Hi everyone,I thought I would start a thread that may help people who are looking for a more suitable medication.
I know fibromyalgia sufferers usely use a wide range of meds and some only on a need to take basis.But if you had to say just one(or maybe two)medications that help you the most overall,what would you choose.
To start off I'll say the best would be an opiate,first preference would be DIHYDROCODEINE(second preference-low dose morphine).And the second best would be CLONAZEPAM(second preference-diazepam or lyrica).

i am on a regimen to deal with all aspects of this disease.

depression= lexapro
pain = hydro
muscle pain = flexeral
inflamation= voltaRen
hypothyroid= synthroid.
insomnia = tylenol pm
and a good whole food multivitamin.

i still need more meds though, to deal with the fatigue and anxiety that comes with the pain and nervouseness.

i feel like noone in my life understands what is happening to my body and it makes it real hard to be with anyone.i dont trust them.

i need patience and understanding from the ones that "love me".

i want to ask my doctor for a rew more meds, but it has been hard enough to get where i am now with him.

Oh, Rose how I can relate with you. You are so right, no-one understands, even those who "love you the most". It's a very lonely existence.

I usually avoid these threads, they upset me, now I'm crying. I guess I feel sorry for myself. Everyone says "snap out of it". We want the "old you" back. All those things you know are not possible. The worst part is, that's all we want too!!

I would give anything to be the person I used to be. I miss her. I can't do this, it's to upsetting. I'll talk to you guys later.

Irish

Irish,

This nurse says "you are not alone, and you are loved."

Hello to all, this is my formula
1.energy and focus/wake-up-concerta 120mg (add meds)
2.pain-hydro and oxy 40mg
3.depresssion-prozac 40mg
4.muscles-Soma
5.anxiety-zanax or clonipan
6.inflamation-800mg ibf

And still every day is a struggle. Im scheduled for a injection in my spine on Dec 3rd hope that helps. I will keep you posted.

Best wishes to all!!

Les

hydro for pain
flexeril for muscles
vitamin b for energy
proactive for great skin

kinda off topic, but i noticed you mentioned proactiv for your skin. is it really all the commercials say it is? i've thought about trying it. your thoughts please!!

I swear by proactive. I did not get acne until I was about 25. It was horrible. Went and got on all perscription meds for acne and nothing worked. Proactive is a life saver. You would never be able to tell that I had an acne problem. Try it, you'll love it.

thanks!!!!

Hi everyone. I know I haven't posted in a long time...depression...and everything else! But a friend recently had mentioned a med called Elavil. He said it worked wonders for him. My Dr had recomended it at one point to me, but I didn't try it. Anyone tried it? If so, did it give any relief or help at all? Just wondering about it.Thanks.And huge hugs to all here with this devastating illness.


PS....I have been seeing alot on TV lately about Lycira,but the side effects are the same as alot of the Fibro symptoms and it just sounded bad.Not sure if I will be trying that one.

Elavil did help me sleep but unfortuntally I was very "hung over" the next day. It made me way to tired.

As far as the Lyrica goes see if you can get a sample. I as well as lots of others I have talked to ans read about had dizzy reaction - extreame - can't drive, falling, etc.
So, if you try it make sure you are at a place where you can stay.

When I had my very first problem with my neck in the early 80's the doc put me on elavil. I didn't like it - it left me feeling like a total space cadet.

I'm rather leery of some of these new meds. I've tried cymbalta a fwe times and it makes me so nauseous I vomit. What works for me is hydro for pain, flexaril for spasms, and Klonipin on occasion for anxiety. Due to the various treatments I had while in AZ in Oct, I've been able to stop my anti-depressant and hardly take my Klonipin at all. I've noticed that I am sleeping better, too - which helps. I've noticed my mood is slipping a bit but I figure it's because of the holidays. But, I am more aware of the cloud coming on and so I am fighting it. I give myself some time to cry and then force myself to get back into life. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep it under control though the dark winter days and nights.

Sky - hope your depression is lifting.

Irish & Rose - I can also relate to what you are going through with others. My two oldest kids don't really understand what I am going through and want me to just "snap out of it" (but they are loving about it). Fortunately, my husband is supportive. I know he feels kind of helpless a lot of the time but just the fact that he is understanding and has no problem doing a lot of house work is a blessing. I feel so greatful to have him.

I feel that many of us FM sufferers feel like we have been left out in cold,so to speak.For the people with no support from friends or family,FM can be extremely difficult.This is something many dr's do not understand.As I read on another thread,sometimes it's the dr's visit that sets off a flare up of FM symptoms.I will often avoid certain people because I know they will make my symptoms worse and often uncontrolable.

my job is so freakin hard that i find myslef in a constanf flare nowadays!
it stnks and i cant handle it. but i have to be an adult and pay my bills like the rest of society does.

it is a very hard place to be in and a mean and nasty disease to have.

I can totally realate, Rose. Fortunately, I haven't had to work outside the home since the mid-90's. My job at the time was very stressful and it was made all the worse by two of the men I had to work with. They were both retired from the Navy and seemed to forget that they were now "civilians". I ached all over all the time. I would get off work and go straight to bed and sleep for two hours. Around this time, my husband changed careers and while losing my income would "hurt", I knew we could squeek by. I told him that I truly felt I would die if I didn't quit. Since he was now working 80-100 hours a week, we decided it would be best. Our youngest son was still in elementary school and had special needs - so that was another reason for me to stay at home.

As I already mentioned, I feel so blessed to have the husband I do. I pray that all of you who battle their illness alone, have or will soon have a loved one who can be helpful and supportive.

But, it is great that we all all here for one another. This place has been a real lifeline for me.

