between personal experience or opinion and evidence-based information and be careful to not present information outside of your immediate personal experience as fact unless you can back it up with reputable evidence based information sources.
Thank you for sharing this info. I have sjogrens and SLE, which has in turn caused me to have symptoms of fibromyalgia. For me, what you have said makes perfect sense and confirms what I already suspected. I think some of the people posting on here need to understand that we are all different and that one person's experiences should not be negated because it differs from their own.
Dear Scrabella888, Thanks for sharing this. I will definitely be obtaining a copy of this book because it fits in totally with research I have done. Because I cannot take conventional meds I have had to rely on self-help treatments and I have been able to 'cure' certain conditions I have through positive affirmations, meditation and image mental streaming of imagining myself well (I have rid myself of a neuroma which is a benign tumour that grows from the fibrous covering of a nerve. I was scheduled for surgery this week but when I went to hospital the Consultant was astonished that it had disappeared. I explained how I had been attempting to rid myself of this and, while he didn't believe what I had done was possible, he could not give an explanation as to how it had disappeared.) I'm still a novice at this process and find it a difficult one but I genuinely believe it can be used to cure ourselves (eventually) of all ills. I know this is contentious but I would encourage people to have a read of The Einstein Factor, written by Win Webger, PhD and Richard Poe, which explains this far better than I ever could. In a nutshell, the theory is that we can physically alter some of our own DNA through thought patterns and behaviour. Sounds unbelievable, I know, but before discounting it, just have a read. I am not saying that our illnesses are all in our head at all but I do believe now that once we can align our consciousness with our subconconscious beliefs we can then use this to self treat. Anyway, that the info for what it's worth.
When I was diagnosed it was with "secondary" fibromyalgia. This being caused by trauma. In my case, with help, I was able to identify multiple trauma happening over the last decade. I absolutely refuse to be defined by this condition and will try anything to help myself. I believe that if you go to a GP with a positive attitude and determination to self help, they are more likely to listen. Still very little is understood about this condition, so how can a GP categorically state that there is no cure.
Scrabella888 is only sharing her experiences with us and I thank her for that. It surprises me that people can be so dismissive of her post when there is evidence of links between mental and physical health. She never said that is it all in our heads, she still has symptoms. However we do it, I respect anyone who takes some responsibility for finding answers and not relying completely on our NHS. They don't have all the answers.
Jenni.
Hi,
I am so pleased that you have found something that worked for you and that you no longer have Fibromyalgia.
Hugs
Jillyxx
As I am still trying to get a grip on this condition myself so I find this debate interesting. Self help seems to be what you all advocate. You do it by humour, sympathy, empathy and support. Sometimes just a moan to some one else who understands is helpful so maybe the book would work for some. I would still suggest keeping your GP in the loop, if it works you have nothing to loose.
Hope everyone is well today.....Susan
Yet another post designed to profit out of people's misery, this one points to a book to buy on amazon which suggests that all you need is a good cry, then you'll be free of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is very real and very devastating to sufferers like myself and I suggest to readers of this post to read proper posts and research available on the internet and not be taken in by this. I find it insulting.
Hi Scrabella888,
I'm so glad you are better, it is wonderful to read such a positive story. Thank you very much for sharing it with us.
I hope you keep well.
Mim xx
Hi.... this topic really seems to have caused a "lot of interest".
I believe you should really emphasize the Second Sentence of your post..... "I wanted to let you all know how I got my fibromyalgia under control". I don't think you meant to say you don't have fibromyalgia anymore... what you are saying is that you have learnt to manage the symptoms to such low levels that you have managed to "get back " a large part of your old life.
I too have learnt to recognize what causes my symptoms to get out of control, and like you deal with stressful situations in a different way. I still have "fibromyalgia" but by learning how to deal with stress in New ways I now have a large part of my old life back, working part time , taking moderate exercise and taking no medication..... I am not saying this is easy to do, because it is something that you have to practice on a day-to-day basis.
Well done on learning how to deal with your symptoms .... it takes a very strong, positive attitude, pacing and accepting to do this.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us, and showing that it is possible to cope with "life with fibromyalgia" xxx
Hello Phlebo123,
I think you've hit the nail on the head !
I think the title was possibly not the best way to describe the methods this new member has used with medication to control the symptoms of Fibro.
I also think the sentence you've highlighted is the important one in this post, as it's about managing Fibro using a therapy and medication.
Best Wishes
Emma
FibroAction Administrator
I agree with you too
I.m sure this post was put on with good intentions and to share experience, surely it's not too much to ask that we are kind to each other?
I agree wildwoman, it makes me really sad to see someone being criticized for attempting to share a positive personal experience with the best of intentions. We are all here because we are in pain and are seeking support and kindness from others. To get that, you must demonstrate that which you seek out. Be kind xx
Xxxxxxxxx.lipbalmaddict!
