Step 4: List all treatment options you have tried or are currently trying.
I remember back in the day, while I was struggling to find effective treatment options for my Fibromyalgia AND fighting to obtain my disability, my FM doctor was asked: “what’s the purpose of treatment for this condition?” The disability administrator wanted to know if treatment was going to cure me and if not, then why waste money on treatment. My Fibro doctor was Dr. Carey Dachman of the Schaumburg Pain Therapy Center. He is an award-winning physician. He responded, “currently there is no cure for Fibromyalgia. The goal of treatment is to help keep the patient comfortable, to help them retain at least some quality of life, to find his or her baseline of pain, fatigue and other symptoms at which he/she can perform a minimum of activities of daily living, AND, to improve sleep.”
Because Fibro is so individual and cyclic there really is not one tired and true treatment option that will work on every symptom or for each and every person with FM. Actually, any one person with Fibro may find that after successfully utilizing a particular Fibromyalgia treatment option for years, one day they realize that, said faithful treatment is no longer effective. I personally have experienced this and the opposite. There have been treatment options that I tried in the past that did nothing to relieve my pain, fatigue and other symptoms. Then years later, in an act of desperation, a doctor says “please let’s try treatment option ABC again. Please give it 6 to 8 weeks and let’s see if it will work now.” Reluctantly I agreed and was pleasantly surprised to realize that it now works.
So for step 4, list all treatment options you have tried or are currently trying. Items you might list include, but are not limited to:
Treating Physicians
Medications (Prescription and/or OTC)
Supplements
Physical Therapy
Occupational Therapy
Myofascial Release [Massage] Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [CBT]
Low-intensity Exercise
Lightweight Lifting
Warm-water Exercise
Pilates
Yoga
Tai Chi
Dancing
Life Style Changes
Patient Education
Self-Care
Mindfulness
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