To medicate or not to medicate?

How is fibromyalgia treated? Should you medicate yourself? I can point to the treatment methodologies, but I can't answer the second question. Treatment is very personal and varies dramatically from person to person. I personally don't like to take drugs but at times it is inevitable.

According to the Mayo Clinic, "In general, treatments for fibromyalgia include both medication and self-care. The emphasis is on minimizing symptoms and improving general health."

Medication is used to reduce the pain and improve sleep for fibromyalgia sufferers. These treatments range from your common over-the-counter pain killers, to sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, anti-depressants, and anti-seizure drugs.

My personal course of action has been to try and minimize pain and maximize sleep. For me, maximizing sleep is the most difficult part. When I don't get enough sleep, the pain is worse. I can't tell you which came first, the pain or the lack of sleep, but as I get more tired, I become less able to deal with everyday life. It becomes more difficult to concentrate, I become irritable, and everything hurts. If I don't deal with the sleep, symptoms become progressively worse. Simple tasks begin to look insurmountable.

I don't like to take drugs if I can avoid them. I tend to be very sensitive to the side-effects of most medications. Self-help gurus will point you towards diet, exercise, supplements, holistic treatments, and alternative treatments. To some extent I agree with this. But no matter how healthily I try to live, sometimes I need more help to function normally.

For the most part, I'm a pretty healthy eater. My downfall is sweets, and I have been trying reduce the amount of sweets I eat. I know from experience that too many sweets affects my IBS. I also exercise regularly, and I have added yoga to the mix in the last year. I practice all the techniques they advise for adequate sleep. I love massage, but unfortunately, my insurance doesn't cover it, and I cannot fit it into my budget right now. Even with all my attempts at living healthily, my nervous system doesn't function quite right, and sometimes it needs a jump start. This is where medications come in.

I have been lectured by well-meaning friends on the dangers of using sleeping pills. All I can say is that although your advice is well-intentioned, I can't get a good night's sleep on my own. My body doesn't work right. Spend a week in my shoes, and see how well-rested you are at the end of it. Sleeping pills are not a panacea. They stop working if you take them daily. Used for the purpose of allowing myself to make up lost sleep, they are invaluable.

Muscle relaxers have the added advantage of making me sleepy while relaxing my muscles. Add some acetaminophen to the mix at bedtime, and often I have very little pain at night.

With sleeping pills, muscle relaxers, and a pain killer I am treating my symptoms. They are not cures, but I do not have to take any of these drugs daily, and the side effects for me are negligible.

I sometimes consider taking anti-depressants. They are used not for treating depression but for treating the pain and sleeplessness of fibromyalgia. Using these types of medication require much more consideration for me. They are used long-term and can have many adverse side-effects. Sometimes the cure can be worse than the cause. The same can be said for the new drug treatments for fibromyalgia you hear advertised on TV.

Many fibromyalgia victims use narcotics. For me, that is not a viable option. It is very difficult to function on narcotics, they have a lot of side effects, and they can be quite addicting. My pain is not great enough to ever take that course, but for some it is an option.

To medicate or not to medicate is very personal. Before you chastise someone for the drugs they take, consider that person's daily quality of life. Living in constant exhaustion and fatigue is disabling and mind-numbingly depressing. There is no joy when you hurt all the time. Each person must make his or her own decision about treatment under a doctor's care. The most anyone else can do is support that person and not belittle his or her choices.