Had VSG Nov 2012...newly diagnosed with FM....meds??

Hey all!  had Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy back in November and have lost most of my excess weight. Still have 20-22 lbs to go. I believe I have had Fibro my whole life...but the stress of the surgery on my body has made it worse.

So my question is what do yall do for your FM? I plan on being as active as I can be (yoga, biking, hiking) as well as my doctor has me on Cymbalta. I will know in 2-6 weeks if this medicine therapy will work. Narcotics do not work for my FM pain. Besides I don't want to take any medicine for pain if I don't have to. Id like to be as natural as possible.

My only issue is that since Cymbalta only comes in delayed release - I have to take it out of capsule with applesauce. This is hard on my new tummy (burns) and may not be as effective. I did try to eat 2oz of meat (chicken) beforehand to keep the meds in my tummy longer).

Any suggestions as to how I can get the best bang for my buck with my new VSG tummy and the delayed release capsule?

BTW please pray for me this Cymbalta works. My pain and fatigue have been terrible lately. Thought I would feel better after losing all this weight...but now I have this to deal with! ugh!

If you had your surgery that long ago you should be able to take the capsule without opening it. I have a band but spend alot of time on the sleeve forum hoping to get one if I can ever get this stupid band out. It would would be less hard on your tummy if you leave it in the capsule. There shouldn't be a problem with delayed release since your stomach is just smaller, it doesn't malabsorb. That is supposed to be one of the benefits of the the sleeve over the bypass, that meds work pretty much the same as a normal tummy.

I use cymbalta and it seems to help but I also use a narcotic pain patch for arthritis pain. I used the cymbalta before I had the patch tho and it helped alot. There is also a newer drug called savella that has helped many. It sometimes takes alot of trial and error to find the right treatment or combination of treatments. I would suggest you also search the internet for information because there is a great deal to learn about the disease and of course you are welcome here too, but we don't get alot of action here as you can see. If I can be of any further help feel free to ask away and I'll do my best to help, I've had it for over 40 yrs so am a bit of a self proclaimed professional.

Lyrica is an option.  I had RNY and have been taking Gabapentin which is a sister to Lyrica.  I have little pain because of these meds. 

I get side effects from almost all of the Fibro meds, or the common meds used for Fibro pain. Gabapentin was awful, I felt like a zombie! And Lyrica and Cymbalta both made my depression worse. I get good relief from just old fashioned pain medications! I took MS Contin for years with great effect, but since they can't be crushed, when I had my RNY they switched me to Methadone, another narcotic pain med. It isn't "long acting" per se, but it has an extremely long half life (the amount of time the drug stays active in your body), so has the same effect as a long acting med, but can be crushed.

It was so effective that even after I could take whole pills again, I stayed on the Methadone.

Personally, I can't function as I need to, because of my pain level, unless I am properly medicated. It allows me to have a somewhat normal life. After dealing with Fibro for 15 years, that's about as good as I can ask for!

Nothing ever takes the pain away, but there are many meds that can make it bearable.

Keep after your doctor to explore every avenue if your pain treatment isn't working for you! With some time and trial you should be able to find something that helps.

As far as keeping it natural, good luck! You will come to a point where you may have to choose between natural, and living your life in pain......or chemical and controlling your pain. Good luck whatever you choose!