Hi Brian,
Welcome to the forum! It's great to have you here. I'm sorry to hear about your journey up until now, and hope that you finally get that diagnosis, and some good support from your doctors.
While there are several medications that some - sadly not all - find useful for fibromyalgia, the best plan of attack that you'll find recommended here is to develop a lifestyle-based management strategy. Sunkacola has a pinned post at the top of the General Discussion section of the forum that gives a really comprehensive overview of where to start, so I suggest having a read of that. Things like:
- Pacing (read up on "spoon theory" to get a sense of this!)
- Stress management (very important, as stress can place us in a cycle of re-triggering)
- Practicing acceptance and self-compassion
- Sleep hygiene/sleep support
- Healthy diet (some find out that they have food sensitivities - an elimination diet can be useful)
- Light but regular exercise
- Exploring other potential triggers, like chemical sensitivities
This kind of stuff might seem trivial, but for the fibromyalgia body it can make all the difference. Beyond that, many of us find certain supplements useful, although we all seem to respond a little differently! It's a complex and multi-faceted condition, which makes experimentation really important. Be your own guinea pig, and try stuff out until you pinpoint what your body responds to. I really recommend keeping a little notation diary as you go, to track how you feel and identify what triggers/helps your symptoms.
Supplements that some of us take (probably will miss some, but will do my best!)
- GABA
- Melatonin
- Boswellia
- CoQ10
- Alpha Lipoic Acid
- Acetyl L-Carnitine
- Vitamin D
- B Complex
- Vitamin C
- CBD
- Magnesium
- Turmeric
- NAC
- D Ribose
- Omega 3s
- Lithium Orotate
That's definitely not exhaustive - there are others out there, so do your research if curious to take the supplements route. There's also quite a bit of interest in low-dose Naltrexone, or LDN, as an emerging fibro treatment - this is considered "alternative" but needs a prescription.
If you want to read about something in particular here in the forum, the search function is really handy. You can filter to find other people's experiences if they've been through / tried out something that is relevant to you.
I wish you every success in finding the tools you need to reduce your symptoms. So many of us here - including me - have made fantastic progress in managing fibro, so I'm sure you can too. Stick around, let us know how you get on, and vent whenever you need to!