Doctors usually treat fibromyalgia with oral medications of a narcotic nature one way or the other, although some people with severe fibromyalgia pain may benefit from a combination of medications or treatments. Talk with your health care provider about non-narcotic solutions for treating your fibromyagia and you will in all probability draw a blank stare and possibly be told no such solutions or products exist.

There are a few FDA-approved medications for fibromyalgia and more are in development. Drug options include antidepressants, muscle relaxers, sedatives, painkillers, NSAIDs, and other medicines that ease symptoms, relieve pain, promote sleep, or fight fatigue. On June 21, 2007, Lyrica (pregabalin capsules CV) were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of fibromyalgia. The approval of Lyrica was long-awaited because it's the first medicine that is FDA-approved to treat fibromyalgia. More fibromyalgia drugs are in development. Doctors also treat fibromyalgia with a variety of drugs developed and approved for other purposes. Below are some of the most commonly used categories of fibromyalgia medications.

Analgesics

Analgesics are painkillers. They range from over-the-counter drugs, such as acetaminophen, to prescription drugs, such as tramadol, and even stronger narcotic drugs. For a subset of people with fibromyalgia, narcotic medications are prescribed for severe muscle pain. However, there is no solid evidence showing that narcotics actually work to treat the chronic pain of fibromyalgia, and most doctors hesitate to prescribe them for long-term use because of the potential that the person taking them will become dependent on them.

NSAIDs

NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are used to treat inflammation. Although inflammation is not a symptom of fibromyalgia, NSAIDs also relieve pain. NSAIDs include:

NSAIDs work by inhibiting prostaglandins, which play a role in pain and inflammation. These drugs, some of which are available over-the-counter, may help ease the muscle aches of fibromyalgia. They may also relieve headaches often associated with fibromyalgia.

The Facts Of NSAIDs

Antidepressants

Perhaps the most useful medications for fibromyalgia are several in the antidepressant class. Antidepressants elevate the levels of certain chemicals in the brain, including serotonin and norepinephrine. Low levels of these chemicals are associated not only with depression, but also with pain and fatigue. Increasing the levels of these chemicals can reduce pain in people who have fibromyalgia. Doctors prescribe several types of antidepressants for people with fibromyalgia.

Tricyclic Antidepressants

When taken at bedtime in dosages lower than those used to treat depression, tricyclic antidepressants can help promote restorative sleep in people with fibromyalgia. They also can relax painful muscles and heighten the effects of the body's natural pain-killing substances called endorphins.

Tricyclic antidepressants have been around for almost half a century. Some examples of tricyclic medications used to treat fibromyalgia include:

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

If a tricyclic antidepressant fails to bring relief, doctors sometimes prescribe a newer type of antidepressant called a SSRI. As with tricyclics, doctors usually prescribe these for people with fibromyalgia in lower dosages than are used to treat depression. By promoting the release of serotonin, these drugs may reduce fatigue and some other symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. The group of SSRIs includes:

SSRIs may be prescribed along with a tricyclic antidepressant. Doctors rarely prescribe SSRIs alone. Because they make people feel more energetic, they also interfere with sleep, which often is already a problem for people with fibromyalgia.

Cymbalta (duloxetine) is a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SSNRI) that is also showing promise.

Mixed Reuptake Inhibitors

Some newer antidepressants raise levels of both serotonin and norepinephrine, and are therefore called mixed reuptake inhibitors. Examples of these drugs include:

Researchers are actively studying the efficacy of these drugs in treating fibromyalgia.

Benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines help some people with fibromyalgia by relaxing tense, painful muscles and stabilizing the erratic brain waves that can interfere with deep sleep. Benzodiazepines also can relieve the symptoms of restless legs syndrome, which is common among people with fibromyalgia. Restless legs syndrome is characterized by unpleasant sensations in the legs as well as twitching, particularly at night. Because of the potential for addiction, doctors usually prescribe benzodiazepines only for people who have not responded to other therapies. Benzodiazepines include:

Other Medications For Fibromyalgia

Doctors may prescribe other medications, depending on a person's specific symptoms or fibromyalgia-related conditions. For example:

Symptom-Specific Drugs

Other symptom-specific drugs include:

Various headache remedies and sleep aids such as:

Muscle relaxants such as:

The Centre for Pain Relief endorses only topical/oral non-narcotic medications which we believe offer distinct advantages over systemic narcotic agents: greater safety, rapid onset of action and low side-effect profile. However, if local pharmacotherapeutics are to work, the targeted disorders should be regional and chronic and should demonstrate a pain relief response to topical anesthetics.

