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 .
A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, flexible-dose study of fluoxetine in the treatment of women with fibromyalgia.
PURPOSE To assess the efficacy of fluoxetine in the treatment of patients with fibromyalgia . SUBJECTS AND METHODS Sixty out patients ( all women , aged 21 - 71 years ) with fibromyalgia were r and omly assigned to receive fluoxetine ( 10 - 80 mg/d ) or placebo for 12 weeks in a double-blind , parallel-group , flexible-dose study . The primary outcome measures were the Fibromyalgia Impact Question naire total score ( score range , 0 [ no impact ] to 80 ) and pain score ( score range , 0 - 10 ) . Secondary measures included the McGill Pain Question naire , change in the number of tender points , and total myalgic score . RESULTS In the intent-to-treat analysis , women who received fluoxetine ( mean [ + /- SD ] dose , 45 + /- 25 mg/d ) had significant ( P = 0.005 ) improvement in the Fibromyalgia Impact Question naire total score compared with those who received placebo , with a difference of -12 ( 95 % confidence interval [ CI ] : -19 to -4 ) . They also had significant ( P = 0.002 ) improvement in the Fibromyalgia Impact Question naire pain score ( difference , -2.2 [ 95 % CI : -3.6 to -0.9 ] ) , as well as in the Fibromyalgia Impact Question naire fatigue ( P = 0.05 ) and depression ( P = 0.01 ) scores and the McGill Pain Question naire ( P = 0.01 ) , when compared with subjects who received placebo . Although counts for the number of tender points and total myalgic scores improved more in the fluoxetine group than in the placebo group , these differences were not statistically significant . CONCLUSIONS In a 12-week , flexible-dose , placebo-controlled trial , fluoxetine was found to be effective on most outcome measures and generally well tolerated in women with fibromyalgia
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 .