Does anyone know if there has been any further break through for an alternative pain relief med for fibromyalgia- it seems only duloxetine and gabapentin are offered I’ve tried both and the side effects are just too much.. my itching is so severe I’m starting to look like I’ve self harmed as scratched my arms and shoulders until they have bled and scabbed over even in my sleep.
The itching has been worse since my diseased Gall bladder was removed in September last year . 🙏 just need to know about alternative pain relief as it’s driving me crazing.. ❤️
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Persianbelle64
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I wrote long; Sorry. Just it might help you. Or someone else struggling. Take it or leave it, these are my thoughts.
Itching is pain. If you are scratching too, you are making it worse. Sounds like you swapped your Fibro pain for a different sort. Most folks don't find these meds are a full solution even if they work some, so they end up having side effect pain issues and the fibro pain also.
Mentally, struggling with itching is hard too. Stressful. It r=wrecks your skin and invites infection, which will cause more itching.
Remember how stress makes Everything worse? Especially Fibro? A major key to getting Fibro pain manageable is reducing your stress and managing the rest better. That sounds like fun, doesn't it?
You cannot allow anybody, or entity (GP? DWP? etc) to uspet your stress levels. If you do, you invite more pain. This is a massive test for most fibros because so many of us are nice sorts. We don't stand up for ourselves. We are pretty trusting and want to trust. We want answers.
I struggled to stand up for myself, swallowing pills to keep my GP from hating me. Listening to him gaslighting my experience. Imagine, you are having side effects from the drugs he just gave you, and he's saying, once again, it's in your head? And you are so messed up wondering if you can trust your own feelings, you believe him. And you keep swallowing, only to be told by another GP, to QUICK stop taking the meds!! You are having a serious reaction!! Was I stupid, or what?
I just wanted him to help me and for the pain to stop. But I wouldn't/couldn't assert myself to look after me. I was frightened to be black listed and not be helped. Yet, he wasn't helping. He was hurting me.
GP's traditionally hate treating fibro. They hate any disease they don't understand/ can't see. They want to give their solution and for you to get better and not come back. Fibros don't act that way.
Fibro is a complicated set of symptoms with likely multple triggers. Stress, illness, toxins, etc. Lots of Fibros have that not right since moment. Not right since an accident, virus, illness, or exposure to drugs, toxins and so on. Maybe it's multi layered?
I'm fascinated by the long Cobid. So like Fibro. And patients recieved gaslighting the same at first. All in their silly lazy heads!!
My theory is patients are truamatised by their experience of illness. My nephew when he got sick thought he'd die. And he felt super guilty making his Dad sick and how he might die also. Big responsibilty and fears for a little kid. His Mum comforted him and his illness was really minor. Had he been feverish achy, blocked up, long lasting etc, the stress would have been harder to control.
I think people have stressful things happen. Incidents that are not handled well. Pain that is dismissed instead of processed. Physical, emotional and mental. The stoic fibro suffers in silence maybe unable to access care and support. It's damaging. At some point you need to process your pain. Process how you felt. Move that hurt and possible resentment through your system. All the while dealing with how your Fibro symptoms currently, are wrecking your sleep, digestion, social life, self esteem and so on. Like I say, it's complicated. The symptoms are real. The damage from lack of sleep and poor digestion, is real. The pain, is real.
Meanwhile you want a solution? I think meds for the average Fibro are processed like poison. It adds to your already massive toxic load. It's why were tend to be more sensitive. We are already dealing with too much already. All that food that doesn't digest properly and turns into toxins. All the nights we don't do our repairs.
I'd suggest eating better, reading up about food and digestion. Meditation to improve relaxation and sleep, look up on you tube about dealing with your Shadow. All those issues that we carry around like a shadow folloing us, tripping and triggering us where ever we go.
Lots to chew on. Plenty to try and keep you busy. This can seem overwhelming and unfair. Lots of us fight it. But ultimately, it puts the power back where it belongs; With you. You start to understand you. and in so doing, you fix yourself, bit by bit. A long process maybe? but worth it. Good luck.
Hi, sorry you are experiencing this itching. It isn't something I have had with my Fibro but to try to combat the stress and the itching reaction you are experiencing, have you tried alternative therapies like massage or perhaps reiki which may be better as the practitioner will not have to touch your skin. Good luck.
