Does anyone in the group have fibromyalgia?

Hello, I was diagnosed within the last year with having fibromyalgia. What treatment options did you consider? How severe are your symptoms... Part of me feels that I don't have it because I am not in constant pain and it comes and goes? I was offered Cymbalta but one of the side effects is weight gain and if facing that treacherous path part of me would go without treatment and suffer the pain. And, a lot fo the other treatment meds I can't take because they are (I guess) considered part of the NSAID Family.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Because it is difficult to diagnose, not everyone who deals with that knows what is going on. I am pretty sure I have it, beside also dealing with arthritis, and having lower back pain and sciatica. And IBS-C due to SIBO and Candida. plus a few more issues...

Newer studies indicate that for some people, fibromyalgia and IBS are very clearly connected. Dealing with SIBO - showed some promising results for reducing pain, and improving fibromyalgia symptoms... I know that when i get off my restricted diet, and eat food that I should avoid, my fibromyalgia pain gets much worse, as well as arthritis.

Also gluten and lectins sensitivities can sometimes show as fibromyalgia pain, or arthritis. Some peopel discover that their fibromyalgia was "gone" when they removed grains, plus nightshade vegetables. And those people were not technically dealing with celiac, or gluten allergies.

To deal with my SIBO (and Candida) I need to follow a low carb low FODMAP diet. The diet can be very restrictive, but there is still a lot of differnt foods I can eat. Plus the same type of diet is very good for losing or maintaining weight. I had to be very careful not to lose too much. I had to add more carbs becuse I was getting too thin.

Life is interesting. I am taking Cymbalta. I am not sure it is helping my fibromyalgia, but it is definitely helping my anxiety. My body has a tendency to overreact when stress happen,even good stress. The internal intestine cramps often left me in fetal position, unable to more or breathe. I used to take Lexapro, but my body got used to it, and it was time to switch.

One of side effect of Cymbalta can be weight gain or loss. I lost weight during first few months on Cymbalta. But I read the side effects when I would need to tamper it down, or get off it, can be brutal. Ideally I would decide to try it but, knowing that getting off of it can be difficult, you need to decide what to do.

Unfortunately not many things work for both fibromyalgia and arthritis.

google some info of Fibromyalgia and IBS connection. There are numerous studies, and articles about that.

https://www.google.com/search?q=fibromyalgia+sibo+connection +studies&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS880US880&oq=fibromyalgia+sibo+conne ction+studies&aqs=chrome..69i57.11852j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie =UTF-8

here are the few articles I just pulled in the last 2 minutes.. there is more...

"Fibromyalgia and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)" https://www.news-medical.net/health/Fibromyalgia-and-Small-I ntestinal-Bacterial-Overgrowth-(SIBO).aspx

and a few more...

https://ard.bmj.com/content/63/4/450

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3042210/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5347643/

Thank you so much. This provides me with a lot of information to look over.

I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia for years. Unfortunately I feel it is sort of an umbrella, "catch all" diagnosis. I have not tried Cymbalta due to hearing how difficult it is to come off. I use a tens unit and in the past yoga has helped. I am not in the practice of yoga right now but I know it is an option. I use other medications that are not NSAIDs for symptom management (like gabapentin for neuropathy. It has helped several conditions such as my back issues as well; however, it has a steep side effect profile as well and that is one reason I didn't want to add the Cymbalta. Everyone has to decide for themselves after looking at the information they have available to them and the potential benefit/risk they want to assume. Losing weight and watching what I eat helps many of my symptoms. It isn't gone but I sure feel it when I eat something that I know I shouldn't.

Thank you so much. going down the list of recommended medication, Cymbalta was the only option at the time. I think I just need to get focused enough for Yoga but I get side-tracked too easily and I want to move along to the next thing. I guess that is the point of Yoga... Slow down

I was put on cymbalta and had such severe mental problems with it I took myself off of it. Took me over a month. I was on lowest dose and still had to open capsules and count out individual beads, taking a few less every couple of days.

The FDA actually lists cymbalta with drawl as a medical syndrome...

This is one of those meds that you better be prepared to take for life. It can be hard to get off of if not impossible.

After 30 years of dealing with "fibromyalgia " pain, I've just resorted to smoking medical marijuana.

For me it's the only answer at this point.

I'm allergic to just about everything.

The marijuana gives me complete freedom from all body pain. I have even had 3 major surgeries using nothing but it during the surgeries., as I can't be put under anesthesia...

For me it blocks all of pain receptors.

It might not be for everyone but if it works.

Thank you so much for your feedback... The option for Cymbalta is most likely no longer going to be an option because I do not want to be dependent on a drug. I really appreciate your honesty and commend you on being able to gradually take yourself off... Unfortunately, I cannot use medical marijuana as an option for my treatment. I don't want anything that is mind-altering and I also have 2 small children and would be paranoid, all around.

My mom has been trying to get me to use CBD lotions/oils and nothing has really worked. I have been told that Tumeric really helps with the joint stiffness so I am thinking of trying those options to see if that has some effect on me.