While there is no known cure for fibromyalgia, there are two traditional treatments that fibromyalgia patients are prescribed. The first option is the use of analgesic or narcotic pain medications to dull the pain. While this minimizes suffering, it treats the symptoms rather than addressing the deeper issues.
The second option is treatment with antidepressants. While fibromyalgia can be a big a strain on the mind and emotions as it is on the body. Antidepressants, again, don’t get to the core issues surrounding fibromyalgia, and both these options have frustrating side affects.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I totally agree with the statement of medications. I have been taking heavy narcotics for over ten years amounting to an extreme amounts, as they more and more became less effective. At the beginning of this year my doctor started trying me on long acting medications with very little effect in helping in pain. Finally I was given 2 – 40 ml of oxycotin and 2 – 15ml of oxycodone. I was taking 130ml of percocet a day before this. Very large amounts and I still had pain. The oxycotin didn’t help and made things worse as well as the stigma of me taking taking such a taboo medication. Anyways either way they both were bad and I still was living with a large amount of pain. I have disk problems and other issues that cause pain along with Fibromyalgia for years. I guess I needd to be in a mind set to get off all these medications and have myself down to 60ml’s a day. It is difficult and a hard thing to do. But I am trying to get rid of all of them and hopefully just deal with what I have. Realistly I have pain with or without them, and have to remind myself this everyday.
I am writing all of this in hopes that my story will help others in not getting involved with these medications. I do stupid things that make things worse while taking the medications, because I feel better at the time and have to pay for days after becasue of this. They don’t help. Pain medications are meant for short term. IE: after surgery etc. Although they help you feel better in some aspects of life and help you to be able to live more comfortably and do more. The doing more puts more strain on your body instead of proper exercise, physical therapy and eating right (this part I haven’t started yet) I also have to stop smoking and drinking diet coke. I don’t drink alcohol so that won’t be an issue.
Sorry if this sounds (all about me) I am just hoping I can help someone from getting into this cycle of going to a pain doctor every month who sits down with you for 5 minutes and hands you a prescriptions. It came to the point that I started calling it (The Mc Donalds drive through) No insult meant to Mc Donalds, just in blatant disregardful of the pain clinic I was going to. I see other doctors and they are all in touch for the most part. I have brought reports in the the pain clinic and they loose them. The reason I am adding this is they hand me medications and don’t realize what is actually going on. They do not have me stand or move, or check anything other than blood pressure and do pee tests every time I go even though I have never failed one.
I sincerely hope this will change minds of some. I know it is hard and pain is lowsy to live with. Everyone is different and it is extremely hard to stop taking them. I may fail, I surely hope not. I just need to do this for myself and needed to be ready to do it. When you are on pain medication, your body wants itI listen to books on my i-pod allot to get my mind off of things. It helps me allot. I hope that this post will help even one person. You need to be in the right mind set or ready to do it. It’s hard. I am not saying it’s easy, it’s not. To have some relief is awesome. But you have to know when to stop or not start. Good luck and God Bless everyone, It’s a hard thing to live with to say the least. xoxo
is amytriptiline 10 mg is an antidepressent…? or revotril .5 g? i took it fir 6 months and i quit it by tappering off…..now i m facing some problem as fibromyalgia…..now what will i do…? i dont want to take medic coz i lost my concentration as well as my memory…i cant go outside at say time…i feel faint under sunlight….plz advice me….i quit the medic 1 and half months ago….i have brain zap as well as fatigue for whole day long…. i can sleep at ni8 for 7/8 hours… now i m taking milk,fruits,vegetables,nuts, and just started exercise…..plzzzzzzzzzzzzz help me…..