Medication for Fibromyalgia

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Brad

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Has anyone has success with gabapentin? I was recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia and neuropathy. At the starter dosage I do see some relief in some small areas. Weather changes, trying to fall asleep, physical activity, RLS, foot pain - no help yet. I do not know what to expect and if increasing the dosage will eventually help ease more of these symptoms. Thank you in advance for your comments and assistance.
 
Hi Brad, I'm on max gabapentin, 3800mg/day. The dose started with 400 mg and kept being raised until maxed and now additional prescriptions (plural because the new prescription eventually maxes out, too) are added as my tolerance grows, pain gets worse or something. Gabapentin seems to regulate my mood, removing a bit of stress, rather than kill pain. I'm currently backing (myself) down in dosage because I am not a fan of having zero emotions, positive or negative, and I think that might be the Gabapentin at work. So, for me, success with Gabapentin alone was minimal but with it seems fibro you have to cover a lot of bases to be at your optimum.
 
Has anyone had any success with CBD oil. I tried it once and it helped but the next day I was in agony and I am wondering if there is a rebound effect with CBD oil.
 
I have never heard of a "rebound effect" from CBD oil, and I doubt that is what you experienced, although of course I don't know everything! But a very good thing to remember, especially for us fibromites, is that correlation is not causation.

CBD is not a medication as such, and usually doesn't cause side effects, except that some people get too relaxed and feel tired or things like that. Probably you just had a flare day and it would have happened no matter what you had done the day before. If the CBD helped you the day you took it, try again to see what the effect is. Of course if you get the exact same effect, then it would be reasonable not to want to try it again. In order to find what really works or does not for you, everything that you try needs to be approached with an open mind and a willingness to experiment, and without drawing any conclusions without sufficient investigation.
Best of luck!
 
Has anyone had any success with CBD oil. I tried it once and it helped but the next day I was in agony and I am wondering if there is a rebound effect with CBD oil.
As someone who had difficulty with CBD oil zombifying me, even tiny amounts of quality stuff, I can't directly imagine it directly causing agony. What is always possible with any treatment that helps is that we overdo it more and that is what causes the agony. I had this difficulty when starting the Chinese acupuncture that's now really helping: First it improved energy/fatigue, but then acting accordingly, I got the same pain as before, and so it was hard to dose my activity level correctly. (Better now since she added loads of needles next to my spine.)
 
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Hello brad!, I take gabapentin too, 1,800 mgs (3. 600mgs each) they help a bit but I think I need 1 or 2 more, + like ketch I find them quite good to calm me down (they make me very drowsy though) my pain is bad (especially in my legs) I need some more but I’m a bit afraid to ask again without running the risk of sounding a cross between Oliver Twist and someone who’s getting addicted to them! But yeah they help a bit (minus the side effects) 🐥🐣🐥
 
Same @NoSaint , they tested me on those in the beginning (I found it insulting that they kept giving me antidepressants for pain) none worked though, amytriptiline had some nasty side effects for me, they’ll probably just keep trying things to see if anything benefits 🐨🐻🐹
 
Same @NoSaint , they tested me on those in the beginning (I found it insulting that they kept giving me antidepressants for pain) none worked though, amytriptiline had some nasty side effects for me, they’ll probably just keep trying things to see if anything benefits 🐨🐻🐹

my doctor has no patience, I want to get very slow and try 3 months on each dose because I need to look at the long term trends. I dont have bad and good days, I have bad and badder days - and I want to know if I can get rid of the worst ones. At the same time my doctor has given me NO advice on exercise or diet, and I've probably made myself have more bad days with the amount of walking and cycling i've done.

Doloxetine had bad side effects for me, I was falling asleep at 4pm, was lucky to not get noticed at work.
 
Hi @NoSaint , We can relate to the bad then worse days, have you considered changing the practice your going to? having a good dr when you have fibro is a support in itself, I watched a you tube video with Andrew gross (a Californian dr. knows a lot about fibro) he spoke about the importance of exercise (and it’s amazing your doing those things!) starting small and building up, he also mentioned diet, other things to be tested for, c.b.t as a coping strategy, and a few other things, really informative for a dr.anyway the most important thing is how you are, how your managing and being here for you for when you need someone to talk to
🐰🐣🌻
 
Hi! I was wondering if you could let me know how to search this doctor on youtube? I'd like to see his information on Fibro. Thanks!
 
Hi Ketch, so I've also been rec Gabapentin, however the civil lawsuits and side effects give me pause.

I am already on antidepressants and I'm in a good place with those and therapy.

The doctor kept referencing pain for Gaba treatment like you do here. But my "pain" is much like Brad describes here. The weather changes, more signs of swelling and skin inflammation, than neuropathy. My neuropathy is rare.

So, with that I'm wondering do you or any others here have success with Gaba not mood not neuropathy but those inflammation points we have?

I tried talking to my doctor about it, but he was very dismissive laughed and told me to "get off the internet." He said that this is the first step of Fibro treatment and he wouldn't consider other meds at this time.

I went to a pain specialist and they were more willing to help explain Fibro and were far more patient with me. However, they are backing the Rheumatologist on this.

There's minimal scientific research on Fibro and Gaba. So, y'all are my last resort. I don't want to subject myself to another med, withdrawal and poss side effects without getting some clarification.

Sorry for the long post....I'm new. Thanks!
 
Hi! I was wondering if you could let me know how to search this doctor on youtube? I'd like to see his information on Fibro. Thanks!
Greetings Zahnj, and welcome 👋. Actually just "Andrew Gross Fibromyalgia" does the trick. :cool:
But if it helps, the video is called "Fibromyalgia: It's Real, It's Manageable, What You Can Do"
I'll have a go at your other post later, gotta try getting my bedtime routine stricter... G'dnite...
 
I am already on antidepressants and I'm in a good place with those and therapy.
The doctor kept referencing pain for Gaba treatment like you do here. ... success with Gaba not mood not neuropathy but those inflammation points we have? .. very dismissive laughed and told me to "get off the internet." He said that this is the first step of Fibro treatment and he wouldn't consider other meds at this time. ... pain specialist and they were more willing to help explain Fibro and were far more patient with me. However, they are backing the Rheumatologist on this. ,,, There's minimal scientific research on Fibro and Gaba. So, y'all are my last resort. ... I don't want to subject myself to another med, withdrawal and poss side effects without getting some clarification.
Hi again: Since you have seen "there's minimal scientific research", I'm not sure what you already know.
Gabapentin ('Neurontin) is still prescribed for fibro very often, altho the similar pregabalin ('Lyrica') is its 'successor' (praps less side effects), has more evidence and is FDA approved, like duloxetine ('Cymbalta') and milnacipran ('Savella'). For people with depression, the antidepressant fibro-med duloxetine is often the best choice (for some the antidepressant amitriptyline or its rarer 'successor' nortriptyline). Your docs are right in that it is often used as first step, if you want meds. But do you or don't you? Because you are right that if you subject yourself to another med, the chances of side effects are high, especially with gabapentin. If you don't want that risk and know you don't tolerate meds well, I'd forget your docs completely. So why would you ask them for other meds?: They all have a high risk of side effects.
Someone who wants meds I'd recommend to start with pregabalin or duloxetine (and then reduce the other antidepressants) and to tell them to watch for dizziness and other side effects.
However personally not tolerating meds I('d) steer clear and go for my own personal symptom management and supps, see ▶️ sunkacola's advice post.
By the way, since GABA is a neurotransmitter and amino acid and works differently to gabapentin & pregabalin I recommend not abbreviating gabapentin to "Gaba", as it can confuse. GABA is my most effective fibro supp.
 
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