Brief Answer:
Fibromyalgia treatment

Detailed Answer:
Hi XXXX, thanks for asking from HCM.


I can understand your concern. Fibromyalgia is a noninflammatory pain condition. There is no complete treatment. Multiple treatment modalities like medication, Yoga, massage, acupuncture can provide relief. I am describing details of different method of treatment for fibromyalgia

Medications: These include drugs that change some of the brain chemicals (serotonin and norepinephrine) that help control pain levels: duloxetine and milnacipran.

Older drugs that affect these same brain chemicals also may be used to treat fibromyalgia. These include amitriptyline and cyclobenzaprine.

The other drug approved for fibromyalgia is pregabalin. Pregabalin and another drug, gabapentin, work by blocking the over activity of nerve cells involved in pain transmission. These medicines may cause dizziness, sleepiness, swelling and weight gain.

Doctors do not recommend opioid narcotics for treating fibromyalgia. The reason for this is that research evidence suggests these drugs are not of great benefit to most people with fibromyalgia. In fact, they may cause greater pain sensitivity or make pain persist. Tramadol may be used to treat fibromyalgia pain if short-term use of an opioid narcotic is needed.

Over-the-counter medicines such as acetaminophen or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (commonly called NSAIDs) like ibuprofen or naproxen are not effective for fibromyalgia pain. Yet, these drugs may be useful to treat the pain triggers of fibromyalgia. Thus, they are most useful in people who have other causes for pain such as arthritis in addition to fibromyalgia.

For sleep problems, some of the medicines that treat pain also improve sleep. These include cyclobenzaprine, amitriptyline, gabapentin or pregabalin. It is not recommended that patients with fibromyalgia take sleeping medicines like zolpidem or benzodiazepine medications.

: Massage therapy - Massage of painful limbs along with pain killer significantly improve quality of life.

: Exercise - The most effective treatment for fibromyalgia is physical exercise. Physical exercise should be used in addition to any drug treatment. Patients benefit most from aerobic exercises. Other body-based therapies including Tai Chi and yoga can ease fibromyalgia symptoms.

: Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of therapy focused on understanding how thoughts and behaviors affect pain and other symptoms. CBT and related treatments such as mindfulness can help patients learn symptom reduction skills that lessen pain.

: Other complementary and alternative therapies such as acupuncture, chiropractic and massage therapy, can be useful to manage fibromyalgia symptoms.

: Meditation helps in controlling pain and making you calm.

You can discuss all these treatment options with your doctor. It will help you in getting maximum relief.

If any doubt, please let me know.
Thanks. Take care.

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