Medication Archives - Fibromyalgia

25Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

Fibromyalgia treatments

Fibromyalgia, Medication, Research, Tips

There are a few approved medications for fibromyalgia and many more off-label. Used to be FMS was just not treated. Sort of the ‘suck it up, buttercup’ approach, which I for one did not appreciate. For some reason when you are in loads of pain whenever you do anything you tend not to do anything which then increases the pain… and those of us with fibromyalgia just have to muddle through it and find our own treatment plan. Now there are three meds that can be beneficial for fibromyalgia. 1)Lyrica– (pregabalin) This is in the class of anticonvulsant type medications. It affects the pain chemicals in the brain that send pain signals across the nervous system and thus why it is used for fibromyalgia as well as nerve pain. I…

25Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

Should rheumatologists treat fibromyalgia patients?

Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Research, Tips

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…

25Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

Mindfulness therapy may not be effective for managing fibromyalgia

Awareness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Research, Tips

Mindfulness therapy may not be effective for managing fibromyalgia In a recent study, fibromyalgia patients using mindfulness-based stress reduction, such as practising yoga, showed no significant improvements in either physical symptoms or emotional well-being.A program aimed at easing stress with meditation and yoga may not be much help for people with the chronic-pain condition fibromyalgia, a recent study suggests.The study, published in the journal Pain, looked at the effects of so-called mindfulness-based stress reduction — a technique developed by researchers at the University of Massachusetts in 1979 that combines mindfulness meditation and gentle yogaFor the new study, researchers led by Dr. Stefan Schmidt, of the University Medical Center in Freiburg, Germany, tested the program’s effects among 177 women with fibromyalgia.They found that women assigned to the mindfulness program showed no…

22Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

A Gentle Guide to Moving More When You Live with Fibromyalgia Part 2 Areobic

Awareness, Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Research, Tips

I think we need a paradigm shift in how we view physical activity and fibromyalgia. Consider what we mean when we talk about ‘exercise’. Usually, it’s defined as a routine program of physical activity to improve fitness. We associate working out with breaking a sweat, feeling our heart pumping and our muscles burning. It’s something you have to push yourself through – just look at all the painful terms were use: whipping yourself into shape, hitting the gym, or burning fat. Fun stuff. Also, not going happen when you live with chronic pain. For most of us, ‘exercise’, defined as above, is a recipe for a fibromyalgia flare-up. The conventional wisdom gives us s a false choice between “exercising” and being “sedentary”. For the vast majority of us, it seems…

22Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

A Gentle Guide to Moving More When You Live with Fibromyalgia Part 1- Forget Exercise

Awareness, Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Research

We need to rethink exercise, and focus instead on movement, starting with gentle stretching and range of motion activities. However, there seems to be a persistent [false] belief that if fibromyalgia patients would only get off the couch and exercise, their symptoms would miraculously melt away. This perspective permeates the health care field, from articles on managing fibromyalgia to advice from your ‘helpful’ specialist. For example, a recent research review notes that “Several exercise studies over the past three decades demonstrated that persons with fibromyalgia are able to engage in moderate and even vigorous exercise”. One research team articulated this point of view further by saying that, while fibromyalgia patients are “worried that [exercise is] going to be painful, [it’s] more of a psychological effect”. Further dismissing the real pain…

22Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

Can Essential Oils Actually Help Relief Fibromyalgia Symptoms? – YES

Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Tips

You may be surprised to learn that research shows some essential oils have medicinal effects that may help improve fibromyalgia symptoms. There are three main symptoms that essential oils can help relieve: anxiety, insomnia/fatigue and pain. Essential Oils for Stress and Anxiety Living with chronic pain and illness can be emotionally overwhelming. There are days when I feel anxious over an upcoming appointment, frustrated by the limitations caused by pain and fatigue, worried about the uncertainty of flare-up…and the list goes on and on. Managing stress by making time for relaxation can help you cope with anxiety. There are a number of essential oils that help promote relaxation. For example, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center, “Scientific evidence suggests that aromatherapy with lavender may slow the activity of…

22Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

Why Acupuncture Works for Chronic Pain According to Science. How to Make it Work for You

Awareness, Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Research, Tips

Acupuncture is the therapeutic use of very thin, hair-width needles to stimulate specific points on the body to reduce pain or disease and promote wellbeing. Before I was diagnosed, I never had expected to become an acupuncture aficionado. My impression was that it seemed like a painful way to go about treating health conditions. I was also skeptical about how effective it could be. However, like many other chronic pain patients before me, the limited treatment options at my doctor’s office left me searching for alternatives. Trying acupuncture started to make sense. After looking into it and trying it myself, I have realized that it is a valuable tool in my chronic pain treatment toolbox. Acupuncture has been used for over 3,000 years and is an integral part of Traditional…

22Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

Getting the Picture Across: Improve How You Talk About, and Think About, Chronic Pain Using Insights from Art Therapy

Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Research, Tips

It‘s almost funny that the single word pain is supposed to mean all of the different sensations you feel when you live with a chronic pain condition. The numbering system out of 10 doesn’t capture chronic pain very well. Are we adding all the pains up and finding an average, or talking about one painful area at a time?. Beyond the intensity of pain, what about the quality of the pain? Often, I find it hard to describe in words how different ‘pains’ physically feel, especially to someone who does not have chronic pain. Sometimes a metaphorical image captures it best. Images can elicit a very physical response, bypassing the analytical parts of your brain. If I describe the sensation of a dentist drill, whirring away, drilling a hole deep…

22Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

From Pain to Painless: Resonant Botanicals Lotions Review

Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Tips

I’m excited to share my experiences trying Resonant Botanicals pain relief lotions, including Painless X, Neuro-Soothe and Calm Day, which they were kind enough to provide free samples of for this product review. I’m even more excited to announce my first giveaway! Read on to find out how you can enter. Although the products were a gift, all opinions in this review are my own, and I was in no way influenced by the company. This post contains affiliate links which help support the blog. As it happened, I was experiencing a severe muscle spasm on the day that the Resonant Botanicals creams were delivered (a crick in my neck, caused by an irritated radial nerve, which made the muscles in my neck and upper back seize up). Since I…

22Feb 2021 by chronicwoman No Comments

Empowering People Living With Chronic Pain Through Pain-Neuroscience Education

Chronic Illness, Fibromyalgia, Medication, Tips

Chronic pain affects a vast proportion of the population. A 2019 study from the Journal of Pain states that, “Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) affects about 20% of the population in western countries, causing suffering, disability, and a significant loss of quality of life”. Not only does chronic pain affect many people’s lives, it also takes up a great deal of health resources and accounts for many people being out of work. For a long time, those with chronic pain have received little in the way of effective treatment options. Thankfully, the face of modern day pain treatment is changing. Pain-neuroscience education (PNE) has become a cornerstone of chronic pain treatment. Understanding the science of chronic pain can be a powerful tool to empower people in pain to retrain their brain…