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[jfer]

Hello all, I'm not to this forum and thankful to have found you as I need some answers. I've had a moderate version of fibro for about 10-15 years but it has been getting so much worse lately. I'm struggling to get through my work days. My first question is, does the medication provide relief? If yes, what have you found is best for you? Also, does Fibro get worse with age? I'm in the late stages of perimenopause and wondering if hormone changes are to blame.

 

[Auriel]

Hi jfer, welcome to our forum , I take gabapentin, (it works for me
to an extent) it has really drowsy side effects and will make you sleep (but I find the pain relief momentary) there're some ladies on the forum experiencing perimenopause so they'll probably best be able to let you know. As for fibro getting worse with age, I'm not sure that it's an age worsening condition (there may be other conditions that might have a knock on effect like arthritis that could effect it) I've not found anything that indicates a worsening with age, anyway, again, welcome, I'm sure you'll have more replies soon

 

[jfer]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! Much appreciate.

 

[SBee]

Hi @jfer and welcome from me too. I have to agree with you on this, I am pretty certain perimenopause and the ( for me incredibly severe ) symptoms have triggered the worsening fibromyalgia and also inflammatory arthritis symptoms. Prior to being diagnosed with fibro a GP did actually suggest hormonal changes had triggered chronic fatigue syndrome which i had some 30 years previously. This was later changed to a fibro diagnosis.

From a medical point of view this seems so varied from one person to another. Looking at the peri and fibro sides of my health only, i have been on a high strength hrt for about 2 years now and have recently begun to try Amitriptyline for the fibro nerve pain. It really is unfortunately trial and error as to what med or combination of meds work well, slightly or not at all!

Do take a good look around the threads as there are so many non medical ways we can try for ourselves too.

 

[jfer]

Thank you SBee! I will do some looking!

 

[sunkacola]

Hello all, I'm not to this forum and thankful to have found you as I need some answers. I've had a moderate version of fibro for about 10-15 years but it has been getting so much worse lately. I'm struggling to get through my work days. My first question is, does the medication provide relief? If yes, what have you found is best for you? Also, does Fibro get worse with age? I'm in the late stages of perimenopause and wondering if hormone changes are to blame.

You ask if medication helps. Well, that's not a question that has a simple answer! SOME medications help SOME people. Other medications help other people. Some medications make life worse for some people, others have terrible side effects for some people but do absolutely nothing for other people. Some medications cause some people gain weight, but cause other people to lose weight.

You can ask us, and we can tell you our experiences with various medications if you want us to. But it won't help you to decide what medications to take or not take.

The only thing you can do is try them out for yourself. Trial and error, experimentation is the only way to discover what might work for you. And keep in mind that sometimes a medication will work for you, but then stop working after three or six months, or you might develop side effects.

Getting older and going through menopause can exacerbate fibro symptoms. But anything that gets worse due to menopause may get better once that period of time is through, and getting regular exercise, eating only healthy food, and taking care of yourself will go a very long way towards getting through that time.

And you can also explore all kinds of non-medical approaches to managing fibromyalgia, and I recommend that you do.

 

[jfer]

Great advice Sunkacola. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

 

[Auriel]

You're welcome jfr,
(not sure if it helped any) if you'd like to know of our experiences with certain trial and errors just let us know, (I wouldn't want to put you off though).
There's one in particular had scary side effects for me but another finds no issues (and finds it to be good) but your taking an interest for a reason (and that reason is ( and I think we can ALL agree) that fibro's a pain (literally and in EVERY sense) and you want some reprieve, (and i do hope you find that)anyway blessings, bye for now

 

[SBee]

Oh and @jfer I forgot to say if you have any further questions or thoughts about the fun of fibro and hormones mix then do ask, if I can help at all I will, I've had to learn a lot these past couple of years- all forum members of course are wanting to help

 

[Borzov1982]

Hello. In my case, duloxetine helped me, I started treatment with this drug three months after the bright debut of fibromyalgia. By that time, I had clearly developed hyperalgesia and alodynia. Improvements occurred within a few weeks, after 1-1.5 months I was 80% back to normal. After 4 months, I started swimming in the sea, after another 2 months I started going to massage and working with dumbbells, at the same time I started going to the pool. After 2.5 years, I feel like before the disease and even better because now I understand that before the onset of fibromyalgia, I had dysthymia and increased sensitivity to external stimuli, especially to sounds. I have not been taking duloxetine since April 2024, but I continue to take 15 mirtazapine before bed, sometimes 25-50 mg. quetiapine, but rarely. Gabapentin did not help me at all.

 

[sunkacola]

Glad to hear that duloxetine helps you. That's good information for people to have. I think if a person has never tried it, it's something worth trying.

For me, duloxetine was a total nightmare. At first it didn't help, so the dosage was increased, and that's when the side effects started. It was unbearable: horrible red welts appeared all over my scalp, down my neck, onto my back, and they itched worse than anything has ever itched before in my life, including when I have had hives. After I stopped taking the duloxetine they started to go away, but it took three months for the welts to all be gone and the itching to stop entirely. One of the worst side effects I have ever had with a medication.

So.....again, it's very frustrating but very true that what helps one person can be another person's nightmare, or doesn't have any effect at all.

I so wish there were something I could tell people to do or medication to try that would help everyone, or even most people. But all you can do is try things and find out.

 

[Borzov1982]

I am sorry that duloxetine did not suit you because of the side effects, in addition, an allergic reaction in the form of a rash with blisters requires immediate discontinuation of the drug, because such a reaction can result in malignant erythema, and this is a serious threat to life. I understand what it is like, once I was prescribed the antibiotic ofloxacin, it started itching my scalp, wet crusts began to appear on the skin, then on the face. The doctor said that the drug should be discontinued immediately because it is very dangerous.
The main side effect of duloxetine for me was constipation, but from a dose of 60 mg. and this was accompanied by problems that accompany intestinal constipation, and with a dose of 30 mg. these problems were almost absent.
Have you tried taking the drugs recommended for the treatment of F. - venflaxine, milnacipran?

 

[sunkacola]

Have you tried taking the drugs recommended for the treatment of F. - venflaxine, milnacipran?

Those are SSRIs, what are not often effective for people with serious pain. I have tried other SSRIs and they make me feel like a zombie and do nothing for the pain, so I am not going to keep trying serotonin reuptake inhibitors..