Lesson 5: Treatments: Traditional Medicine
What are the traditional ways of treating fibro. What medications are commonly prescribed for which symptoms? How much medication is too much?
Traditional Medicine's Treatments for Fibro
If you choose to go the traditional medicine route - a wise choice should you know you will be applying for disability - then you can expect a particular course of treatment that is more or less standard throughout those doctors who acknowledge that fibromyalgia is a real problem worthy of treatment.
Since we don't exactly know the causes of fibro no one can hand us an instant cure, but traditional medicine directs itself toward alleviating some of the symptoms and restoring some of our ability to function.. Most doctors will prescribe something for pain, as well as something to help us to sleep more soundly. Many will also prescribe something for the stress and depression that can come so easily to those who live with chronic pain.
Depending on your individual case and the severity of other symptoms, you may also receive medication for anxiety, headaches, irritable bladder or bowel and restless leg syndrome (RLS).
Not all doctors will treat all of these areas, and the treatment may differ from patient to patient depending on many factors - other medicines you are taking, other medical problems, your age, health in general, etc. We will look at the traditional methods for treating fibro.
