Fibromyalgia is not a psychiatric disease. It’s not a muscle disease. Doctors now know it’s a disease of the pain processing centre of the brain. In fact, there are now guidelines that any doctor can get a hold of, to get a clear definition of what this disease is all about. And finally, there’s a medication that is specifically indicated for the treatment of fibromyalgia. It’s been around for years, and most patients are already on it, but if they’re not, it can help.
Here’s the story.
Rochelle Callaway takes 8 prescriptions a day. It’s an effort to manage the excruciating pain she feels constantly.
“If you’ve ever had a bad flu where you ache all over and you feel fatigue – that’s what you feel like everyday.”
That’s because Callaway has fibromyalgia. And Doctor Robert Hauptman says it’s a disease of the pain processing system in the brain, not a psychiatric disorder.
“Once a person has fibromyalgia they develop this fairly widespread and extensive pain associated with fatigue, insomnia and cognitive changes as well.”
Fibromyalgia is often misunderstood and misdiagnosed because it presents with up to 50 different symptoms. For Callaway it took 2 years to get a diagnosis, but once she had it, she was relieved because at least she wasn’t losing her mind.
“I didn’t know why I was having all this pain,” says Callaway, “and they couldn’t seem to find any answers for the pain.”
But now that Callaway has a diagnosis, she’s on numerous medications that help… including Lyrica. It’s a drug that has been available for years for other conditions, that is now specifically prescribed for fibromyalgia.
“These people experience pain different from you and me,” explains Dr. Hauptman, “so something that may cause you to feel mildly painful will cause them to have a severe pain reaction and one of the things this drug does is take that down.”
And it does so with few side effects.
“A bit of dizziness, some fatigue, some weight gain can happen as well – most occur in the first week – but can be modified if you start with a low dose of the medication,” says Dr. Hauptman.
Callaway says it has made a difference in her quality of life.
“It’s helped with the brain fog and helps manage the pain so I can sleep better at night.”
For more information on the disease visit the website
Hi., missed the portion of this morning’s program while Rochelle was being interviewed and indicated what drugs she was taking all together. Did she happen to mention and if so., can you please advise me., I also have fibro and am curious if some of our drugs match? Thanks in advance
May 20th, 2009 at 12:03 pm