will any one suggest a cure for FIBROMYALGIA please?

Question

we have a health problem in our house. our daughter in law is suffering from FIBROMYALGIA. will any one suggest a possible
cure for this disease please.

gouraswamy krishna murthy
Bangalore - india

Answer 1

Ack... I hate to say this, but there is no cure!! But there numerous ways of trying to deal with it!

Fibromyalgia is a SYNDROME. Thus it is a collection of symptoms with no known cause, hence why it is difficult to treat. the symptoms themselves need to be dealt with.

In terms of non-pharmacological therapy (ie. no drugs) there needs to be plenty of focus on improving her sleep! Fibromyalgia patients notoriously have horrible sleep patterns. Sure, the pain is a large reason why the patient cannot sleep, but lack of sleep will only serve to aggrevate the problem more!

In terms of pharmacological methods of treatment this is where it gets messy. Hundreds of different treatments have been tried, but I will give the methods I have seen work the best. Pain relievers need to tried first. Start with OTC products (ie. acetaminophen, ASA, ibuprofen, naproxen.. if available). Then you can move to the prescription meds. Muscle relaxants (ie. cyclobenzaprine) have sometimes been successful, but probably only because they help one sleep better! Probably a better bet are "nerve pain" relievers, such as amitriptyline (my first choice), gabapentin, or pregabalin. Ideally you should also take something to help with sleep, and products like amitriptyline can double for this function, but sometimes a benzo such as lorazepam, or a pseudo-benzo such as eszopiclone are needed.

Topically there products to try as well. You should first try OTC products such as methylsalicylate rubs (ie. A535) and/or capsaicin rubs. Keep in mind that capsaicin rubs can take up 3-4 weeks before you see the maximum benefit! Next on the list, you should ask for a prescription for an anti-inflammatory rub. Diclofenac in diffusimax/phlogel seems to work best. We typically have to make this in the pharmacy. ALSO my personal favorite for this is a specialty compound I have seen made up (only at a few select pharmacies in town) that also contains KETAMINE. Ketamine is a tranquilizer used in horses and it is also a drug of abuse with some people, but it makes for a great anaesthetic rub especially with fibromyalgia patients!

There have been reports of using guaifenesin orally for fibromyalgia, and there is a book written on this from about a decade ago, but there is no good evidence this works, and it is damn near impossible to GET guaifenesin powder and to follow the diet and practices enforced by the book without going insane. Not worth the time and money in my opinion.

And most importantly she need to stay positive that she can fight this off! The pain may never go away completely, but studies have shown that positive thinking is crucial in the treatment of this syndrome! Think of ways to enhance her mood! Lower stress, times to relax, vacations, etc.!!

Good luck!!

Answer 2

There is no cure - only treatments that work some of the time for some people. Fibromyalgia is not even a recognized diagnosis by a lot of doctors - it's kind of a "trash" diagnosis for when they can't figure out why you feel so bad when there is nothing that comes up on tests.

You just need to do some research on the internet and in the library about the newest treatment options and find out what works for her. It's mostly trial and error and having an informed doctor.

Answer 3

I was just reading that the deficiency of certain vitamins can cause fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. Have her take a really good vitamin supplement after breakfast or lunch. Ask her to eat a good balanced diet also.
Fibromyalgia is a recently recognoized disorder that is a common cause of muscoloskeletal pain and fatigue. The symptons include generalized fatigue, chronic headache and sleep disturbance. Magnesium deficiency within the muscle cell may be a factor in the cdevelopment of FibroM. 300 to 600 mg of Magnesium will help.
Aslo three clinical studies show that SAM helped significantly in patients suffering from fFibroM. Two hundred to 400 mg of SAM twice a day is recommended.
All the vitamins should be eaten with a meal since glucose and amino acid molecules are needed for the transportaion. glucose are the product of carbs and amino acids are the building blocks of protein.

Source(s):

Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements by
Michael T Murray.

