Guest guest Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 PLEASE NOTE; I too suffer from CFS/ME so know and understand your pain and frustrations; CLARE in Tassie http://www.naturalnews.com/z023799.html NaturalNews.com printable articleOriginally published August 7 2008 Drug Companies Push New Medications for Fibromyalgia Via Disease Mongering Campaignsby David Gutierrez (NaturalNews) Pfizer has launched a television advertising campaign to push its medicine for fibromyalgia, even though the disease's existence is disputed by some doctors.In the ad, a middle-aged woman reads out loud from her diary, saying, "Today I struggled with my fibromyalgia; I had pain all over." The woman then turns to face the camera and says "Fibromyalgia is a real, widespread pain condition."Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic and severe pain with no identifiable source. Many fibromyalgia patients also suffer from other often-difficult to define conditions including abnormal sleep patterns, irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue, and psychiatric symptoms such as cognitive dysfunction, depression and anxiety.According to skeptics, the symptoms are nebulous because the term "fibromyalgia" does not describe a real disorder. Many doctors warn that a fibromyalgia diagnosis actually increases a patient's suffering, because it encourages them to focus on minor symptoms that they would have ignored before."These people live under a cloud," said Dr. Nortin Hadler of the University of North Carolina. "And the more they seem to be around the medical establishment, the sicker they get."Brain scans of fibromyalgia patients reveal differences in the way they process pain, but doctors cannot predict the syndrome's occurrence from looking at such scans.Because fibromyalgia patients often do not respond to conventional pain medicines, even prescription opiates, the FDA approved Pfizer's Lyrica for the condition in June 2007. Lyrica, first approved in 2004 as a treatment for diabetic nerve neuropathy, functions by binding to receptors in the brain that regulate the perception of pain. The mechanism of the drug is not well understood beyond the fact that it reduces the activity of the central nervous system. It is known to have serious side effects, including swelling, weight gain, dizziness and sleepiness.Following suit, Eli Lilly and Forest Laboratories have both submitted petitions for fibromyalgia drugs to the FDA.Lyrica sales hit $1.8 billion in 2007, a 50 percent increase over the year before. All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing LLC takes sole responsibility for all content. Truth Publishing sells no hard products and earns no money from the recommendation of products. NaturalNews.com is presented for educational and commentary purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice from any licensed practitioner. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. For the full terms of usage of this material, visit www.NaturalNews.com/terms.shtml http://www.grisoft.com Anti-Virus Scanned this message IF you decide to pass this email on to other friends, I ask you to please, after hitting the forward key..... delete all my personal information off this email before you send it on. I am being innundated with spam lately Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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