Fibromyalgia

[Wboucher]

Hi my name is Wendy and I suffer from fybromyalgia, I am always in pain trying Lyrica and anxiety is getting much worse

[TheAuthor]

Hi Wboucher

I sincerely hope that you are feeling as well as you possibly can be today? Welcome to the forum and it is wonderful to make your acquaintance. I have pasted you a link below to our mother site, FMA UK which is loaded with useful Fibro Information:

fmauk.org/

I am so genuinely sorry to read that you are suffering and struggling with your Fibro, and I was wondering if you have discussed and / or being prescribed suitable and effective pain relief from your GP or Medical Specialist?

There are many other options that you could discuss with your GP / Medical Specialist that may help you if you are not already doing so, such as physiotherapy, CBT counselling, using a TENS Machine or hydrotherapy? There are quite a few other options that you could discuss also? Have you been to Rheumatology or Pain Management at your local hospital? As you could ask for referrals.

I want to gneuinely and sincerely wish you all the best of luck.

All my hopes and dreams for you

Ken

[Ginsing]

Morning I am sorry to read you are suffering so much at the moment. Fibro and our bodies do tell us very strongly when it is time to slow down. So when Fybro is shouting loudly and making the hurt unbearable try to be really positive take control.

Take your meds have a cup of tea. Now can you have a bath or shower. Make your hair nice and moisturise every wear. Are you begining to beat it? It can be hard but relax the pain will ease if you can rest good luck be positive xxginsing

[Poppy-poppy]

hi, so sorry to hear you are in so much pain. But in time you will be able to manage it , I've found that if you pace ourself and be kind to yourself you will be able to live with this terrible illnesses. Hope this happens very soon. Best wishes

[metty]

Hi Wendy, So sorry you are one of us sufferers, I have been on pregabalin for years and years...not sure what difference it makes and I don't know what strength you are on but never just stop your meds always talk to your GP. Re your anxiety, I too suffer from it and low self esteem. My GP sent me on a course and I will be having one to one sessions starting next week. I don't know what area you are in and whether your area deals with HEALTHY MINDS that is the NHS body for covering anxiety and anything related to that, as your GP, there is more help out there, Stress is not good for Fybro so if you can control that it may ease your symptons alittle. I use a heated blanket on my bed and I have one on my sofa that seems to ease and comfort me a bit re pain. Good luck to you wendy. xx

[Ladygelf]

Hi Wendy,

Sorry you're feeling bad. I have recently been diagnosed with Fibro and have had depression and anxiety for years.

I have just finished a course similar to the one Metty is referring to. It was a 6 week mindfulness course, run by the NHS which has taught me ways of managing my anxiety and cope with the pain from Fibro. Mindfulnes was introduced and adapted for the UK specifically for people living with long term chronic pain and is now being used widely for anxiety and other mental health issues.

It was great and I have signed up for more courses in January e.g, 'living with chronic pain', 'understanding anxiety' etc. The courses are run by my NHS trust and I self referred. In my area, it's called The Recovery and Well Being College. Might have different names in other NHS Trusts.

Fibromyalgia can be very hard to live with but can be managed - like Ginsing and Poppy-poppy have said, finding small but effect ways to take the edge off can make a massive difference to your overall wellbeing. I am learning to slow down, 'be kinder to myself' and practice self compassion. We can all find ways to make things less of a struggle.

Hope you feel better.

Hugs - Ela x

[fenbadger]

Agree with the above. Bottom line is Try not to let it stress you as stress and fibro feed on each other. Hugs and welcome to the house of fun. Endorphins are good. Giggling is good

[Fibroman]

Quality sleep , low stress and as many happy pills the doctor will give are the only way to reduce the pain. But first of all you have to learn to live with your condition , forgot about the person you were before you started with Fibro and learn to live with it. For years I struggled to sleep because I wouldn't take the amitriptyline he prescribed because it made me feel drowsy during the day. Now I take 50-75mg a few hours before I want to sleep. After years of painful sleepless nights I sleep 8 hours without waking up once. My anxiety levels have dropped and so has my pain. We are our own worst enemies.

[C_C_]

Hi there, I'm sorry you are suffering, no one deserves what you are going through. My first piece of advice is to seek the advice of a physiatrist if you haven't already. I found that I felt worse psychologically with lyrica but slightly better with Amitriptyline. Everyone reacts differently to different drugs. Now I don't want to sound nutty but I had a wonderful therapist help me re-address my pain and work through how I let it affect my everyday routine. For me the breakthrough was stopping the uphill battle. Instead of always being upset with my shortcomings and angry with my body, I gave into my pain and accepted it. Don't get me wrong, the pain has not changed, only the way I allow myself to react. I reassure myself multiple times a day that it is only one day at a time. If the pain gets worse I work through sections of time in minutes rather than hours/days. Reassuring yourself it will all be better in 10 mins and trying to get throught just that segment can help. I deep breathe and use aromatherapy to help me relax and forgive myself for the things I didn't get around to today.

Physiatrist's can also prescribe pain meds but given that fibro is a chronic condition most try to avoid heavy medications. I found that some of the dietary information a nutritionist also helped me avoid foods that worsened my flare ups.

Hope up feel better soon