Living with fibromyalgia can be a daily struggle. The physical and emotional duress it can cause requires a vigilant, positive approach to treatment.

1. Learn about your condition

There is still a great deal that the medical community doesn't know about fibromyalgia, its causes and potential treatments. Learning everything you can about the disease will help you to understand this disease better and also help you to have more productive conversations with your doctor about what may work best for you.

It pays to stay up to date. Those who do were aware when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2007 gave its first approval of a drug for fibromyalgia. They also know which other medications the American College of Rheumatology lists as helpful for many fibromyalgia patients (antidepressants) and which it considers generally less useful (painkillers such as opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). And they know about recent university research confirming that fibromyalgia is a physiological condition, which some doctors have in the recent past disputed.

2. Find the right doctor

It is important that you find a physician who understands the diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia and is willing to listen to and work with you. This is a lifelong condition, and it is vital that you find a knowledgeable doctor with whom you feel comfortable.

Keep communication with your doctor open. It may help to make a list of everything that needs to be discussed and bring it along to appointments. All treatment options, including those you can do on their own, should be discussed thoroughly with your doctor before attempting. Your physician can also help you evaluate how effective any new treatments are and whether they are causing any unwanted results. You want to make sure that the side effects of a medication or other treatment aren't worse than the symptoms it relieves.