Explore the medications commonly used to treat Fibromyalgia, including pain relievers, antidepressants, and other options to manage symptoms effectively.
10 million patients in the United States with fibromyalgia, 75-90% are women. While the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, infections, physical or emotional trauma, and genetics appear to play a role in onset. Patients with lupus, osteoarthritis, and or rheumatoid arthritis are at higher risk of developing fibromyalgia. Symptoms of fibromyalgia include muscle pain and tenderness, muscle spasms, joint pain, bone pain, neurological pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, headaches, anxiety or depression, gastrointestinal issues, and cognitive issues including issues with memory.
Common prescription or OTC treatments for fibromyalgia include anti-inflammatories and pain relievers, antidepressants, and anti-seizure drugs including gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica), the first drug to be FDA approved for fibromyalgia. Massage, physical therapy, acupuncture, meditation, yoga, diet change from going gluten-free, and cognitive therapy have also provided relief for patients but are not widely adopted nor covered by health insurance.
In Canada, 30% of patients with fibromyalgia are on disability, whereas in the United States, the percentage is unclear because disability as a well as a fibromyalgia diagnosis is harder for patients to obtain. In a survey conducted by the National Fibromyalgia Association in 2003, 99 % of the respondents who were currently disabled because of fibromyalgia said that they would return to work immediately if they could find some relief for their pain.
There has been a lot of clinical research on cannabis for fibromyalgia in the last 10 years. We’ve transitioned from fibromyalgia being a medical condition linked to endocannabinoid deficiency based on Dr. Ethan Russo’s research, to anecdotal evidence that over 90% of fibromyalgia patients benefit from cannabis, to clear clinical trials showing evidence that cannabis works.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder that is difficult to diagnose and harder to treat. As a neuroscientist and health coach with fibromyalgia, Dr. Ross has combined modern science with ancient plant wisdom to not only stop the pain but also heal emotional and physical trauma from the disorder.
Approximately 10 million patients in the United States have fibromyalgia, and 75-90% are women. While the cause of fibromyalgia is unknown, infections, physical or emotional trauma, and genetics appear to play a role in onset. Patients with lupus, osteoarthritis, and or rheumatoid arthritis are at higher risk of developing fibromyalgia.
Cannabis helps fibromyalgia by reducing neuropathic pain, pelvic pain, and other forms of pain. It reduces spasms, headaches, inflammation, anxiety, and stress that may trigger or worsen flares. It can improve mood and depression that often comes with having a painful chronic disease with no cure. Finally, cannabis may improve serotonin or other neurotransmitter imbalances in fibromyalgia.
There are 1000s of cannabis strains and CBD products that can improve the quality of life with fibromyalgia. If cannabis isn’t right for you, some people prefer microdosing magic mushrooms, while others prefer calming strains of kratom. Your plant medicine guide will go over the pros and cons of each plant medicine and help you decide which one is right for you.
The plant-based health revolution is here! I’m your guide to understanding cannabis, mushrooms, and other healing plants so you live a life free of pain.
My name is Dr. Michele Ross and my mission is to empower patients with the knowledge and use of plant-based medicine so they can live their healthiest and happiest lives.
“Dr. Ross is so knowledgeable about the hottest topic right, CBD, and her passion for using it to heal people is amazing. Her energy, humor, and relatability are refreshing and inviting. The type of wisdom and warmth that you’d want if your health journey should include CBD.”
“Dr. Ross will open your mind to so many new ideas about holistic health. WHY are we not taking care of ourselves as our instincts direct us? Well, the law has not been on the side of cannabis users for most of history. Now, things are changing and it’s up to us to reclaim our health.”
This is something I have been working on for a long time.
As a neuroscientist with fibromyalgia, I’ve worked for years to test the available treatments and debunk fibro myths.
I’ve come up with a protocol that has helped me cure my fibromyalgia naturally (putting it into recovery mode) and has helped so many of my patients.
And I want to share it with you.
