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Charlene K, I am so glad Savella is working so well for you. I hope it continues long term. I tried Savella for 3 days and got the shakes because I take Zoloft as well. Have you noticed any reduction of anxiety or depression?(if you have that challenge) I would be afraid of going off my Zoloft otherwise. My new muscle relaxer seems to help. Like you, I'm hoping the effects don't wear off. Hang in there everyone. Tina

I picked up my two new perscriptions today. One is Robaxin, a muscle relaxer which does not cause drowsiness. I'm rather excited about it. I'm suposed to take it morning and afternoon with the rest of my meds. In the past if I was having an awful day all I could do was take my other meds early, which often left me in trouble in the evening. I've tried one today and it seems to help. I'll let you know how it is long term. Tina

Dancingbutterfly, I can't imagine having fibro for 15 yrs and not going to a doc for help. I've had it for avout 13 yrs. I think fibro is now accepted as a disease. However, I do have friends and relatives who do not like to go to a doctor. It's just an individual preference. I went to a pain doc for the first time. I've been trying to find a new doc to help with my fibro since moving one and a half years ago. This is my first time to use a pain doc. He said fibro is muscles spasoming constantly. I haven't heard about that theory. I guess that's why muscle relaxers and massage helps. Anyway, two new perscriptions and I have to go back every month for my hydrocodone perscriptions. I can live with that. Take care everyone. Tina

Hi, everyone. I've been out of town so it was great to see this thread is still going. I moved about a year and a half ago and am still searching for a doc who is comfortable working with my current meds. (I take 20 mgs of hydrocodone a day.) The first one I tried put me on Savella with my current meds. Three days later I had the shakes. It turns out you cannot take Zoloft with Savella. I stopped the Savella and haven't tried it again. I have an appt with a pain doc on Tues. I"m keeping my fingers crossed. The first doc is good for most things...just not fibromyalgia. Anyway, maybe a pain doc is what I need. Take care. I will let you know how it goes.

Hi, all. Well I've tried two rheumatologists and they both said go to a pain management center. Anyone been to one? Tina

Thanks, SpideyMom.

SpideyMom, I'm glad this thread was started too. I can see how fibro fog could affect your work if you were an editor. My fog just seems so much worse since I tried Savella. It could be I just need to try lowering my Lyrica a bit for a while. I'm glad to hear it is normal (whatever that is) to forget words. It seems lately I can barely hold a conversation. Maybe I'm just getting paranoid since we hear so much about dementia these days. I think I'll just relax and accept that it is normal for fibro. Take care. Tina

I didn't do well on Savella. I am still on Lyrica. When I added Savella I couldn't think at all. I took it for 3 days. I would take it in the morning. The day I stopped I had the shakes in the afternoon. It really scared me. I still can't remember things. Has anyone had this experience. Does fibro damage memory? Is there any permenent damage to memory from meds. I don't see my origional doc until January. I've tried the internet but I'm not very good at doing this...I'm still somewhat inexperienced with computers. I'm learning so I guess I'm not a hopeless case. Maybe I should call my pharmacy. Thanks for listening. I went on a short trip with a friend over the weekend and it really helped. I didn't realize I was so stressed until we left. I had very little trouble with fibro. We laughed so much I guess I realeased a lot of natural endorphines. Fun is nice. :thumbup: Tina

Renee607, I really hope you don't have to go that far. That was the 2nd time I had to have Fluid removed. It got to where even Water from taking my meds befor bed would come back up. I was beginning to be scared. The last time took care of the problem. I guess I will have to have some put back before the holidays. I have trouble staying away from Christmas goodies, Good luck. Tina

Has anyone had trouble with night time coughs? I wake up needing to cough. It seems something isn't closing so that the contents of my stomach is seeping into my lungs. Is this dangerous? I'm afraid I've been a failure with the band. I'm a sweet eater and sugar travels easily through the band very easily. Any information would be appreciated.

Spideymom, congratulations on being a cancer survivor. That takes a lot of determination. As I've mentioned before, I've tried about every med that has been suggested for fibro. Back in my younger days I would barely take an aspirin. After one daughter with autisim and seizures and another bipolar taking meds seems the norm. ) LaraineM, I think hydrocodone is wonderful to have when nothing else works. If the choice is to be rolling around on the floor in pain or hydrocodone I definitely vote hydrocodone. I do agree it is something I have to be very careful with. I am having trouble finding a doc who will work with me on this since moving about a year ago. Spideymom, I have an appt with a rheumatologist next month. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. LarraineM, I definitely believe in keeping moving as much as possible; preferably away from the house. Lisitening to a book on my Ipod also takes my mind off my pain on a bad day. Take care, everyone. Tina

Hi, Renee607. My night coughs were from me being too tight. The doc took some Fluid out and they went away. I was so nervous about it I asked him to take out a full 1 cc. That was a bit too much for me, but now I can eat again and take my meds. I was down to only eating ice cream with my meds mixed in after they had been crushed and sifted through a tea strainer. Sometimes it would go down and sometimes it would come back up. Was I nuts or what!! I kept thinking it would get better! Wrong. :wink2: I think when you have some fluid removed it will help. Take care. Tina

My insurance probably wouldn't cover massage either for fibro. If it did it wouldn't cover it long term. Has anyone tried hypnotherapy for fibro? I once read about a young man with cerebral palsy who used hypnosis for pain. It's an interesting thought.

I agree with you, onikenbai. A massage is great. If only it was a bit cheaper and the effects lasted longer. One pain specialist I went to after I hurt my back thought a hot shower was good. My mother, who also has fibro (do we see a pattern here?) loved a whirlpool bath. If I was rich I'd have a masseuse on call.

