Physical and talking therapies for fibromyalgia
Studies tell us that physical and talking therapies are often a better way of managing fibromyalgia than medication. Pain can affect mood and behaviour, especially...
There are a number of treatments and therapies to manage the symptoms of fibromyalgia, such as pain, sleep problems or depression. This may include drug treatments, although studies tell us that physical and talking therapies are often more effective. Whilst drugs can’t treat fibromyalgia alone, they can sometimes help reduce symptoms to a level that enable people to become more physically active and take part in physical and talking therapies.
Some of the drug treatments that can be helpful for treating fibromyalgia were originally used to treat other conditions such as depression and epilepsy. This includes antidepressants such as amitriptyline, or drugs targeting nerve pain, including pregabalin and gabapentin. They work by changing how the brain and central nervous system process pain. They can reduce pain and help sleep, but can have a number of side-effects.
Other drug treatments that can ease pain include paracetamol, or stronger medicines such as co-codamol and co-dydramol which contain paracetamol and a low dose of a stronger opioid painkiller. Other stronger opioid-based painkillers include tramadol and morphine. Opioid-based painkillers can cause a number of side effects and are generally not recommended for the treatment of fibromyalgia. Opioids tend to mask pain and do not resolve the problem causing it. There is also evidence that long-term use of opioids may actually increase pain because the body can build up a tolerance to them, and with long-term use there’s a risk people can become addicted to them.
The people we spoke to talked about taking various medicines for their fibromyalgia. These were mostly intended to help with their symptoms of pain, and ranged from over-the counter painkillers such as paracetamol and non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (e.g. ibuprofen) to prescription medicines. Although a few said that some of these did help to control their pain, a common experience was that they didn’t work that well and that dosages had to be increased over time.
Some people described experiencing negative side effects from prescription painkillers. They described having to balance the side effects with pain control, sometimes more medication could help with their pain, but make them less able to function. Mary said that to control her pain makes her ‘lose the ability to function.’ Aleysha feels that her medication does help with her pain but makes it hard for her to sleep.
Melanie has been prescribed medication for pain relief and depression. Although she feels that these medications don’t really work and is concerned about their long-term impact, she’s worried about how much pain she would be in without them and how she would cope. Lisa doesn’t feel that the medication she was prescribed helps her, she wishes there was something more that could help her.
Many people expressed a reluctance to become too reliant on taking lots of pills. Chris feels like he takes too many tablets and Lyn said that she doesn’t want to depend on medication and become ‘zombiefied.’
Studies tell us that physical and talking therapies are often a better way of managing fibromyalgia than medication. Pain can affect mood and behaviour, especially...
Many of the people we spoke to described having tried a range of alternative and complementary therapies for their fibromyalgia symptoms. Whilst there is limited...