I would like to get an idea of what you FM sufferers are taking for your pain, and what has or has not worked for you. I am currently taking Celebrex and Flexeril, along with Lyrica for an unrelated issue (nerve pain), and not having too much success. I also previously took Topomax, which worked well for a while, but the side effects got to be problematic so I had to stop taking it. Right now, my pain level varies (worse at night), but I'm getting more miserable by the day.
I am getting ready to go to my doctor soon and definitely want to make a change in what I am taking. I thought I could ask you all and have a real FM sufferer tell me what has or hasn't worked for them, rather than just reading drug labels.
Hi Tex,
Here is wishing the best of luck to you. I was on Lyrica for two weeks. It did nothing for my fibro however it affected my balance, and memory so I got off of that.
My real pain is only when someone applies pressure to any part of my body. I have had ultrasound and it was so painful I almost cried. Even when my cat walks on me I see stars.
What really helped me the most was celebrex. My doctor, however. took me off of it when it received such bad publicity.
Good luck and keep us posted. Jackie
You may need to add one of the anti-depressants. But don't think of it as a pill for depression, think of it as a pill that helps turn off some of the pain receptors. The ones that work best for most FM patients are Remeron, Effexor and Cymbalta. Some people have improvement on Lexapro but most don't. Remeron is taken at night, so since your pain is worse at night that might be a good one to start with. That's what I take and it also helps me sleep.
The bad part is that all of those can cause weight gain. I've gained 20 pounds since I started Remeron, but in my case it was 20 pounds I needed to gain. I could stand to put on another 10-15 before I start approaching overweight.
You can also go up on the Lyrica dose if you want to, especially if you're only at 75 or 150 per dose.
Well, I've tried a few things in the past medicine wise to help my fibro. Pamelor, Ultram, Naproxen, Flexeril, Elavil.....can't remember the couple other things. I pretty much hated every single drug except low dose Elavil. For some reason, I'd end up with all the side effects and they'd never go away after being on the meds for months (Pamelor a couple of years). So, I just quit trying anything else. Figured I was much better off hurting with the fibro/myofascial pain that I was suffering with the drug side effects.
I found that the only things that could bring on an almost pain free existence was a very low carb diet and light exercise. I'm not the most disciplined person so it's been difficult for me to get back into the routine, but when I manage doing this for over a year I was feeling great (and looked pretty darn good too). I've gone the no carb route to experiment with my cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the recent past and amazingly I'm reminded that the diet is good for my pain management too. Also dropped my high cholesterol and triglycerides to well within the normal ranges within a month. I know this may not work for everyone for pain, but if you haven't given it a try it's worth it....you'll lose a few pounds too and that's great for those aching backs and feet!!
Currently the only meds I will talk are otc ibuprofin and tylenol and my prescription 10mg Elavil at night. My doc keeps trying to bump that up to 25mg, but I'm happy with the lower dose. I do need to be able to wake up at night if one my children needs me. I'm sure there could be something out there that I could take that would help, but I'm not willing to suffer through the reactions to find it.
I have been going through trial and error for about 5 years. I don't know if it will help you but here goes:
Pain - Oxycontin 20mg 4 times a day, Lortab 10 for breakthrough
Spasms - Baclofen 20 mg every 8 hours, except at night I take tizanidine 4-8mg instead because it helps me sleep. I also have Lidoderm patches that help significantly with my spasms
Joint pain - plaqunel 200mg 2 times a day, Mobic once a day
Migraine - Uggg, this one is difficult. I have taken all the triptans and for one reason or another don't tolerate them. Now, as soon as I get an aura, I grab 4 motrin. Usually, this will prevent the headache from turning migraine, if not I will more than likely have to go to the ER for IV Toradol (always helps)
Sleep - Ambien 10 mg, Tizanidine 4-8 mg, Benedryl 20mg. This will usually put me to sleep and keep me asleep...usually. Otherwise I am up for 4-7 days straight.
I have been through all the normal ones - topamax, lyrica, cymbalta, ect. The problem with a lot of fibromites is MCS - multiple chemical sensitivity. So finding medications can be tedious.
Linear Mode
