You said in another comment that you had to go into a narcotics rehabilitation program in the past, so I can understand your caution. Research has shown, though, over and over again, that chronic and severe pain patients seldom get addicted to pain medications unless there is a previous history of abuse or other factors to consider. Those people are screened out by every legitimate pain management specialist I’ve ever heard of, so their main issue is getting any pain relief when they do have a problem due to their prior history.

I hope that you don’t ever need pain management treatment. I’ve encountered people in that situation and it’s heartbreaking.

I don’t know any fibromites who find much real relief from the medications that help with osteoarthritis — for instance, anti-inflammatory drugs cannot, by definition, touch the pain of fibromyalgia, because there is no inflammation involved. Celebrex and similar medications don’t help, either — I’ve tried quite a few, and my experience (no relief) has been verified by a great many other fibromyalgia patients. I have never heard of any doctor prescribing Humira, Enbrel, Methotrexate, or even Sulfasalazine, which are used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, as a fibromyalgia treatment. The diseases are very different.

I have FMS, migraines, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid disorders. I can distinguish between the different types of pain fairly well. To be honest, ibuprofen has always given me better results in controlling my OA than any other medication. It doesn’t do anything for the other conditions, though. FWIW, the narcotic pain relievers I take don’t work as well if I skip the ibuprofen, because I do need its anti-inflammatory effect at all times.