Hi, I wanted to address the pain issue but also a few things that you might be able to do to feel in control. I do have experience with pain issues, not just myself but my mom has fibromyalgia and my aunt has severe back pain from scoliosis surgery that she had as a kid.

First, have you gone to a naturopath? There are a lot of natural treatments, including types of pain management massage and chiropractic, acupuncture (didn't work for my pain but works wonders for others) dietary changes (ruling out food sensitivities that could be contributing to flaring and eating a clean organic diet), types of movement that can be healing, etc. If you have specific spots of particular pain, a good osteopath may be able to do cortisone or other pain management injections (there are natural ones, not just cortisone) I have major hip and lower back issues that were finally helped tremendously with one particular massage therapist who specialized in pain management. The massages were super painful but man, they helped! My aunt found relief from about 50% of her severe back pain related to her childhood severe scoliosis and scoliosis surgery just by taking off her excess weight and starting a walking program.

Second, things like gabapentin and amitryptiline help with nerve pain and amitryptiline helps specifically with fibromyalgia pain. Do you have a pain management specialist?

I honestly feel like anybody in chronic pain will struggle with anxiety and depression, so I think finding effective treatments is a critical first step here. Just treating the anxiety and depression won't sufficiently help if you are still in severe pain, in my opinion.

BTW, this is random, but recently I had to start taking my gabapentin again for the side effect of drowsiness to deal with some severe insomnia and found that it helped my mood (this is an off-label use; it is actually intended for nerve pain, epileptic management, etc) so something like that might help you to both ends. :-)

Good luck!

For mood management, there's also a supplement called sam-E, but not to be taken if any chance of bipolar disorder.....I see a chiropractor for severe back pain, so I think kaylee has a point. I've never tried massage because I have issues with being touched, but it does sound like an idea worth trying once I get over those issues. I also used to see another chiropractor who did muscle testing to figure out what food sensitivities I had, he was very helpful; only had to follow special diet for 25 hours, then could resume normal eating; however, the special diet would cause withdrawal from allergen and give migraines, so make sure that's what you're willing to do if you try this. I hope you can find medicine to help both w/ anxiety and fibro. Have you tried valerian root, it's supposed to be calming, though it can interact w/ some meds. Good luck, hope you get some relief soon.

Three things I will add to this. I had to go off gabapentin and on to oxycarbazepine to get my anxiety and depression to lessen.

With fibromyalgia, you have to move. I know, that first motion can be a humdinger. I do a set of four exercises given to me to reduce the fibromyalgia symptoms from a physical therapist who tried the usual therapies with me with less than positive results. I saw a fibromyalgia specialist who explained the way the pain travels will give me my starting point and just as important, my stopping point. Knowing how the pain affects my well-being, gave me the determination to choose to move.

Yes, the pain is unbearable, for about a minute and half, until I breathe through the anxiety of the pain. After that, it slowly disappears. When I use motions like I'm in water, slow and gentle, I can often release the stuck part easily. A few times of practice with the four exercises, makes the difference as the muscles gain strength which lessens the pain level as well.

I keep a journal with a stick figure to help me figure out the pattern of thought, pain, and what I can do to improve it. Staying hydrated, taking time to rest, pause, when I feel anxiety overwhelming, and doing my exercises diligently allows me to enjoy the grandchildren much more. Recently, without noticing, I was on the floor playing with the grandchildren and got up without any pain. I was so proud of myself, because I had been so afraid that the pain would never disappear.

You're not alone in this. Get up slowly, move yourself gently, and keep at it til you find what works to allow you to keep moving. Hubby was having a difficult time, and my therapy treatment was shown to him as my caregiver, and he does them as well, they are effective.

The shakes, the sweat and other symptoms are related to age menopause (this is different from hormone menopause) and can be treated naturally. Exercise is any range of motion that moves your body. So walking will give you courage, strength, and ability to move more.

Know we support you!