- Benzodiazepines like Restoril can be used to treat insomnia. The biggest concern about using benzodiazepines is their habit-forming potential.
- Hypnotics such as Ambien, Lunesta and Rozerem cause relaxation that helps patients fall asleep and stay asleep. Ambien is less habit forming than the benzodiazepines but can cause rebound insomnia when it is stopped. The newer hypnotics Lunesta and Rozerem are not habit-forming and do not produce rebound insomnia.
7. Other
The neurologic medication Provigil, originally developed to treat narcolepsy, is sometimes also used to treat the fatigue of fibromyalgia. In a 2006 study, two-thirds of the fibrromyalgia patients taking Provigil experienced a 50 percent reduction in fatigue levels.
Sources:
Pellegrino, M (2005). Fibromyalgia: Up Close & Personal. Anadem Publishing.
Ervin, J.E., Dyer, D., Fox, C. (2007, Sept. - Nov.). Medication Update. Fibromyalgia AWARE, 14, 60-61.
© Karen Lee Richards
Last updated 1/26/09