I take my Elavil about 2 hours or so before I go to bed. Then I take Ambien right b4 bed. I've found that helps with the 'hangover' feeling. HTH!

I have been taking lyrica, cymbalta, 12mg zanaflex at night and 4mg zanaflex 3xday amd 100 mg topamax specifically for fibromialgia for almost two months. It is helping alot I love the lyrica. I do see a massuse 3x a week which hurts like heck but I am able to move afterward. These things really seem to help the pain. I am going to have to go on something stronger for my back pain on my next visit but between the three meds he gave me for fibro, the massages, moving to the country and taking antianxiety pills I feel like a brand new woman.

I hope I'm not getting too personal but I was just wondering how you find the zanaflex in relation to your FM symptoms and are the side-effects noticable/bearable?
Also when you said you recently moved to the country,did you use to live in an area where there was alot of mobile phone towers(or transmitter/receiver aerials often on top of buildings)?

The Zanaflex mostly seems to help with my back injuries. I did live in the city and there were a lot of mobile towers on buildings. My massage therapist says that artificicial sweeteners can cause fibro. I have had to give up diet soda, which I have lived on for the past twenty years and crave like mad. I am feeling better. I see the pain doc on the 8th. I am going to ask for some stronger pain meds for my back. But I do think the cymbalta and lyrica are helping a lot. Also living in the country I have gone from 10 benzos to 3-5 a day. Life is a lot better these days.

Thanks for that als.I'm glad to hear things are better at the moment and your very lucky to be living in the country.It must be very difficult living in a city with FM.
I only asked about the towers out of curiosity.I really believe that there are a number of causes for FM and that may be part of the reason why research is difficult.
Artificial sweeteners are a major health hazard for most people,so its great your off the diet soda.
Hope all goes well with your dr.

I think that the best medication is methadone for pain.IMO

OXY works the best for me but I cannot get it. Hydro works if i have it on a consistent basis. I was only getting enough Hydro for 2 a day. So basically i was spending most of my day in pain. Since Hydro has a short life, I had to choose when to get my pain relief. Makes me livid! I need right away in the AM for sure and then I need to wait until I am in tears and laying on the floor before i would take another. I get 20 5MG Percocets which do not do anything. 5MG??? Cmon. My sister somehow got the same doctor to give her 120 Hydros and i think 90 Percocet, which she sold and not to me, lol. She is a known drunk. I do not drink, smoke...nothing and I cannot get full relief. I was afraid to tell the doctor that I was not getting enough pain relief. I hate that. They call you a drug seeker..yes I am I will admit that, but not to get high! Who could get high off of 10mg of Hydro or even OXY anyway? I do not feel high when I take narcs unless i am out in ER getting shot full of Morphine or something, which is rare because they will not treat me anymore. I go out there at the most 3x a year, now I would fall over dead before going to ER. I ask for medicine for my Fibro so I can get things done. One doctor said "I am not going to give you anything if you are on SSDI, you have no reason to be in pain if you are doing nothing". What about my 4 kids and my house which looks like a trash pit. How about the fact that I am a human and no matter what I am doing, be it sitting on my azz or doing dishes, I still deserve to be pain free. Fibro is a bad thing to have....I have tried it all. Lyrica too.....does nothing. I could just cry. i could and I do.

It is simply inexcusable that the doctor spoke to you like that. The really sad thing is that sort of treatment by many doctors doesn't seem to be that uncommon anymore.

I wish my Dr would give me Oxycodone. I got some for a friend today and the difference in the pain level is astonishing! Stupid DEA!! If anyone knows a source lmk! Of course me and everyone else would like to know too, but then it will get shut down! So just let me know! LOL!

For me Hydro works the best even though it has a short half-like, like mentioned....( I do take Oxy daily ,but it was a hard road to get that med) I don't have Fibo, but my mom does and she takes hydro and neurotonin and it seems to work for her....She's really sensitive , one Lortab 10/500 nocks her out....lucky her... i remember those days... Take care,,,,...

The strange thing about cutting out the diet soda and all artificial sweeteners is that I have lost 20 lbs in the last 2 months. I just found out the out the other day when I went to my doc. I don't keep a scale in my house. I usually drink 1 20oz Cherry Coke every day, which probably isn't good for me but I would think that would make me gain weight not lose it. I haven't changed anything else in my life as far as diet or exersize. Very strange. I feel 100% better, well maybe 68% but I am getting there.

I feel for you bobbi507,I think all FM sufferers have had similar experiences,you're definitely not alone.
It seems from all the replies in this thread that pretty much everyone feels that some type of opiate is a must.And yet all the FM websites and many dr's try to say opiates aren't appropriate for FM.
Just like bobbi507 said,if your in pain it's almost impossible to get 'high' off opiates,and research shows addiction/withdrawal is less of a problem IF/WHEN the pain is removed.In other words,our bodies NEED pain medication.If dr's would just take the time to observe the difference in attitude and behaviour when we're medicated,they would see we are far more productive and happier(even though we are still in some pain).In some ways FM pain can be more disabling than so called 'legitimate' pain syndromes.

Thats a big loss als.If your feeling better,it must be a healthy loss.I try to put ON weight but with no luck.
I think the opiates can make some people lose weight fairly quickly.It usually steadies out to an even weight at some point though.If you just keep on losing it,I think then there is probably something else wrong.

I think any form of Oxycodone, whether it's Roxicodone, Roxicet, OxyContin (Brand) are the most effective for me. But unless you have insurance it's probably out of your reach to be on this type of meds all month long.

Also, after 6-8 months tolerance skyrockets.

I wish I could get oxy. I have one of those Dr's that don't believe opiates are appropriate for FM so I get Ultram ER and hydro 5/500's #20 that are supposed to last me a few months!