Cymbalta Fibromyalgia Drugs Explained
By Lawrence Edwards

Pain Relievers for Fibromyalgia

Most doctors will start your fibromyalgia pain relief regimen by recommending that you take an over the counter pain medication.

The most commonly used over the counter pain medications for fibromyalgia include Tylenol, Ibuprofen, and Aspirin. However, many people find that these over the counter pain relievers are not very effective methods of pain relief for this condition. If this is the case with you, your doctor will probably prescribe you something stronger. They may try a stronger pain reliever like Tramadol or an opioid drug like Morphine or Hydrocodone.

Antidepressants for Fibromyalgia

If you are prescribed an antidepressant for fibromyalgia it may be for your depression, but it may also be used to reduce your painful symptoms. One of the newer drugs that's showing a lot of promise for treating people with fibromyalgia is called Cymbalta. Fibromyalgia doctors use a number of different antidepressants including Amitriptyline, Pamelor, Doxepin, Prozac, Zoloft, and Effexor, which is similar to Cymbalta. Fibromyalgia is used to reduce pain because the neurotransmitters that are responsible for relaying pain signals also relay mood signals. Naturally, this makes antidepressants useful for depression relief and fibromyalgia pain relief.

Anticonvulsants for Fibromyalgia

It would not be uncommon for your doctor to prescribe you an anticonvulsant rather than an antidepressant like Cymbalta. Fibromyalgia can be treated rather effectively with anticonvulsants like Lyrica. In fact, Lyrica is the only drug that is approved by the Food and Drug administration to treat people living with fibromyalgia. Anticonvulsants work the same way that the depression medications do, by blocking pain signals in the brain. Many people who have taken Lyrica have reported a significant decrease in pain and a notable increase in daily function.

Other Medications and Fibromyalgia

When it comes to treating your condition fibromyalgia pain relief is just part of the process. Most likely your doctor will have to treat other symptoms like sleeping problems and muscle pain or spasms. To treat temporary sleeping problems your doctor will prescribe you a sleep aid like Ambien. To treat your muscle spasms they will prescribe a muscle relaxant like Flexeril to take before bed. Other symptoms will be treated with corresponding medications as necessary. Most likely you will try one of the popular fibromyalgia drugs like Lyrica or Cymbalta. Fibromyalgia doctors often try a combination of different medications and therapies to provide their patients with fibromyalgia pain relief.

Some of the additional therapies that your doctor may recommend would include physical therapy, massage therapy, chiropractic manipulation, acupuncture, counseling, and biofeedback. In most cases your best chance for relief involves you settling on a combination of medicines and non-medicinal therapies. Once you find what works for you and you are routine with it you will find living with fibromyalgia isn't as difficult as you once thought.

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Pain- In fibromyalgia, patients suffer from acute and stabbing pain in muscle joints. The tendons, soft fibres, ligaments and cartilages are massively affected by fibromyalgia. Pain medicines and antidepressants are often used in treatment. Pain severity, numbers of positive tender points, and pain intensity of tender points and control points did not differentiate the depressed and nondepressed patients. Discriminant analysis revealed that living status, the perception of functional limitations, maladaptive thoughts, and physical therapy treatment together identified diagnoses of depressive disorders for 78% of the patients.

Patients with FM have been found to have decreased concentrations of 5-HT and tryptophan (5-HT precursor) in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. This neurotransmitter is implicated in psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Patients with chronic pain are more likely to be depressed, to have thoughts of suicide and to attempt suicide than those without pain. As you might expect, rates of depression are significantly higher among patients with Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FS). Patients with fibromyalgia were 2.14 to 7.05 times more likely to have one or more of the following comorbid conditions: depression, anxiety, headache, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

Women will be studied during both follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle to test the hypothesis that there will be menstrual cycle-phase related fluctuations in symptoms and HPA axis function. These multidisciplinary studies will provide an understanding of the pathophysiological basis of the relationship of MMD to seemingly disparate conditions such as fibromyalgia and depressive disorders, as well as the higher prevalence in women, leading to a more rational basis for diagnosis and treatment of MMD. Women constituted nearly 75% of the people in the IBS cohort, while about half of the people in the non-IBS cohort were women. The distribution of people in the two cohorts according to age category was nearly identical. Women who are pregnant or nursing should not take Cymbalta and should make their physician aware of any conditions before accepting any type of prescription.

