I have fibromyalgia..?

I'm 17 and have fibromyalgia. My mum doesn't want me on any medication.

I've had my symptoms for years, since I was about 6.

Lately I haven't been sleeping well. I wake up every 30minutes and I'm always tired. I also have twitching legs and burning, numbing, aching everywhere. I cry myself to sleep some nights.

I whacked my knee this morning and it wasn't hard, but now I can hardly walk.

I'm so depressed and I have so much other stuff going on in my life.

I dont know what to do, please help.

I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2000. I can understand your mom not wanting you to be on narcotics at such a young age, but she needs to understand that fibromyalgia is a complex disorder with a myriad of symptoms.

First, depression is a side effect of fibromyalgia, not the cause, but depression elevates your pain and decreases your activity, so ask your Mom to consider a small dose af an antidepressant.

Secondly, without proper rest your fibromyalgia symptons will only get worse. Here are some tips my Dr. recommended for me. First, keep things calm before bedtime. I like to listen to soft music, but set it so it will go off so that it doesn't actually disturb you later. Make your room as dark as possible. Try taking 9 milligrams of an herbal medication called melatonin, it is what your body produces to help you have a healthy sleep pattern for better rest. I get mine at Wal-Mart in 3 mg. tabs and take 3 each night at his request.

It is safe to take tylenol with EITHER aspirin, aleve, or advil, but NEVER mix aspirin, aleve, and advil because they have many of the same qualities. Aleve seems to work longer.

Also look up some information on restless leg syndrome for your Mom. It often accompanies Fibromyalgia and is trreated with a non-narcotic medication called requip.

Also, the FDA has approved a drug for fibromyalgia called lyrica.

Fibromyalgia is an often misundeerstood disease, sometimes even more so for those who love us and are around us, because the effects aren't visible or measurable to other people. I am sure your Mother loves you very much and is concerned about the long term effects of medication, but fibromyalgia doesn't go away, and with a good treatment plan, you can have many days that you can feel almost "normal"

My 16 year old daughter also has this. She is not bale to take Ibuprofen and is limited as to other amt-inflammatory drugs because she is also has a blood disorder. She has been having a bad two weeks, and this week a finals and regent exams.....She can definitely relate to how you feel. She has been waking up and unable to sleep and not feeling rested just as you say. Of course it helps to eat healthy and rest after school. try to stay some what active, for instance take short walks. it is important to keep the muscles moving. Take Tylenol when you need to. You may eventually have no choice but to take meds. I have Lupus and do take meds. These meds are not a cure but gives me a better quality of life. I am sure my daughter would tale to talk to you - if you want to, e-mail me and I will put you both in touch. It sometimes help to talk to other who are experiencing the same stuff.

Yikes so young to have this problem.
Look to see if there is a support group in your area or even on line as the meds do change often.
I think you Mother is being selfish in a way about meds but they all do have some bad side effects

REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOUR MOTHER SAYS: you need some pain relief, but I would not recommend any narcotics, I have a colostomy and experience intense pain from time to time, usually I am in pain but not always so intense. When you need some relief try this it is called SAM, take two extra strength Tylenol 500 MG and two Motrin 300 MG it works as well as percocette or Oxycontin for me. I can not take any narcotics they make me aggressive and somewhat loopy I have psychotic dreams and can not sleep well either. there are pain management clinics as well that may help you. I know what it is to live with pain, don't abuse SAM either it is hard on your liver, use only when you need it the most .......Good luck and GOD bless you

I to have Fibro. Yes it sucks. I am 28 and was told i had this and seizures on the same day. that was 7months ago. I take a muscle relaxer called Zanaflex. Only 4mg as needed. It is a very low dose of medication. Or i can take Motrin, Advil or Aleve. I know it hurts and it can keep you up at night. I have CFF. Also known as Chronic Fatigue Fibromaylgia. I am always sleepy! I have a 6year old son i need to take care of plus a full time job as a server. So my body really hurts after work. BUT, you can not let this take over your life. Stay some what active. Go for walks, do some squats, do some sort of exercising. You need to keep those muscles from stiffing up on you. I know easier said then done but it will help. Also massaging really helps the body. My dedicated boyfriend(GOD Bless him) rubs me for 45min. a day. There is a new RX drug that is suppose to work.It is called LYRICA. Tell your mom you really need some sort of pain meds. Whether it RX. or OTC. please tell her. I can not imagine not having anything to take.

