Well, there's nothing that you can do...
I have both as well as some other fun things, but if the Fibromyalgia is bothering you, there are some meds that will help. A muscle relaxer, Neurontin, and perhaps an anti-depressant :Celexa or...can't remember the name. These anti-D's though, help the body deal with the stresses the Fibromyalgia cause, or so they say. I am a big supporter of anti-D's and anxiety meds, without which I would never get out of bed. Anxiety meds aren't usually called for with Fibro, but are fequently taken by people with chronic illness.
So here I go into my speach: Any life altering illness or injury will at some point cause depression. People who take Anti-D's are not weak, they have been through hell and back before they need some help. And neading help of any kind is not exculsive to illness or injury. We all need a hug, or a smile, or something more at some point. To deny that you need help is frankly stupid. You may not need anti-D's, or anxiety meds, but if you never get out of bed, at least give it a try.
So there was my speach. At first I found Fibro way too much to handle, but as time went on, it became just another one on the list, and didn't bother me, emotionally or mentally. Sometimes the pain gets to me, and that's when I use the muscle relaxer. I take Neurontin anyway for RA, so that helps.
Muscles relaxers are kind of known for causing weight gain. This is why I only take it when I have too. I managed to actually lose 5 lbs, but then gained 9...so I advice taking it for a month or twon, and then try taking it as needed. Good luck dealing with this extra burden...keep us posted and let us know what's going on. Many soft hugs and prayers!

Amen Inkjoy! I can also add, have your vitamin d checked, my doc did even tho I was supplementing 1200 mgs daily just because. We found out it was very low and after 8 weeks of 50,000 ius weekly in one dose it still only came up to low normal so am on 5000 a day. It really relieves the fatigue! Best of luck!

Fibromyalgia can be primary or secondary. While they don't quite know what causes it or why it happens it is not uncommon to develop it after another chronic pain condition, especially an autoimmune condition. A close friend had it for years and had been screened for lupus for close to nine years and in just the last few months was diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disease. Many feel that it is a true autoimmune disease, but we just don't have the tests for it yet.

While it is a diagnosis of exclusion, some physicians use it as a catch all for the conditions they cannot explain and as a result, many feel it isn't real. It is real and it can be just as debilitating as RA, in its own way. One of my best friends was diagnosed last year.

I had several doctors (not rheumies, but fellows of my rheumies) tell me that I had it without really looking at me. I balked at the idea because I was, and still am sure that I don't have it. My current rheumy says, Nope, you don't have it. My staunch standing on it is for four years before I got sick, I was being treated for pain and injuries sustained in a car accident. If I had it, someone would have caught it sooner. Especially since I went through a chronic pain rehab program.

Anti-depressants can help in many ways, they can help turn off the pain switches in our system that get stuck on in chronic pain situations. They can help us feel better emotional and leave us better able to deal with our pain. Chronic pain in and of itself will cause depression.

It is a very good idea to get your vitamin D levels checked. Deficiency in Vitamin D can lead to depression, leave us less able to heal and can mimic depression. In 2009, I was on 2000 IU a day and my levels were low. I upped it to 5000 IU and a few weeks ago, I was in the low end of normal. So, no I take 10,000 IU daily.

Be careful about higher doses, especially without monitoring, as it can be toxic. Which while rare, can be bad. Vitamin D in toxic doses has been used in rodent control, when the critters became tolerant to warfarin.

Plus, many of our immunosuppressant make us sensitive to the sun and we don't get enough exposure to sunlight to make our own vitamin D. It is never a bad thing to get checked. Hope you get some relief soon

Thanks so much! I've had ITP since 1984 so I'm not new to autoimmune. Or prednisone :). Rheumy decided to start me on Sulfasalazine and Plaquinil instead of MTX. So far so good. In a week, I start Cymbalta for the fibro, it's the one I'm nervous about. Amyone currently using it?
I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and enjoy a safe and Happy New Year!

Hi TK. I have RA and fibro also and it really stinks. When one flares, the other flares and vice versa. My rheumy diagnosed my fibro after a thorough check of all my tender points--they ALL hurt! Especially my collar bone, shoulders and neck, arms, inner knees and buttocks. I think the worst part of having either of these illnesses is that they are pretty much invisible to others and people don't understand why we feel bad all of the time. I get so tired of my family asking me how I feel and, when I tell them, they ask why. They just don't get that we don't get over these illnesses--we can only treat them. Sorry for the rant--I get so tired of feeling bad.

I forgot to add that I take flexeril (muscle relaxer) when my fibro is flaring badly and hydrocodone for the pain. Was taking tramadol for pain and realized that the very vivid nightmares I was having at night was related to that. When I stopped taking it, the nightmares stopped. The hydrocodone works very well and I only take half doses.