Fibromyalgia...what now?

I have just recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. My doctor prescribed a tricyclen antidepressant to help me sleep at night. He said that I should take it for two weeks and go back and see him to see what else could be done and to talk about whether or not it will help.

Right now he said the antidepressant should put me to sleep, and that should help clear up most of my symptoms. I'm a little reluctant to believe that. Any opinions?

He told me to take aleve for the pain until I see him in two weeks then, if the pain is still bad enough, he said he would see about putting me on some pain killers. He's incredibly reluctant to give me medication, which I truly do appreciate that he doesn't want to drug me up and ship me off. The problem is I just don't know what to do about the pain. I have my final in Calculus in a week and I just want to be able to concentrate on my test, not my pain.

Does anyone have some suggestions for pain management for fibromyalgia?

the tricyclic does help some people--not nearly as many as teh doctor made it sound...didn't do anything for me--not even help me sleep

FMS is a disorer of the central nervous system
Not autoimmune
not nutritional
not musculoskeletal

Aleve generally doesn't help much---it is an NSAID--and there is NO INFLAMMATION with fms.....

narcotics don't help many people--because the pain is coming from teh neuro system-not teh musculoskeletal system

the meds that show teh most promise are
SNRI antidepressants like Cymbalta
antiseizure meds like Lyrica
neuro pain meds like Tramadol (shouldn't combine with SNRI)

SSRis like Lexapro supposedly do not help since they only work on serotonin, not norepinephran--but it does help me sleep--which in turn reduces the pain.....

First of all, what type of doctor diagnosed the Fibro? How long had you had symptoms present?
Sleeping problems are extremely common w/Fibro and antidepressants usually help with the sleep and some of the other problems, depending on which medication.
Be careful of the Aleve - I think it is very important to eat when ever you take any ibuprophen (sp?).
Good luck on your exam.
I don't want to give you info that is not relevant for the present time. I would, however, like to "chat" with you more.
teresa

my daughter also has fybromyalgia and she is taking lexapro . it has really helped her alot .

Screw everything your dr. told you. Following his advice will make you worse in the long run.

Byron Richards is a clinical nutritionist who has been practicing for over 25 years. One of his specialties is fibro. He recently did a seminar on the very issue which you can watch on his site.

http://www.wellnessresources.com/fibro_c...

That is the link to the videos.

My mother has fibro. She has suffered for many years. Over the last year or so she started taking a different approach after seeing a naturopath. She takes lots of vitamins, watches what she eats, and has learned stress techniques, one of which can be found at this site: www.emofree.com. She is significantly better. I cannot tell you how relieved we are that she is sooooooooo much better.

Please, I beg you, take a different approach than mainstream treatment.