Medicine for Fibromyalgia Treatment

Fibromyalgia is a disease in which the person feels pain throughout the muscles, tendons and ligaments, accompanied by fatigue. There are several medications that a physician may prescribe to help a patient deal with these symptoms.

NSAIDs

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)---such as acetaminophen or aspirin---may help ease some of the pain and stiffness of fibromyalgia. However, NSAIDs usually work better in combination with other medications.

Tricyclic Antidepressants

• Tricyclic antidepressants such as Elavil (amitriptyline) or Pamelor (nortriptyline) can help treat fibromyalgia because they increase the amounts of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain; the levels of these two chemicals tend to be low in the brains of people with fibromyalgia.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors

• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac (fluoxetine), Zoloft (sertraline) or Cymbalta (duloxetine) increase the amount of serotonin in the brain, which may decrease pain and improve the patient's overall mood.

Muscle Relaxants

• Muscle relaxants such as Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine) have been used to treat fibromyalgia; these medications can relax the muscles and improve sleep.

Anticonvulsants

• Anti-seizure medications can stabilize neuronal activity. Lyrica (pregabalin), an anti-seizure medication, is the first medication approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Gabapentin (neurotonin) is another anti-seizure medication that is being evaluated in patients with fibromyalgia.

Other Medications

• Some physicians prescribe benzodiazepines (for example, Xanax) or anti-fatigue medications such as modafinil to treat fibromyalgia. However, it would be very rare to need to use an opioid medication such as Oxycontin to treat this condition.