I went to my doc. He wanted to take out a half cc. I was so nervous that I asked him to take out one. In hindsight, I probably should have gone with a half. I was just so tired of coughing at night and having to crunch up all my meds to get them down. I did say to myself that if I got to a point where I could take my pills I would work harder with my band. I'm trying. I can take my meds and sleep without having night coughs now too. Hooray! Thanks everyone.

Hi, want_so_bad. I can identify with most things you mentioned. Bad moods? If you could ask my family they would definitely agree. :thumbup: These days if I say something snappy my dh will ask if I'm hurting. He's just asking if he should get out of the line of fire. "Yes. Good idea." I do feel bad when the sun is going down. I guess it's a change in the barametric pressure. I can also tell if a storm is within two days. We laugh that there is always a front somewhere in the world and I can feel most of them. I'm glad to hear your messages. I like a place I can vent too. I personally find fibro overwhelming at times as it is for most who have fibro. It's good to hear what other people are going through and how they deal with it. Take care. Tina

Hi, Lana24. I think there are many different things which docs can't figure out so it gets lumped with fibro. I know I was tested for quite a few things (lupus, lime disease, arthritis, and at the end reducing my Lipitor which did help). Most people with fibro can look back to a trama that triggered it. Mine was when I pulled a muscle in my back. It is my understanding that the brain is misinterpreting signals as pain even thoe there is no disease. The great thing is thankfully there is no disease tearing your body apart. The funny thing is it can be one leg one time, a shoulder another time and maybe both arms another time. The bad thing is it hurts like hell and is hard to treat. Over time I'm sure something will be developed to treat it. The sooner the better as far as I'm concerned. :smile:

Hi everyone. I have enjoyed reading your experiences. Lana24,artificial sweeteners have always made me feel bad. It's kind of hard to convince people that I cant eat or drink anything with artificial sweeteners. Especially since I am expected to avoid sugar since getting my lapband. I tried Savella for a few days. First I was agitated, then it was putting me to sleep, then I was getting to the point that I couldn't think properly. I had the shakes the day I stopped taking it. It should not have been addictive after only a few days.?? The only thing I could come up with was it was working with my Lyrica. I would be very interested to hear anyone elses experience. Want_so_bad, you will definitely know when a med is working because you (hopefully) will not hurt so bad. I hope you will have good luck with it. For now, I have an appt set up with a rheumatologist. Hopefully I've chosen wisely. I'm not sure the last internist I went to even believes fibro really exists. Oh well. I may try another internist. It will be my third.

I've tried Savella the last two days. It made me very irritable. I don't know if it helped the pain because I couldn't concentrate on anything. I have to agree, Onikenbai, fibro is a crap shoot. We moved a year ago and I'm still traveling the 300 miles to see my doctor. When I have visited docs in the area, the first thing they want to do is pull the hydrocodone. I take two 10mg a day. Mostly to help me sleep at night. Sometimes I take them earlier in the day if I can't function. I've probably been on the dose for close to 10 years. We went through about every med possible and over time found what would work pretty well. I would like to go to a doc and be asked what I thought would work and what I want to do. The last doc wanted me to go to a rheumatologist. I went to one 12 years ago when I found out I had it. They didn't seem appropriate for fibro. Where does everyone go? I'm not having luck finding an internal med doc. Does anyone use a pain clinic? What a frustrating mess...and propabaly not uncommon. Anyway, thanks for letting me rant. Take care everyone. Tina

I really appreciate all your responses. I finally admitted I had to do something. I have an appt Monday. I'll let you know how it goes. Tina

SpideyMom, how did losing weight help? Was it the meds are more helpful or maybe not having to carry the weight around? I didn't find the Cymbalta helpful and I have never tried Trazadone. The rest I also take along with Elavil. It's one strange disorder. :bored:

You might want to try Elavil. When I first started it I could tell when it would take effect. It was wonderful. As time went on I built up a resistence to it but it still helps. It might help to just take it when you are having a lot of problems and possibly avoiding a resistence. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a wimp. I do appreciate the times when all you feel like doing is rolling on the floor and moaning. For some people hot baths and showers help.

I have also found that gentle stretching helps. The stretching I used to do when I used to jog many many years ago is fairly short (about five or six) and gentle. One that is easily done is to bend over from the waist and let gravity stretch you out. After a minute or two I am already feeling better. I also have to say that my fibro continues to get a bit worse. Maybe we are also hit with many more stresses as we age with parents aging and our children's own stresses. (The sandwich generation. :mad2: I have had generally good results from meds and have found a very good accupuncterist.

Hi. I've had fibromyalgia for about 12 years. I've never tried Savella but I've tried quite a few other meds. Elavil really helped. It worked great in the beginning but I built a resistence to it over time. Lyrica helps some but it really messes with my memory. I use Zonaflex (muscle relaxer) to help me sleep. I take hydrocodone at night also to help me sleep. Therapeutic massage and accupuncture help. Accupuncture is a surprise since I'm afraid of needles, but they are small and don't really hurt much. Exercise helps by relaxing the body which also can help you sleep at night. Anyway, these are some things that I find helpful. Good luck. Tina

Hi Nancy. I can't seem to lose weight right now...but I haven't gained the next 70 lbs I probably would have gained by now. :thumbdown: I don't think our insurance would cover WLS but they said I would need to have the doc write for preapproval to see. If you don't mind me asking, how much does rls run? Thanks for sharing your experience. Tina