Here’s what Ashley R. says about my work:
“Dr. Ross is so knowledgeable about the hottest topic right now, CBD, and her passion for using it to heal people is amazing. Her energy, humor, and relatability are refreshing and inviting. The type of wisdom and warmth that you’d want if your health journey should include CBD.”
Many of you know me from my turn as the first scientist to star in a reality TV series, Big Brother 11 on CBS, where I was a beast at winning competitions and almost won the whole game. There’s another part to my story, one that includes the struggle of getting a fibromyalgiadiagnosis.
Several years ago I used a cane and even a walker to move around. I had no energy, had permanent brain fog, and barely could sit up to work on my laptop at home for an hour or two before having to take a nap. I was prescribed Lyrica, morphine, and a laundry list of other prescriptions to manage severe pain, spasms, and depression. And I wanted to die.
I got off all my prescriptions using cannabis, and today, I’m healthy enough that I work full time and travel all over the world teaching doctors and patients about cannabis medicine.
Fibromyalgia isn’t stopping me from living my best life anymore. Now it’s your turn.
I created the Fibro University Membership to help patients design a life that supports their progress to cure fibromyalgia naturally – so you can feel connected, supported, and motivated every day.
Each month I deliver you brand-new content that’s easy to access on your computer, phone or tablet.
But this deal will not last forever. In fact, the lifetime membership disappears Saturday, July 25th, 2020 & the price goes up for an annual membership.
Are you ready to invest in your health today, for less than 10 cents a day?
People with fibromyalgia are usually prescribed pain relievers, sleep medicines, antidepressants, muscle relaxants, and anti-seizure medications to help with their symptoms. These medications all come with risks and side effects so they are just as likely to do harm as to help. In this guest post, Marco gives us some tips to treat fibromyalgia pain safely.
Fibromyalgia is a very distressing disease, and very challenging to treat. A vast number of interventions have been tried. Many have shown no evidence at all of their effectiveness, but for many others, the basic story is that they seem to produce good results for a small fraction of sufferers while the majority of sufferers see little if any reduction in pain.
This applies to treatments such as mind-body therapy, resistance exercise training, aquatic exercise training, acupuncture, and cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as a number of drug treatments. The unfortunate reality is for that the majority of people with fibromyalgia no available treatment causes the pain to go away.
Before going any further it is important to say clearly that every person is a unique individual and advice from a personal physician who knows the details of a specific case should always trump generic advice such as this article gives. With that in mind, let’s proceed.
The first point is that interventions that don’t involve drugs tend to be the safest. Even if exercise or cognitive therapy don’t alleviate the pain – and to be honest, there is a good chance they won’t – they aren’t likely to do any harm. Thus, it makes sense to try those sorts of lifestyle-related approaches first, and only turn to drugs if they don’t work.
In the United States, three drugs have been approved for the treatment of fibromyalgia: pregabalin, duloxetine, and milnacipran. The fact that they have been approved shouldn’t be overrated, though – all it means is that careful clinical trials have shown that averaged across the full population of patients they are more effective than a placebo.
As a matter of fact, they are just barely more effective than a placebo. Their effectiveness is so low that in Europe none of them has been approved for the treatment of fibromyalgia. (No drug has been approved for fibromyalgia in Europe, actually.)
Pregabalin, most commonly marketed as “Lyrica”, was the first drug approved in the US for fibromyalgia, in 2007. It falls into a broad family known as “antiepileptic” drugs because they reduce the likelihood of epileptic seizures.
People who take it generally find it to have moderate mood-elevating effects, and in the US it is classified as a “Schedule V Controlled Substance”, which basically means that it has a low but nonzero potential for abuse.
This is more of a potential than an actuality: there have been essentially no reports of addiction resulting from pregabalin use.
There have, however, been reports of withdrawal symptoms in people who stop taking it after a period of use, involving symptoms such as sleeplessness, headache , anxiety, etc.
A substantial number of people who try it experience side effects that cause them to stop using it: the most common are dizziness and drowsiness, but changes in vision, appetite, mood, and other functions can also occur. And it is rather expensive, typically costing $300-$400 per month out-of-pocket in the US.
