Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition affecting around 2% of the population in developed countries. Patients experience widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue, often to a disabling degree, as well as many other distressing symptoms. Although increased sensitivity to pain is the main symptom of fibromyalgia, fibromyalgia syndrome and other types of chronic pain diseases form a family of overlapping syndromes. Therefore, even though the most common symptoms are pain and fatigue in muscles and tendons, often it is seen that those suffering from fibromyalgia will have other associated conditions and symptoms. It is because of these overlapping symptoms that fibromyalgia cam to be categorized as a syndrome rather than a disease.

In fact, fibromyalgia symptoms also include nervous excitement and experience of migraine and lose your memory, if only momentarily. You can also suffer from poor concentration and become even anxious as well as depressed and confused. You can also suffer from a lack of concentration and become anxious and depressed and even confused.

Treatments and drugs:

In general, treatments for fibromyalgia include both medication and self-care. The emphasis is on minimizing symptoms and improving general health.

Medications:

Medications can help reduce the pain of fibromyalgia and improve sleep. Common choices include:

Analgesics: Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) may ease the pain and stiffness caused by fibromyalgia. However, its effectiveness varies. Tramadol (Ultram) is a prescription pain reliever that may be taken with or without acetaminophen. Your doctor may recommend nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) — such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or naproxen sodium (Aleve, others) — in conjunction with other medications. NSAIDs haven't proved to be as effective in managing the pain in fibromyalgia when taken by themselves.

Antidepressants: Your doctor may prescribe amitriptyline to help promote sleep. Fluoxetine (Prozac) in combination with amitriptyline is effective in some people. Duloxetine (Cymbalta) may help ease the pain and fatigue associated with fibromyalgia. And milnacipran (Savella) was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of fibromyalgia symptoms.

Anti-seizure drugs: Medications designed to treat epilepsy are often useful in reducing certain types of pain. Gabapentin (Neurontin) is sometimes helpful in reducing fibromyalgia symptoms, while pregabalin (Lyrica) is the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat fibromyalgia.

Therapy:

Physical therapy: Specific exercises can help restore muscle balance and may reduce pain. Stretching techniques and the application of hot or cold also may help.

Counseling:Cognitive behavioral therapy seeks to strengthen your belief in your abilities and teaches you methods for dealing with stressful situations. Therapy is provided through individual counseling, classes, and with tapes, CDs or DVDs, and may help you manage your fibromyalgia.

In any case, the diagnosis of fibromyalgia can only be performed by a medical professional who in turn must Rely on the symptoms have fibromyalgia Reported by the patient and who must also conduit neurological examinations.