Hi guys, I got diagnosed the other day. I am getting symptoms like fatigue, headache, severe ibs, pain in neck and legs, burning pain sometimes in head and face. Muscle pain. I have mental health problems s only doctor won't give me any medication incase it messes with my meds. Is there anything I can try that's herbal to help combat this pain I am in. Thanks for reading. Nicky xx
- Status
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2016
- Messages
- 3,215
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 00/0000
- Country
- US
Hello @Nicky8096
There are many things that you can do to help improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia. I know it is very frustrating not to be given medication when it seems that taking pain meds would be the best or only thing that would help, but in a way your doctor has done you a favor. Not only because such things would have bad interactions with the meds you already take, but also because you won't have to go through what many of us have. Namely, taking pain medication, suffering side effects, changing meds, taking meds that don't work or are highly addictive, and so on.
The best thing you can do for yourself is do everything you can to increase your overall health. Take it from we here who have taken that approach. You will hear from several of us, no doubt, who can tell you what works for them and what doesn't, and that is helpful. In the end though, you have to find out what works for you.
Here is a good place to start:
www.fibromyalgiaforums.org
If you have any questions please feel free to ask any time. Want to vent? You can do that here. Need advice? We are here to offer it.
We are here to help and support this whole process with you.
There are many things that you can do to help improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia. I know it is very frustrating not to be given medication when it seems that taking pain meds would be the best or only thing that would help, but in a way your doctor has done you a favor. Not only because such things would have bad interactions with the meds you already take, but also because you won't have to go through what many of us have. Namely, taking pain medication, suffering side effects, changing meds, taking meds that don't work or are highly addictive, and so on.
The best thing you can do for yourself is do everything you can to increase your overall health. Take it from we here who have taken that approach. You will hear from several of us, no doubt, who can tell you what works for them and what doesn't, and that is helpful. In the end though, you have to find out what works for you.
Here is a good place to start:
My advice for managing fibromyalgia (especially for newcomers)
I am not a doctor or anything, just a person who has lived with fibromyalgia for several years now and has done a lot of research and trial and error experimentation. What follows is just basics. There are a lot of variations. You will find your own versions of everything I say, as this is not a...
www.fibromyalgiaforums.org
If you have any questions please feel free to ask any time. Want to vent? You can do that here. Need advice? We are here to offer it.
We are here to help and support this whole process with you.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2020
- Messages
- 829
- Reason
- DX FIBRO
- Diagnosis
- 11/2019
- Country
- PT
Hi Nicky,
Sunkacola beat me to the punch! I was going to link her post too, but will just share what I had started to write, even though it echoes most of what she said
Welcome here! Of course, I'm sorry for the reason, but we're always happy to greet someone new in the forum.
Don't be too disheartened that your doctor doesn't want to give you pain pills. For the most part, pain medication isn't very effective for helping fibromyalgia pain, because it isn't really the same thing as regular pain. It also helps to keep in mind that many pain medications are addictive and have side effects, which can cause additional complications in our lives - as if things weren't complicated enough! The good news is that there are lots of other things we can do to lessen the pain of fibromyalgia without a prescription.
A useful way to look at it is that a pain medication - if it works at all - would address only the symptoms of fibromylagia, which become the most acute when the condition is triggered, or we enter a triggered state called a "flare". Most of us find that when it comes to reducing pain, as well as all the other symptoms, it is far more effective to manage flares at the root, so learning how to reduce the frequency with which we are triggered, and the severity of the flares. Management of fibromyalgia through lifestyle is very important, and can be absolutely transformative.
Particularly at the beginning of the fibro journey, stress management is a must. That's because stress is very triggering, and experiencing these symptoms for the first time - not to mention, simply learning that we have fibromyalgia - is inevitably very stressful! It takes time to process, but it helps to start working on the idea that while fibromyalgia demands certain things of us, the pain itself is not a threat to our wellbeing (as much as it feels like it at first). Learning to turn down our stress response to the physical sensations and more general stress management helps a lot.
From there, as you'll see in Sunkacola's post, things like pacing (read up on Spoon Theory if you haven't already!), sleep hygiene, diet, gentle exercise, and certain supplements can all help. Sadly, there's no one-size-fits-all solution for fibro, so it's best to take a long-game approach and experiment with different tactics until you can layer up the things that help. This approach took me from bed-bound to being able to work and exercising, so take heart that "no cure" doesn't mean no hope.
This forum has tons of great info in it, so I really recommend reading back and seeing what other people have had success with. Hopefully, in time you won't feel like you need pain medication, and if you're anything like me, then learning to navigate fibromyalgia might help you find new approaches to managing your mental health too. In the meanwhile, we're all here if you want to vent, ask, or chat
Sunkacola beat me to the punch! I was going to link her post too, but will just share what I had started to write, even though it echoes most of what she said
Welcome here! Of course, I'm sorry for the reason, but we're always happy to greet someone new in the forum.
Don't be too disheartened that your doctor doesn't want to give you pain pills. For the most part, pain medication isn't very effective for helping fibromyalgia pain, because it isn't really the same thing as regular pain. It also helps to keep in mind that many pain medications are addictive and have side effects, which can cause additional complications in our lives - as if things weren't complicated enough! The good news is that there are lots of other things we can do to lessen the pain of fibromyalgia without a prescription.
A useful way to look at it is that a pain medication - if it works at all - would address only the symptoms of fibromylagia, which become the most acute when the condition is triggered, or we enter a triggered state called a "flare". Most of us find that when it comes to reducing pain, as well as all the other symptoms, it is far more effective to manage flares at the root, so learning how to reduce the frequency with which we are triggered, and the severity of the flares. Management of fibromyalgia through lifestyle is very important, and can be absolutely transformative.
Particularly at the beginning of the fibro journey, stress management is a must. That's because stress is very triggering, and experiencing these symptoms for the first time - not to mention, simply learning that we have fibromyalgia - is inevitably very stressful! It takes time to process, but it helps to start working on the idea that while fibromyalgia demands certain things of us, the pain itself is not a threat to our wellbeing (as much as it feels like it at first). Learning to turn down our stress response to the physical sensations and more general stress management helps a lot.
From there, as you'll see in Sunkacola's post, things like pacing (read up on Spoon Theory if you haven't already!), sleep hygiene, diet, gentle exercise, and certain supplements can all help. Sadly, there's no one-size-fits-all solution for fibro, so it's best to take a long-game approach and experiment with different tactics until you can layer up the things that help. This approach took me from bed-bound to being able to work and exercising, so take heart that "no cure" doesn't mean no hope.
This forum has tons of great info in it, so I really recommend reading back and seeing what other people have had success with. Hopefully, in time you won't feel like you need pain medication, and if you're anything like me, then learning to navigate fibromyalgia might help you find new approaches to managing your mental health too. In the meanwhile, we're all here if you want to vent, ask, or chat
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