As people who are suffering from fibromyalgia, we’ve all been there. We’ve all tried to figure out what the best course of action is for our treatment plan.

Depending on our particular specialist, we may be more apt to try out new treatment plans under their supervision.

Every day, more treatments are coming to light for fibro sufferers; and in this article, we’re going to take a look at Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy and how it can help those who are dealing with fibromyalgia symptoms.

What Is Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy?

Of course, your first question is likely this: What is Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy in the first place?

What does it do and how does it work? Honestly, it sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is.

In short, Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy is a type of treatment that takes different types of opioids in order to make sure that your chronic pain is kept in check.

There are so many disorders and diseases with chronic pain as part of it that Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy is just one of the many ways that it is dealt with.

Sometimes referred to as COAT’s, Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy used to only be for those who were dealing with cancer treatment or other, very painful, situations that made it difficult for them to move and function normally.

But, as time went on and studies were performed, specialists realized that, if taken in a safe environment and with proper parameters, the Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy could actually play a huge role in helping to reduce the amount of pain and suffering that people were dealing with when it came to chronic pain disorders (like FM and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome).

What happens in Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy is that the opioids actually make it so that the “pain messages” don’t get where they’re going. In issues with chronic pain, you will find that this is a huge deal.

Everything is misfiring, so a person is always in pain. When they start Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy, the amounts of signals that are being misfired are a lot less than they were previously.

On top of that, since there are fewer pain messages getting through, you’re going to feel a lot less pain in the long term as well.

Any type of opioid can be used as part of Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy.

Full agonists are the opioids that basically turn off all receptors and they will always work and get better as you add to the dosage that you are taking on a regular basis.

Partial agonists, sometimes called partials, are a little bit weaker and will eventually “wear off” as you become more accustomed to using them.

Mixed opioids only focus on certain parts of the brain, as opposed to the entire thing, thus making it a bit more of a focused attack on your pain misfiring.

How Can Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy Help with Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

Now, it’s likely obvious why this plays a huge role in people who suffer from fibromyalgia symptoms on a regular basis.

With FM, we’re constantly fighting off pain and fatigue. If we are able to get more control over the pain receptors by using Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy, we’re going to start to see a difference in how much pain we are feeling and what we are able to do in terms of motion and activity.

But, this isn’t the only thing that is going on here. Here are a few other things that happen during Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy for those with FM.

First off, you’ve got a decrease in pain. All of us with fibro are looking for a way to make it so that our pain is lessened.

As you start on Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy, you will start to see that your pain is that much better than it used to be.

It won’t totally go away (usually), but it will definitely reduce enough that you can be more comfortable and feel as if you are able to take care of yourself a lot better as well.

Brain function is something that is really difficult for people who have fibromyalgia.

Why? Mainly because the “fibro fog” and other issues make it so that we aren’t really able to concentrate or pay attention to the rest of the world around us.

Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy has actually been shown to play a huge role in helping people to focus more easily, and it makes it easier for people to remember information that they need to remember.

They can also be less forgetful and feel more comfortable with their emotional and/or mental health.

Once the pain has been dealt with, as you can imagine, a lot of other things are going to fall into place for the fibromyalgia patient.

They are going to be able to exercise and keep their weight down, which is often an issue for many with fibromyalgia.

Sleep is a huge one – once the chronic pain isn’t waking you up at all hours of the day and night, you’re going to be able to get a more restful sleep.

The more sleep you get, and the less pain you’re fighting off, the more likely it will be for you to get through your day without much fatigue at all if you have any.

It’s still on the rise, but you can definitely see a bit of a difference when it comes to fibromyalgia symptoms, especially if you try therapies like Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy.

It can help relieve your symptoms and allow you to live a happier, more fulfilled life in the midst of all of the symptoms that you’re experiencing.

If you think this is an option for you, or you are thinking about changing your treatment plan in any way, your doctor is the one you want to look to for advice in that arena.

References:

http://www.fmcpaware.org/medication/fibromyalgia-and-chronic-opioid-analgesic-therapy

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/780357_4

http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_opioid.html