Drugs for Fibromyalgia & ME/CFS - The Cart Before the Horse?

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Drugs for Fibromyalgia & ME/CFS - The Cart Before the Horse?

_http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2008/02/11/drugs-for-fibromyalgia-mecfs-the

-cart-before-the-horse.htm_

(http://chronicfatigue.about.com/b/2008/02/11/drugs-for-fibromyalgia-mecfs-the-c\

art-before-the-horse.htm)

Monday February 11, 2008

 

We don't know _what causes fibromyalgia_

(http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/whatcausesfmscfs/a/fms_causes.htm) (FMS) or

_chronic fatigue syndrome_

(http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/whatcausesfmscfs/a/cfs_causes.htm) (CFS or

ME/CFS.)

We don't know why some people get them while others in the same situation do

not.

We don't have reliable _diagnostic tests_

(http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/diagnosingfmscfs/a/diagnos_fms_cfs.htm) and

some experts admit that a lot

of us are probably diagnosed with one condition when we actually have the

other (or both.)

So does it seem a little odd that the FDA and pharmaceutical companies are

working to approve drugs for these conditions?

Don't get me wrong - I'm all for finding something that helps - but have you

seen the potential side-effects list for _Lyrica_

(http://drugsaz.about.com/od/drugs/lyrica.htm) (already approved for FMS)?

_Cymbalta_

(http://drugsaz.about.com/od/drugs/cymbalta.htm) and milnacipran (awaiting

approval for FMS)?

Ampligen (awaiting approval for CFS)? Some of them frightening (increased risk

of suicide for the first three) or oddly similar to the conditions they're

supposed to treat (Ampligen can cause flu-like symptoms and fatigue. Hmm.)

Consider this - Cymbalta (duloxetine) and milnacipran both boost _serotonin_

(http://chronicfatigue.about.com/od/fmsglossary/g/serotonin.htm) levels in

the brain, and it's generally believed that Lyrica (pregabalin) does as well

(no one knows for sure.) If you're misdiagnosed with FMS and you really have

CFS, you might already have high serotonin levels. That means the " treatment "

would put you at risk of _serotonin syndrome_

(http://chronicfatigue.wpadmin.about.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit & post=32)

, which can cause things like

hallucinations, rapid heart beat and even death. While doctors can't test you

for FMS, they can check your serotonin level with a simple blood test - but

I've never seen or heard of a recommendation that they do test it before

prescribing these drugs.

What do you think - are we putting the cart before the horse? Should the

focus instead be on diagnostic tests? Are some doctors happy to give us drugs

since they're helpless to do much else? Is it worth the risk to get some relief?

Is drug-company research helping us better understand these conditions?