Bottom line: Lyrica is not an innocuous drug, and probably won’t work, but it might be worth trying if nothing else works.
The other two US-approved drugs are duloxetine (usually sold as “Cymbalta”) and milnacipran (sold in the US as “Savella”). Both of these drugs fall into the broad family known as “antidepressants”, along with drugs such as Prozac and Effexor. Indeed, both can be used to treat depression as well as fibromyalgia.
However, for unknown reasons these two drugs seem to be somewhat more effective than other antidepressants against fibromyalgia. Again – to repeat the same sad refrain – “somewhat more effective” just means more effective than placebo: they really aren’t very effective at all, on the whole.
Antidepressants, including these two, present very little risk of addiction. Most users actually find their direct effects – including a reduction in appetite and reduction in sexual motivation – to be rather unpleasant.
There is a much greater risk that the drugs will have intolerable side effects, including sleep problems, anxiety, and even (though this is controversial) an increase in suicidal thoughts.
Bottom line: Cymbalta and Savella are not innocuous drugs, and probably won’t work, but they might be worth trying if non-drug approaches don’t work.
Although pregabalin, duloxetine, and milnacipran are the only drugs specifically approved in the US for fibromyalgia, they are not the only drugs that a doctor could theoretically prescribe. In the US the general rule – there are exceptions – is that if a drug is approved for one use, a doctor has the ability to prescribe it “off label” for other uses, at discretion.
This means that a doctor could, at least in principle, prescribe an enormous variety of drugs to a patient with fibromyalgia. And indeed, a number of other drugs are occasionally used that way. None is used at a high enough rate, though, to justify specifically discussing here.
Finally, there is one other type of drug that absolutely needs to be mentioned: opiates – such as morphine, codeine, oxycontin, fentanyl, etc..
Because they are so effective for some other types of pain, their effects have been examined in a number of high-quality studies, and the invariable conclusion is that for fibromyalgia they just don’t work.
If anything they make things worse. Even with this information at hand, people often use them anyway.
Surveys have found that as many as one-third of people with fibromyalgia regularly use opiates. The temptation is easy to understand: opiates are obviously very effective for some types of pain, such as cancer pain, so why not give them a try?
But pain is a very complex entity, and the pain of fibromyalgia is completely different from cancer pain: it comes from the nervous system, not from tissue damage. Drugs that work for cancer pain don’t work for fibromyalgia; drugs that work for fibromyalgia – such as they are – are completely ineffective against cancer pain.
If you are tempted to try an opiate, don’t (unless your doctor recommends it). Overlaying a possible serious addiction on top of a case of fibromyalgia won’t improve your life.
Already using an opiate, and finding it unhelpful? Withdrawing from an opiate on your own is very difficult, especially if you are hypersensitive to pain due to fibromyalgia; please consult a doctor. There are plenty of ways of escaping from that trap without the misery that goes with direct withdrawal.
To sum up, then, the best way to manage your fibromyalgia pain safely are as follows:
Above all, discuss any change you want to make with your doctor.
Focus first on lifestyle changes such as exercise, sleep, diet, or therapy.
If those don’t work, consider trying one of the approved drugs, and discuss with your doctor which one is likely to work best for you.
Stay away from opiates.
If nothing works, try to maintain a positive attitude and realize that a lot of research is going on in this area, so there is a good chance that better solutions will be available in the not-too-distant future.
As Chief Editor for a leading drug and alcohol addiction blog, Palo Recovery, I aim to deliver value in the topics that I write about. My aim is to help as many people as possible who are going through the same struggle. Staying true to A.A’s values about anonymity, the author uses the pseudonym Marco.
I do believe there are patients who have widespread musculoskeletal pain attributed to a syndrome we call fibromyalgia. However, I do not believe rheumatologists should be the “main caregivers for these patients,” as Pisetsky and others have suggested. We simply treat these patients by default. The main reason for my stance is the lack of any creditable evidence supporting fibromyalgia as a rheumatologic condition other than the existence of chronic pain. Although rheumatic diseases are often associated with chronic pain, the converse is not necessarily true. With the burgeoning entrepreneurial specialty masquerading as “pain management,” my opinion is that these patients would be best served by those who claim to be pain specialists—if only we could get them to put their needles down long enough to actually treat the pain and the patient.
