Some of the first things you should do to try and improve your fibromyalgia pain is stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol, avoid spicy and fried food, avoid caffeine and sugar and lastly avoid taking naps or staying up late at night. Moving even if it hurts helps the pain in the long run and exercise certainly will not do you any damage. It can actually significantly control fibromyalgia pain. Try taking walks and working up to 20 minutes three times a week or so.

Aquatic exercise is also helpful though it should be done in warm water if at all possible. If not try and find a hot tub you can use as the heat soothes the pain also. If you do not have a hot tub or access to one try taking a long soak in a hot bathtub. You can do some gentle stretches while you are in there for increased pain relief.

Following a healthy diet also helps fibromyalgia. Eat a diet high in vegetable juices and soups, coconut milk and water, spices such as cumin, coriander, fennel and turmeric, cooked vegetables and green salad. Make sure to drink plenty of water to flush any toxins out of your body. Avoid foods that are fried and too spicy. Avoid tea, coffee, alcohol, and white sugar.

Practicing relaxation techniques will also help you ease your mental tensions like anxiety, fear and stress and thus reduce your pain. Deep breathing is important to stress reduction also.

Menthol and camphor are in many over the counter backache medications and are helpful in easing the muscle tightness of fibromyalgia. Garlic is great for detoxification and to boost your immune systems functioning.

Lastly, try drinking some ginger tea which is a good alternative to aspirin and relieves aches and pains. It will also help you relax and it is documented that fibromyalgia is worsened when you are under stress, anxiety or have mental fatigue.

Prior to my diagnosis, the symptoms included pain in my upper shoulders, neck, feet and fingers. After complaining to my primary care physician about having this pain for a few months, blood tests and x-rays were conducted, as well as an over-the-counter medication. When those things did not work to relieve the painful symptoms, he referred me to a rheumatologist to check for lupus, arthritis or other possible rheumatic diseases. It was a relief to finally have a name to the pain I was experiencing, but at that time, there didn’t seem to be many who had fibromyalgia, let alone even heard of it, which made me feel as if this condition wasn’t real.

After the diagnosis, I did some research to learn how I may have obtained this condition. I read that fibromyalgia pain can occur at any time and may have been sparked because of a previous injury. In 1993, I sprained my neck when I was thrown against a wall while breaking up a fight. Then in 1996, I had foot pain primarily in the balls of my feet that would not go away. My primary care physician at that time first advised foot exercises and ibuprofen. When I told him neither of those remedies were working, he sent me to an orthopedic doctor, who prescribed shoe orthotic inserts, however, the foot pain did not go away or abate with the use of the orthotics, exercise or over-the counter medication. There hasn’t been a day since February of 1996 that my feet have not hurt, and the pain isn’t less painful whether I wear flats, gym shoes or other comfortable shoes.

It is now 2009 and the symptoms I have at the moment include pain in my upper back, left lower back, upper arms, fingers, calves, neck, shoulders and on various parts of my body where clothes touch my skin. For instance, sometimes the pants I wear causes pain in my upper thighs or a certain shirt will aggravate the pain I feel in my upper arms. Lastly, not being able to fall asleep and stay asleep is another symptom that occurs when one has fibromyalgia.