How to Live With Fibromalgia

Living with fibromyalgia is painful in more than one respect. Firstly, it causes all over body aches that nothing seems to alleviate. However, there is also the hassle of dealing with medical people that may not take your symptoms seriously. Other things that tend to accompany fibromyalgia are depression, IBD, mood swings and changes in vision. All of these things thrown together makes life with this condition difficult, to say the least.

The first thing you need to do is find a rheumatologist or neurologist that is sympathetic to fibromyalgia suffers and will listen when you explain your symptoms. These are the people that will design and redesign your treatment until they find what will work best. Should you, by chance, come across a physician who cuts you off or does not trust that you are experiencing the symptoms, it is likely best to find a new person.

One thing, other than medication, that can help fibromyalgia sufferers is massage. Massage helps the muscles relax and makes you more flexible. It also gives you some very valuable time to yourself for relaxation. No one is completely sure why massage works so well, but it is thought that it has to do with the central nervous system. It is believed that massage can help in the production of endorphins, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These are all nature’s painkillers and are manufactured in the brain.

Staying as active as possible is very beneficial for sufferers of fibromyalgia. Like massage, activity stimulates the muscles and increases your body's natural painkilling chemicals. It will also help with depression and digestive disorders that tend to accompany the condition. Whether you are just beginning activities or have always been active and have to readjust, start slow. Fibromyalgia muscles and nerves really dislike extreme exercise at first, and you don’t want to experience a setback from overdoing it. Doing a steady amount of low impact aerobics or moderate exercise of another kind for about 30 minutes a day is a good way to go. Of course, you can increase or decrease that depending on your pain level. The important thing is to do something every day.

There are supplements that are purported to help with fibromyalgia, but their effects are not necessarily proven. Vitamin B, iodine, Vitamin D, calcium and manganese are just a few that are being researched for this use. As always, with supplements, check with your physician to see if they will interact with any medications you might be on, and then research any supplement thoroughly before trying it.