Dr. Pisetsky states FMS is not a rheumatic disease and therefore not under the realm of what a rheumatologist should be treating. I actually do not disagree. I agree that a rheumatologist is a specialist to be seen to get an FMS diagnosis, but I doubt they are great in the treatment department. The first one I saw, because I presented symptoms of lupus or RA, told me I had ‘hypermobility syndrome with chronic soft tissue pain’ and that was that.
The second one I went to said I had FMS but that I was too young for any medications and that was that. Thanks. So very helpful. While the syndrome shares some symptoms with diseases these specialists do treat I find they flounder with FMS, reluctant to treat pain as pain and wishy-washy about what to do. Which leaves the FMS patient pretty much in limbo. There general doctor will often not be able to fill the gap, they may try a few things, but pain management is beyond them. It is the reason I have never had any effective treatment for this syndrome and it has kinda fallen to the side in the face of chronic migraines. I think a pain management clinic is a way to go, pretty much the only way to go. So the dude is right if I had FMS and I was his patient I would totally ditch him.
On the other hand, the reply to this article suggests otherwise:
Who else can manage fibromyalgia better than a dedicated and caring rheumatologist? We are the best diagnosticians, bar none. We are better at using drugs than anybody else, even with our hands tied behind our backs. Managing a fibromyalgia patient is like having one’s hands tied behind one’s back. Furthermore, drugs don’t work very well in these patients, and just telling a patient that they must exercise also does not work. As I write this, I realize that in some respects managing a fibromyalgia patient now is somewhat akin to what it was like managing a rheumatoid 35 years ago when I started to practice. Maybe that is why I am not resentful about having to take care of these patients.
It has occurred to me that if I were not able to use opioids in the management of fibromyalgia, then I, too, would lose interest in taking care of these patients. Opioids are to fibromyalgia what corticosteroids are to rheumatoid arthritis. We try to avoid them if possible, but when they are necessary—which is often—we should employ them. Maybe, just maybe, Dr. Luetkemeyer refuses to give these patients opioids for whatever reason. If that is the case, I could understand his frustration and his decision not to treat these patients. — Dr. Murray Sokoloff
Now that doc sounds like he would go the course with his patients, FMS or otherwise. I want him at my back any day. He suggests some may not want to treat FMS because it is difficult to treat, and I think that is the very reason… so the recipe to follow and no sure results. He points out that RA back in the day had no easy treatments either. So all specialists are not born equal it seems. Pity in small areas we simply cannot pick and choose.
Probiotics are the good bacteria that line your digestive tract and support your body’s ability to absorb nutrients and fight infection. Therefore, it is important to restore the proper balance of healthy bacteria in your digestive tract with a high-quality probiotic supplement.
Disclosure: I have been given Schwartz Bioresearch Probiotic 40 Billion CFU in exchange for this review. Although the product was a gift, all opinions in this review remain my own and I was in no way influenced by the company.
When we have an overgrowth of bad bacteria, toxins start to build up, causing inflammation, pain, digestive problems, autoimmune disease, and even anxiety.
Several studies connect fibromyalgia with problems in the gut, emphasizing a strong relationship between fibromyalgia and small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO ). For example:
A study in 2008 found a relationship between alterations of the intestinal microbiota ( gut flora ) and fibromyalgia.
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center found that 100% (all 42) of fibromyalgia patients they studied had small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
SIBO is often associated with increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) . In this study of 40 patients with fibromyalgia, 28 (70%) had leaky gut. 12 of the 28 patients with leaky gut had no digestive symptoms.
Along with fibromyalgia, many health issues, including IBS, colitis, diabetes, autoimmunity, asthma, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, depression, anxiety, eczema, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus have all been shown to be associated with gut health.
