Hello, Luna....I'm so sorry things have gotten worse for you. I hope you'll have an open mind about antidepressants. I say this because the chemical serotonin helps not only with depression, but lots of other problems.

For instance, the perception of pain, sleep, anxiety, which I would think would include OCD. In fact, I had a friend, whose child had OCD, and they were given Zoloft' which helped her a good deal.

I fought trying an AD for a long time, until a friend set me straight. Plus my doctor said it was a chemical imbalance causing It. So they are helpful for so many things besides depression.

I just hope you'll be open about it, if the doctor suggests it. You could always try it, and stop if it doesn't help you.

Take care and let us know, ok?

Hey Luna, I am not in the UK, but wanted to chime in and say hi. Anxiety can make your life horrible, I have GAD and use too much of my life obsessing over ppl, random stuff.

The docs that I have seen all tend to know that many of us with fibro have anxiety, depression or other comorbid issues. Anti's can help us just be able to relax and deal with the pain.

I am to the point where I just have to do what is best for me. If you need help, please reach out and get it. I still have some bad days, but being on my anti meds make me calmer, less worry and I can live without constand focus on pain. ((((((hugs)))))))

Luna, I'm sorry that you are dealing with all of these issues. Anxiety is terrible all by itself without anything else.

I think that you are not understanding an important part of effectively treating Fibromyalgia. Only certain classes of prescribed medications are effective for treating Fibromyalgia and the pain associated with it. The class of prescribed medication found to be most effective are, in fact, antidepressants. It is irrelevant if you are depressed although that does seem to be common.

The doctors were completely correct in their suggestions. It is unfortunate that they did not explain to you why they were suggesting an antidepressant.

I'd like to suggest that you purchase a copy of the book "Fibromyalgia for Dummies." This is a favorite among a lot of our members. You should be able to find it on Amazon. It will give you a good understanding of this complex illness and how to manage it. Take care.

This is all very new to me so I don't know much, but I was put on the antidepressant named Anitriptyline. I was told that for me, it was for 2 reasons. 1- for sleep, and 2- antidepressants work in a way that they can help to reduce pain. I don't know if it's working yet for pain since it has only been 1 wk. I would give it a try.

hi im with the others if you have not tried anti depressants because of the stigma attached i totally understand but they do play a part in treatment whether we like it or not and as previously mentioned if they do nothing you dont have to stay on them but i would agree to give it a go i hate being on so much medicine but the alternative is worse i get dreadful anxiety too it is all so tangled the connection between mind and body why cant you change docs when i lived in uk you could change have they changed their rules in NZ we have pain clinics attached to the hospital might be worth asking if there is something like that available :)

Hi Luna
Like the others have said. Antidepressant is not necessarily prescribed for depression.
There are drugs with multi purpose use. Look at aspirin originally an anti inflammatory for pain and headaches but now it's commonly used for cardiovascular health too.
Birth control pill is often prescribed to women for women's health issues such as heavy painful menstrual cycle or painful cysts etc and not for birth control.
There's other ones too I can't think of but sometimes these things are discovered accidently, not necessarily through research.
Eg. Someone is prescribed a drug for a certain ailment and they notice that another ailment they were suffering with is also improving.
Ta da!

I hope you get the help you need and things improve for you.
I'm not pushing anti depressant but it wouldn't hurt to give it a try. Maybe give it a trial run. A few months.

All the best to you.