Do you have a "quick-fix" mentality? Are you seeking that one drug, that one supplement, that one elusive anything that will be the perfect treatment?
I recently read this in About.com's Calorie Count newsletter:
"The quick-fix mentality, also known as the magic-pill mentality, is that people think that most things can be solved quickly and easily if you just find the right solution. This is mostly because of contemporary marketing that always points towards the quick-fix or instant gratification that only that product can serve."
The Internet is full of quick-fix claims for supposed treatments and cures for fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. The problem is, most of us need more than one treatment to make improvements in how we feel and function, and the quest for a single 100% effective treatment can keep you from utilizing several things that might each make a 10% difference.
A survey recently published in Arthritis and Rheumatism shows what many of us already know - it takes multiple treatments to make us feel much better.
The key to finding what works for you is first accepting that there's not a quick fix or a magic pill. Then, you have to experiment with different treatments - meds, supplements, complementary/alternative medicine - and lifestyle changes. You can start exploring all of these options here:
Treating/Managing Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
I use a bunch of different things: numerous supplements, prescription drugs, moderate exercise, nutrition, acupuncture, massage, stress management, pacing.... All of that adds up, and all together the regimen is about 80-95% effective.
How many different treatments do you use? What are they? How effective are they? Help us all learn by leaving a comment below!
Suggested Reading:
- Acceptance: How It Can Help You Live With Fibromyalgia
- Pacing 101: Be More Productive With Fewer Consequences
- Symptom Journals: How They Can Help Guide Your Treatment Regimen
Photo © Medioimages/Photodisc/Getty Images
I have tried MANY pills and practices to manage my fibromyalgia, and most have not worked. Currently, I take Lyrica,Requip, Cymbalta, Tramadol, and Ritalin, plus a multi-vitamin and an herbal supplement called Triphala Gold (for chronic constipation). The first four meds relieve about 75% of my pain, most of the time. The Ritalin is a last-chance effort to relieve my severe fatigue. (Provigil did not work. Neither did med to improve thyroid function.) I don’t think the Ritalin helps much, and it’s the fatigue, not the pain, that dominates my life. Any ideas?
I’ve found that 2000 mg of Vitamin C definitely helps, a does moderate, regular exercise – and always making sure to get enough sleep. Ambien is very helpful for getting sound sleep.
After 23 years of not being so good at pacing I can say I no longer take anything. Rode my bike hard last week and of course now I am paying for it. Very frustrating…..Age 51 here….got sick after visiting Tahoe in 1986. Worked in an office for ten years thereafter and from home part time since then.
I have had fibromyalgia symptoms for the last fourteen years and when finally diagnosed after 6 years, I stopped thinking I was wonder woman and should soldier on. Diet changes, Vitamin B shots, massage, reiki and plain stubborness kept me at work through the worst of it. Add in menopause and you know that God isn’t a woman! Last year I started a course of Effexor, an anti-depressant and this has been most effective in reducing the overwhleming sense of helplessness in the face of symptoms that no-one can see and most people don’t really believe in. My experience is that emotional stress is the most significant trigger in exaccerbating the level of pain and fatigue I feel. With that under better control I can manage the other symtoms and continue to work and enjoy my family and garden. GeriG/Australia
I am a skeptical person, and even though all of the following was suggested by research, any placebo effect I could actually muster would be gone by now if these didn’t work. They really do work, at least for me.
1) 45-50mg of Dark chocolate (with peanut butter for some protein and possibly to counter mild anti-immune effects of caffeine?), as per the research. This really has a great effect for me (mental energy, not physical), and the caffeine is not too much to interfere with my sleep (any more is, as I am sensitive to caffeine). This is a necessary part of my routine if I want to work!
2) Vitamin B12 in liquid form. I take a fairly high amount (GNC’s serving is 16,666% RDA!, though I take a little less, again to avoid acne), and this has been critical for me in mental endurance (I am a programmer).
3) Enada, 2.5mg was best (any more gives acne); overcomes mental fog, similar to dark chocolate, it kind of turns on a light bulb which dispels the mental fog quite a bit.
4) DHA (Omega-3 fish oil) is hard-to-believe awesome for working memory, though I need to drink it with a good amount of water (dehydrating), especially if I use it regularly. Can make my mind race almost too much, making me full of ideas and energy to achieve them (not irrationally manic, but full of mental energy like that). A good aspect of this is that there is no problem with taking it daily–too much of it doesn’t negate the effect or cause other problems, except for the dehydration (though probably not good to strain the kidneys too much if it really makes you thirsty having it every day).
5) Vitamin B6 has dramatically helped my naturally poor short-term memory in the past, but it has the opposite effect on memory when taken too frequently/too high a dose (also have to make sure it is not added to other supplements one is taking), so I haven’t really found an optimal solution to take this regularly.
One more thing…
Sunshine.
Our ancestors spent much of their time with little clothing, so it is natural that we have adapted to benefit from it. If you have the means at all, moving to a warmer climate has been a God-send for me and one I really wonder why I hadn’t done earlier. Elevates the mood and energy, and makes it less necessary to get out all the time (as we know is hard), if your window or balcony lets in a lot of light.
Sorry Brett, but have tried everything I just do not believe that any of your proposed treatments work.
No one here mentions Lyrica, the first FDA
approved drug for fibromyalgia, nor Cymbalta,
the second. Why is that?
Each day seems harder and harder to get through and the fatique seems to be the worst of it. I am currently taking Effexor, Ultram, Flexeril, Provigil, Omeprazole (acid reflux), Xanax, Naprosyn and Elavil. Between these meds I can manage the pain and inflammation I feel. On the other hand the fatigue is the part that is the hardest for me to deal with. Most of the time I feel like I must have Narcolepsy because I have so much trouble staying awake, even with the Provigil.
Each day seems harder and harder to get through and the fatique seems to be the worst of it. I am currently taking Effexor, Ultram, Flexeril, Provigil, Omeprazole (acid reflux), Xanax, Naprosyn and Elavil. Between these meds I can manage the pain and inflammation I feel. On the other hand the fatigue is the part that is the hardest for me to deal with. Most of the time I feel like I must have Narcolepsy because I have so much trouble staying awake, even with the Provigil. At this point I don’t have the solution to living with Fibro I’m taking it a day at a time. I don’t have the energy to worry about any more than that.
I have been on Lyrica (which did work, but left me unable to think and left me listless), Cymbalta (worked but made me feel more depressed), Effexor (seizure activity(, Neurontin (stayed nauseaous), Ultram (stopped working)…so i’m now off of everything too. All of these medications caused side-effects that were worse than the illness in the long run. I have found nothing that has worked, short of staying dependent upon pain medication that would need to be continuously increased. FMS and CFS are not new illnesses…they have been around for decades. We have yet to see progress beyond treating the symptoms. I have had this for over 40 yrs. now…I’m quite frustrated.
George, they may not work for everyone, but they help me. There is nothing near any kind of real remedy, especially for the post-exertional malaise.
I am currently taking Provigil, Paracetamol and Diclofenac potassium. I stil have pain, but mentally im pretty well functioning.
I would have taken stronger pain killers, but i would be more tired.
I cant make the pain go more, else I would probably be more tired from the painkillers
I was hoping Cymbalta would be my “miracle pill.” It made me sooooo fatigued…like nothing I’ve ever felt just from the fibro pain. I took it for a month and then told my doctor there was no way I was continuing. I take hydrocodone and at night I take Ambien. Nothing takes the pain away completely, but at least I can function most days now.