Fibromyalgia resources: where to find reliable help
When you are newly diagnosed with fibromyalgia, finding reliable information is harder than it should be. Credible resources exist alongside private clinics making unsupported claims, supplement sellers promising relief, and practitioners offering expensive ‘cures’ to people who are desperate for answers.
This page is a curated starting point. Every resource listed here is patient-led, research-backed, or run by a recognised charity.
Official guidance
NHS — fibromyalgia overview. The NHS’s own pages on symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment, and self-help. A useful link to share with family, employers, or anyone who wants an ‘official’ starting point.
NICE NG193 — chronic pain guideline. The UK does not have a dedicated NICE fibromyalgia guideline. NG193 (2021) is the closest document and is applied to fibromyalgia in practice, but its recommendations — particularly against most standard painkillers — are contested in the fibromyalgia community. Worth knowing about, but not the final word.
Patient advocacy and charities
These organisations provide support services, educational materials, and advocacy on behalf of people with fibromyalgia.
National Fibromyalgia Association (US) — a US patient charity producing research summaries, advocacy updates, and educational material.
Fibromyalgia Action UK — the main UK fibromyalgia charity. Runs a national helpline, produces information packs for newly diagnosed patients and their healthcare professionals, and supports local groups across the country. Largely volunteer-run.
Versus Arthritis — the UK’s largest arthritis charity, which covers fibromyalgia in its remit.
Research foundations and specialist centres
Research organisations tend to distinguish more carefully between promising and preliminary findings than general health news outlets. Their updates are often a better source of scientific news.
Bateman Horne Center (US) — a clinical and research centre covering both ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, with educational materials for patients and clinicians.
American Fibromyalgia Syndrome Association (AFSA) — a US-based research funding body that publishes analysis of which studies are actually being funded and which are not. Its editorial voice is often direct, but its funding decisions and research summaries are substantive.
Symptom and flare tracking tools
Identifying your personal triggers is easier with a consistent tracking method.
Paper diary. A basic notebook works well for many people. Recording daily pain levels, sleep quality, activities, and flare triggers is often enough to identify patterns over time.
Bearable — a flexible symptom tracker for logging activities, symptoms, medications, and mood in one place. Works well for pattern-spotting across weeks or months.
Books
For people with fibromyalgia
Mayo Clinic Guide to Fibromyalgia by Andy Abril and Barbara Bruce — a mainstream, practical guide from the Mayo Clinic’s fibromyalgia treatment team, with worksheets for building a personal management plan.
Versus Arthritis fibromyalgia information booklet — not a commercial book, but a genuinely useful 60-page guide that can be downloaded free from the Versus Arthritis website.
For family and carers
How to Live Well with Chronic Pain and Illness by Toni Bernhard — mindfulness-based approaches to chronic illness, useful both for people with the condition and for those supporting them.
Support communities
Connecting with others who have fibromyalgia can reduce isolation and provide practical insight that clinical resources often do not cover.
Facebook support groups. Groups vary considerably in quality. Those run by or affiliated with established charities tend to be better moderated.
r/Fibromyalgia on Reddit — one of the larger online fibromyalgia communities. Covers practical questions, symptom management, and general support.
Fibromyalgia Action UK support groups. FMA UK coordinates local support groups across the UK. Contact their helpline (0300 999 3333) or their regional coordinators to find one near you.
A note on community spaces Online communities can be valuable, but they can also be draining — particularly if reading about others’ experiences worsens your own. It is reasonable to step back when you need to.
Resources to be cautious of
Not every resource presenting itself as fibromyalgia support is reliable. Be cautious of:
Programmes framed around pushing through pain or treating fibromyalgia as a belief problem. Graded exercise and heavily CBT-framed programmes have a mixed evidence base and patient reception. Approach with caution, not conviction.
Expensive supplement protocols. Some supplements may help individual symptoms in some people. There is no validated supplement stack for fibromyalgia, and sellers claiming otherwise should be treated with scepticism.
Clinics or practitioners promising a cure. There is no cure for fibromyalgia yet. Anyone claiming otherwise is either misinformed or has a financial interest in your believing them.
Functional medicine clinics charging significant fees for protocols built around food elimination, specialised testing, or ‘detox’ programmes. Many of these charge heavily for interventions with limited evidence.
Still looking?
Our FAQs page covers the most common questions about fibromyalgia.