Treating both disorders simultaneously can greatly increase the quality of life and make the symptoms of fibromyalgia more manageable. Treatments that greatly reduce the pain in one patient often have absolutely no effect on another. And the only real way to diagnose it is by process of elimination.

Stress isn?t the only problem that people with fibromyalgia often face. Depression and anxiety are also very common, and they may be problems that you face. Stress or lack of sleep can make the symptoms of fibromyalgia worse. More women than men have fibromyalgia, but the disorder is common–it is seen in about 5% of the population.

Fibromyalgia is a rheumatic disorder characterized by musculoskeletal pain and tender points. Patients report substantial fatigue. Fibromyalgia is a new name given to an old condition and involving chronic inflammation of the muscles and the fibrous connective tissues that cushion the joints. Fibromyalgia (FM or FMS) is a debilitating chronic syndrome (constellation of signs and symptoms) characterized by diffuse or specific muscle, joint, or bone pain, fatigue, and a wide range of other symptoms. It is not contagious, and recent studies suggest that people with fibromyalgia may be gene .

CFS is a chronic condition. In the absence of irreparable damage, all chronic conditions can only result from a chronic disruption of the control system(s) that regulate that system. CFS is at least as common in ethnic minorities in the USA as in the ethnic Caucasian majority; a welcome replication of previous studies [8 ]. CFS is not an exclusively white syndrome. CFS is not a new phenomenon, with cases documented worldwide for more than 50 years.

CFS is diagnosed two to four times more often in women than in men, possibly because of biological, psychological, and social influences. Although CFS is most common in people 25 to 45 years old, it can affect people of all ages. CFS is a serious and complex illness, that like several other significant and recognized conditions, is best categorized as a syndrome. A syndrome is a collection of signs and symptoms that when taken as a whole under the appropriate conditions, define the illness. CFS is therefore the symptom which prevents the patient developing complete heart failure. Actually, everyone feels more rested when they are sitting down with their feet up!

CFS is described as involving constant, disabling fatigue that is not relieved by bed rest. There is presently no agreement within medical or naturopathic disciplines, as to the cause of CFS. CFS is also related to Epstein-Barr (a virus affecting the immune system and causing fatigue and weakness with ease of tiring). CFS is a highly complex and multifactorial illness. Each case of CFS is different and requires an individualised treatment program.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is an example: it is a condition defined largely by how people feel, rather than a specific etiology (cause). A disease is (or should be) something with a well-known cause. Chronic fatigue syndrome is a rather bad name for it, in my opinion. Yep, I suffer from CFS, and let me tell you, it aint exactly what you'd call fun. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a number of symptoms which develop because of the settling in and growing of viruses that are not considered normal, like Epstein Barr virus. For instance, 90% of the population has had contact with the Epstein Barr virus.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is clearly not all in the mind. It’s an illness that is very physical in nature. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a serious and debilitating illness which can affect all aspects of a persons life. There is no known case or cure for this disease as of yet. Chronic fatigue syndrome is something that many doctors have been unable to piece together and successfully treat. Yet, they think they might have found the cure with ginseng.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a complex illness that researchers are only just beginning to understand. It is clear that immune and nervous dysfunction and the presence of various infections and allergies plays a central role. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is not like the normal fatigue, which occurs due to everyday life. The early sign of this illness is severe fatigue that comes on suddenly, and may be short termed or last for a prolonged period of time (over six months). Chronic fatigue syndrome is not merely a state of being burned out. It usually manifests itself as an unusual complex of severe symptoms including extreme fatigue, short term memory loss, joint and muscle pain, swollen glands, etc.

Recovery may occur in some cases, but it depends largely on the parts of the brain affected, and its pace and extent are unpredictable. As a result, fluoroquinolone induced HAI can have a catastrophic impact on the lives not only of those injured but their families, friends and caregivers as well. Recovery from CFS can be slow and may require a patient to remain at home most of the time. Some people can recover enough at some point to be able to return to work and to conduct a fairly normal lifestyle even though some symptoms may remain.

