This is ment as a little information for people in the Bergen region who suffers from fibromyalgia and do not speak Norwegian.
For information about fibromyalgia in English we recomend the American page: http://fmaware.org/site/PageServer.html
For fibromyalgia it is vital that you as soon as possible start trying out the recomended medications. Check out the web page of National Fibromyalgia Assosiation in Norway (NFF). Here you will find different tips for coping with fibomyalgia, look for medications under «Medikamenter»: http://www.fibromyalgi.no/Funksjonshemmingen/Tips-og-raad. In general, it is better to take a daily medication every day than taking pain killers when you feel like it. Often, old anti-epileptic drugs are used. Cyntetic morphine is also much in use. Some use cynetic melatonin as a sleep drug.
When it comes to physical treatment for fibromyalgia, many find psycomotoric psysical therapy useful. There are some good ones here in Bergen. Your doctor can refer you. Also, a chiropractor may be good, but with this you will get little refund and will have to pay most of it yourself. Many also appreciate and feel better with gentle massage.
This is a link to a letter our organisation wrote to NAV (Brev NAV); which you can download and give to your doctor to give him/her an overwiew on how to treat fibromyalgia, especially when it comes to coping with the workplace. Also, you can give it you our employer or NAV.
At current we are not aware of any Fibromyalgia specialists in the Bergen region. The specialists we know of, are based in the Oslo area; they are Anne Kristine Nitter and Karin Forseth Øyen. They have PhD’s in fibromyalgia. For treatment in the Bergen area, we will recomend that your doctor refer you to Haukeland hospital. There is a clinic there that specialize in pain management; this is called in Norwegian «Seksjon for smertelindring og palliasjon» (used to be called «Smerteklinikken» – The pain clinic). Their web page is: http://www.helse-bergen.no/omoss/avdelinger/fysioterapi/enheter/Sider/medisin-kreft-lunge-smerte.aspx. They can reccomend medical and physical treatment and perhaps diets (they do research on nutrition and pain). The also arrange groups. You will see a doctor, a physical therapist and a psycologist. The will work together with your doctor.
If you have sleep disturbances, you may be reffered to the sleep clinic at Haukeland which is the best in the country. It is called National kompetansetjeneste for søvnsykdommer, Sovno. Their web page is: www.sovno.no
Also, you may apply for 4-5 weeks at a rehabilitation clinic in Western Norway. Rehabilitation happens through the health reagion, HelseVest. This is quite cheap as you only pay up til Frikort 1 and you also get travel costs covered. You can go to the nabouring counties of:
– Sogn og Fjordane. The clinic Hauglandsenteret: http://www.rkhr.no/om-oss
– Rogaland. At Haugesund hospital for those with rematic illness: http://www.hsr.as/
Our local branch have different activeties, like yoga and other types of psysical exersize, couping courses/pain management, social meetings and so on. We also have people you can talk to.