fibro and me together

[flippyflop]

hi i have been diagnosed with both fibromyalgia and me is this possible,also do people ever recover from either as my gp keeps telling me he is expecting me soon to recover but i have been in constant pain 24/7 ever since 2010

[Wendy Green]

Hi flippyflop,

Yes it IS possible to suffer from both fibromyalgia and ME - please see my reply to the post 'Fibromyalgia vs ME.'

With regard to recovery - fibromyalgia is generally viewed as a long-term condition with no real cure - though with good self-care (pacing yourself, rest, gentle exercise, eating well etc.) it is possible to manage your symptoms and have a better quality of life.

With ME it seems that a small proportion of people - some studies suggest around 20 per cent, but the real figure could be slightly higher - DO recover. Again ME symptoms can be helped by adopting a healthy lifestyle and taking good care of yourself. It seems that children have the highest recovery rates.
However, many sufferers don't fully recover, but will note varying degrees of improvement over time.

The best way to help yourself is to try to remain positive - though I know that will be difficult when you are suffering from chronic ill health - and to follow a self-management plan tailored to your needs - from identifying effective treatment approaches to making any necessary lifestyle changes.

I wish you well

[Bluebottle]

Some effective medical treatment would be nice, instead of constantly being told to change our attitudes and lifestyles. How exactly did these become the primary medical treatments for a neurological illness and a soft tissue disorder? If they actually worked we'd all be long since cured!

I would really like to know, having had both conditions since the 1980s and having been made permanently worse by graded exercise.

[pam stewart]

Drugs approved for neuropathic pain in other conditions are sometimes given to FM patients, but as none of these has been approved by the European Medicines Agency the doctor has to take responsibility for the decision. None of these drugs work for everyone and often the adverse effects mean they cannot be tolerated.

All treatments and therapies are aiming to lessen the symptoms as the root cause has still not been identified.