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The long wait is over. After months and perhaps years of medical testing and frustration, your doctor has given you a positive diagnosis of fibromyalgia. What happens now?

To a large extent, that depends on you. The medical basis of fibromyalgia is still being investigated. At this time, there is no known underlying disease or condition to cure. The focus of the treatment plan is on minimizing the symptoms and learning how to take care of yourself. Since symptoms vary from person to person, and everyone responds differently to treatment, your treatment plan will be highly individual, constantly updated by trial and error.

Medications may help to take the edge off, but they won't make the challenging problems of day-to-day living go away. Living with chronic pain, fatigue, depression and disrupted sleep are not easy. The three A's are the key to emotional survival: adaptability, activity, and attitude.

ADAPTABILITY: Make positive lifestyle changes. Experiment. Learn what works, and what doesn't.

ACTIVITY: It's not wise to overdo, but it's even less wise to stop moving. Patients who quit their jobs generally do less well than those who keep going, perhaps at a modified level. Exercise is an important key to symptom management, even if it increases the pain at first.

ATTITUDE: Fibromyalgia is miserable, but it is not deadly and will not inevitably progress. What doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Accept your limitations, but don't stop living. Don't waste your time arguing with people who refuse to believe that there is anything wrong with you. Find people you can talk to. Organizations such as the Arthritis Foundation and the American Chronic Pain Association provide educational classes and support groups. Have fun whenever you can. Make the most of your remissions.

Your doctor may recommend over-the-counter analgesics, or prescribe pain-killers, antidepressants, antispasmodics, or sleep aids. Some of these can be taken only on a short-term basis. Pregabalin (Lyrica), an anti-seizure drug, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of fibromyalgia. It helps alleviate the symptoms in a significant number of patients, but it may also have side effects similar to the symptoms you are trying to get rid of. There is no pharmaceutical magic bullet for fibromyalgia.

Cognitive behavior therapy may help you deal with stress and help you develop confidence in your ability to cope. Physiotherapy or massage therapy may be a welcome addition to

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