What are good remedies for Fibromyalgia?
I have fibromyalgia and possible rheumatoid arthritis. What are some good treatments/remedies that you or someone you know has found to be helpful?
Public Comments
1. I take vicodin daily. but I also started taking Goji Juice, from the health food store, and its lessen my pain some already in a week. Ive heard Noni and Goji juice 4 oz. a day. Really the only thing that had worked was the vicodin and I would go crazy without it. so Im hoping the goji juice will help me in the long run , ive read testimonials that it will..good luck.2. i found that certain foods cause me to flare up... so i naturally cut those out of my diet. lots of water, stretches... i havent gotten into yoga, but i do stretch every night and it is very helpful. and im sure you know. sleep makes or breaks your day. melatonin really helped me. its all natural you can find it at any supermarket. fibromyalgia sucks... im sorry you are going through it... but im right there with you... along with a few other things.
3. I'm on a number of pain medications for my Fibro, so far the new drug Lyrica is helping a lot. Different things can cause flares for different people. You should check out the books "Fibromyalgia for Dummies" and "Living Well With Chronic Fatigue
and Fibromyalgia" you should also check out about.com's Fibro/CFS site: http://chronicfatigue.about.com/
4. i use Gabapentin (neurontin) it works for me.
5. Please email me @ ritas1125@yahoo.com. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis in my right jaw, both shoulders, both hips, feet and hands. My sister has Fibromyalgia, and my son and niece both have Multiple Sclerosis. As you can see, our family is no stranger to pain. I have a solution that I don't want to advertise on here, but if you are interested, please email me.
6. Fibromyalgia is a complex syndrome with no known cause or sure cure. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful:
http://www.solgar.co.uk/healthnotes/healthnotes.asp?org=boots&ContentID=1215007
Keith Woolley
7. I would love to give you some good advice but I haven't had any luck. I have had this for about 9 yrs and have tried massage P.T. and accupuncture and steroid injections. I didn't give aquatics a good enough shot so I might try it again, if ya have any suggestions let me know.
8. Start exercising....start slow and increase as you can. I've found that to be one of the best things I could do. I walk 2 miles a day...working up to 3. Stretching is great but do it slowly. Also, I take Prozac for the depression. I try to get the sleep I need....I take Ativan for that. Good luck!
9. Fibromyalgia is a rheumatic disease. If you were misdiagnosed, you could suffer from seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, just like myself.
I have had seronegative rheumatoid arthritis for 27 years. The telling signs of seronegative rheumatoid arthritis are the following:
- Joint pain in the feet (or cracking ankles) in the early 20's or late teens;
- Fatigue;
- Blood test showing a negative or low level of Rheumatoid factor;
- Joint deformities of the fingers, over time, a specific sign of rheumatoid arthritis;
- Consecutive X-Rays showing bone erosion, a consequence of rheumatoid arthritis;
- Generalized arthritis, involving the whole body;
- Elevated levels of C-Reactive protein and Sedimentation rate, as evidenced in blood tests.
NSAIDs like Voltaren, COX-2 inhibitors like Celebrex, acetaminophen like Tylenol, and codeine are all used to control inflammation and relieve the pain of arthritis.
A low dosage of anti-depressants, 25 mg or 50 mg at bedtime, can also be used to relax muscles and avoid the pain of fibromyalgia.
Regular exercise like walking, biking and swimming is also helpful for most patients. Make sure that you are not overweight as carrying too much weight can only increase the pain of arthritis in the supporting joints of the hips, knees, ankles and feet.
You should consult an Orthopaedist who will order blood tests, joint scans and X-Rays to better diagnose the type of arthritis from which you suffer.
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (http://www.aaos.org) maintains a public online directory where you can find the address and phone number of orthopaedists who belong to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Orthopaedists are listed by geographic location and family name, inside the USA and in most countries.
The membership directory of the AAOS is located at:
http://www6.aaos.org/about/public/members.cfm
Lyme disease could be a possibility. Ask your doctor to test you for the bacteria causing Lyme disease.
Are there any other cases of arthritis or rheumatic diseases among your relatives? Chronic forms of arthritis are usually prevalent in families where a defective gene is passed on by parents to their children.
There are a few hundred types of arthritis and rheumatic diseases. The good news is that science is progressing rapidly in its understanding of rheumatic diseases.
Antibiotics are now used to achieve full remissions for at least 40%, if not 65% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Fibromyalgia is even easier to treat.
For more info, please join our group at:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/antibio
10. Duragesic patch w/ vicodin for breakthrough pain (I have other health/pain issues). Provigil (if you can afford it/insurance covers it) has worked well with the fatigue aspect. Kind of looking for the "magic bullet" myself, good luck to you.
