Hi Im an 18 year old female and I have fibromyalgia. I dont currently take any medications daily as I would rather avoid that as long as possible. I take muscle relaxers when I really need them but for the most part I just deal with the pain as I feel it will get worse as I get older and then I will really need the meds. I was just wondering if anyone has any tips as to how they deal with their conditon or things that help with the pain other than my doctor did mention as much excersise as is possible would be good. Thanks in advance for any responses.

Hi there :)

First off you have to be very careful with exercise, do not over extert yourself. Swimming, walking and water gymnastics are prob the best way to go. You might consider taking up Yoga or meditation, they don't exactly help with the pain but help you deal with it. Getting enough sleep is extremely important, and at regular hours. Avoid stressfull situations to the best of your abilities, stress has a very negative effect on fybro-symptoms. Make sure to dress well in cold weather, changes in temperature can be very painfull. If you can, avoid very humid places, (i.e. don't go to Mallorca on your holidays, I wen't there once with a group that included another fybro-sufferer and we both ended up spending most of the two weeks in our rooms in a painkiller drughaze and with the airconditioning turned on high).
Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you can, get someone else to vacum the floor, do the dishes, and that sort of things that involve repetitive movements. Better yet get yourself a dishwasher.
if you have bad pain in your hands get an electric toothbrush.
experiment with your diet certain things can have negative effect, specially since food intolarances are very common with fybro-sufferers.

umm... can't think of more at the moment

oh there's one more thing... I know this sounds like a cliché but the best thing to do is keep a positive attitude, help you deal with the pain, the stiffness and the fatigue

cheerio
Gerður Sif