Probiotics offer many health benefits which have been proven by research. For the purpose of this blog, I am going to list the most important benefits for those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. These benefits include:
Boosts the immune system
Helps heal from leaky gut syndrome and inflammatory bowel conditions like IBS, colitis, and Crohn’s disease
Probiotics are essential for optimal digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. They also help your body produce vitamins, absorb minerals, and eliminate toxins. Gut bacteria are very vulnerable to lifestyle and environmental factors, such as processed foods, chemicals and pesticides, antibiotics, and stress.
Here are 7 tips to restore and maintain your gut health:
Avoid sugar and processed foods that promote unhealthy bacteria and yeast in your gut.
Eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and pickles, as long as your gut is not aggravated by them.
Eat plenty of fiber in the form of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds.
Drink plenty of water which helps to keep your bowel movements regular and healthy bacteria thriving.
Avoid foods that trigger inflammation such as gluten, dairy, and eggs that can disrupt your healthy bacteria.
Minimize stress by implementing the stress remedies that work best for you.
Probiotic formulas are available with many different types of bacterial strains. The most important probiotic bacteria come from two species, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, although there are many others. Each group of probiotic bacteria has different species and each species has different strains that have slightly different functions.
Probiotic supplements that contain multiple strains tend to be more effective overall than products containing an extremely high concentration of just one or two strains. A good-quality probiotic supplement should also have a clearly labeled expiration date and shelf life potency guarantee.
I may be one of those people with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth who doesn’t have any digestive symptoms. Once in a while, I have gas, bloating, and constipation but not often. And those symptoms are usually mild. I have more problems with sinusitis, pain, fatigue, allergies, and asthma which can also be signs of a leaky gut.
A little over a month ago the kind folks at Schwartz Bioresearch sent me a bottle of their Probiotic 40 Billion CFU to try. I have been taking a probiotic for the last couple of years so I wasn’t sure I would notice any difference. But after taking Probiotic 40 Billion CFU for 30 days I have seen some improvements.
For one, I haven’t had any digestive issues at all. I felt lighter, less tired, and less congested. I wasn’t even using my inhaler as much. Now it could be a coincidence but I ran out about a week ago and the congestion is back and so is the fatigue.
I just want to say, I am extremely careful about what supplements I take. I don’t want to waste money on products that don’t contain what is claimed on the label. And even more important, I don’t want them to contain harmful additives. So before I take any supplements, there are some safety guidelines I follow.
I feel comfortable recommending Schwartz Bioresearch Probiotic 40 Billion CFU for the following reasons:
Schwartz Bioresearch Probiotic 40 Billion CFUs is a blend of 4 scientifically studied Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus strains which include:
L. Acidophilus – supports overall digestion, nutrient absorption, immune health, and urinary health, and may also provide some benefit for cardiovascular health by reducing cholesterol.
L. plantarum – supports overall digestion, and immune health, and may also reduce gastrointestinal side effects associated with antibiotics.
L. paracasei – supports liver health, boosts energy levels, and could be helpful for fighting infections.
B. lactis – supports overall digestion, immune health, and bowel health, and may also support healthy cholesterol levels.
Schwartz Bioresearch probiotics have a guaranteed shelf life of 18 months. They are one of the very few who can guarantee potency until the expiration date. They guarantee high-quality, shelf-stable probiotic strains which maintain at least 10 billion CFU until expiration date .and survive harsh stomach acids to reach the intestinal tract where they exert their greatest benefits.
Schwartz Bioresearch Probiotics are made with 100% natural ingredients and are free of gluten, lactose, soy, wheat, nuts, iron, sugar, chemicals, artificial colors, binders, and fillers.
Schwartz Bioresearch Probiotics are third-party tested for potency, purity, and content. Each batch of probiotics is extensively analyzed by professionals before its release.
It isn’t always easy to find someone to help you because there’s not just one type of doctor who treats fibromyalgia. But it’s important to find a doctor who understands your condition and will work closely with you to manage your symptoms and help you feel better. How do you find the right doctor for you?