Answer 4

I have this, although mine consists of back pain and fatigue. I have physio and am about to start Tai Chi as I've heard it helps. I take paracetamol (full daily dose) and coedine phosphate (this is addictive) pain meds don't really help but they take the edge off. I've taken souble coedine aswell that helps but can cause headaches if you take too much too often. There is no cure I'm not sure what other pain meds there are, I'm not allowed any others due to dodgy kidneys and liver. Physio dept. have help groups and the hydro pool is supposed to be good too, aslo tackaling your causes of stress can reduce it Hope you feel better

Answer 5

There are several antidepressants (prescriptions) that can ease the pain of fibromyalgia. One of the best ones is called Cymbalta, and it's taken once a day.

Also, gentle stretching exercises like Yoga, Tai Chi, or Pilates help ease the pain.

Answer 6

It is difficult for the medical community to be certain of the existence of a disease for which there are no positive test results and which presents with such myriad complaints. But I'll give you my best guess.

Normal "wear and tear" as we age can lead to the development of myofacial trigger points. You can think of these as a pinpoint scar within a muscle that with the right circumstance can go into spasm. The level of pain can be quite severe, and radiate to relatively remote areas, creating significant confusion as to the source. For instance, a trigger point at the base of the skull in the back can create a pain that radiates directly into the eye, so that the patient can complain of eye pain. You generally can identify a trigger point by pressing on it - the muscle in the immediate vicinity will have no reaction when pressure is applied but pressure directly on the trigger point will not only trigger intense pain in that area, but will reproduce the radiation of the pain. Any muscle in the body can be affected, and these are so common that just about everyone will suffer from trigger point spasm at some point in their lives. Pressure point massage by a licensed massage therapist is probably the best short term solution (though it is very painful - pressure on the trigger point causes increasing pain and spasm, until a threshold is passed and the trigger point relaxes and the pain disappears). The best long term solution is strengthening and stretching of the affected muscle, because strong, stretched muscle tends not to spasm.

That describes an isolated trigger point, but not fibromyalgia. Imagine a situation though, where one of two things happens: first, there is some type of extensive soft tissue injury (such as getting bruised or battered in a motor vehicle accident), or second: some type of injury is sustained that causes essentially reprogramming of the pain threshold within the spinal cord. In either case, you then have a patient who seemingly has dozens or hundreds of trigger points simultaneously. As one improves, another develops, so that you see a constantly shifting and changing pattern of pain. Patients like this tend to be deconditioned and overweight, because the pain limits their ability to exercise and the limited exercise leads to weight gain. The most effective drugs that are given to treat the pain are either antidepressants or some of the anticonvulsants, which, depending on the drug and the particular patient, may significantly reduce the pain though rarely eliminate it. The major problem is that the drugs that are most effective also tend to trigger further weight gain, which makes everything worse.

There is no cure that I am aware of involving either medication or surgery. There is however a non-medical cure that I've seen work 100% of the time when patients were actually able to execute it. The number of patients who can do so, though, is very very small.

The cure takes advantage of the principle that tone muscle tends not to spasm, and that large amounts of consistent exercise tend to reprogram spinal cord pain processing to increase pain threshold. The idea is simple. The execution is exceedingly difficult.

The patient forces him or herself to engage in some form of aggressive aerobic exercise for 40 minutes to 1 hour a day, seven days a week. I'm not talking about walking here - but spinning, running up and down stairs, the sorts of things you would see athletes in training do. At the same time, three days a week the patients engages in resistance training (weight lifting) for at least an hour at a time working all the major muscle groups. I'm not talking about light trips to the gym, more like aggressive hard programs again the type done by athletes. In an ideal world, this combined exercise program would be done under the supervision of a professional trainer for safety's sake and maximal efficacy. I've actually convinced five patients to do it, and all of them have had 100% resolution of their symptoms within a few months. At the same time, not surprisingly, they were all in the best shape of their lives, and much healthier and happier overall.

The reason so few patients can do this is that the first day following the initial attempt to exercise, the patient is in so much pain he tends to give up and not go back. The patients who succeed are the ones who say, "Yes it hurts terribly, but I refuse to give up," and do it anyway.

Very very hard, and it requires a phenomenal level of will power and tenacity on the part of the patient. But it does work.

Answer 7

there is no cure at all there r different treatment that may help. I have it also was diagnosed in 2001. go to fibrohugs.com it has lotts of info on it.