Fibromyalgia treatment

Fibromyalgia can be difficult to treat. It's important to find a doctor who is familiar with the disorder and the treatment for fibromyalgia. Many family physicians, general internists, or rheumatologists can perform fibromyalgia treatment. Rheumatologists are doctors that specialize in arthritis and other conditions that affect the joints or soft tissues.

Fibromyalgia treatment often requires a team approach. Such team may involve your doctor, a physical therapist, and possibly other health care providers. A pain or rheumatology clinic or a fibromyalgia treatment center can be a good place to search for treatment.

In June 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lyrica (pregabalin) as the first drug used in the new treatment for fibromyalgia. Some doctors may treat fibromyalgia with medicines approved for other purposes. Pain medicines and antidepressants are frequently used in treatment.

There are many things you can do to feel better, including: taking medicines prescribed by your doctor, getting enough sleep, exercising, eating well, making necessary changes in your work.

As with many other syndromes, there is no universally accepted cure for fibromyalgia, although some doctors believe to have found a cure. However, a steady interest in this disorder on the part of academic researchers as well as pharmaceutical interests has led to development in its treatment.

Most medications are used only in fibromyalgia symptoms treatment, such as muscle pain and insomnia. Muscle relaxants may be used to treat the muscle pain connected with the disorder. Traditionally, small doses of sedating antidepressants have been used to decrease the sleep disturbances that are common in fibromyalgia. Because depression often accompanies chronic illness, such antidepressants may be beneficial to patients suffering from depression. Standard clinical doses of newer anti-depressants have also proved to be efficient in some cases of fibromyalgia.

Anti-seizure drugs are also used in some cases. Pregabalin, originally used for treatment of nerve pain suffered by diabetics, has been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration for fibromyalgia treatment. Dopamine agonists, for example Mirapex, are now being researched and used to treat fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia patients frequently report using cannabis to treat symptoms of the disorder. Writing in the July 2006 issue of the journal Current Medical Research and Opinion, investigators at Germany's University of Heidelberg evaluated the analgesic effects of oral THC in nine patients with fibromyalgia over a 3-month period. Subjects in the trial were given daily doses of 2.5 to 15 mg of THC, but received no other pain medication during the treatment. Among those participants who finished the trial, all reported a significant reduction in daily recorded pain symptoms.

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