Some people with fibromyalgia are treated by their primary care doctors or internal medicine doctors. However, you may want to ask whether you should see a specialist. Specialty doctors who most often treat the condition are rheumatologists. Rheumatologists treat inflammatory, often painful conditions that affect the joints, muscles, bones, and other organs. Pain specialists and neurologists may treat fibromyalgia, too.
There’s no rule as to what type of doctor you should use to help you manage fibromyalgia. However, make sure he or she has an interest in and knowledge of fibromyalgia treatment.
Finding a doctor who can lead your care and help you manage fibromyalgia is your first priority. But you may benefit from working with a team of healthcare providers that can help you manage specific symptoms. The team might include a physical therapist, sleep specialist, massage therapist, acupuncturist, cognitive-behavioral counselor, and others.
Getting recommendations from friends, family, other physicians and your insurance provider is one way to find a doctor. Another is to see whether you have a pain or rheumatology clinic in your area. Oftentimes, these clinics offer care from several members of the fibromyalgia treatment team all in one location.
Just because a doctor or other type of healthcare provider knows about fibromyalgia doesn’t mean he or she is the right doctor for you. A few questions you can ask to help you decide include:
Many people with fibromyalgia check out a number of doctors until they find the right one. It’s worth the effort. You can greatly improve your symptoms when you have a knowledgeable and focused doctor, along with your own participation and motivation. In addition to asking your insurance provider, you can search Healthgrades.com for providers who treat fibromyalgia.
A good night’s sleep is as important to your health as eating right and exercising regularly. That’s especially true when you have fibromyalgia. Getting enough quality sleep can ease the pain of this arthritis-related condition and help you feel refreshed.
Fibromyalgia can change your brain wave patterns, which can rob you of slow-wave sleep, the deepest stage of sleep. It can also bring on other problems, such as restless legs syndrome, which can make sleeping through the night a challenge. When you don’t sleep well, fibromyalgia can feel even more uncomfortable.
Don’t let fibromyalgia steal your sleep. There are strategies you can try to help yourself get the rest you need to feel your best:
Be as active as possible. Exercising during the day is one of the best ways to help you get a good night’s sleep. It is also one of the best things you can do to treat fibromyalgia. Start with walking. Gradually and over time, try going farther and faster. Avoid working out within three hours of bedtime, though, so you have enough time to wind down.
Darken your bedroom. Light can keep your brain awake, making it harder to sleep. If streetlamps, moonlight, or early morning sun peaks in through your windows, invest in room-darkening bedroom shades. If you get up during the night to use the bathroom, use a nightlight to show the way rather than turning on a bright overhead light.
Limit caffeine and alcohol. Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening. It can keep you from sleeping soundly. As for alcohol, you may be able to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner and still sleep well, but skip the nightcap. Alcohol around bedtime can make you drowsy, but cause you to wake up in the middle of the night.
Nix long naps. For some people, a short midafternoon nap can improve their day, but for others, it’s the recipe for lost sleep at night. If you’re among those who doze off during the day, don’t nap for long. To prevent your nap from affecting your sleep at night, set your alarm for an hour, and get up when it goes off.
Talk with your doctor. If you are having trouble sleeping despite all efforts, ask your doctor about participating in a sleep study. It can help identify any other disorders you have that may be disrupting your sleep. It’s thought, for example, that people with fibromyalgia may experience the same breathing pauses during sleep that affect people with sleep apnea. If this is the case for you, a CPAP machine (which increases air pressure in the throat to hold it open during sleep) may be helpful. Your doctor can also prescribe sleep medicine, if necessary.
Doctors often focus more on the physical symptoms of fibromyalgia, such as pain, fatigue, and stiffness. However, many people with the condition also have trouble focusing, concentrating, or thinking quickly in everyday situations. In a recent study, women with fibromyalgia ranked so-called ‘fibro fog’ among their five top complaints. Openly discussing these symptoms and how they affect you can help you and your doctor address them. Here are other ways to reduce the impact of fibro fog on your daily life.
