Get your health question answered instantly from our pool of 18000+ doctors from over 80 specialties
135 Doctors Online

By proceeding, I accept the Terms and Conditions

Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

HCM Blog Instant Access to Doctors
HCM BlogQuestions Answered
HCM Blog Satisfaction

How Can Fibromyalgia Be Treated?

I have just recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia..i don t have the pain all the time I honestly really feel it is arthritis but not according to this doctor..i have been on mirtazapine for yrs now for depression and weight gain which has worked very well..also have had pancreatitis many times and ulcerative coalitis..but now they want me to start gabapin cause insurance doesn t cover Cymbalta..i noticed gabapin is used for seizures and such which ive never had..scared about starting one of these 2 med.. any advice
posted on Fri, 15 Sep 2017
Twitter Sun, 5 Nov 2017 Answered on
Twitter Tue, 7 Nov 2017 Last reviewed on
Report Abuse
Addiction Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Gabapentin is generally quite safe. It does not directly cause pancreatitis, but I'm not certain of the risk is truly zero and I am not sure of its interaction with previous pancreatitis.

Several other treatments can be used.
Amitryptiline is quite cheap and stronger than cymbalta which is an inferior knock off.
muscle relaxants might do something.

But predominantly, changing the pain threshold is the direct treatment for fibromyalgia. A lack of pain, an increase sensitivity to it from depression (common) or a lot of drug use (actually rare except with suboxone treatment) set up for fibromyalgia. Frankly I wonder about getting increased sensitivity to the system by taking a narcotic blocker for a long time.
Alternatively. increasing pain tolerance by massive exercise is what has been found most effective.
I find this answer helpful
Disclaimer: These answers are for your information only and not intended to replace your relationship with your treating physician.
This is a short, free answer. For a more detailed, immediate answer, try our premium service [Sample answer]
Share on
 

Related questions you may be interested in


Loading Online Doctors....
How Can Fibromyalgia Be Treated?

Gabapentin is generally quite safe. It does not directly cause pancreatitis, but I m not certain of the risk is truly zero and I am not sure of its interaction with previous pancreatitis. Several other treatments can be used. Amitryptiline is quite cheap and stronger than cymbalta which is an inferior knock off. muscle relaxants might do something. But predominantly, changing the pain threshold is the direct treatment for fibromyalgia. A lack of pain, an increase sensitivity to it from depression (common) or a lot of drug use (actually rare except with suboxone treatment) set up for fibromyalgia. Frankly I wonder about getting increased sensitivity to the system by taking a narcotic blocker for a long time. Alternatively. increasing pain tolerance by massive exercise is what has been found most effective.