i was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in november, i suffered with not knowing for a year. i’ve been put on multiple medications and nothing seems to make it better. the pain i endure makes daily task very hard, i am in constant pain everyday from head to toe but the pain is the worst in my legs and back. i have tried B12 for my energy and it hasn’t seem to help. i can not remember a day waking up not being in pain. it’s gotten to the point where i am just ready to give up because i can’t take this pain. it is very hard because no one understands and i can’t even hang out with friends or family no more all i do is work and sleep. please any help or tips that helps get you through pain or give you energy please let me know .
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Hi Breanna! I’m one of the mod support folks, so I’m just visiting here. But I do know that if you do a search using the magnifying glass at the top of the page, you will be able to find more information while you’re waiting for responses.
Sharon from Mod Support
Hi breanna, i was typing out a response and it disappeared…
There are ways to self help…usually our drs can help some and then through trial and error we can find what works for ourselves to help.
Magnesium and malic acid often help us…topical pain relievers help me a fair amount.
I also use infared heat, i like to relax on an acupressure mat if i am flaring.
Ask questions here, there are ways to feel better
Ljm
Don’t give up. I can relate to all the pain and I take pain relief but I also use my weighted blanket at time. Also soaking in the bath with epsom salt seems to help a little. Hope u find something to help
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For years growing up, I took extra-strength Tylenol all the time for headaches. My tolerance was really built up to it though. After having my deviated septum fixed, I found I had hardly any headaches and therefore didn’t need to take it anymore. A couple years later, I was having a bad fibro flare and took some Tylenol, wondering/thinking it wouldn’t have much of an effect on me, but it surprisingly helped. I don’t want to build up a tolerance to it again, so I try to take it sparingly.
Now, I use a variety of pain relief ideas, that all singularly help a little bit, but combined are more effective for me. My heating pad is wonderful. I also like to soak in a hot bath, use CBD salve, a foam roller (only started that recently, and still somewhat sore from use… but I’ll take the soreness any day instead of fibro pain), and occasionally I’ll have an edible. Because they’re longer-lasting and more intense of an effect, edibles help me more than smoking. Like @Lmd mentioned, Magnesium is good. I take 500mg every night. Need to get back into taking some vitamin D as well. Not sure if my daily multi-vitamin is enough.
Other than that, I’ve transitioned to a keto lifestyle (feels weird calling it a diet, when I’ve been eating keto for 1.5+ yrs). Eliminating sugar really helped me, and weirdly now the weather doesn’t seem to cause me nearly as much pain. Keto has also (or at least I noticed in the beginning few months) given me more energy.
I was on Cymbalta for over 2 years. For medication, you could look into that. It helped alleviate the minor daily pains that were only mildly annoying/distracting. But of course, it came with side effects.
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I’m so sorry you are having so much pain. I believe we all have varying degrees of pain but any pain just sucks! For me, I had to go on disability after working as a nurse for 22 years. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia July 2018. I had to do a lot of research because even though I was a nurse, fibromyalgia was not really talked about. I find a lot of wonderful information from all the Fibro warriors here. And I have found a lot of helpful ideas on how to deal with pain etc on Pinterest. Just type fibromyalgia in the search section. What has helped me a lot is making sure I don’t push myself to do too many things or my pain and fatigue go crazy. Accepting my diagnosis and working around it has helped me because I tried to fight it and it only made things worse. A heating blanket, heating pad are my best friends. I also found slippers that go up to your ankle and big fuzzy soft mittens that help with pain. All you have to do is put them in a microwave and heat them up like you would a heat pack. They are for indoor use and I found them on Amazon. I love my weighted blanket. Self care and being kind to yourself is huge. I have trouble with this at times because I would keep comparing my old self with my fibromyalgia self. Really, really comfy clothes are all I wear. They have to be soft. My body does not tolerate anything else. I like essential oils and fragrant lotion. But some smells are too much. It’s really finding balance which is easier said then done. I took a huge pay decrease when I went on disability but now I don’t have to worry about getting fired for calling in sick to often. Fibromyalgia is life altering. Keeping connected with people here who understand will get you through tough times. Please don’t give up. You are so precious to a lot of people. Oh, I sleep with a stuffed animal and also hold him when my body hurts and I’m sad. If I think of anything else I’ll write back. It’s ok not to be ok. It’s ok that things are different now. It’s ok to say no. It’s ok to cry. Keep reaching out to those who “ get it”.
smiling big that freedom sleeps with a stuffed animal. I have slept with a teddy bear for 40 years now…even when married. I have several different sizes and they all have names ! I am on a narcotic, Aleve and Xanax. holding the bear helps greatly when its time to sleep. heat does not help me, in the mornings I can barely walk. I freeze wet washrags in ziplock bags, and put one on my back and one under each thigh while i drink my morning coffee. Try different things. We all know what pain is… write whenever you want to. and welcome.
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I am on Cymbalta, Lyrica, mobic, klonopin. I am able to do what needs to be done, but fatigue & lack of stamina are always with me.
A big welcome to you, TT! You’ve got some great tips there, sounds like you’ve got things under control for the time being.
One thing that we know here: reaching out to others with an encouraging word, or a good idea, helps too. Somehow when you know you aren’t the only person trying to cope is really soothing.
Us “Rarees” have to stick together.
Seenie from ModSupport
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Hi, I just joined and your post is one I’ll address. I believe I have a lot more OA than FM but they are very connected I believe. I avoid hard pain meds and what seems to help me get thru my 24 hrs is 1 ibuprofen with 1 Arthritis tylenol and 1 Pain RX (herbal) every 6 hrs…staying with this schedule helps me.
Also, the MSM powder in water two times a day helps with pain.
I have a lot more to offer as have been dealing with OA for about 60 yrs and FM for about 20 yrs or so. Also, I believe there is a major connect with FM and thyroid.