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By Mayo Clinic staffThese tips can help you manage familial Mediterranean fever:
- Take your medication on schedule. Sticking to your colchicine regimen is crucial for relieving your symptoms and preventing complications. Taking colchicine on a regular schedule may also reduce side effects of the medication. Tricks to help you remember to take your medicine — such as taking it right after you brush your teeth or tacking a note to the refrigerator door — may prove helpful.
- Discuss pregnancy with your doctor. If you'd like to start a family, talk to your doctor about how you can increase the chances that your baby will be healthy. Fortunately, colchicine therapy isn't associated with an increased risk of infertility or of abnormalities in a developing baby.
- Fine-tune your diet. Some people with FMF notice that their attacks are lessened by following a low-fat diet. One side effect of colchicine therapy is lactose intolerance, so if you experience abdominal discomfort, such as bloating, a lactose-free diet may improve your symptoms.