I take over the counter Ibuprofen. My Fibro seems to have plateau'd, and I find I can manage fairly well with it, my vitamin supplements, and as much exercise as I can muster.
That being said, I've had a flareup over the weekend, so I'm stiff and achey.
I used to have CoDydramol, but they went out of date. as I can't get to see the GP.
When sent to specialists for constant itching I was told it was possibly due to anemia , have you had blood tests to rule out things that may be causing it
Found some information on fibromyalgia assoc. website, which might help, they suggest various things at the bottom of the article. fmauk.org/general-articles-...
Feel your frustration as I get really itchy skin too, although not sure if mine is related to my fibro. A dermatologist said it’s urticaria. I find that taking citirizine every morning helps and when bad, at nighttime too; using Dermol to shower and a good emollient straight after showering. Despite these all helping, it still drives me crazy at times! Hope you manage to find something that eases your symptoms soon.
Have been through this hell, urticaria so severe 2 x cetirizine am and 2 x cetirizine at night prescribed, steroid prednisalone tablets and later ciclosporine for six months (immunosuppressant) but that was before Covid pandemic so unsafe for next flare up for which I was prescribed Omalizumab monoclonal antibody injections 2 per 4 weeks for six months. Incredible cure. I now seem to have developed fibromyalgia on top of severe osteoarthritis and the itch is back, not yet as extreme as the urticaria. Will see GP. Had to get GP referral to NHS specialist urticaria clinic in St. john’s Institute of Dermatolgy Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital. I found a very effective soothing cream by Salcura called Bioskin Zeoderm 2 Extra skin repair moisturiser. Excellent website Dermnet aka Dermnet NZ used by dermatologists around the world as key resource/library. Hope this can help.
Hello Persianbelle64,I have always had the itchies even before the fibromyalgia, CFS and company (all those other pesky diagnosis that join in). I’m sitting here now while my back, ears, neck, side, and other body parts are itching. My ears will fill up with liquid wax and drain causing the inside of my ear to itch like crazy and I scratch with my finger and it comes out wet with the liquid ear wax. When it gets too bad I will take a Benadryl but not right now because I am already sleepy. My eye lids will get itchy, every where my hair touches will itch. I am on gabapentin too for neuropathy pain, tramadol and a hydrocodone for really bad days and I only take one that day. I don’t think I ever been on the duloxetine? Well I haven’t had much luck with …..🤔did try the lidocaine patch for my back but it didn’t help. Also TENS units but the pain goes deeper that the tens unit covered. Taking a shower and using dandruff shampoo and back brush will help with the itches to some degree. I have a back scratcher that I use a lot on my back.
Oh my goodness- thankYou so much @sarahvit I actually feel I am going insane at times - I too suffer with the ears, sinus and wax and eye issues 🙏 I really didn’t think EN&T we’re in the configuration of fibro but now I’m learning g they are 😌
Hi, I can't take these either, the only thing I have found that really helped was a Lidocaine infusion, but unfortunately this was stopped due to the funding being pulled.
I itch too some days I could just scratch my skin off, it's consultant, I take an antihistamine daily sometimes two if really bad but it dampens it but never takes it away, I never thought about it being related to fibro I just thought it was to do with being menopausal. It drives me nuts.
I got a lot of relief from itching when I started taking LDN. Mine was mainly upper body but it was a welcome relief. I got mine from Dicksons Chemists via LDN research trust in the UK
Hi I also suffered with terrible itching, I tried discussing with a GP but no remedy was offered as I was already taking antihistamine. In a fibro fog moment I used feminine wash instead of shower gel and noticed i didn't itch that night, so I used it again and same result. My partner also suffers with dry itchy skin and he also showers with it now. It doesn't always stop the itching but defiantly reduces it.
Hi Persianbelle64 , as well as ChocNana , Mystique23 , Whiteclouds , Madred14 - in case you don't just have itchy skin which reacts positively to an antihistamine, but also praps a load of other issues like some of you have said that maybe don't quite fit into fibro, you might like to look into MCAS, mast cell activation syndrome. Eye opener for me after getting severe long term reactions to jabs, but always having had many inexplicable symptoms.
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