In cases of mild-to-moderate pain, the local therapy might not be the sole intervention. For moderate-to-severe pain, the use of a new systemic non-narcotic medication such as Betacaine as a local topical medication can be more than appropriate. In addition, a orally applied medication like Tramaden can offer faster relief as a centrally acting oral medication and can bring pain relief up to effective levels over a short period of time. The real secret is to use both at the same time.

At the Centre for Pain Relief, our practice standards require extensive clinical testing and development, and taking note of historical uses for essential oils such as Calendula Oil the active ingredient in our Menastil product. It has been shown that Calendula Oil, as an active ingredient in a pain relief product is an effective topical analgesic for fibromyalgia pain.

Unlike traditional pain relief formulas with narcotic ingredients that more often than not affect the entire body and not just the source of the pain area. Our non-narcotic pain relief products offer highly effective oral and topical treatments for painful fibromyalgia as applied directly to the area of pain and/or ingested as with our Tramaden oral application product to attack the inflammation via your blood stream.

We search for and provide all natural ingredient, OVER THE COUNTER pain relief products, containing all natural ingredients (such as Calendula Oil) available without a prescription, that will eliminate fibromyalgia pain conditions in a short period of time to provide meaningful and sustainable pain relief.

The Calendula Oil in our Menastil product for example, contains primary active compounds such as triterpenoids (they are anti-inflammatory) and flavonoids. Modern laboratory and clinal trial studies indicate that calendula petals do indeed have anti-inflammatory, astringent, and antiseptic (antibacterial and antiviral) properties, and may even offer immune-stimulating actions. The benefits of calendula in healing burns and wounds has also been demonstrated in a myriad of research studies. Calendula flowers are historically useful in reducing inflammation, wound healing, and as an antiseptic.

Historically, Calendula was used to treat various skin diseases, ranging from skin ulcerations to eczema. Internally, the soothing effects of Calendula were used for stomach ulcers and inflammation. A sterile tea of this herb was also applied in cases of conjunctivitis. Calendula has been found to be antispasmodic, aperient, cholagogue, diaphoretic, vulnerary. The primary chemical constituents of this herb include saponins, carotenoids, flavonoids, mucilage, bitter principle, phytosterols, and polysaccharides resin.

Calendula has No Known Toxicity, and is considered safe in normal applications. There are no known drug interactions with Calendula relative to treatment for fibromyalgia.

Most of our topically/oral applied neuropathy products have been clinically tested under strict guidelines and found to provide safe, relief to multiple areas of pain in the muscles, joints, and surrounding tissues. Results of these studies show that the “vast majority” of those who were tested found a range of “noticeable pain relief” to “complete pain relief” after applying each of our products to their particular fibromyagia condition.

The Key Issue that most fibromyalgia pain sufferers fail to realize is that ALL PAIN COMES FROM AFFECTED NERVES in the joints, muscle, and tissues of their body...ALL PAIN..NO EXCEPTIONS. Eliminating pain, requires getting a topical and or oral soultion to the origin and point of fibromyalgia pain to among other things, allow oxygen and blood to flow back into the affected/infected area as a minimum requirement for pain relief success because, when this happens, the nerves quit sending pain signals to the spinal chord and, therefore, to the brain. Pain Relief solutions such as these are not "cures". These products are not "cures". There is no such thing as a "cure" for fibromyalgia.

The Centre for Pain Relief is dedicated to the reseach, testing, and field application of non-narcotic information, products, and etc., toward meaningful reduction of fibromyalgia pain. When we find a successful fibromyalgia product solution, it will be placed on this website. If we find those that do not work, we will let you know about those products as well.