I really can't offer any advice on meds at this time. Something that I am going to try next week is, cognitive behavioral therapy. It helps us work on changing how we cope with how we feel. I think the going over and over in our heads about our pain is the worst thing in the world. When I can find something to actually distract me for a little bit, I can actually forget about the pain. I just need to learn how to do it more often. I will let you know how the first visit goes. Hang in there! I know what a dark hole it can be.
Lisa

Dave, I beleive I mentioned this to you, since you know you have trigger points and where your problems are, I mentioned about your migraines possibly coming from the trigger points, I would suggest looking for a therapist ( myotherapist or trigger point therapist) in your area.
ANother avenue is to look for a John Barnes Myofascial release therapist. www.myofascialrease.com. Go there and put in your state to find a therapist. One of these treatments should be beneficial. Medication alone is not enough.

Hello Sultandave,

I can completely relate to your feelings. When my pain was really intense, my depression deepened greatly. My pain is significantly better, and one medication that helped both my pain and my depression is called Ralivia (this is what it is called in Canada). I still take it - primarily for depression now. I thought that once my pain was relieved I would be so ecstatic. And, while I am greatly relieved and not nearly as depressed as I was, I still have days of depression. Being ill for so long robbed me of a lot of time and a lot of opportunities. I can get pretty bummed out and bitter about that, but for me, the Ralivia is helping a lot with the depression. It does have some side-effects - I have more insomnia and some days I feel a bit nauseous, but all in all it has worked well for me.

I believe you did,but my mind is somewhere else sometimes forgive me. lol I looked on the website, they don't have any specialists in my state. another problem is that i am a college student with NO health insurance, I'm gonna have to work with what I have for the time being...I believe these trigger points cause me more problems than a little bit. i have had this same headache since lifting something at a Sams Club for my mother back on march 28th. just putting heat or ice or anything for that matter on my neck and trapezius muscles cause the pain to be worse. i can't seem to shake this wild episode of muscle spasms. i have some Soma i might try to take, but im afraid of it making my trigger points more active than they already are.

Dave..absolutely anti inflammatory drugs do the same thing to me. You need something to relax you. Robaxin is mild (muscle relaxer) flexaril at night might help you sleep. Did you have a MRI or brain scan orother type tests ? Bless you, Dave. Pauli

that here in America is called Tramadol (Ultram) I haven't taken it... i might give it some consideration.

Dave, were you replying to my post about the ultram? I looked back and didnt see any mention of tramadol or ultram but know it is a pain med. I only mentioned muscle relaxers, but I said flexaril and I meant zanaflex, tho they may be very similar. I have only had experience with zanaflex but would like to know if others have tried flexaril and if it might work better.