In general it does not help fibro pain which tends to be in all the muscles, kinda like the worst flu you ever had but never goes away. That said it does help by taking the weight off of your joints and just makes life in general better. So you may feel better that way which can help relieve some of the pain whether from fibro or just joint pressure. I've lost close to 100 lbs yet my fibro is every bit as bad as ever and any stress makes it 1000x worse.

You also might want to see a rheumatologist or pain specialist to have them determine if you do actually have fibro. Ten years ago many docs still didn't believe it was a medical problem but now most do and they have some tests that can help them determine if fibro is the problem or if it is something else. Kind of a process of elimination. Good luck to you because if nothing else you should feel better just getting the weight off!

IDK if I was absorbing the estrogen...I had a total hysterectomy five months or so after my bypass...but my doc wanted to avoid absorption issues so she switched me to a patch. Seems to work better for me than the pills did. It stays on for a week and then I exchange it for a new one, and i am in the pool every day, no issues...

I was prescribed Cymbalta for osteoarthritis pain.  It worked for a while, then the pain returned as my knees got worse.  I think it can work for some, but I would be careful with using it with alcohol.  I would check with your pharmacist to get more information and read the package insert.  There is usually information on use with alcohol.  By the way, Cymbalta is in a completely different drug class (SSRI) from amitriptyline (tricyclic antidepressant). They have different side effect profiles (amitryptiline is in general less well tolerated than drugs like Cymbalta), so your experience with it makes sense. Good luck.  

It is hard to find a doctor that will give you pain relief... I have been to pain management!

bbwvixen, I am so sorry to hear everything you're going through. I too suffer have depression and PTSD. I initially wrote that I "suffered from depression and PTSD", but decided to change that wording because I am no longer suffering. 

The best advice I can give you is to literally take stock of your life, Pick yourself up by the bootstraps and get some help! This is your life and you DESERVE happiness.

Find yourself a program that can teach you how to live every day to th fullest. I hit my rock bottom emotionally a couple of years ago. I was dealing with a past that includes sexual abuse, physical abuse and emotional abuse. Until I met my husband every man that should have treasured and protected me from birth had abused me. I literally couldn't stop crying, I cried constantly. 

I got in touch with my HMO and they found me counseling. I went to outpatient counseling five days a week four hours a day. Interspersed with group therapy I had one on one counseling and met with a psychiatrist for medication management. I did not want to g to all of that counseling. I didn't want to change out of pajamas or brush my teeth let alone leave the house. I forced myself to go because I didn't want to die and I knew that if I did nothing I would.

  It was the best thing I've ever done for myself in my whole life. I hated every minute of it. I ranted, sometimes hatefully, at the people that ran the group. By the end I had tools to deal with life again. My love for myself had been restored.

Please get yourself some help, you are worth it!