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Hi I just read this part, can I give you some really heart felt words to think about??? The doctors started with lower pain meds, muscle relaxers, anti-depressants, in the beginning. During the years, I was increased to 180mg of Morphine ER (extended release) and 60mg of Morphine IR (instant release) along with the muscle relaxers, etc. It wasn't until I switched to Kaiser that the doctors said WHY ARE YOU ON SUCH A HIGH DOSE OF MORPHINE???? I hadn't a clue. It is what my pain management doctor put me on. My doctor worked with me to taper my Morphine down, until I could go cold turkey in Jan 2015. It wasn't fun. Not for me, my husband, not anyone in my household.
I never thought something like that could happen to me. I have always taken vitamins daily, been anti-drug use. I tried to use only Tylenol & Motrin for 5 months afterwards. But due to the un-bearable pain, I was put back on the lowest dose of Percocet which I take only when I absolutely need to.
What I am trying to say is please be careful with the Morphine or any Opiod medication. I learned the hard way, I would not want to see anyone else do that as well.
TJSterch 5'7 SW 284 lbs CW 210 lbs
Per month: 1st -24, 2nd -11, 3rd - 9, 4th - 8, 5th - 8, 6th - 4, 7th -2, 8th -7
Hi I have had both weight loss surgery (the first was in 1991, revision to RNY Apr 2016) and a hysterectomy in 2002. I don't know if there is correlation between these, but glad to supply the information. I do know that I under went an enormous amount of stress in 2004 thru 2007 and I developed fibromyalgia late 2007. The doctors of course say that it was due to stress or due to anxiety, but who knows for sure. The only thing I do know, is once you have it, it never goes away 
I also used to be very active, golfing, walking about 3 miles a day, biking, etc. and was healthy for the most part.
Hugs,
TJSterch 5'7 SW 284 lbs CW 210 lbs
Per month: 1st -24, 2nd -11, 3rd - 9, 4th - 8, 5th - 8, 6th - 4, 7th -2, 8th -7
I've been gluten-free for a few months now. My doctor had suggested going gluten free to ease my fibro pain. When I changed my diet, I did notice that my fatigue was less. I also found a very good article regarding the same. http://www.belmarrahealth.com/in-fibromyalgia-patients-going -gluten-free-may-be-a-potential-dietary-intervention-study/
Hope that helps.
I have also been diagnosed with Fibro. I was taking Cymbalta, then Lyrica. Both of these meds are the devil. They take years to wean off of too. I feel so much better going gluten free, and juicing with my Ninja RX Nutribullet. Not as messy as a juicer. I have noticed that if I lay around all day I triple my pain. I now try to get in at least 10,000 steps with my fitbit, and my days are much better!
HI there. I am not really new to the forums....just lost my old user ID and had to make a new one. I have fibro. I have been on gabapentin since Janurary and just this week they added cymbalta to my mix. not a very high dose at all, 30mg i think. just to see how it works with the gabapentin. I take 1200mg gaba a day. 1 in am, 1 mid afternoon, 2 at bedtime. seems to help a lot. I have horrible issues with flare ups of the fibro any time I am sick...or i just had a gout flare up, and staph infection...that triggered my fibro and thats what prompted the cymbalta.
Fibro sucks. I try to pre medicate before I do anything knowing I will hurt later....I am allowed to adjust the gabapentin as needed and can take more to help prevent flare ups. I also have quit eating red meat and pork because they can irritate fibro AND gout. I will have broth or if bacon is in something i am eating i dont freak out, you just wont see me slerping on a rib or chewing on a steak. I eat anything that flies or swims basically. it can get better and you will see what triggers it...activity wise and FOOD wise.
Been there. I am Bpolar with low back pain so everyone said my pain was those but no. I kept pushing for help and finally I got the diagnosis Fibromyalgia. They gave me Lyrica, big mistake. It helped a lot bu****ch out for the weight gain side effects. I gained 50 pounds. Stopped taking it. They had given me Gabapen for the Bipolar. It has the same core so they increased dose and it helped so much.
I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia about 20 years ago. I am a 57 years old woman. I have found a career that has flexible hours and enables me to move around or rest as needed. This enables me to work full time with my condition.
Always stretch before and after exercise. With your condition, you may need to stretch MUCH longer than someone without fibromyalgia to release the muscle tension. As others have mentioned Yoga is wonderful as it includes stretching and low impact movements. Many people with fibromyalgia also have other issues, besides pain. Digestive, weight, back and neck problems, fibro fog, as well as the other items mentioned by the other postings. Combining multiple treatments can help. As there is no known cure. I've tried multiple treatments. The most effective were less radical treatments in combination with diet, getting adequate sleep, keeping active, gentle exercise and stretching. Note: I also have TMJ, whiplash, back alignment and joint issues (knee, elbow, foot, wrist and shoulder), mild depression and obesity.