Fibromyalgia is an excellent example of the "switching" phenomenon ? we may ingest a food which causes inflammation in the intestinal tract, sending signals to the brain, which are then expressed as diffuse pain in the muscles. This phenomenon happens because the body uses many of the same neurotransmitters and hormones to activate pathways in many different organ systems. Fibromyalgia is an extremely common chronic condition that can be challenging to manage. Although the etiology remains unclear, characteristic alterations in the pattern of sleep and changes in neuroendocrine transmitters such as serotonin, substance P, growth hormone and cortisol suggest that dysregulation of the autonomic and neuroendocrine system appears to be the basis of the syndrome. Fibromyalgia trigger points are specific areas of the body that are highly sensitive to the touch and cause great pain, but without redness, swelling or heat in the surrounding joints or muscles. These trigger point areas, also referred to as a tender points or pressure points, feel sore when pressed.

Tender points are specific places on the body, generally the neck, shoulders, back, hips, and upper and lower extremities, where pain occurs in response to pressure. Like arthritis , fibromyalgia can cause significant pain and fatigue, and it can interfere with a person's ability to carry on daily activities. Tender points are sharply localized and often bilaterally symmetric. Some points may correspond to sites of pain and others may be painless until palpated. Tender points are specific places on the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms, and legs. These points hurt when pressure is put on them.

Tender points are the areas physicians touch or feel to determine the diagnosis of FMS and are not areas in which the muscles are knotted or have a lumpy feel.Trigger points have been well studied by two physicians, Dr. Many massage therapists, physical therapists, and myofascial trigger point therapists have training in defusing trigger points. Tender points are specific places on the body where people with fibromyalgia feel pain from even the slightest pressure. These places include but are not limited to the neck, shoulders, back and hips. Tender points are areas on the body that are tender and painful when palpated (“Palpate” means to use one’s hands to assist in diagnosis, pressing and feeling the area). Palpation is usually fairly gentle, but not in the case of FMS diagnosis.

Tender points are used to diagnose fibromyalgia. The eighteen specific spots are located at insertion points of muscles by the knees, elbows, neck and back. Tender points are commonly found around the elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, back of the head and around the breast bone. Fatigue and sleep disturbance are common complaints. Tender points are commonly found around the elbows, shoulders, knees, hips, back of the head, and the sides of the breast bone. There are 18 designated tender points that should be checked .

Tender points are often found in the neck area, around the elbows and knees, down the spine, and in the hips. This condition may cause a feeling of fatigue that can be mild or severe. Tender points are sites where nociceptors, such as polymodal-type receptors, have been sensitized by various factors [29 ,30 ]. Our data suggest that acupuncture stimulation of tender points may activate sensitized polymodal-type receptors thereby relieving pain.

Trigger points, when pressed, refer pain to another part of the body; they are not sore themselves. The locus of the referred pain may be quite near to the trigger point, or quite distant from it. Triggering Event: This theory states that there is a single event, or a series of events, that somehow breaks down the body?s ability to handle the stresses of everyday life. Examples of these events may be a car accident, an allergic reaction, an exposure to a toxin, severe illness or emotional trauma.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a confusing condition with many symptoms. While no one knows the cause or indeed has a cure for this syndrome, it affects a large proportion of people, mostly women between the ages of 20 to 50.  Fibromyalgia is a syndrome rather than a disease. Unlike a disease, which is a medical condition with a specific cause or causes and recognizable signs and symptoms, a syndrome is a collection of signs, symptoms, and medical problems that tend to occur together but are not related to a specific, identifiable cause.

It does not cause inflammation and cannot be diagnosed with X-rays, blood tests or samples of muscle tissue.  Fibromyalgia is often treated by rheumatologists, pain specialists or neurologists. These specialists may help you get a diagnosis.  FM is not a life-threatening, deforming, or progressive disease. The symptoms are variable. It is one of the most common syndromes affecting the muscles, tendons, and joints in women.  Many health care professionals still do not recognize the condition as a disorder, most likely, because x-rays, blood tests, and biopsies often show no prevalent evidence to support the patient's complaints.  This syndrome is a chronic musculoskeletal syndrome characterized by pain, achiness, tenderness, and stiffness in the muscle tissue, ligaments, and tendons.  It most frequently affects the neck, shoulders, chest, legs, and lower back.

