Lesson 5: Treatments: Traditional Medicine
Muscle Relaxants: Pain and Sleep Aids
Once again, clicking on the names of the different muscle relaxants will take you to more detailed information.
Much of the pain experienced with fibro comes from tension in the muscles and connective tissues. Some doctors prescribe muscle relaxants as an alternative to painkillers. Others prescribe them as something to be taken at night before sleeping on the theory that less pain will lead to better sleep. The most common of these (other than Soma,which we discussed under painkillers) are Cyclobenzaprine and Zanaflex. Others get better sleep if taking medication to help with Restless Leg Syndrome.
- Cyclobenzaprine, trade name Flexiril is a muscle relaxant that works by blocking pain sensations sent to the brain. It is effective in the short term, but people often become immune to its benefits after a time.
- Tizanidine, trade name Zanaflex works similarly to Flexiril, but also helps with muscle spasms, and is used in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis.. As with Flexiril check with your doctor if you are taking other drugs such as pain killers, antihistamines, anxiety medications, antidepressants, and/or birth control pills.
Restless Leg Syndrome is also part of our sleep problem. This is a difficult problem to describe, but is chiefly characterized by the need to constantly move the legs when lying down because they cannot find a comfortable position. This leads to profound sleep disturbance and discomfort in those whose sleep is already problematic. Several types of medication are used to treat the problem, most of which are explained in this document from the National Sleep Foundation.
One effective remedy for RLS is quinine. If you can't get the tablets, get ordinary tonic water from the grocery store. This is actually quinine water, and in a pinch does a great jpb of relieving discomfort from RLS.