Here is a list of what I have tried that was NOT EFFECTIVE:
- Long term antibiotics (prescription)
- Long term anti fungal/yeast treatments (prescription)
- Acupuncture (works for some people)
- Active exercise (low-impact aerobics)
- Duloxetine - Generic Cymbalta
Here is a list of what was EFFECTIVE in my situation:
- Massage
- Chiropractic
- Yoga and stretching exercises
- Physical therapy (Gentle muscle building exercises)
- Medications - Muscle relaxants, Cymbalta, anti-inflammatory (Advil, Aleve, aspirin), Amitriptyline (made me crave sugar!)
- Weigh****chers (but only to maintain weight, unable to lose)
- Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulation - the brain machine, helps with depression and pain (hoping to use this to reduce prescriptions)
- Non-prescription sleep aids (melatonin, 5-HTP, various herbs and minerals)
- Diet (avoid diet sweeteners, carbonated beverages, some acidic foods, sweets, and nightshade vegetables, increase healthy protein intake, lower "bad" carb intake, etc.)
- Sleep Cycle App (wakes you up in a natural way) & napping for an hour each day (too much cuts into your nighttime rest
- Hypnosis (I use an app, but still looking for a better one)
- Heat or Ice - Although a hot bath will NOT work for you, try Thermacare pads, a heating pad, rice/bean heat/rice packs or ice packs (usually alternate heat and ice for extremely painful muscles)
There are some issues with all of the treatments, many can be costly and not all are covered by insurance. Cymbalta worked great for me for years, but when switched by insurance to the generic, it is less effective. Muscle relaxants feel WONDERFUL, but cause your metabolism to slow. I gained 60 lbs on a combination of a anti-depressant (to help me sleep) and muscle relaxant in two months. But as I mentioned, it felt WONDERFUL.
To manage your pain, try combining multiple treatments that work to some degree for you. Try the NON-Prescription items first, give each treatment at least a week or two before deciding their effectiveness. This will help limit the amount of pain medication needed to function, and limit side effects.
Wish you the best in your search for reducing pain.
Hi things ended up fine (I had a very serious discussion with my family and told them how I felt about it) my daughter was with me until I was taken into surgery. The staff was incredibly nice & when I woke from surgery I was not in a lot of pain (I have had my share of surgeries too - this was a nice change 
)
There was a few surprises, the surgery being a revision could have taken 5 to 6 hours, not the 1 to 1 1/2 as expected. Good news for waiting daughter it took 2 hours (I was asleep I had no idea really how long I was under). I could have gone home the next day, but I chose to stay the 2 days because I didn't feel like I was ready and once I got home it was quiet.
Hope your feeling better, hugs 
TJSterch 5'7 SW 284 lbs CW 210 lbs
Per month: 1st -24, 2nd -11, 3rd - 9, 4th - 8, 5th - 8, 6th - 4, 7th -2, 8th -7
Hi hislady Thankyou for you're reply . I too at last been put on muscle relaxants for the spasms and I'm on 75mg morphine patches . When it first started the pain was that bad I couldn't even do simple jobs like washing the dishes . I have noticed that any kind of stress does make it worse but I thought it was just in my head . Ive just finished a 9 week pain management course which has learned me to pace myself as chronic fatigue would set in . Although I still pace myself I still have fatigue days which I hate . Again thanks for the reply I too will leave stress outside my door
kind regards Leah
Any kind of stress to the body be it physical or emotional can trigger fibro. Very often surgery of any kind can trigger it because it is so stressful for the body. I've had fibro since I was in my early 20's, of course back then they just told us we were crazy! It wasn't until I was in my 40's until I found a doctor that actually believed in and treated fibro. He was a God send!! He knew I was already taking high doses of tylenol to try to fight off the constant pain but tylenol never worked for any of my pain. He finally put me on morphine to keep the pain under control to where I could function and do house work etc. His motto was "life is to be lived, not endured" and I just wish more docs felt that way!!
Everyone is so afraid of addiction issues but I can say that I've been on the same dose of medication for many years and haven't needed any extra because this still works. So I haven't turned into a drug crazed addict stealing from family to support my habit. Actually people who take pain medication for legitimate pain issues rarely abuse the pain med because we are so grateful to have them that we don't want to chance losing them. It is the ones who take them to get a high who end up having problems. Yes I am physically addicted and would have withdrawals if taken off of them but no responsible doc is going to cut someone off cold turkey that needs them, they would medically wean them off. I have changed the type of meds once but have had the same ones for over 5 years now. I have to have a UA yearly or when ever asked for one and have no problem doing that.
Anyway as I started out saying it is most likely that the surgery is what brought the fibro on and it doesn't really matter what type of surgery it is just the fact that the body has been stressed by the surgery itself. So the more stress you can keep out of your life the better off your fibro life will be. It has really taught me to stand up for myself and insist that drama be left outside my door cause I'm not going to deal with it!
