Fibromyalgia Medication Treatment: Mainstream or Alternative?

The more researchers discover about the causes of fibromyalgia and the numerous symptoms that patients with the syndrome experience, the more types of fibromyalgia medication treatments there are out there for patients to try. There are some treatments that are approved by the mainstream medical community, whereas others are alternative treatments that some claim to help, but have not been medically proven in fibromyalgia medication reviews.

Naturalistic Treatments

There are a growing number of naturalistic fibromyalgia medication treatments in the market today. Various doctors and patients have become disillusioned with the toxic nature of the mainstream medications and have set out to find a more natural means to relieve symptoms, and some hope, to eventually cure the syndrome.

One fibromyalgia medication treatment involves a change in the patients’ diets. First, they work to remove all food allergies that the patient might have. This in some cases relieves the majority of the symptoms. Next they remove all sugars and additives from the patients’ diets since they can cause some of the fatigue symptoms and definitely do not do anything to help with those symptoms. They strive to teach the patient to eat a whole food diet that is rich in magnesium, by increasing the number of legumes, tofu, seeds, nuts and green leafy vegetables the patient eats.

Other fibromyalgia medication treatments involve vitamins and supplements. Vitamins B12 and D seem to help patients with their fatigue. Certain herbs have also been found to be helpful with fatigue issues in fibromyalgia patients, such as ginseng, licorice and rhodiola. In addition, guided exercise has been found to be beneficial for increase in energy and the endorphins produced through exercise. Coping skills are also helpful and support groups for fibromyalgia patients are also beneficial.

Mainstream Treatments

Mainstream fibromyalgia medication treatments, especially for moderate to severe pain, involve heavy doses of drugs that, although effective, can cause side effects and are expensive. Growth hormones are a relatively new treatment that has not been fully supported in reviews. They are also very expensive, which is prohibitive to most patients. Non-steroid anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDS) have also been tried, but have mixed reviews since fibromyalgia does not cause inflammation. The most effective fibromyalgia medication treatments are still the over the counter pain medications, anesthesia injections into the muscle tissue in problem areas, and analgesics, which are narcotic based. Each of these treatments seems to relieve the pain of the fibromyalgia patient, at least for a certain period of time, but does not solve the root of the problem.