Coping with the constant and daily pain of fibromyalgia can be difficult. But the task can be even more difficult if you fall into some common traps.

Everyone makes mistakes, but there are some faux pas that can make it even more difficult to cope with fibromyalgia.

Learn how to avoid them and make living with fibromyalgia that much easier.

Not following your pain

"The problem with fibromyalgia is that patients are still in pain so it is hard to judge when things are improving and when they do not improve," says Bruce Baethge, MD, a rheumatologist with Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine and Scott & White Healthcare, in the Temple.

Keeping a journal of pain can help you keep track of the ebb and flow of your fibromyalgia.

And if you know when things are better, you can also understand what has done better and what to do next time.

Expecting Too Many Medications

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved three drugs for fibromyalgia: Lyrica (pregabalin), Cymbalta (duloxetine), and Savella (milnacipran).

These medications may or may not work for you, or only be partially effective. They can also be expensive or may have side effects, including psychiatric problems, says Dr. Baethge.

Be flexible about your options and be prepared to change if necessary. "The treatment of fibromyalgia is not just a drug. It is a way of life," he said.

Refusing to consider non-MA drugs

Off-label medications are those that are approved for use with only one condition, but often given to people with another condition.

For example, patients with fibromyalgia are often treated with antidepressants, even though all antidepressants are specifically approved for this condition.

Some people get considerable relief with the two old and new generations of antidepressants.

Not exploring alternatives

What is considered an alternative treatment in conventional medicine may not be for fibromyalgia.

For example, Dr. Baethge says, "Yoga is not considered a treatment alternative for fibromyalgia. We use stretching exercises as a pillar of therapy."

Learning to relieve stress through meditation, biofeedback techniques, or tai chi, a Chinese martial art, can also be helpful. Discover the National Center of Complementary and Alternative Medicine for more Tai Chi.

Sticking to the wrong doctor

Believe it or not, there are doctors out there who still think that fibromyalgia patients do the symptoms, probably because there is so little known about the condition.

Needless to say, this kind of doc is not going to explore all the options for your care. Do not be afraid to move on if you think you can see any of them.

Look for a specialist, such as a rheumatologist, who focuses on fibromyalgia. The Co-Cure project has a list of patient documents recommended by the state.

Denying You Are Sick

Many patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia will be in one doctor after another trying to find a different opinion.

By all means, get a second opinion. But refusing to accept the diagnosis after a second, third or fourth opinion means you are wasting valuable time that could be spent on learning and managing the condition.

Dr. Baethge recommends reading everything you can about fibromyalgia. "Education is the key," he says.

Not Enlisting Family Support

Ask for support from your spouse, your parents, siblings, and children, but do so with your eyes open.

"Family interaction can be good or bad. It depends on how to understand the family is, "says Dr. Baethge." A lot of times people get upset because their spouse or family does not understand what they are going through. "

The cure for this: direct family members on all of a number of sites that may explain the disease, such as the National Fibromyalgia Association, the Mayo Clinic, and Johns Hopkins Arthritis Center.

No to the others

"Everyone needs a friend, they can talk about their illness," says Dr. Baethge.  Support groups can be useful too.

Find a local chapter of the National Fibromyalgia Association or visit one of the many online sites aimed at helping people with fibromyalgia.

Do not talk about it

You may be sick of thinking and talking about your pain and, unfortunately, you might feel like your doctor, family, friends and even are sick of too much.

But until hull fishing is not necessarily your best bet.

You can talk about the pain of fibromyalgia in a way that can benefit not only you, but also others with the same condition: by becoming an advocate for an organization of fibromyalgia.

Feeling guilty

Do not feel guilty about being depressed, angry, frustrated, or afraid. "It's reasonable to become depressed," says Dr. Baethge. "Any normal person who hurts all the time will feel this way."

And feeling guilty in addition to being depressed will simply worsen the pain, he adds.

Let fibromyalgia learn to you

As with any chronic disease, there will be days when you feel depressed, maybe even way down. Finding activities that please you will bring balance and joy to 
your life.

"Learning how to do things takes your mind off the pain," says Dr. Baethge. "It 
tends to be better than staying at home moping."

Many people have found that going to church, spending more time with a grandchild, or picking up a new hobby can help.

Taking life too seriously

"Humor is important," Dr. Baethge explains, "Do things that make you laugh or smile."  This could be as simple as watching a DVD that is funny,   and if your pain keeps you from sitting through the 'Set the show, watch until you laugh, then pause 
it.

Do not move because it hurts too much

"Yoga, swimming and walking have all been shown to be of benefit in the management of chronic pain, and this is really important for fibromyalgia," says Dr. Baethge. "It's hard to get people To buy in this because when they first try, they hurt even more. "

Some people even give up medications and try to get away on exercise alone to help with pain. "They tend to do pretty well," says Dr. Baethge. "They are rich working."