Medications
Medicines do not cure
. But some medicines may help improve
fibromyalgia symptoms, especially muscle pain and frequent waking during the
night. Not all people with fibromyalgia will need, want, or benefit from
medicines. But people with more severe pain, sleep problems, or
that disturbs their daily life may find
medicines helpful.
Antidepressants are often used to treat symptoms of
fibromyalgia. This does not mean that the condition is "all in your head."
Antidepressants may help by improving sleep and mood or by blocking pain
signals. Many people with fibromyalgia seem to benefit from the use of these
medicines.
Fibromyalgia symptoms in different people respond to
different medicines. Your doctor may try more than one medicine before finding
one that works best for you. You may also find that a medicine that has been
helping your symptoms seems to become less effective over time.
Talk with your doctor if you are not getting relief. He or
she may try a different medicine or make suggestions for helping find new ways to modify your activity, sleep, and stress.
Medication Choices
Often medicines may be combined (such as fluoxetine and
amitriptyline) for the most effective treatment of symptoms of pain and sleep
disruptions.
Certain types of antidepressants may be used to
improve sleep, relieve pain and fatigue, and, in some cases, treat depression. These
improvements in symptoms may allow you to feel better and to be more active. Antidepressants used
for fibromyalgia include:6
- , such as amitriptyline or
(Flexeril). Cyclobenzaprine is usually
thought of as a muscle relaxant, rather than an antidepressant, but it is the
same type of drug as a tricyclic antidepressant.
- (SSRIs), such
as fluoxetine (Prozac) or paroxetine (Paxil).
-
(SNRIs)—also called mixed (or dual) reuptake inhibitors—such as duloxetine
(Cymbalta), milnacipran (Savella), or venlafaxine
(Effexor).
- Atypical antidepressants, meaning drugs that don't fit
well into the general categories of antidepressant medicines. Bupropion
(Wellbutrin) is an example of an atypical antidepressant that is used for
fibromyalgia.
A seizure medicine (anticonvulsant) called is used to treat fibromyalgia. Pregabalin may help reduce pain,
sleep problems, and fatigue.7
Other
medicines are being studied and used for treating fibromyalgia,
including:
- Another seizure medicine (anticonvulsant)
called gabapentin (Neurontin).8
- Pain medicines such as tramadol (Ultram), sometimes combined
with acetaminophen.3, 9
- A medicine called sodium oxylate (Xyrem) that is used for sleep disorders such as .10