What 'treatment' am I on?

So if you've read the about page you know how this started.
For a while I was on steroids things were that bad, then we had a few false starts - some things either made me feel worse or did nothing at all. Then when you find something that seems a fit, it can take a while for it to start to work. The gabapentin took about 3 months to become as effective as it is now.
Then things nose dived again and we had to start adding more...then after we discovered why an NSAID was helping (I had an evil gallblader.) I was able to drop the horrid diclafenac. Hurrah!

Sandra's pills...

Prescription meds

  • Gabapentin - epilepsy drug that blocks brain signals
  • Cocodamol - paracetamol and codeine. 
  • Tramadol - synthetic analgesic
  • Fluoxetine - selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, SSRI. An antidepressant that increases the levels of serotonin in the brain, something we fibro peeps don't have enough of.
  • Docusate - to, ahem, counteract one of the main side effects of pain meds, namely constipation.

Natural remedies

  • Evening primrose oil
  • magnesium
  • vitamin D
  • iron
  • zinc
  • sour cherry juice
  • lots of water
  • no animal milk
  • coconut water
  • low sugar diet
  • no artificial sweeteners or hydrogenated fats etc. - basically a diet as organic as possible with as few ingredients in processed foods as possible. 
The Pain Management Programme that AK and I did at the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neuro Surgery, uses many NLP techniques to help you to deal with the psychological impacts of living with pain and the secondary pains that stem from the primnary cause/s. Ask your GP if there's a similar programme near you and if not get you a place at one of the National ones. The Walton Centre have accommodation available and take patients from around the country. 

Other sources of information

The charity Fibro Action do a fact sheet detailing some of the most widely used treatments. 
The charity Fibromyalgia Association UK has lots of information, including a pack that can be sent to GPs etc. I really recommend that you spend some time on this site and the Fibro Action one.
There's a website called UK Fibromyalgia which publishes a monthly magazine called FaMily and does it's best to round up all available information including the collation of support group locations.

Social Networking...

It may sound crazy to you but you REALLY need a support network and the internet can provide that. I have no idea how folks with chronic illness coped before the net, it must have been so isolating...
There are forums connected to the two UK charities mentioned above which would be a great start, also consider;

Twitter

Do a hashtag search for the words #fibro, #spoonie etc to find other folks to follow and share experiences with. My spoonie list is called Chronic Comforts, you could start there and investigate other Spoonie's lists. 
I'm @sand625 on Twitter, but I warn you, I tweet mostly art related stuff.

Facebook

Yes, I'm pretty anti-facebook too but it can be a useful support tool. If you don't already have an account you can set one up with the minimum of personal information and make sure your security settings are tight. 
Once you're on there, do a search for Fibromyalgia and lurk around until you find a place that seems right for you. Usually online FB folks are lovely and supportive.

Try these groups;