Drugs

In The Beginning
I've always had a mind over matter attitude. Since I was a teen, I've had constant pain; pelvic pain, migranes, back pain, knee pain, pain in my hands, general aches, then a ten year headache caused from a bulging disk in my neck. All of this pain came before my fibromyalgia. During that time, I had to make adjustments, rest, and/or take iboprofen, but I've always bounced back and been able to go on with my life. Fibromyalgia is the first thing that has actually knocked me down to the point that I can't get up, literally. Because the pain encompasses every part of my body, I can't "think" it or "walk" it away. So, like to many other people, my journey started with medicine.

Medicines I've Tried
-Over-The-Counter - Everyone starts here, with the simple over-the-counter pain relievers. For some people Tylenol, Aleve, or Advil can be very helpful. For me, not so much.
-Topical Analgesics - This covers things like Bengay, Aspercreme, Capzasin, but my favorite one is Salonpas. You have to investigate which works best for you, but for localized pain these can do wonders.
-Muscle Relaxant - There are a variety of muscle relaxants, but the one that I've used most and still use is Flexeril. For me it helps with sleep and muscle tightness.
-Antidepressants - There are tricyclic antidepressants, SSRI's, SNRI's. Different people react differently to the large range of medications in this family. I have personally been on nortriptyline, zoloft, cymbalta. Nortriptyline was great for sleep. Zoloft helped with my seasonal depression. Cymbalta worked for my depression also.
-Antianxiety - I do not have a long history with drugs in this class. I was on Xanax for a few weeks years ago. I recently started Klonopin which mostly helps my sleep.
-Seizure Meds - I believe that this class of medication is the newest to be used for people with fibromyalgia although there are many studies going on to find new drugs. Neurontin and Lyrica are in this class and are both used to treat nerve pain. I am currently on Lyrica which does help my pain.-
-Opioids/Narcotics - Opioids are a class of pain relievers that have a very high potential for abuse because they not only relieve pain, but can also produce a feeling of euphoria. Some opioids are Hydrocodone, Oxycodone, Morphine, Fentanyl. I am currently on hydrocodone w/acetaminophen and the fentanyl patch.

My Meds Now
Even though I've been on many of the above medications in the last two years, I've been fighting very hard to cut them back, not always with my doctor's approvals. I am currently on Lyrica, Flexeril, Klonopin, Fentanyl (patch) and Vicodin (as needed). This seems to be the best combination/agreement on medications that my doctors and I can come up with for now.

Why I'm Not Doing Better
In the last two years, I have not had a break in my pain. Part of this is my extreme reluctance to take my Vicodin when I need it. Logically, I know that I need to take the Vicodin so that I can function, but fear of what taking meds like these will do to me in the long term holds me back. I know that it hurts my family when I'm in so much pain that I can't get out of bed because I can't be part of their lives. So, for the last two weeks, I have been taking my prescription. While I am not close to pain free, I have been able to get out of bed every day. That's a huge improvement.