MEDICAL INSIDER
DR. MARIA CORAZON E. LIM
FOR AUGUST 6, 2023
FIBROMYALGIA
(Part 3)
For 2 issues now, we have been discussing
Fibromyalgia. We tackled issues about how it is
diagnosed, what are its symptoms, its associated
conditions, its causes and its treatment options.
Today, we will discuss medications for
fibromyalgia. So what are the medications for
fibromyalgia? Your doctor can prescribe a variety
of medications to help with pain, sleep
disturbance or depression. These will reduce the
symptoms to a level that will enable you to start
some gentle physical activity and rehabilitation
therapies.
What should be our outlook about medications
for FIBROMYALGIA? Fibromyalgia is a long-term
(chronic) condition, and recovery varies from
person to person. There’s no known cure, but
there are treatments, therapies and self-
management techniques that can help to improve
your symptoms to a great extent. It is good for
the patient to encourage his family and friends to
discuss his condition with them.
Everyone has to remember that a patient with
fibromyalgia has to be cared for because he is
suffering from a chronic disorder characterized by
widespread pain and other symptoms such as
fatigue, muscle, stiffness and insomnia.
As we said, the signs and symptoms of
fibromyalgia include pain and stiffness all over the
body; fatigue and tiredness; depression and
anxiety; sleep problems; problems with thinking;
memory, and concentration; and headaches,
including migraines.
Earlier, we said that the main cause of
fibromyalgia is a triggering event that might cause
a physical or emotional (psychological) stress.
Some people who are suffering from this say that
the pain they are suffering is described as aching,
dull, numbing, burning, tingling, pins-and-needles,
throbbing, pounding, shooting, sharp, stabbing,
blinding, knife-like, needle-like, and others.
If asked if fibromyalgia will go away? There’s no
cure for fibromyalgia, but the condition may go
into remission for weeks or even years at a time.
Even though fibromyalgia is considered a chronic
condition that never goes away entirely, most
people experience fluctuations in symptoms over
time.
Who are the people most likely to have
fibromyalgia? Research has it that fibromyalgia
risk factors include the following: AGE: People
older than 40 are more likely to develop
fibromyalgia. But it can affect anyone, including
children. SEX AT BIRTH: People assigned female at
birth are twice as likely to experience
fibromyalgia.