Last Updated on March 9, 2023 by melissanreynolds
There are a lot of treatment options for fibromyalgia, but no sure fire fixes. So what are my top three treatments to fight fibromyalgia? Let’s delve in!
If you’ve been fighting fibromyalgia for any amount of time, you likely know there’s a multitude of therapies to try and that there’s rarely one magic bullet.
Fibromyalgia is an illness of unknown origin or cure and there are debates as to whether it will eventually be classed as autoimmune and/or progressive.
3-6% of the world’s population is has a vested interest in finding a cure. Until then we can only try to wade through the treatment options to try
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My posts about other treatment options
1. Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
This was something I found back in 2015 and followed the research for some time before I asked my doctor to try it. As I documented in the posts linked below, I began in April 2017. It took nine months for effect and now I can’t be without it.LDN, Fibromyalgia and Me
Low dose naltrexone four year update
It is not a magic fix for me but the results are astounding. You see, for more than 10 years I hadn’t slept well (read: in one hour blocks with great difficulty, every night was a fight) and the LDN actually helped me to sleep in two, three or four hour blocks. This is miraculous for me and I believe the sleep is what helped the rest.
Read the above posts for the full experiment and outcome. What I love most about this medicine is that it is not a typical medicine and does not have any of the nasty side effects that most medicines prescribed for Fibromyalgia have. The worst I experienced was vivid dreams when I was titrating up to find my ideal dose.
It essentially tricks the body into producing more endorphins, there is research theorizing that people with Fibromyalgia suffer from endocannabinoid deficiency. I believe it took nine months for me to see effect because my body was slowly healing from a deep sleep deprivation behind the scenes.
This leads me to believe that LDN may be the only way to address an insufficiency that currently has no other satisfactory treatment option. I certainly prefer it to pain killers that have many negative effects and few positive ones.
2. Heat
If I had to choose one heat treatment, it’d be my heat pack. I use it first thing in the morning to get going, a couple of times during the day, in the evening and when I get into bed. It’s my go-to treatment. I use it mostly for my neck, but I also use it for the symphysis pubis disorder I experience in pregnancy. I also use:
- This electric heating pad is on my wish list! To complement my trusty heat pack.
- Hot baths
- Hot showers
- Deep heat rub
Heat is one of my top five listed natural treatment options.
3. Yoga/Meditation
Meditation is part of yoga, so it may be cheating to name both, if you really want one it’d be a hard call, but yoga would win and only because LDN helps me to sleep at night.
Yoga is a multi-use tool. I adore the ability to mold it to what I need: one pertinent stretch or pose (cat and cow all the time), a few poses to hit one issue (cat and cow, forward bend and eagle for the back) or a full flowing sequence (sun salutations). It’s stretching, strengthening and calming for the central nervous system.
Meditation has been a lifesaver since I realised I could experience deep rest to help counteract the lack of sleep. The effects have been profound and I share that in my post about meditation. I am so passionate about it that I incorporate mindfulness and meditation into my coaching programmes and offer one off sessions to teach meditation.
Come and join the free Yoga for Chronic Pain and Fatigue challenge here.
So here are my top three plus ways to fight Fibromyalgia
- Low Dose Naltrexone
- Heat
- Heatpack
- Electric blanket
- Hot bath
- Hot shower
- Deep Heat rub
- Yoga/Meditation
What are yours?
2022 edit: I actually couldn’t choose just three things. The best way to manage fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome as well as possible is a multi-pronged, holistic approach. These are a great starting point. But for all of the things I do to keep fibromyalgia mild right now, see this post. And my top 10 self-management options here.
Do you enjoy this work? Want to help me ensure people with fibromyalgia receive the tools, encouragement and hope that they deserve? When you join the team to support my work in the pay what you can (starting at just $5 per month) Melissa vs Fibromyalgia membership you will immediately access an exclusive members library of resources and tools.
Are you temperature sensitive? The heat therapy sounds interesting but I’m super sensitive to heat and I’d worry it would make things worse.
I don’t respond well to extremes in heat or cold. But the great thing about heat packs is that they don’t tend to raise your body temp and that you control how hot you like it. It’s the same with baths and showers, just adjust the temp to what suits you 🙂