Diagnosis of fibromyalgia requires a history of at least three months of widespread pain, and pain and tenderness in at least eleven of eighteen tender-point sites. These tender-point sites include fibrous tissue or muscles of the neck, shoulders, chest, rib cage, lower back, thighs, knees, arms, elbows, and buttocks.

FM is not always easy to diagnose because many of the symptoms mimic those of other disorders, there are no visible signs of the disorder that a physician can see and there is no definitive laboratory tests.  The diagnosis is a clinical diagnosis.  Those who live with this type of chronic pain sometimes also suffer from an anxiety disorder. 

Fatigue is a key factor in fibromyalgia. Some healthcare professionals believe that fatigue may occur because the person doesn't get enough deep, restful sleep.  Fatigue, lethargy, depression, sleep disturbances, bowel irregularities, cognitive difficulties, and other symptoms also may be present.  FM is a complex disease that is influenced by multiple factors, including hormonal and psychological issues. For instance, the increased prevalence of fibromyalgia in women suggests a hormonal influence.

This syndrome is considered a muscle condition.  It is not a form of arthritis (a disease of the joints) because it does not cause inflammation in the joints.   It is a reaction of the body to chronic stress (usually appearing in women after episodes of significant stress in their lives). 

Patients with FM have been found to have elevated levels of substance P in their spinal fluid, a chemical that helps transmit pain signals from the brain. Scientists are currently investigating how the brain and spinal cord process pain and how substance P and other neurotransmitters fit into the process.  

Fibromyalgia is an extremely common chronic condition that can be challenging to manage, but seems to respond to lower levels of stress, deep sleep routines, some medications, exercise and things such as massage, herbal treatments and other natural remedies.  Many people are able to keep their FM in check and not let it control them.

It's time to lose weight… there's no doubt about it.

I have tried in the past, did well, gained it back, lost it, gained it, and on and on.  You may or may not relate

I have tried them all:

• Atkins
• Low fat
• South Beach
• Nutrisystem
• Etc.

Overall, the one I enjoyed the most and ultimately the one that gave me the best results was the Atkins (low-carb) diet.  My doctor thought so too.  When I am on a low carb diet, all of my blood tests are normal.  But, I have a hard time staying on a complete low carb diet for more than 4-5 months at a time, if not just a week or two.  I have probably started and stopped this diet more than any… it's just that the snacking hits me, and next thing you know I am driving through McDonalds again and again.

Then I saw the Skinny Switch Secret diet infomercial about 2 weeks ago (probably one of the best weight loss infomercials out there).

The premise of this diet, the best I can tell, is that you eat 2 days of low carb (or low glycemic) and then on day 3, you can treat yourself for one meal… like some pizza or other food where you can load up on the carbs.  I like that idea!

I did some research on it and it is a good system.  Those bozos out there who just say, "eat less and exercise more" need to get a real life.  Most of us need some sort of system to follow or group to belong to in order to be successful.

But, I didn't want to join this system… at least not yet, because I think I can modify things a bit to better fit me.  Here is what I am going to do:

Day 1 – eat low carb

Day 2 – eat low carb

Day 3 – 2 meals are low carb and 1 meal of my choice is anything I want it to be

• Krispie Kreme donuts and a chocolate milk
• Pizza Hut Pizza
• IHOP Pancakes
• Big Mexican meal of some kind… anything at all!
• Chick-fil-A value meal #1
• You get the idea

Now, when I say eat "low carb" I am not talking about the "induction phase" of the Atkins diet.  I am talking about a sensible 30-50 grams of net carbs a day.  Sometimes a bit less, but never much more until I begin exercising again (want to get some weight off first so I don't kill my knees).

The premise behind this meal where you load up with carbs is so your body doesn't begin adjusting too much and cause a plateu in the weight loss… which is probably the most discouraging thing of all… when you just can't lose another pound even though you are continuing to diet.  This carb load meal gives you a mental break, a cheat-treat to look forward to, and ultimately keeps your body from adjusting. 

I think it's gonna be great! Tomorrow is my first cheat-treat.  I think I'm going Mexican!

Who knows… maybe I'll be set up for the swimsuit issue of the AARP!