Every single person living with Fibromyalgia will tell you the same thing. Nothing is a magic cure. Nothing ‘works’ to fix or eliminate the symptoms. But at times and with perseverance, some products or systems do work. As individual as Fibromyalgia symptoms are, so are the remedies that will help each, all or some of the symptoms experienced daily.

Before we look at what helps Fibromyalgia (FM) symptoms, let’s have a little look at things which definitely will not help or be of any use to a person, male or female who suffers from Fibro.

• Being told it is because you need to lose weight.
• Being told you need to be more active
• Being told it is all in their head
• Having our symptoms dismissed
• Being told we are stupid when brain fog hits
• Telling us to smile or cheer up on a bad day
• Informing us that it can be ‘that bad’ as we can still go to work/drive/do the school run etc
• MLM products
• Mysterious cures which are 100% proven to work despite no medical professionals knowledge of its existence
• That it is because we aren’t vegan
• Any other opinions from a person unwilling to accept our pain, our condition or are simply looking to disprove what we are experiencing.

Products I Use That Help Fibromyalgia Symptoms

I have a few things in my tried and tested arsenal. I know I am a relative newbie when it comes to living with pain and being newly diagnosed. But over the past year, I have found a small selection of tips and tricks that can (when I follow my own advice) help me to manage or even reduce the pain.

Acupuncture Mat

Randomly, during the lockdown, as I was on one of my many shopping sprees, a suggested purchase popped up in my feed of an acupuncture mat( This link is an amazon affiliate link meaning I get a small compensation should you purchase via this link at no extra cost to you). Curious, as I had never seen one before, I decided to click through and see exactly what it was.

Essentially it is a small cushioned mat, not very thick. With round, spiked circles placed all over. The idea of the mat is to do the same as visiting an acupuncturist. The spikes press on your skin when you lie down on them and stimulate your pressure points in your back. The ‘pain’ of the spikes causes blood to rush to the area allowing the problem to heal itself.

Kooky, I know, and at first, I clicked away. Then as is Facebook’s way, up it popped one day again, and I stopped to read the reviews. They were glowing. On a variety of different mats from different sellers. Were they fake reviews? I still don’t know to this day, but I purchased myself a green mat to give it a try. The mat I ordered came with a small half-moon neck pillow for neck and shoulder pains with the same spikes on.

It works! Honestly, hand on heart, it actually works. The spikes are well, very spikey. There is a lot of them, and it can be quite painful when you first lie down on it. But if you can last longer than 5 minutes, then you start to get a warm, tingly feeling in your back and neck. I lie on my mat for 15 minutes, and throughout that time, I adjust the neck pillow every 5 minutes before placing it under my shoulder blades for a little bit longer.

The difference it makes is immense. When I move my neck, I hit a certain point where it is ridiculously painful, and my shoulders automatically hunch. Using the mat for 15 minutes a week stops this completely, it is magic! The back mat works wonders when I get those delightful slicing muscular pains in my back, and it helps to relax my muscles and allow them to recover from the pain

5/5

MCC Pain Slayer

Again, another ad that keeps popping up on Facebook. Motorbikers Cosmetic Company produces a range of pain busting treatments that work on a variety of different pains and aches and are praised by users who have FM and more. I have to admit I was a bit dubious at first and the ads popped up for months in my feeds before I took the plunge and tried them out.

For me, the Pain slayer balm does work. Not so much on the soles of my feet but for the ache in my legs when I am lying in bed and my lower back. I purchased the 60ml tub for £15, and the ingredients are as follows;

• Caprylic/Capric triglycerides
• Olea Europaea
• Euphorbia Cerifera
• DMSO
• Gaultheria Procummbens Leaf Oil
• Juniperus Communis Fruit Oil
• Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Oil
• Eugenia Caroyphyllys Leaf Oil
• Mentha Piperita
• Magnesium Chloride

I am thinking it is the work of the magnesium as I know this can help for leg aches and pain that is working for me. I use it sparingly and only on my higher pain nights as I use a lot at once. I load it up and rub it in. I want to give it a try alongside other products in the Fibro range they have, and I might treat myself soon to some more.

4/5

Pilates

A while ago, I reviewed an online Pilates Physio workout programme on One Frazzled Mum. A qualified physiotherapist guides you through a series of Pilates routines designed for people who need to improve their posture and flexibility. I was interested to see if it would work for my Fibro and after a month trial, I found that actually, it did help me out a lot.

Since then, I have been less than inconsistent with the workouts. I know I need to get back to adding these into my daily routines. Especially now, I am not doing Zumba at all, and my exercise is limited to Sunday walks only.

The Pilates Physio site has a wide range of workouts and takes into account all levels of ability to help you work towards a goal and improve your physical and mental health via the workouts.

My tip is to do the workouts before bed to help you relax and kick start your bedtime routine. Fellow Fibro sufferers will know that bedtimes are the worst part of the day, and sleep is elusive and mostly non-restorative!

5/5

Mirtazapine

Currently, I do not take any pain medication from my GP. I have quite extreme reactions to many strong pains meds, and I end up feeling like I have a massive hangover. Personally, I would be able to function and be in pain than not to be in pain and feel nauseous all day.

In January, the erratic sleeping patterns and sheer exhaustion took its toll on me. I struggled with being awake all night and having copious naps during the day and generally feeling awful. After speaking to my GP, we decided that an antidepressant would help me get my mental health to a point where I could cope with the FM symptoms and exhaustion levels.

She recommended I try Mirtazapine as they have a drowsy side effect. I started on 15mg a night, and at first, I was sleeping like a log for 10-12 hours a night. Then after a few months, I noticed the effect had lessened somewhat and I as once again experiencing insomnia and my favourite side helping of sleep paralysis even though I wasn’t asleep. I was scared to be home alone and fell asleep in the early hours of each morning; terrified someone was standing over my bed all night.

My dosage was recently increased to 30mg a night, and I can now fall asleep easily, get a minimum of 8 hours sleep a night and flare up permitting, only one nap per week. Usually on a Monday. Does it make me feel refreshed? No, not really, but I feel considerably better than sleeping without them. I do have side effects from them too. In the first week, I had a lot of anger as the tablets began to take hold. I have a dry mouth all the time, and initially, my appetite increased dramatically which is a noted effect, and while it has evened out, I am still prone to days where I want to eat all the time.

5/5

I am well aware I am simply just scratching the surface when it comes to what helps Fibromyalgia symptoms, but these are just some of the things I have tried recently, and that helps me. The list will be updated or expanded upon as I find new ways to deal with Fibro symptoms and navigate different treatments.

Have you found anything that helps Fibromyalgia symptoms? I would love to hear what helps you.