What Works For Pain?

[Darlene]

my pain started 10 yeras ago. it started with lower back pain, then neck pain. now its in my left hip really bad. and all over. when i go to the dr. they say exercise. lol. the rheumatologist that dx me with fibromyalgia said look up arthritis.org, type in fibromyalgia in the search bar and learn all u can. i went to the neurologist, she had me get some blood work. told me to go to my family dr. and then back to her in a few weeks. my family dr. said exercise. really doubt exercise is gonna take away chronic pain. i wonder why any of these dr's never ordered an mri, cat scan or x ray of my lower back, and left hip. oh, thats right. nothing is wrong me with. just have to exercise. the pain is really bad. is there meds that help. does any of yous have chronic pain. what do you do for it?

[Latacia]

Hello,I too have been diganosed with fibro and I have been taking 60mg of Cymbalta for the past 4mos. What I can say is that for the most part it has been helping but some days it only takes the edge off of the pain. It took awhile for my body to get use to the med. I don't know how sensitive your body is to medication but mine is really sensitive and because of that reason my neuro won't go up on my dosage. I have tired many meds to help with the chronic pain and this one seems to work the best. Also you may want to ask your doc about lyrica. I have heard many good things about it. I can't take it due to my edema. Hope I could somewhat help with your question. Oh yea and I like how some docs use exercise as a remedie. How can you exercise when you are in constant pain??

[potsgirl]

My doctor also advocates exercise, so I try to push myself and walk a couple of times a week for 30 minutes or so. Some days I can barely make 30, some days I can go 45, and I do think that moving more helps with the pain and prevents deconditioning of your body. I know it's really hard to do with chronic pain. I have small fiber neuropathy in my hands and feet, and in the morning I can barely walk or hold my coffee cup. I take Gabapentin after the Lyrica and Oxycontin didn't work for me, and it's taken the edge off of the pain. My doctor has me on 300 mg of Gaba three times a day, and then I take a 5 mg dose of Oxycodone in the morning when my pain is usually at its worst. I've also seen a pain specialist, who advised the same things.

I've also heard good things about Cymbalta. Right now I take Paxil, but am thinking of trying to switch to Cymbalta. Don't suffer from your pain - ask about trying some pain relieving medication. It could really help to make your chronic pain at least bearable.

Jana

[stacdliw]

I, too, take Cymbalta for my fibromyalgia pain. However, 60mg didn't help that much, so I take 1 60mg 2x daily. For the pain, I use to take Tramadol, which is a non-narcotic pain reliver. It helped with moderate pain, but not for the severe muscle aches.

I've heard also that mild exercise is good for fibromyalgia pain; however, my pain, and yours it sounds like, was and is so severe that I can't imagine doing any kind of exercise. Not only would it hurt significantly at the time, but I would also pay for it the next and feel awful. My brother-in-law was my internist and the one who diagnosed me with Chronic Fatigue and fibro 17 years ago. When he recommended exercise, I literally dug my nails in his arm and told him not to advocate something like exercise unless he's been in my shoes. He never mentioned the word "exercise" to me again.

I am now seeing a pain specialist for an idopathic pain disorder in the upper abdomen and take oxycodone. I was surprised when the doctor told me that he also treated fibromyalgia patients. He said there was a 24 hour patch, I can't remember the name, that is quite effective for fibromyalgia pain. Perhaps you could get one of your physicians to refer you to a pain specialist.

[sandymbme]

I have EDS, so I could not imagine functioning at all without pain meds. I am on Cymbalta, which is useful in managing widespread pain. I also take narcotic painkillers for my EDS pain (which is due to constant injury and degeneration of my joints) and far from making me loopy they have given a small portion of my life back. I am never without pain, nor is that the goal of pain management. My pain management specialist says our goal is to ease the pain to a point where I can participate in life, but no so much that I am careless and injure myself further. As far as exercise goes, I can walk in a pool, and that is about it. Land based physical therapy absolutely leveled me. But aquatic PT went a lot better. So, moral being, if he suggests exercise, you suggest he give you a referral to a physical therapist for exercise you can do without, or at least with minimal, pain!

Sandy