Fibromyalgia Treatment with Narcotics

It is easy to get "hooked" on prescription medications. No condition encourages drug abuse more than fibromyalgia. For many years, it was difficult to get doctors to believe patients who had this condition. The problem for the sufferer of fibromyalgia is that the pain can be intense and widespread, yet, be very difficult to explain. Throbbing and burning are two symptoms that have been mentioned in association with this condition.

Fibromyalgia really has no effective tried and true treatment, although two drugs recently introduced, Lyrica and Xyrem are thought to improve pain and the ability to get restful sleep.

There are drugs that are used now such as Tramadol that often work in conjunction with a narcotic.

Why is prescription drug abuse such a commonality with fibromyalgia? The answer lies in our traditional thinking as we grow up. We are taught that if one pill is good for a headache then two pills are better. That is not the way a narcotic works.

Narcotics are not really an effective treatment for fibromyalgia; however, they are often prescribed because the patient is in so much pain.

What are the medications that might qualify as narcotics? Vicidin, Tylenol #3 (codeine), or, just codeine, morphine, and oxycodone and methadone are some of the most popular ones.

There are number of problems with the use of narcotics in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

The first problem is that the body develops a tolerance for any medication. Since the medication is not really effective, it takes more and more to reach an analgesic effect. While this is going on, a person's mood can change as well their personality.

The biggest danger with narcotics and fibromyalgia and is the possibility of a drug overdose. When people have too much medication they lose perspective as to when they took the last dose and how much they are taking. Since they are in a condition which minimizes their ability to think; they may simply take too much medicine due to the pain.

When a person takes an overdose of a narcotic, it can kill them by compromising and in fact shutting down their respiratory system. There are many, many senseless deaths due to self-medication every year.

I have fibromyalgia and have first hand experience taking Vicidin. I assure you the desire to increase one's medication does occur. I am sure I would have given in to the desire for more medication had it not been for my wife being the "voice of reason". Finally, my doctor did add Tramadol which has been helpful.

Fibromyalgia is an illness that has to be monitored on a regular basis by a physician. A patient should never change drug strengths or frequency of usage. Unfortunately, getting away with drug abuse one time doesn't mean a person will be able to get away with it again.