Hi Folks!
The love of my life was recently diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and she has trouble sleeping because she has pain always in her shoulders, the bottoms of her feet and her elbows. This makes it very difficult for her to sleep at night. Ibuprofen is pretty useless at this point I would imagine. I want her to be well so could anyone give me any tips on pain management so I can help her?
Appreciate your time!
Kevin
I would advise her to speak to a GP as different meds work differently from person to person, my gp's seem reluctant to give me painkillers, one thought it might make my stomach worse, so I don't take anything but I am in pain daily, I think because I've had lower back problems since I was a kid and headache's and gout for several years it's made me a bit more tolerant to pain? I don't know.
Maybe a GP can refer her to pain management? I'm not sure ibuprofen is a good med to use for FM pain.
Hi Kevin
Fibro is different for all of us and what works for one may not work for another. Personally I can't tolerate prescription drugs so manage with heat pads, tens machine, epsom salt baths, and chiropractor and hypnotherapy sessions when I can afford them. For me diet plays a big part and if I stray from my processed food free and refined sugar free diet I certainly know about it the following day. Some on here take pregabalin or gabapentin which I believe dampen down the nerve endings which can cause some of the pains and some are on low doses of antidepressants like amitriptyline. Possibly your wife could talk to the GP or ask to be referred to the pain clinic. Personally I had a three year fight to get a referral to Guys and Thomas's Fibromyalgia Clinic and they were very helpful in opening other doors for me. Hydrotherapy is also beneficial to some.
Well done you for taking the time to explore ways in which to help your partner - wish a few more people took the time to understand fibro 
I'm sure the GP could do more re pain management but it's always worth looking at small self help things to reduce pain.
For foot pain and to help sleep I've found magnesium helps. Magnesium can be absorbed through the skin so a spray rubbed into the feet might help.
A tens machine. I've got a£20, 4 pad one and it helps enormously.
Heat ---- hot water bottles, lots of them. Some people find ice packs help but I found they made me worse. It's trial and error.
Relaxing in a hot bath if this is an option. Add Epsom salts.
Pillows and cushions, under the feet, between the knees, against the back.
At night I go to sleep with a sleep hypnotherapy playing on my phone under my pillow. Search YouTube for sleep hypnotherapy with pain reduction. I like Michael Sealey's recordings.
Hello KevJenn , a good soak in a warm salt bath before bed and get shoulder into the water too, I go for regular hydrotherapy and use a local jacuzzi, I find warm water very good for easing my fibro...As for medicine pain relief, IF you feel its safe for her buy her some Co Codamol 8/500 from pharmacy you can take them with brufen as long as they dont contain paracetamol, there are also nightime herbal remedies like Nytol or Kalms .
I have cocodamol 30/500 on prescription. I also have Celebrex, and for really bad days, Palexia.
Very lucky to get celebrex my area wont prescribe them and I found them a god send when I needed anti infammatory meds. How long have you been trying the co cod? when I used celebrex I used them until my pain was under control then I stopped and started again during a flare up.. I found if you continue use then break thru pain occurs and they dont work.You seem to have adopted that routine.
I didn’t understand your question? Use of which one gave you breakthrough pain? Pain clinic consultant prescribed Celebrex and GP carried on. Have taken Celebrex for about 3 years. Longer for the Co-cocodamol, which I find helps ‘relax’ me enough to get approximately 3 hrs sleep. I usually take Celebrex if I need to leave the house. Doesn’t work for really bad pain though. Why were you not allowed it?
sorry if you didn,t understand- breakthrough pain occurs during the times I didn,t take celebrex because I hadn,t learned at that point how to pace myself, I had acive Ankylosing spondilitis (hip and neck inflammation ) I was prescribede celebrex after trying numerous other meds in that field..Celebrex was stopped around here because of a scare called "Viox" after the scare was lifted I believe it,s costs that have stopped our medics prescribing, around here pharmacies will refuse to get in any meds on the No No list for costs. this happened after the local PCT was closed by governments. If the Celebrex isnt helping with the shoulder inflammation then maybe persue a steroid injection , g.ps can give these, I have had many injections here and there for bone pains and they work very well. Excercise for the shoulder is also important too , ask the consultant to arrange some physio for that and maybe enquire if there is a hydro facility nearby for the fibro..
Has VitD been tested ? Many people are low in range - a result around 100 would be good. VitD is more than a vitamin - it is a steroidal pro-hormone and anti inflammatory. Supplement dose should be according to the result and be aware GP's often prescribe to low a dose.
Always helpful to request test results with ranges from GP so you can monitor progress and check what has been missed.
Many people find certain foods can upset the system - causing inflammation and then pain. People can be sensitive to gluten without being a coeliac ... and the gut inflammation can travel into joints ...
