I am already on prescription Celebrex for my fibromyalgia, I have been since I was 20. (I’m nearing 30 now.) I also take Rozerem to try to get a restful sleep, otherwise I am in a vivid dream state all night and never hit deep sleep. Even with the Rozerem when I wake up feeling rested it is a big deal so I get really excited.

I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia when I was 15. I have been in pain since I was 12 and in 7th grade and constantly fatigued, sometimes with tingling in my hands, feet, and along my spine, what is probably the driest most sensitive skin on earth, always cold (since I had scarlet fever twice when I was 4).

The pain is always there, and I barely notice low-grade pain anymore, the fatigue never, ever leaves. So the pain has been bearable the majority of the time since going on Celebrex, but sometimes I’ll have a flare up that will hurt so bad I’ll just cry and cry but nothing helps it. Usually the flare up only lasts one to four months (at longest). I have bad pain about 25% of the time but don’t consider it a flare up until it has brought me to tears a couple of times and/or I have had to stay home because I hurt too bad and was too tired to leave.

Right now 13 of the 18 pressure points hurt so bad that if I’m in the shower and the spray of water touches one I almost scream, and by nighttime I am wrapping my arms around my knees crying. The pressure points hurt plus every muscle in my entire body. I can feel the muscles across my temples, my neck, all of them in my upper shoulders, my lower back, each tendon in my hand, my wrists, my arms, my legs…even the arches of my feet and my toes can’t stand to be touched. I have tried lightly massaging my feet but it makes me cry to touch it hard enough to feel with my fingers. Even with the Rozerem I can’t sleep because I hurt so bad.

Sitting, standing, or lying nothing seems to help. I’m dizzy all the time lately and in pain. I have a sinus infection but the pain and feelings of fatigue and general health overall are way more than a sinus infection. This is the worst flare up I’ve had since March 2005. I can’t even think straight because I just hurt.

I don’t think that people take me seriously at all because I’m not in this much pain all of the time (thank God!) and I can’t say exactly what caused it by pointing to a specific even, i.e. I was never in a car wreck, or had cancer, ect. I mean I’ve been reading about it some, and I know that it isn’t in my head, but I don’t think that other people understand that.

I have a doctor appointment a week from Monday. I’m going to ask him about going on Cymbalta, I read that it is FDA approved to help anxiety (I have PTSD, and I think that PTSD is under the anxiety category) as well as for fibroymyalgia.

I don’t get to see him though for another week and two days. I have tried four Advil at a time, lots of water, herbal tea, and hot water bottles. I don’t know what to do. It won’t go away and I have no idea how much longer this flare up will last. Even when I do make it to sleep with the Rozerem I will only get about 6 hours of sleep in at most because I wake up every 45 minutes from the pain in my sleep.

I don’t know what to do, and I’m starting to cry again. What else can I do until I get to see that doctor? If he can’t help what do I do? I’m afraid that people won’t believe me but I really am in some God awful pain right now. I know that a lot of people hurt a lot worse, but I do know that I can’t take this pain anymore. I feel like I’m going to implode on myself or something. I can’t stand it because nothing helps any…lying down, sitting, standing, hot shower or bath, four Advil, hot water bottles, water, herbal tea, touch…nothing helps, it seems to get worse daily.

I am a student and don’t have a lot of money (that means no acupuncture–I begged my parents for it in HS). I need really, really need something to help though! I rented a yoga for wimps dvd at the library, but I’m hurting so bad that sitting in my tile floor and stretching sounds so painful. I don’t know what to do!!!

How can I help to ease the pain I’m in right now and how can I make sure that I take control of what happens with the doctor? I’m going to ask him about it because he said that he would put me on a SSRI for the PTSD. I thought that if he did that then I should just ask him to put me on Cymbalta since it does both. I didn’t want to go to my family doctor about getting Cymbalta when the next week he gives me an anti-depressant then I have to make them get together before I even get the right medicine.

I don’t know what to do. I can’t take this anymore!!! How do I ease the pain?
Money isn’t just an issue, at this point it isn’t even an option. I’m a year from graduation but until I graduate college I barely, and some months don’t, have the money to put gas in my car. I have Medicaid, so I can get medicine, but right now I don’t have the money to do anything in the way of alternative medicine. Medicaid just pays for the basics as far as doctors. I think I’m going to make an appointment tomorrow with my regular family doctor, though. Thanks everyone for their advice!