You are so right, wildwoman, thank you for saying that. xx
My parents are 92 and my dad is a retired physician and my mother a retired psychiatrist so I was brought up in a household where medical talk was normal. Most of it went over my head but I learned how important it is to recognise that everyone deals with physical,mental illnesses in different ways. My mother has a number of autoimmune disorders and both me and my sisters have inherited some of them. My sisters are able to function well enough to work, whereas I had to give up in 2002 when I was 50.
I have Hughes as well as fibro. Hughes was diagnosed in 2000 and is kept more or less under control with warfarin. If I don't take it I become very unwell and am high risk blood clot or stroke. There is no getting round this. Fibro was diagnosed 2 yrs ago and I can relate this to having had the stress of 4 shoulder operations in less than three years. It was a shock and I am still trying to come to terms with it. Some days I do, some days I don't. At the suggestion of my GP I had a few counselling sessions to deal with the emotional aspects and that really helped. But I deal with it in my own way like others do whilst at the same time really value the support from this group.
I'd have to suggest then that you didn't have Fibromyalgia at all - but rather that your symptoms were related to an unresolved psychological issue. I know from experience that the mind and body are not separate entities, and that what happens to one will affect the other.
You see, I am the reverse of what happened to you. I had a breakdown, a very bad one, in and out of psychiatric units over a period of 2/3 years, and eventually worked with a psychologist and found my way out into a liberated life. However, it seems that the cost of the painful process I went through of addressing those issues was that a trigger went off in my body and now I have Fibromyalgia as a result!
So please, don't be quite so quick to dismiss Fibro as "all in the mind" because its a real illness that can be triggered by a number of things, from a virus to a psychological crisis. I am so very glad to hear that you recovered completely, but as I said, I suspect that you did not have FM at all, but that your body was signalling your psychological distress.
If it really was as easy as you suggest - none of us would still be suffering .....
Hello Scarabella888,
Thank you so much for your brave and positive posting, it was both interesting, intriguing and challenging - Welcome to the Forum.
Just a quick question, did you find that your cathartic weeping and the Amitriptyline helped you to have more refreshing and restorative sleep at night?
I'm only asking because I was told by my Rheumy and GP that my Fibro is mainly a result of a number of issues but the main one being my lack of restorative and refreshing sleep caused by years of stress, anxiety and undiagnosed Sleep Apnea and Restless Leg Syndrome.
Various alternative remedies including CBT, magnesium, vit D3, full body massages, steam rooms and using a CPAP machine have all had limited benefits and effects. I'm thoroughly sick of my current 'half life' and keen to look into all possible self help theories with the aim of at least getting a 'two thirds life' going.
I look forward to receiving your response before ordering the book.
Stay well and Stay Positive
Fight the Fibro!!.
This has been an animated thread. I can relate to how a cathartic release alleviates Fibro. A similar process happened to me during my Alexander Technique lessons. The basis of AT rests on the fact that human beings are not a divisive mind and body, but a unity of both. So it follows that an emotional or 'mental' problem is simultaneously experienced physically. Some people are keen to highlight Fibro as solely a physical illness, so why do we experience Brain Fog? Similarly for those who claim the medical orthodoxy are the sole proprietor's of knowledge, perhaps they should look at the history of medicine; or research how the medical industry is currently operated. So, whilst nothing will work for absolutely everyone, even placebo's do work for some. And if it works for you does it really matter if it ticks the N.I.C.E box or not?
This has been an animated thread. I can relate to how a cathartic release alleviates Fibro. A similar process happened to me during my Alexander Technique lessons. The basis of AT rests on the fact that human beings are not a divisive mind and body, but a unity of both. So it follows that an emotional or 'mental' problem is simultaneously experienced physically. Some people are keen to highlight Fibro as solely a physical illness, so why do we experience Brain Fog? Similarly for those who claim the medical orthodoxy are the sole proprietor's of knowledge, perhaps they should look at the history of medicine; or research how the medical industry is currently operated. So, whilst nothing will work for absolutely everyone, even placebo's do work for some. And if it works for you does it really matter if it ticks the N.I.C.E box or not?
This has been an animated thread. I can relate to how a cathartic release alleviates Fibro. A similar process happened to me during my Alexander Technique lessons. The basis of AT rests on the fact that human beings are not a divisive mind and body, but a unity of both. So it follows that an emotional or 'mental' problem is simultaneously experienced physically. Some people are keen to highlight Fibro as solely a physical illness, so why do we experience Brain Fog? Similarly for those who claim the medical orthodoxy are the sole proprietor's of knowledge, perhaps they should look at the history of medicine; or research how the medical industry is currently operated. So, whilst nothing will work for absolutely everyone, even placebo's do work for some. And if it works for you does it really matter if it ticks the N.I.C.E box or not?
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