Hi, Jennifer. I'm sorry you are having so much trouble with medication. I take ibuprofen (with food) and Tylenol to help with pain. The ibuprofen does nothing for me unless I take 600 mg at a time. When I'm at my worst, I take 600 mg every six hours around the clock. I will also take two Extra Strength Tylenol (1,000 mg) in between those ibuprofen doses. I don't take all of this together. I want to give my body a chance to absorb the medication I have taken and see if I need more. If I do, then I will add the Tylenol. I try to take as little medication as possible. You should never take more than 2,400 mg of ibuprofen a day and 4,000 mg of Tylenol a day.
I also take malic acid/magnesium supplements to help with pain and fatigue. There is a link in the Fibro 101 thread all about them. You might want to read that and think about it. Using this and the above medication has kept me in control of the pain. It hasn't made me pain-free. I don't expect to ever be pain free. Sometimes I think that is a problem. People take too many things to be pain-free and then run into a lot of problems.
Take advantage of hot showers and moist heat. Make a rice bag that you can heat in the microwave. They give off moist heat. Or, you can buy a Bed Buddy. They do the same thing. I found mine at Walgreens but I'm sure you can find it other places, too.
Keep moving and doing light stretching exercises. This helps with the pain. You don't become so stiff. The stretching exercises are in the Fibro 101 thread too. There is a lot of good info in that thread and that's why we send all newbies to it when they first come on the forum.
Next time you are looking for a doctor, call first and make sure that they treat people with fibromyalgia. There are doctors out there that don't! They don't understand this illness so they assume it's all in our heads! We know it isn't so you need to find a good, compassionate doctor that does. Check out the Yellow Pages, too. Lots of times doctors will list the illnesses they treat. A good doctor is worth their weight in gold!
I hope this has helped you and I hope you get some relief soon. Keep looking and trying things and I'm sure you will find what helps you. Try to keep a positive outlook, too. Being negative doesn't help and it will make you more miserable. Look around at the many blessings I know you have. We all have blessings and things to be so thankful for. Also, don't forget that you have a wonderful sense of humor that is there to help you. Laughter helps a lot too.
Let us know what you do. We really care. Hope to hear more from you soon.
Sherrine