Take note of any thinking or learning problems you have. You may want to write down when you experience them—and how severe they are—on a chart or calendar. Share this with your doctor. Together, you may be able to pinpoint what makes your fibro fog better or worse and develop strategies to minimize it.
In addition to easing pain, therapy for fibromyalgia often helps with brain-related symptoms, including depression. Your doctor may write you prescriptions for pain medications or antidepressants. When you have less pain to deal with, you can focus more on living your life and doing things you enjoy. Alternative and mind-body therapies, such as massage and tai chi, also show promise.
Trouble sleeping counts as a primary symptom of fibromyalgia. But the more restful your slumber, the clearer your thinking. Most adults need seven hours of restorative sleep to perform their best. Take steps to reach this goal by keeping a regular sleep schedule. Avoid alcohol and caffeine late in the afternoon and at night. Try to go to bed and get up at around the same time every day. And avoid daytime naps, especially in the afternoon. If you must take them, limit them to one hour.
Moving your body helps ease pain and stiffness—and also may benefit your mind. After working out, you may feel sharper and more alert. Physical activity also improves sleep, if you time it right. Schedule your gym session in the morning or during the day, if possible; working out at night can keep you awake. If you do work out later in the day, aim to finish about three hours before hitting the sack. This gives your body enough time to wind down.
Some studies suggest people with fibromyalgia perform just as well on memory tests that involve one problem at a time as do people without the condition. That means minimizing multitasking could boost your brainpower. Try and focus on completing one task at a time. Along with tracking your symptoms, make a ‘to-do list and update it every day or so to help stay on track. Each time you complete a task, cross it off the list and congratulate yourself. Take it one step at a time.
6. Make changes at work.
Many people with fibromyalgia can continue to work. But there may be times when you struggle with balancing work when you have chronic pain. You might find that working fewer hours or having flexible hours helps you better handle the demands of your job. Or you might need to switch your role to one that plays more to your strengths than your weaknesses.
The phrase “tender points” isn’t something you hear every day. But if you have fibromyalgia, you may be familiar with those words. In fact, your doctor may have used tender points to diagnose you.
In 1990, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) introduced criteria for diagnosing people with fibromyalgia. Part of the criteria included 18 possible tender points throughout the body. Tender points are small spots located around your neck, shoulders, chest, hips, knees, and elbows.
To be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, patients had to experience pain in at least 11 of those 18 sites when their doctor pressed firmly on them. In addition to tender points, you had to have pain in all four quadrants of your body (left side; right side, above the waist; below the waist) lasting longer than three months.
A lot has changed since the original ACR criteria for diagnosis were released. A 2010 study found that approximately 25% of people diagnosed with fibromyalgia didn’t satisfy the ACR’s criteria for having the disease, even though their doctors believed they had fibromyalgia based on their other symptoms.
Tender points posed a significant issue for doctors and patients alike. For example, if a person experiences improvement and no longer has as many tender points, does that mean he or she no longer has fibromyalgia, even if the person still has other symptoms like widespread pain? The pain is often described as a dull, constant pain in the muscles.
In 2010, the ACR updated its criteria for diagnosing people with fibromyalgia. Among several changes, it removed tender points from the criteria. Today, diagnosis relies more on patients’ self-reported symptoms than a doctor’s physical examination of the tender points.
In addition to pain, doctors consider symptoms that weren’t included in the original criteria, such as fatigue, sleep problems, and cognitive issues like trouble concentrating. They also use a tool called the symptom severity scale. The scale acknowledges that with a chronic pain condition like fibromyalgia, your symptoms may change with time. Pain can be more or less severe under different circumstances, such as how tired you are, your stress level, and your level of physical activity.
As a result, making a diagnosis no longer relies on a fixed set of criteria, such as tender points, and gives more weight to your personal experience with the condition. The symptoms of fibromyalgia resemble other chronic pain conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. For this reason, doctors may use specific blood tests and other evaluations to rule out these conditions before making a fibromyalgia diagnosis.
