Advise about medication for a new fibromyalgia diagnosis.

[KathrynB15]

Hi I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia yesterday by a rheumatology consultant. She had told me that I will need to start taking a low dose anti depressant for pain relief. I’m a little worried about this because I have been through some really difficult times with my husband when he was prescribed anti depressants. Does anyone take any other medication for this condition or let me know if I have any other options. would really appreciate any advise you can give me.

[Littlemo1956]

I tried the antidepressants, a low dose is prescribed for pain not for mood problems,they didn't work for me I use cocodamol and ibuprofen to control my pain and use as less as possible, you don't have take anything you don't want too, best thing I've found is to try and carry on doing what you do but pace yourself and rest when you need to, fibromyaglia is a horrible illness but you can get through it, try to stay positive.

[Cat00]

Hello,NICE guidance is generally to move away from drug treatments for fibromyalgia and to encourage treatment through exercise and talking therapies instead. While antidepressants have not been taken off the list of suggested medicine, like others have said, it is not a given you have to take them. I don't take anything for fibromyalgia. Part of the reason the guidance has changed is because one of the features of fibromyalgia is that it does not respond to pain meds particularly well. Lots of people do take medications but for lots of people their fibromyalgia accompanies other conditions.

If you are worried about taking the antidepressants maybe delay taking them and see how you get on, that way they can be there to try if things take a turn for the worst.

[Fra22-57]

I was pregabalin about 10 tears ago and am still on it

[Welshcatlady]

Hi, I take Amitriptyline for Fibromyalgia pain, it is an anti-depressant but is also prescribed for pain management. I started off on 10 mg a day, but it was gradually increased to 50 mg a day. It can make you drowsy the next day, so it can be better to take it in the evening. It doesn't effect me like that, but I think it does help me sleep. It's use as an anti-depressant is normally in higher doses. As others have said it's up to you what medicines you take. And it can be trial and error what works for you.

I was also taking Gabapentin but with the help from my GP I stopped that as it wasn't helping me. I am prescribed Co-codomol 500/30 mg and was taking the full dose of 8 tablets a day and it wasn't helping me at all, so I weaned myself off them and now just take them when my pain is bad, and now they do help me.

You can look up the medicine you have been prescribed on the NHS website and all the info you need will be there.

I hope you find something that will help your pain soon.

[lioncub]

I took amitriptyline then changed to nortriptyline which was helpful to begin with but long term not. I focus on calming my nervous system naturally i.e avoid stimulants, healthy diet, manage stress levels, pacing, sleep hygiene, yoga. Having an understanding of neuroscience has also helped me. PM me if you want more info.

[Midori]

Low doses help to relax muscles, which in turn helps with sleep problems.

However, if you feel drowsy during the day take the dose early in the evening, which will allow the sedative effect to dissipate before you drive or operate machinery, which would invalidate your driving insurance in the event of an accident.

I am assuming you drive,

Cheers, Midori

[MariLiz]

I found the low dose of Amitriptyline helped a lot with sleep issues and pain on waking. I used to wake up feeling as though I’d been trampled during the night, everything hurt!

[afib57]

I take low dose Naltrexone. No side effects and does not interact with any other medication other than Codeine. Some people have good results with Palmitoylethanolamide(PEA). Again doesn't seem to have side effects and doesn't interact with other medication. You might like to research the both. Meditation is a helpful tool as well. There is a great website curablehealth.com which talks about how the brain plays a role in pain and how to break that cycle. Well worth a look. They have recovery stories from people with various pain syndromes including Fibro. They have an app as well.

All the best

[Macaulay1]

Sorry to hear you have this awful condition. I personally wouldn’t take anti depression meds I have heard so many worrying things about them but I did try CBT and although it was nice to have someone to talk to about how I felt I do not think it had any effect on my fibromyalgia. After accepting the condition and realising its not “all in your mind” plus gentle exercise i.e walking etc plus pain killers and avoiding stress as much as possible has been the best I have found. Good luck

[R-OD]

Hi I take amitriptyline, I don’t sleep without it also calms my restless legs 😀

[Maria31]

I take amytripyline 10mg and weaning myself off pregabalin as not sure if I need it or not. Am researching nutrition and started taking coenzyme q10. As afib57 said curable is v interesting and offers a different take on things.

[Merrrm]

Hi Kathryn. Dont be put off by the term 'antidressants'... the dose you would be prescribed is not the dose for depression.....its likely to be amitriptyline starting at 10mg at night. To give you context, its 50mg to 100mg for depression. And it does work for some people with fibro as back ground pain relief and and can help with sleep I find it works for few months then I have to increase to 20mg and then 30mg. Ultimately It stops being effective for me then I tend to stop using it for 6 -9 mths and then give it a go again and it works again and I just repeat the cycle . A fabulous Gp who treats me as a responsible expert patient on my health conditions has helped enormously. I have degenerative disc disorder through most of my spine as well and the pain of this is massively debilitating but I research what I think might help and then go to her with it. She does value my input to my own health care and will check a new med I propose is not contraindicated and then prescribes it for a short period so we can both evaluate its usefulness. I know I have an exceptional Gp but I suggest you have a frank discussion with yours and talk them through how your condition is affecting your quality of life. It does help if they have clarity on this. Try not to dismiss any proposals such as CBT either because it can be super helpful....it doesn't take pain away...its about helping you come to terms with how you can live with fibro. Pls excuse long response. But I guess my main point is change your Gp if you feel the one you have is not either taking you seriously or fobbing you off. A lot of Gps are relatively ill informed about fibro. Btw..I know NICE are steering Gps away from prescription strength pain meds but its entirely up to the Gp. If they work...great, if they dont...try something else.