Drugs Used to Treat Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disease that causes sufferers full-body aching or burning pain and fatigue. The location, severity and intensity can vary from person to person and from day to day. There are no medications specifically created to treat the disease, but drugs used to treat other ailments have been shown to alleviate fibromyalgia symptoms.

Analgesics

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, have helped sufferers of fibromyalgia, although it's not an inflammatory disease. The extent to which these drugs offer relief varies. The benefit is dependent upon the severity of the pain the patient experiences. Analgesics are used to treat general pain and stiffness, so these medicines would work best for those with slight to moderate discomfort.

Opioids

Usually prescribed as a last resort when other treatments have not improved a patient's quality of life, narcotic drugs such as Vicodin, Oxycontin, Percocet and Darvocet are advised. They are used to treat acute, flare-up and break-through fibromyalgia pain. Pain medication can also be absorbed through the skin and into the bloodstream with a pain patch. These drugs can be highly addictive and must be monitored well by your doctor.

Injections

"Tender point pain" refers to areas on the body that hurt so much they cannot be touched. These muscle "knots" can sometimes be treated with trigger-point injections. A local anesthetic or corticosteroid is used for severe pain.

Antidepressants

Selective seratonin reuptake Inhibitors, or SSRIs, work by boosting the levels of the chemical seratonin and keeping it in the system longer. This helps patients control pain, sleep better and ease depression. Commonly used drugs are trazodone, sertraline, citalopram and doxepin.

Muscle Relaxants

Muscle relaxants help minimize muscle spasms and pain. Because they are sedating drugs, they are best administered at bedtime. The most commonly prescribed muscle relaxant is Flexeril. Klonopin is an anti-anxiety drug and, like Valium, has muscle relaxant properties. They may be prescribed to help fibromyalgia patients feel calmer and thus deal better with pain.

References

• National Fibromyalgia Partnership

Resources

• Arthritis Today