Coping with Pain....Help ??

Winter is coming....ugh.

Winter is when I really go down - I live in a very wintery, cold, snowy climate which is hard enough to stay motivated for anyone, esp. when it stays dark so long (in the thick of things we get light before 9 and dark before 5). I think it is the cold that gets me most - and the variations in pressures.

Anyway....I currently take amitriptyline so I can sleep at night - it really helps because if I don't sleep well, I am hooped ! With winter coming up, I am looking for something for pain, at least considering it. I have a very sensitive stomach (ibuprofen gets me)...I would like something with minimal side effects. Ideas ??

Some things I've heard of - tramadol, pain patches ?

If (when?) it gets bad I want to go in to my doctor - who really needs to be lead, if you know what I mean. He's accomodating and listens to me but he can be kind of clueless, just throwing any drug at me, I've tried some that only made me worse (sulphasalazine, escitalopram/lexapro).

Hi Northern Elf,

For most of my years I lived in a cold climate. What helped me was a warm shower in the morning and a bath at night. It seemed to warm my bones. When night time came, I looked forward to putting on warm soft pajamas and a soft robe if need be.

I use melatonin for sleep and L-theanine and benedryl and tylenol. Sometimes I take tums for stomach issues.

Hi Northernelf,

While it is good to prepare, try not to anticipate the future of pain. Hopefully it wont happen. I live in a cold climate too and the winters are hard. I try to move around as much as possible. Though it is hard to get outside here in the winter. Very cold. I also have "bed buddies" which help. I don't know if you have heard of them or not, but you heat them up in a microwave and wrap with a towel. I then put them around my neck. It helps so much to get the warm moist heat.

Try to distract yourself from the pain. Learning little things helps so much especially since we are in for a life time of pain anyway. Stay busy, keep moving. Stretch gently. I wish you the best and no pain...

Hugs, Karen...

Hi,

Colder weather does bother most of us with fibro..

You need to have steps to take in a flare.

Tramadol helps me a lot, but i can only take low doses..so i also use other things...heating pads, topical pain relievers, acupressure mat,
Microcurrent unit...etc..

I am in an over did it , flare right now, bad timing since having company this weekend..but using my fibro "toolkit" to try and pull out of it...