Take it one day at a time.... hot baths, hot / cool packs on your painful areas, hot baths soaks, use distractions, Netflix binge, funny movies / shows, read pleasant story books, play a musical instrument, listen to music, snuggle with the cats, ask hubby to massage me, get up and walk around the house every few hours, play a board game, .....
Btw, pain killers don't help my fibro pain either. That's not that uncommon, I hate to say. I hope your flare passes quickly!

I think Blue had a lot of great ideas. What has helped me most is reading scripture and finding something else to keep my focus on. I also have to use heating pads a lot to calm my nerve and muscle pain. A lot of fibro people deal with neuropathy type pain, and many are diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy. Pain meds will not help with this kind of pain.

Another big help for me is the natural herb ashwagandha. I use Douglas Labs, no side effects at all.

I'm sorry the pain is driving you crazy and that you have to deal with your brothers problems. I really hope you find some help.

Thank you both,

twuinmomab...can you tell me more about ashwagandha and what it does for you? I am curious...

Feeling better thanks for the support. Sometimes I feel so alone and I have ever few people I feel comfortable telling about my pain so I send a lot of time pretending I am ok when I am not. I am sure you know all about it... xo

The herb is actually for anxiety which I think helps me big time b/c my anxiety is through the roof when my pain is up. It really keeps it down so I can manage it better, but I don't always manage it perfectly. I think it just helps with that fight or flight response our bodies stay in so we can cope better. There are a few others on here that like it too, it's worth a shot, no side effects and cant' hurt you.

I understand the loneliness, I'm feeling it bad yesterday and today. I just told my husband this morning I spent all weekend pretending to be okay when I feel like dying, I'd like to see him try that every day of his life. It's exhausting. Hugs

Sometimes I wish the people around me could live in my body for a few minutes so they would believe me. I wonder what their reaction would be? I don't want them to suffer, just want them to understand that I am really doing a great job of keeping it together. Does your husband understand? Does he believe you? I hardly tell anyone. I can't bare the disbelieving looks. There are hundreds and thousands, maybe millions of us suffering from fybro, chronic fatigue, ME and most people (including doctors) think it is in our heads. I would just like SOMEONE in the medical field to figure out why so many people have this crazy pain.
Thanks for the advice about the herbs. It is nice to communicate with people who get it...xo

Khadi,

From your description of your pain-free dream, I'm thinking hypnosis may help.

Have you tried it? It works with me with anxiety. Last year, gabapentin gave me such scary anxiety that the only thing that worked was hypnosis therapy with a hypno-therapist. After about 2 weeks, it worked!

With hypnosis/visualization, I am in a different "place". And somehow, it resets my neuro-circuitry. So when you said in your particular dream,you were pain-free, you were at a "different place".

Did you get the Doidge books yet? According to neuroplasticity, the longer you are in pain or anxiety, the more ingrained these pain paths are. One must "reset" the brain circuitry, so to speak. Hypnosis breaks this circuitry; even for a 15 minute session, it weakens these pathways. The more that these pain paths are disrupted, the weaker they become.

My hypno-therapist let me record the sessions, so that I can replay them whenever I want. Many times, I could use these tapes instead of grabbing a pill.

This is all very good information! Thank you so much achy!! I really resent having to spend my time doing all this research and trying to heal myself but what are my options? Thanks so much for your "leads." For now I am going to try and get some sleep...you are a great diagnostician. Better than any I have seen!! xo