What treatments do you recommend for fibromyalgia?

I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (FMS) about 3 1/2 years ago. At that time, I had health insurance, but I lost it 2 years ago. In July of this year, my husband got a new job and his insurance went into effect earlier this month. However, we were told...

that pre-existing conditions are not covered for the first 12 months.

I have gone for 2 years without my medications, because we simply could not afford the visits to my pain management clinic when I lost my insurance in 2005. It has been a very difficult time and I have had to rely on over-the-counter medications, and they rarely do anything but take the edge off the pain when I am flared up. I only have 8 more months to wait for the insurance to cover me again, and I would like some suggestions on ways I can manage my pain and fatigue until then.

I'll tell you what I have been doing up to this point, so no one will suggest it.

*ibuprofen for pain
*glucosamine chondroitin for my joints
*caffeine for energy LOL (I drink a lot of tea)

I would just like to know what is working for other folks. Perhaps there is a special diet I could follow also?

Thanks.

Dear spiralbutterfly,
FMS is a symptom of something else...it is a general diagnosis. The closes they will come to pinning down something is that it has something to do with your immune system stemming from a previous injury or from a previous illness such Epstein Bar virus etc. So treating it is very difficult. The best you can do is treat the immune system. There are several diets that help...they need to be rich in vitamins, zinc, etc. and avoid all alcohol, sugars, fats and YES: caffeine...start a regiment of exercises.
Your immune system will begin to perk up with being faithful to being healthy. But until we get some solid answers about FMS treating it will be difficult.
Sue...good luck