I'm very sorry for her diagnosis. You will find lots of listening ears and great advice here, which I see people have already given you. I have nothing special to add, but want to ask if foot massage might help the pain in her feet? No matter if you're administering it or she is, start with gentle massage on the surface and, if she can tolerate it, go a bit deeper. Look up techniques online specifically for FM suffers or, if you can't that, see if there's anything for arthritic feet, since the pain can be similar. Also, warm compresses or rice bags on the feet should help a lot. Make sure she's wearing comfortable shoes during the day with gel or memory foam inserts. No flip flops or high heels (for now). I wish her all the best!
Morning,
I used to have problems sleeping due to the pain and luckily my Consultant prescribed Amitriptyline. It works a treat for me. I manage to get a deeper sleep, which helps me cope with the pain the next day. Try your GP if your wife doesn't see a Rheumatology Consultant.
I wish I had a partner to care for me too. Your support and understanding will help your wife enormously.
Big hugs
Sue x
Hi Sue
I’ve just been prescribed amitriptyline. Do you feel you can drive whilst taking them?
If it says on the bottle avoid driving then avoid....these meds make you very drowsy, thats to help you sleep too.
Oh dear, that’s my job. I’ll check the packet
I take them 2 hours before I go to bed and so not sleepy throughout the day.
I certainly would not drive straight after taking them as they make me very drowsy very quickly and need to sleep.
I only tend to drive locally and have no problem in the day.
Sue x
"The love of my life" ahh how sweet.my husband uses that term.
You can get ibroprofen gel to rub in.I use that for pain before getting into bed and on my wrists. Your GP can prescription e you meds.I take Pregabalin. I have tried amytripyline but made me me struggle to wake up but we are all different. I have also tried these lavender cushions that you warm up in microwave.you can wrap round neck and othr parts for relief.mine wore out but was beneficial
Hi
Most areas have a specialist pain management team. There are different medications depending on the type of pain. Ibuprofen is a non steroidal anti inflammatory. I would advise that your partner speaks to gp about referral to pain management team. The one I go to has lots to offer.
Sorry to hear about your wife's pain I agree with what everyone else is saying diet and exercise when she can swimming could help sorry I can't be anymore help because as everyone has said everyone is affected different hope your wife finds some relief soon also research the condition together could help you with undersatnding the condition more it will help with accepting the diagnosis I. Not saying that your both struggling with it but I found it helped me get a better understanding
If your wife has Blood pressure problems please take advice before using Magnesium (Epsom Salts, Mag. Sulph.) and it can adversely affect Blood pressure.
I am surprised you say be careful about taking magnesium if you have bp problems as a lot of people with afib take it to help them and high bp is usually one of the things that start afib of and magnesium is usually helpful for people with afib
I was advised to use it cautiously when I had my High BP diagnosis. The best person to talk to would be your local Pharmacist, who will know about interactions and things to avoid.
Hello KevJenn, I have pain from fibro in similar places. I have found that some things work for some people but not others and Visa versa. The things that work for me currently are
2 creams used interchangeably 1. Swanson celadrin joint cream, but I use it not only on my joints but wherever the muscle spasms are happening 2. 5kind hemp active gel. This one gets fairly warm in a similar way to deep heat but seems to have a cumulative effect. I use this mostly on my elbows and heels. I also use 2 wheat bags as and when needed to aid sleep and relaxation. But obviously this is only what works for me and your BB would need to check each one out before using
I’ve just started reading a book by Dr Christopher Jenner MB BS, FCRA London Pain Clinic.
He has worked as consultant in pain medicine and anathesia at St Mary’s Hospital, London and as Director of the London Pain Clinic. The book is called Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome. Am I allowed to mention a book by name?
It is only whilst visiting this site that I realised firstly how little I know about fibromyalgia and secondly how little I have been helped and my symptoms ignored and not connected by the medical profession for the last 30 years. So please, to help your lovely wife avail yourself of all the information you can, this book is full of information and is written by a leading UK consultant.
I have only just received it but flicking through it seems really comprehensive. I got mine from amazon £9.99
Other than that, I sleep with two hot water bottles one under each shoulder and a pillow under my knees. I have also just bought a tens machine and bought another little book about using breathing to relax yourself to help with pain.
All the best and what a lucky lady to have such a caring hubby x
Wow thank you folks for taking the time to respond! Much appreciated. I will take forth this information and formulate a plan .Thanks again ....
If her pain is in the muscles rather than the joints it would be worthwhile getting your Dr to check for polymyalgia rheumatica which responds rapidly to a course of steroids. Otherwise the vitamin-D suggestion is good; she can take ibuprofen (with meals but better not at night because of dyspepsia) and ibuprofen or voltarol gel rubbed into the painful areas can work very well with less side-effects, but paracetamol is also effective; the low-dose amitriptyline at night can also help, especially for neuralgic pain. Keeping active is very important as sitting still is tempting but generally makes it worse.
Advice for a friend who has been recently diagnosed with Fybromialgia
\"Well you don't look unwell!!!\"
Recently Diagnosed Fibromyalgia 
Recently diagnosed...So much to learn 
