Son, age 16, has Fibromyalgia and Bipolar -

Sometimes Cymbalta helps us, sometimes it doesn't.
Has his doctor tried gabapentin? With him experiencing bipolar he needs to be careful of his seritone levels. Make sure to discuss this with his psychologist.

For my pain relief I take OTC pain killers first, gabapentin, and heat. He will always experience some level of pain in his life, but it's how he deals with it and pacing his activities. Stress seems to make us hurt more. So he needs to reduce the stress in his life as much as possible. My stress relief is talking with my therapist and listening to relaxation videos on YouTube. David Fairweather has some wonderful ones.

I hope the best for him.

Babs83,
Hello and welcome. Really sorry to hear this. Bipolar is challenging enough but then adding fibro on top has to be extremely difficult for him. That being said tho once meds. get straightened out he will go on to do great things. I had a friend way back in high school whom was bipolar and now she is an executive for Kellogg's.

One of the most important things you can do, is be there for him, and it seems like you do a great job of that. Fibro is tricky. What works for one doesn't work for all. If the cymbalta is making him feel that way with brain zaps then he probably needs to try something else for depression. Has he gone to see a board certified rheumatologist about his fibro ? They deal with this everyday. They could help him with fibro and communicate with the Dr. Whom helps him with the bipolar.

I take tramadol for my fibro and have for years. It helps take the edge off the pain and allows me to work 50 hrs a week. It's tough at first finding the right med or combo of meds and finding the right type of home modalities.

He definitely needs to keep moving despite the pain. Some form of light exercise such as walking and stretching is very helpful. Some supplements that could help are magnesium malate, D3, ubiquinol CoQ10, Complex B vitamin and Turmeric curcumin to name a few. Check with his Dr. Before starting any supplements tho.

If it's cold where you are let him know that winter is a heck of a time for fibro. The cold can make it way worse.
Read fibro 101 the first thread. There is great information there. A great book is Fibromyalgia Up Close and Personal, written by one of my Drs. Whom has it himself. Keep him involved in the theater. The distraction of learning lines and blocking out a show can help distract him from the pain. Just assure him once he finds out what helps him, he can knock the pain way down and go on and have a terrific life in spite of fibro and the bipolar. (He really really can!!!!).

Keep posting. Were all here to help as best we can.

Michael

Thank you all for your replies.

Couchtater: I have not heard of gabapentin before. Because he is Bipolar he has a lot of trouble dealing with stress. If he is not really depressed, he is sometimes agitated. Either one brings on a lot of emotional activity which is draining and the opposite of remaining calm. I am hoping that he will agree to counseling soon and will be open to their suggestions. So far he has been reluctant to that.

Lj; His biggest issues are the pain and fatigue. He has trouble attending school because just walking from class to class is exhausting. Sittiing in the hard chairs at school also causes pain. He only takes Cymbalta. He has used over the counter drugs in the past for pain, but says it doesn't help at all. On top of that he is sad all the time. He has difficulty maintaining relationships as most teenagers cannot understand what he is going thru at all. His skin is also very sensitive which is a problem if someone smacks him on the back at school. Very common. And of course he has difficulty sleeping.

Michael: Thank you for your reply. It gives me a little hope that we might someday find the answer. Thanks for the suggested readings as well. I will try to read them as soon as I can. We saw a rheumatologist twice at Children's hospital twice, but have not been back since last April. They did not recommend any medications. They said he could go to a pain clinic for help through biofeedback and counseling, etc. He wanted nothing of that. He really wanted help with the pain and he thought it would be as easy as taking a pill. When they could not offer him a solution, he was done. He might be more open to it now. He is tired of being in pain and fatigued. It is cold where we live. Today we had 6 inches of snow. However, he also hates it when it is too hot.

Myself: Thanks for sharing about your acting experience and encouraging that he keep doing that. He is still involved, but not to the same extent. It is one thing in his life he really loves.

He often asks me what he will be able to do with his life when he feels like this? It is easy to become discouraged. I am trying to find solutions, but have not felt like there has been much help. I am trying to find a new psychiatrist, my son is done with the other psychiatrist. I will try another visit to the rheumatologist. Not sure why they offered no help last time.

Babs -

You might have heard Gabapentin called Lyrica, which is the brand name. There are commercials out for it. I take it and it helps me tremendously others on here have not been able to use it. I will warn you that it can be a rough few weeks to get going on it. It took me almost a month. My current dosage allows me to function, but doesnt kill all symptoms. I still have to watch what I am doing.

One thing i wanted to mention, was that my daughter had mono last year and eneded up with symptoms similar to Fibro or another thing that one of the folks here has a daughter with. (Not sure if its the Fibro or being 50, but I have a bad case of Cant Remember Stuff). They had her on Magneseum for headaches and had discovered she was low on vitamin D. I put her on both of those. It didnt resolve the issue. She was still having issues months after the mono and it was affecting her Junior year, which is tough as that is the year the colleges look at. I searched in desperation and found a forum that dealt with kids having learning issues post-mono. The solution was to add Vitamin D, Magneseum Maleate and Vitamin C. I put these out and made sure she takes them daily. They are working quite well. I since found several items that support Vitwmin C to help with learning. I added it to my daily as well as I have a certification test to take and am having trouble learning the material. My daughter has started becoming more tuned in and I have actuallly improved some in the cognitive recognition department. There is one other people recommend for those suffering from Fibro - goku.... Something. Imt also helps.

All of tis is over the counter. That is why I mention it. It probwbly wont cure wnything,but might make some things easier.

I wish yu nothing but the best with helping yur son. Having been there, I know there is nothing more scary. Let us know how things go,

Firefly (Jenni),
Thank you for the info. I have tried supplements in the past, especially vitamin D because he was low in this. I never added vitamin C. Had not thought of that. He is taking some Fibro supplement, I found on line. I need to look at all the ingredients to see if those things are in it.

Thanks for explaining that is Lyrica, yes that I have heard of. Going to make an appointment with a new Fibro Doc tomorrow. Maybe this one will help.

Thanks again!