Hope everyone is having a fluffy cloud day instead of a pain on the coach day. I did not post yesterday due to loads of errands, which lead to loads of fibromyalgia exhaustion and pain. Barely got home before I fell asleep at 7:30pm. Woke up at 12pm today. The last month I have had to take over every chore for a two person household. I have been experiencing flare-ups twice a week and an all time high of anxiety, depression and irritation. It has been one of those gifts that we don’t ask for, but, we find at the end of the our ropes. More another time.
Today, I wanted to discuss medications again. When I was diagnosed medications like Cymbalta were not created yet. I posted earlier about how I fought to not start on the path of pain meds. Not being able to take the screaming pain any longer, I gave in after a year. I now manage my pain with a combination of pain meds, patch, exercise, change in my activities of daily living (ADL’s), and stress reducers like mindful actions and meditation.The trend has drastically changed to using FDA approved medications like Cymbalta.
I have tried other Serotonin and Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors; Buspar and Nortriptyline. Also, tried Cymbalta for about a month. All had the same side effects on my mind and body. My mind felt stuffed up with cotton and I grappled with finding the right words/thoughts. My body moved like I was drunk. Needless to say, I am not a fan of taking something for depression when I experience these symptoms. *I personally feel strongly that while depression is a component of having constant pain, we are not depressed!
Cymbalta was created for depression. It was tested for pain and is now widely prescribed for chronic pain suffers. The link I am posting today is both research and comments by fibromyalgia peers about using it. The comments are mostly slanted against using it. I want to be fair in my blog, thus if you use it and it assists you with your pain, I give you a big “YEAH”. The one issue I kept stressing throughout my blog is that we are all unique individuals with unique needs. That includes what medications, or no medications, work best for you.
My next post will focus on many fibromyalgia peers who focus on newer research, showing that there are important other factors needed to help decrease our pain.
**If you are depressed, please seek help from a professional right away, this blog is not for addressing serious depression and the author is not capable of giving medical advice for this or any other mental/physical needs; it is a blog about my experiences, my opinions, my links to other blogs that I feel may assist other fibromyalgia survivors to live Well.