Fibro Drugs

[brightlotusmoon]

Cymbalta was just approved for fibromyalgia. This pleases me. While the drug is not for me (weird side effects hit me quickly), I am quite thrilled that there is such acknowlegment.
Cymbalta works primarily as a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Serotonin and especially norepinephrine are very important when it comes to pain management and stress relief, as well as regulating brain chemistry and parts of the central nervous system. I've watched several skeptics and critics of fibromyalgia start to troll and spam fibro forums, asking why an antidepressant would be used to treat a pain disorder, which they believe is fake. I laugh, because obviously the critics need to do more research rather than sit and ridicule people who suffer from chronic debilitating pain and fatigue.
When I had spoken to my physician about prescribing Soma, we talked about supplements I could take, and got into an interesting discussion about the amino acid supplement DL-Phenylalanine.
DLPA converts to l-tyrosine, which is vital in the production of epinephrine, norepinephrine, dopa, and dopamine. DLPA's effects on pain are very similar to NSAIDs and aspirin, with the added effect of boosting dopamine levels (phenylalanine is a key chemical in chocolate and cocoa).
My doctor and I established that my dopamine levels are naturally low anyway, most likely due to the effects from the cerebral palsy. She and I agreed that taking 500 mg of DLPA a day -- 2,000 during flare-ups -- might work extremely well for me. I told her I'd been taking DLPA anyway for months, but this was our first serious conversation about my taking it as a daily supplement specifically for my pain. So far, I am doing extremely well. And I've learned that other fibromyalgia patients have done the same thing, taking DLPA alongside prescription medications. My doctor has no problems with my experimenting with supplements, which is one of the many reasons I love Doctor Carolyn.

Comments

[celtic_maenad]

Just as a point of information, I find it interesting that NutraSweet is made from Phenylalanine. And aspartic acid (I hope I spelled that right), but those two things become the methyl esther aspartame, or NutraSweet. Look on the side of a can of Diet Coke - it's got a notice saying "Contains Phenylalanine".

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

*nods* Natural phenylalanine by itself can cause problems in people who can't process it well. Interestingly enough, I'm find with phenylalanine and have bad reactions to NutraSweet, Equal, Sweet N Low, and Splenda.

[celtic_maenad]

That is interesting, as Splenda and Sweet-N-Low are two entirely seperate kinds of artificial sweeteners than Equal/NutraSweet.

[brightlotusmoon.livejournal.com]

I actually have entirely separate reactions: Splenda and Sweet-N-Low give me stomach cramps, anxiety, asthma attacks, nausea, and diarrhea. Equal and NutraSweet are more evil, and give me migraines, nausea, loss of concentration, and they lower my seizure threshold. My mother-in-law, who used to work with kids affected by cerebral palsy, warned me to not use Equal or NutraSweet, since they apparently cause neurological issues in people with CP.
I am also extremely sensitive to aspartame.