While no clinical trial to date has specifically targeted fatigue , r and omized controlled trials , systematic review s , and meta-analyses indicate that treatment modalities studied in the context of other fibromyalgia symptoms could also improve fatigue .
Fatigue is a disabling , multifaceted symptom that is highly prevalent and stubbornly persistent .
Although fatigue is a frequent complaint among patients with fibromyalgia , it has not received the same attention as pain .
Reasons for this include lack of st and ardized nomenclature to communicate about fatigue , lack of evidence -based guidelines for fatigue assessment , and a deficiency in effective treatment strategies .
Fatigue does not occur in isolation ; rather , it is present concurrently in varying severity with other fibromyalgia symptoms such as chronic widespread pain , unrefreshing sleep , anxiety , depression , cognitive difficulties , and so on .
Survey-based and preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that multiple symptoms feed into fatigue and it may be associated with a variety of physiological mechanisms .
Long-term Maintenance of Response Across Multiple Fibromyalgia Symptom Domains in a Randomized Withdrawal Study of Pregabalin
Objective : To determine the incidence and duration of response of clinical ly meaningful improvements with pregabalin across several key symptoms of fibromyalgia ( FM ) . Methods : This was a post hoc analysis of data from a multicenter , double-blind , placebo-controlled , r and omized , withdrawal study , originally design ed to evaluate the efficacy of pregabalin monotherapy for durability of effect on FM pain based on pain and Patient Global Impression of Change ( PGIC ) criteria . Responder criteria for Fibromyalgia Impact Question naire total score ( ≥16-point change ) , Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale Sleep Disturbance subscale ( ≥15.8-point change ) , and the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey Vitality scale ( ≥10-point change ) were used to evaluate the incidence and duration of improvements in function , sleep , and fatigue  for pregabalin versus placebo among pain and PGIC responders . A composite responder index consisting of pain , PGIC , function , and sleep endpoints was used to explore multidimensional response . Results : Approximately 80 % of patients meeting pain and PGIC improvement criteria at r and omization had clinical ly meaningful improvement in fatigue , sleep , or function . Higher proportions of patients in the pregabalin group maintained a clinical ly meaningful response , and pregabalin-treated patients had a significantly longer time to loss of therapeutic response  compared with the placebo group . Composite responder Kaplan-Meier analysis , performed with patients demonstrating clinical ly meaningful improvements in pain , PGIC , function , and sleep at r and omization showed a significantly longer median time to loss of therapeutic response for pregabalin-treated patients . Discussion : The results from this post hoc analysis indicate that pregabalin provides long-term effects across multiple domains of FM ( Clinical Trials.gov registry ID : NCT00151489 )
While no clinical trial to date has specifically targeted fatigue , r and omized controlled trials , systematic review s , and meta-analyses indicate that treatment modalities studied in the context of other fibromyalgia symptoms could also improve fatigue .
Fatigue is a disabling , multifaceted symptom that is highly prevalent and stubbornly persistent .
Although fatigue is a frequent complaint among patients with fibromyalgia , it has not received the same attention as pain .
Reasons for this include lack of st and ardized nomenclature to communicate about fatigue , lack of evidence -based guidelines for fatigue assessment , and a deficiency in effective treatment strategies .
Fatigue does not occur in isolation ; rather , it is present concurrently in varying severity with other fibromyalgia symptoms such as chronic widespread pain , unrefreshing sleep , anxiety , depression , cognitive difficulties , and so on .
Survey-based and preliminary mechanistic studies indicate that multiple symptoms feed into fatigue and it may be associated with a variety of physiological mechanisms .