Check out http://www.fibromyalgiasource.com for lots of articles and information about Fibromyalgia that may be of some assistance to you.

Bless your heart. Read my blog on Yahoo 360 for what I have found that helps me. Diet plays a big part in it and if your mom will at least attempt to help you by trying a supplement found in nutritional stores called "D Ribose" you may start feeling better.

I know some of the articles on my blog are very hard to understand ( medical stuff) but I really think you need some help from a person like me who has fibromyalgia.

http://360.yahoo.com/profile-u92l7DQ6crV...

I have fibromyalgia too. I'm particularly concerned with you being so depressed. Your mom clearly does not understand what you are going through and how serious this is.

What does your Dr. say to your mom when she tells he/she doesn't want you taking any meds? I am on meds, don't want to be off course, but sometimes they are just necessary to improve the quality on your life. Have you told them you are depressed (I assume so). That's a huge thing because depression can suck up all of your motivation for doing things that can help your fibromyalgia symptoms.

Try gathering some info from the web (webmd and the cdc websites are good), show it to her and tell her your feelings. Write down a list of your symptoms. All of your symptoms may not be happening at the same time, so her seeing them all at once may help.

Try visiting your Dr and ask for other treatment options too. I recently saw a Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Dr. She gave me trigger point injections. They are not injections of meds, the Dr. uses the same needles as in acupuncture. They stick the needle in the muscle which can cause it to release the tension and ease your pain. They help me some. That's one example.

I wish you all the best, and remember you are not alone.

I can understand your mum's concern, but a physician is not going to prescribe medication without followups to the physician. There is no way you will become hooked on any medications. Also, your mum will have to go to the physician with you. I am a registered nurse with fibromyalgia and I don't like to take medicine, but this illness will turn your life upside down. Wish you the best of luck.

I'm crying for you. I can't understand any mother that would want their child to be in this type of pain all the time with out any help. I've had Fibro for over 20 yrs. The first 10 yrs the Dr's didn't know what it was so they didn't know how to treat me. I have 2 fantastic children that are healthy. I thank God for that. I now have 5 granddaughters and all of them are healthy also. Again, I thank God for that. If any of them at any time would be in pain I pray to God that they'll get the help that is needed and not to suffer unneccesarily. Next time your mom has a headache and she asks you to get her some of her pain med for it, tell her "NO". You don't need it. You'll get over it. Her headache is temporary. Fibro is something you'll more then likely have the rest of your life. There is a chance that a cure can be found some where some time. For right now you need help to get through each day. You need help to live. I take 10 different meds a day in order to get through the day. I'm not drugged. I don't sleep all day. I'm not even drowsy or light headed. I don't abuse any of my meds either. I don't want to lose any of them. If I abuse them my Dr can take them away from me. Please try talking to your mom again. Let her read all the responses that you have received on here so she can see that help is needed. You'll soon be 18 and then you won't need your mom's permission any more. I'll be praying for you and for your mom. Take care.

im 14 and i always have fibromyalgia
i got really depressed also and actually ended up in a mental hospital... they put me on cymbalta and it has helped me soo much! if i were you i would really try to convince your mom to put let you take that because that has helped me soo much and because im not depressed nemore it has helped with my pain... ok so i know im like 3 years younger than you but i know wat ur going thru so if you ever need to talk email me!
dancing4jesus73@yahoo.com