Anyone out there suffer with fibromyalgia?

[Antonia]

My beloved aunt has been diagnosed with it, and she is really suffering. She has tremendous fatigue and pain. Does anyone here have it and use natural remedies that work? I really want to help her. Thanks for any advice!

[Jodi-FL]

along with back and foot problems and arthritis. I wouldn't accept it as a diagnosis, though, easily. I've found diet works wonders. If she can find a Shaklee representative they have a whole library of tapes/CDs that talk about what different supplements can do to bolster the different problem areas of Fibromyalgia. Sleep/rest and accepting limits is a big part of it.

good luck to you both

[Jean in Newcastle]

I have it.

A book recommendation: "Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue" by Dr. Murphree It does a really good job of discussing both traditional and "nontraditional" ways of treating fibromyalgia.

My own personal recommendations for supplements: Cal-Mag by Natural Vitality.
I second the need to check out food allergies/sensitivities. I used a book called "The Allergy Discovery Diet" by Dr. John Postley but there are other elimination diets out there. Personally I have had huge pain relief eliminating all corn (ie. corn starch, corn syrup etc.) and all wheat from my diet. My fatigue was reduced by eliminating all white sugar from my diet (I use honey and maple syrup to sweeten if I need to).

No magic bullets though. It is like an onion. You have to peel back the layers and work on one problem at a time.

[MJN]

doctor there said to take Omega 3's, stop eating meat, eat lots of veggies/fruits/legumes, cut out wheat. He said there is nothing that Omega 3can't help. I've also read that apple cider vinegar helps with fibromyalgia.

HTH!

[Maria from IN]

I've been doing some research on this for my Health Psychology class, and I've noticed that conventional remedies (like analgesics) don't work. My mother was diagnosed a few years ago and she has noticed that getting enough sleep really helps, as well as avoiding sugar like the others have mentioned. She takes Xanax when the pain gets bad (like when the barometer fluctuates) and to help her sleep, and has learned to limit activities each day. Strangely enough, even getting cold and shivering makes her muscles tense up which aggravates her pain.

In my research, I have found that those people who talked through their stress and did some journaling about their pain fared better. Their pain didn't decrease, but their confidence in handling the pain increased.

I could go more in depth with this, but these are just a few ideas.:)

[Antonia]

I will be passing along all your suggestions to my aunt.