1. My friends that i would do stuff with now are ones that understand when i say it depends how i am feeling that day but i will make tentative plans with you and they tell me to let them know honestly if i am not up to it, i also no longer drive due to eye damage from topamax over two years ago. I don't have many friends anymore, they could not handle my chronic health and pain (i have a lot more than fibro there's many other chronic pain and health issues i have on top of it.) or they did not know how to talk to me after my husband died 5 years ago. For me, if someone doesn't care enough to understand what i am dealing with is debilitating at times then i don't need them as friends. It was painful to lose friends when they did not want to get it but it is in the long run best for me and i guess them. We normally do things at my apartment, the friends i do stuff with most is one who is a nurse at the ER who i went to high school with and she brings her 1 and 3 yr old boys to see me i LOVE this, if i am up to it i bake or make something for them, if not she will bring snacks with! If i am depressed she will come just to cheer me up! My other friend is a special ed teacher that has a co worker with fibro and other chronic pain and sees on a daily basis what it does. They also have no trouble driving if we go somewhere else and my friend with the two little boys will give me a ride if my parents cant for appointments. I have other friends but these are the two main ones i do anything with.

2. I have robaxin (muscle relaxer), Motrin 800mg, Oxycodone, and am on neurontin 600mg 3 times a day and 1200mg at night. BUT i have other pain issues than fibro as well so i am not sure what they give for only fibro? I do steroids at times the medrol dose pack it has less side effects than prednizone and is easier on me with my diabetes. My mom has fibro and chronic neck pain and is on Norco not oxy. I KNOW my Dr would not give me narcotics for my fibro its more for my back but on my bad days she said she understands if i take it for the combination getting to me.

1. I tell people that I can't, and they stop inviting, and that's just how it goes. Friends are the ones who don't bail when you've got problems, so... Yeah.

2. I get NSAIDs for this pain. And PRN muscle relaxant. There's a big danger with chronic muscle relaxant use --- some popular ones, like Flexeril, can encourage muscle tone to *deterioriate* even if you're trying to keep up with exercises (gentle ones, swim or yoga or so forth). ...

On your doctor: The opinions (and it's opinions) on the effect of chronic painkiller use in chronic pain differ. What painkiller? What is the source of the pain? What caused the pain? Is it neuromuscular, neurpathic,inflammation, etc.? If you can treat pain *cause*, great! If not, pain relief is sometimes necessary. OPiates are not always a great idea (addiction aside, liver damage is a big risk). We also have concerns with NSAIDs, etc., so you have to do risk-benefit analysis. ANd, of course, how do we know if long-term painkiller use *does* work on chronic pain, over th elong-term?

Well, I've been in pain for over 20 flipping years. Opiates gave temporary brief relief for a few hours a day, but no more; neuro drugs aren't possible b/c I have epilepsy; and NSAIDs are what we have left, and I still live in pain. So, yeah, I guess they're ineffective at *eliminating* pain, but they help *control* pain. If I can live at a 5 of 10 on the pain scale, instead of an 8? I call it a win.

Quality of life issue. Docs think in terms of lawsuits, side effects, and dogma. Pick a dogma, there's severla in the medical world, and pain control is one of the most divided areas from what I can tell. Consensus these days seems to be primarily ione of two options: MEDICATE or MEDITATE. I use both. Neither fixes the pain for long. And what Medication? Narcotics and NSAIDs are now evil b/c of (fill in blank). I do think narcotics should be as needed (PRN) only, simply due to the risks being rather more immediate than with NSAIDs, but that is my opinion.

All that to say, ask your doctor what he'd want if half his body felt like he'd been in a car accident --- every day for years. Rewiring our neurons or whatever they think is the "cause" of chronic pain this year? Not so simple. (I'm old enough to remember when chronic pain was obviously always psychological. Nope, it's spinal nerves! No, it's brain chemistry! No, it's ... your gut bacteria? Oy..) Mainly b/c causes vary. So treatments need to vary. They don't treat all cancers equally, with the same meds and so forth, so why do that with chronic pain?

I asked a doctor that quesiton. About 18 years ago. I'm still waiting for an answer.

Good luck. And pumap ower to you.

Your friends should be understanding that you have a chronic illness that can make it challenging to know in advance if you will be able to go out etc. It's a fact that you must deal with on a daily basis.

You need a different doctor. Opioids are the last resort when it comes trying to manage Fibromyalgia. Most people who have Fibromyalgia do not use opioids. There are plenty of other options. The three primary medications used are Cymbalta, Lyrica or Savella. Muscle relaxers are another option. You should also have a sleep study done. Fibromyalgia interrupts the deep sleep cycle with short bursts of high intensity brain activity. Your muscles need deep sleep in order to repair themselves from the days activities. No deep sleep means higher levels of pain. Identifying issues with your sleep may help reduce your pain levels.

Make no mistake that taking medication every day does not make you an addict. There is a big difference between needing medication to have a better quality of life and using it simply to get high etc. It can take a lot of tinkering to find the right combination of meds to make you comfortable. If your current doctor is not willing to work with you to figure it out, get another doctor. There are lots of options to help you have a better quality of life.

Good luck and take care.

Unfortunately I’m unable to take nsaids because of the gastric bypass I had.

Thank god most people don't relate/understand why we don't want to make plans. I don't talk about my pain to anyone. I just keep my schedule open and being a single mom people kind of assume I am busy.
When I do make plans I make them for things that are relaxing, having your nails done together, going to the movies, ordering dinner in...I can' usually do things like this and they lift my spirits and help me feel like I have a life! It is important to do things even when you are in pain...I think????

I don't take painkillers anymore either. They work once in a while to stop a pain cycle for a bit but I am not sure they are really good for anything. My mom takes them every day and I know they do not help her. I will admit it is nice to have a few as a last resort, kind of a safety net :)

I hate that you are in pain, I hate that any of us are. Someday someone is going to figure this out and I am guessing it won't be traditional western medicine either! xo