These comments are made for the purpose of discussion and should NOT
be used as recommendations for or against therapies or other treatments. An indi
vidual patient is always advised to consult their own physician.
[posted 11/2/1999]
Question: Hi, I have several questions. 🙂 I have been treated for the past 7 or 8 years with nigraines. Currently I have stopped taking Stadol and went to Hydrocodone Plus, this is not working for me and my Dr. doesn’t prescribe any narcotic stronger than this one. (I was getting stadol from a precious Dr.) Also this new Dr. has diagnosed me with fibromyalgia and is treating it with amitriptyline and neurontin. This seems to help and so when the severe pain in my legs are gone, I quit taking it. Within a few days the leg pain is back worse than before. Is this something I will have to take for the rest of my life? He also put me on nadolol 40mg. for migraine prevention. I have only been on that for a short time, and I have had 2 migraines since then. Does this drug take a while to get in your system? Also, I do not know what drug or if it is the combonation of drugs, but I sleep ALL THE TIME! I mean I come home from teaching at 3:00 pm and go straight to bed for the night! I don’t wake up at all! On the weekends, I probably sleep from 4 or 5 pm until 2 or 3 the next day! My husband says that there has to be something else wrong. I don’t know, but my Dr. doesn’t seem concerned about my sleeping habits. Thank you for any advice that you might have for me! Diane Voth
Answer: Fibromyalgia tends to be an ongoing condition which lasts and for which we have little good treatment. The cause is unknown, but thought to be related to lack of Stage IV sleep. This is the deepest sleep (like when a child is completely flaccid while sleeping). We all need a couple of hours of Stage IV sleep or we’re tired all the time. So , there may be a link between the two. Adding drugs that work on Stage IV sleep like Elavil etc. might be an answer. Some would advocate a sleep lab evaluation. As to the migraines, the beta blockers take about a month or six weeks before you will have any idea as to whether they work. But, they do cause fatigue and some patients have sleep disorders on the medication, not the best option I wouldn’t think. Calcium channel blockers are ok. Also, many use nortriptyline or elavil for migraine prevention and this would also help Stage IV sleep, might get two for the price of one.
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