fibromyalgia newby

hi. I just recently got diagnosed with fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. I already take gabapentin for nerve damage and chronic pancreatitis. I’m on 900mg 3x daily. Does the gabapentin actually help with fibro pain? I’m not convinced they’re making any difference at all. I’m all over the place with fibro pain, not sleeping, as well as restless legs. Any information will be greatly appreciated as I feel I’m going out of my mind at the moment. I’m too embarrassed to go back to my doctors with it all. Thank you in advance. Angie(Ajcur)

[Yassytina FMA UK Volunteer]

Hello and welcome, please don’t be embarrassed to go back and ask for advice, i think the doctor would rather know what’s going on even if you start with a call back from him if you cannot get an appointment straight away. It is trial and error with medication for sure. It can be hard going juggling other conditions with fibro so don’t suffer you want too get too the stage where your medication is making life more comfortable on a daily basis. This is a good forum ,reading posts and getting some friendly advice from people. Xx

[Hazel_Angelstar Administrator FMA UK Staff]

Hi and a warm welcome to the forums. You can find general information on fibromyalgia at our website fmauk.org and our patient information booklets at fmauk.org/publications

Gabapentin helps some people with fibro pain but not everyone. Sometimes Pregabalin is a better alternative (I had no relief from gabapentin, but Pregabalin takes edge off pain enough to allow me to function). Amitriptiline or duloxetine are also regularly tried

Worth having a chat with your doctors to have the discussion around would another med work better... If you don't tell then they are not helping, they are likely to assume they are

[Eddie1611]

Hi there, i had gabapentine 900mg 3 x a day, i found it did nothing for fybro pain, andi just couldn't function on it, so im on Pregabalin now having 2x 75mg, morning and night. Not helping pain, im currently trying different medication through my doctors to find best suited to me (either my dose will go up or change to another if can get an appointment)!! Already on Amitriptyline, i have found that a tens machine is helping with back , neck & leg aches but with weather dropping colder all joints are starting to flare-up. You need to go back to doctors, they are there to help if they aren't helping, change doctor, i did & new one is brilliant (when can get to see her).

Good luck

[Al10]

Here is my take. Feel free to take it or leave it.

All Fibros are different. Finding any meds to help is all trial and error. You have to get over feeling embarassed and expect to go back time and again to your GP to discuss your progress, or not, with treatment. Horrid, I know!

Some say Pregabalin works better than Gabapentin and vice versa. Some hate both! Pregabalin was created after so maybe there are modifications better suited to managing pain? It's not clear why these meds work for Fibro and some even suggest the really dont. Whatever, both are strong meds with some pretty hefty side effects. They take time to get working in the system and time to come off after.

All meds have pros and cons to them. They might help one thing only to trigger something else. All Fibro's should keep their wits about them regarding this. These days Drs are starting to understand the difficulties of medicating long term pain. Pain is a warning. We are supposed to fix it, not mask it. Long term pain isn't supposed to happen. Sadly, we all know that it does. As we medicate the pain, so the body adadpts and like to shouts louder how it is still in pain. It's a tricky thing to deal with.

Many patients have decided to take the long road to becoming meds free and then figuring their med free base pain levels. For many, it has not been what they think. And others, have simply found getting off pain meds too distressing.

I suppose what I'm saying, go in eyes open. There may not be a magic pill. It often takes time to find the right right medication or medications and dosage. Lots of fibros take a multi pronged approach. Hydro therapy, diet, exercise, supplements meditation, relaxation, to name a few, adding in medication cautiously, as required. It means they take some control rather than simply being a passive partner in their treatment.

[Fificat50]

hi I totally agree with everything above ! I was like you 18 months ago and did not have a clue about meds. I was given pregablin and did not read up on it. I wish I had as the side effects for me are terrible and am slowly weaning off… hoping to be drug free. GABApentin is the sister drug and is weaker than pregab and does not really address pain issues and takes a while to wean off but some people swear by it and are on mega doses…. Each to their own. I would not recommend any of the fibro drugs except for LDN which is not available on the NHS. You could explore medical cannabis ? Good luck x

[Dex10]

hi there

Sorry to hear your struggles . I too have Fibro and arthritis and have tried gabapentin and pregabalin. I have come off both as neither helped. The rhematologist I see gave me a link to some research which I read, it said actually there is no evidence that it works. I am now under the care of a chronic pain clinic which is proving more useful than medication.

I would suggest do your research and look for different ways to manage this disorder. And don’t be afraid to ask for help you deserve to be able to

Love the life you want to

Without pain

Take care and good luck