Fibromyalgia Medications

[FibromyOWgia]

I have severe Fibromyaliga pain mostly in my back between my shoulder blades. The pain is so severe that without treatment I would need a wheelchair to get around.

I've been taking Tramadol 100mg for 3 years but its slowly losing its effect and I'm finding my pain getting worse again. So I am now looking for either an entirely new medication or something I can take on top of the Tramadol to help ease the pain.

I've tried:
- Savella (can't remember why this didnt work)
- Anti-Epileptic Medications; Lyrica and Gabapentin (made me suicidal, had to stop)
- Palexia (wasn't very effective)
- Cymbalta (wasn't very effective + excessive sweating)

I shouldn't take NSAIDs because it makes my asthma more severe.

Lidocaine helps but it's $15 for 2 patches... so not affordable.

Any suggestions of other kind of medications I can use? I'm going to try and see the Pain Specialist again but it might be months before I get an appointment. I'm on the waiting list to get a Ketamine Infusion too but due to Covid-19 there's a huge delay, its been a year already.

I did try asking my GP but he's stubbornly refuses to help me anymore (I'm looking for a new doctor) because he finds my condition too difficult to treat.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[specialmom]

Hi, whew, that's rough.  I'm sorry!  So, first. Lidocaine patches.  What about lidocaine cream?  It's cheap, REALLY cheap. I've gotten it on Amazon for under 6 dollars a tube.  You can spend more as well and it is going to last you and go a lot further than 2 patches.   And I use it and it is helpful. You could look for alternatives. They also make a spray, also inexpensive.

Ketamine infusions I've heard are pretty amazing. Only down side is it is not a one stop fix, you have to go through the whole series. Our state (I'm in the US) is basically one hundred percent open, so hopefully if you are slotted to get that, you can soon.

Since covid is a problem with ketamine infusions, I guess probably physical therapy is a problem too. But that 'can' also be really helpful.

What about lyrica??  It may be in the class of meds that you've already tried another for but a different med. With these types of meds, we know that each one will create a different response in people so some trial and error comes with the territory. Might be worth a try.

And forgive me for suggesting this if it is a touchy subject, but what about an SSRI?  Depression and stress also make this worse.  Lots of people with fibro also take this type of medication and find it beneficial.