At the moment I am going through the transition period for changing the medication I take for my Fibromyalgia. It had been quite a journey reaching the dosage of Gabapentin that my GP, Dr. Azeer, had prescribed and, once I got there, the nine capsules a day weren’t doing a good enough job to justify the upheaval involved in taking them every day. Consequently, Dr. Azeer and I discussed other treatment options and agreed that I would cease taking Gabapentin and change to Amitriptyline.
It has been a complicated process changing from Gabapentin to Amitriptyline. I have had to reduce the dose by one capsule every three days. Now that I am almost down to nil Gabapentin, I have had to cut by half, the amount of antidepressants that I take, then stop taking it completely. After three days without the antidepressant, I am set to start taking Amitriptyline. At that point, I can stop taking the medication that protects me from the interaction of my current antidepressant with the aspirin that I take. Then, when I start on the Amitriptyline, I have to increase the dose every four or five days until I reach the prescribed dose. I don’t know why, but I didn’t feel confident remembering all of the timings and dosages! So, I jotted down the information whilst I was still with Dr. Azeer. He was impressed that I had noted it all down. He said that often patients haven’t written down what he has told them and, consequently, they become confused about what they should take and when. It’s not really surprising, is it?
Bossymamma's Fibromyalgia Diary 
It is a very confusing situation and it is basic common sense (yes, I know, a very strange statement coming from me) to write complicated things down. So well done for doing that.
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I often resort to pen and paper during medical consultations to ensure I don’t forget things. My GP is used to me bringing out a list of things I don’t want to forget!
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I worry too much about the doc thinking I’m strange but its a good call to write this type of stuff down, you cant mess around and just guess can you. I saw a specialist yesterday who advised I up the amount of amitriptyline I’m on. I currently take quite a low dose which does help me to get off to sleep but it’s not doing much to keep me in the land of nod or reduce the pain I feel. She also finally confirmed the diagnosis of fibromylagia too. Oddly i feel a bit reassured by this. I know that may sound odd, not that I wanted to have it obviously but it kind of validates how I’ve been feeling for such a long time. Maybe, just maybe people will now stop thinking I’m just moaning or being lazy.
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Your reaction to your diagnosis doesn’t sound odd to me: it means that you know what you are dealing with, which can be a great help psychologically. I hope your doctor is able to find a drug regime that helps you.
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