fibro leg and back pain

Lady Gaga has just had to cancel a tour due to fibromyalgia. I believe she’s made a documentary about it. As she has access to different treatments and therapies it might be worth watching to see what helps her.

Hope your pain eases.

Turmeric in capsule form and apple cider vinegar

We are all so very different and what works for one may not work for another. I have something similar to you and I think that the weather makes a huge difference, cold and wet conditions worsen things and warm sunny weather is a real blessing. I use a Tens machine, have regular massage and acupuncture, use essential oils, minerals and vitamin D, have been cutting out grains in my diet and I also take Cocodamol particularly at night. I am thinking about trying ultrasound therapy which I have beeen reading up on in. A friend has suggested trying treatment sessions in a hyperbaric chamber so I am looking into that too. On reading this back it sounds totally self absorbed but some conditions are particilarly miserable and you really need to try various things to work it out for yourself - hope you start to feel better and more in control soon.

just an update to original post in case it might help someone else. It now seems after having a massage from a very experienced lady that the leg pain is nothing to do with fibro and instead sciatica caused by an inflamed piriformis muscle pinching the sciatic nerve. I thought sciatica only went down back of leg but seems it can do sides as well. I think it will now be sorted although very painful when being massaged - think old western films when the injured cowboy bit on leather after drinking a bottle of whisky - sadly neither were offered!

hi gillybob (love the name I call my daughter this) does it hurt as I had thought TENS sort of caused muscle spasms and at the moment it feels rather like a lemon squeezer being used on the muscles. Sorry you have problems too.

Hi canarygirl I use a TENS machine for leg pain due to MS . I don’t know how I would manage without it . I’ve also used it on my back too.

hi paddyann sorry not to have replied sooner. Yes will def agree about winter being worse although any weather change seems to annoy it. I have looked around a bit on internet and think I am going to try a bio magnetic belt to see if that will help which is similar to the item your dd had. I do hope she will find something to help her soon

you need one every 30 days ,it is attached to your back by tape ,though I think there is a wrap thing now available for them too.It gets brilliant reviews for pain relief .It stays on all the time ,it was the best thing we found over the past couple of years .She had a measure of success with chinese acupuncture too,but again that only helped for a limited time .The other thing is her symptoms always get worse in winter ,might that be a factor foor you?

canaryg I definitely believe I coped better with fibro when I worked. It gave me a structure and plenty to occupy my head. If you’ve had flu it’s totally understandable you are noticing the fibro pain more. I’m sure you know this but it can take far longer to recover from things as well, somoarince needed. All backs are different but mine certainly lets me know it dislikes inactivity, lying or sitting down for a long period has it objecting. Maybe forget the water . I suspect being kind to yourself is the best message just now. Look after yourself and don’t push too hard. Time to get better from the flu, so please try not to worry too much about what might be.

cornergran thank you for your suggestions also, I expect mindfulness would be a sensible thing to consider since spend most of my time waiting for the next crisis to arrive - very overactive imagination! Am terrified of water after near drowning as a child so might need to think about that one for a while. Expect could do with returning to work was so busy then that none of this seemed half as much of a problem

thank you for replies - will look into actipatch have never seen that before. Is only one purchase required or did your daughter require several before it stopped working.I am so sorry she is so unwell, I guess she has tried lyrica - it works amazingly well at controlling pain and would be esxcellent if it happens to agree with you. I already take magnesium and vit D as lack of that can cause muscle pain also. I guess just recovering from flu is making pain worse at present.

I take Magnesium, paracetamol, diclofenac daily. I also have Tramadol to take when things get worse. I'm sure the magnesium helps.

try Acti Patch ,from the chemist or online.You wear it 24/7 and it really helped my daughter who has Fibro.Though sadly the effects wore off after a few months .A few months relief is better than none thoughand it might work longer for you .I think its around£20 .I hope you find something that helps ,my daughter is now confined to bed most of the time and doctors just keep adding to medication which I dont think is helping .Google ActiPatch and see the reviews for yourself

Hello canaryg, fibro is certainly a right royal pain in the rear, I’m sorry you’re struggling. It’s so individual, isn’t it? I can only say that for me the best thing was referral to a pain clinic, yes, advice on medication but also access to a specialist physio and things like acupuncture. Mindfulness and pacing help me cope. When I had access to one a hydrotherapy pool helped a lot. If I’m honest medication hasn’t been a huge help, the side effects just not worth it and I take little now, mainly ibuprofen and paracetamol . I’m sorry if you’ve tried all the things I mentioned and found them unhelpful. So sorry, I can’t offer a magic bullet but I certainly understand the desire for one. Hang on in there, there are several GN members with fibro, someone who can be more helpful will be along soon I’m sure.