Not all patients experience relief using non-pharmacological fibromyalgia therapy methods such as dietary changes, lifestyle change, exercise, and over-the-counter medicines.

As the next step in a patient's therapy, a doctor will recommend the use of prescription drugs or pharmacological fibromyalgia therapy.

In pharmacological therapy, the doctor will use prescription drugs to treat the symptoms giving their patient the most concern.

When introducing prescription drugs into fibromyalgia treatment, it is common for the doctor to recommend a combination of non-prescription and prescription drugs to treat the patients symptoms before using a prescription only therapy.

Depending on a patient's symptoms, a doctor will prescribe pain killers, anti-depressants, anti-seizure agents, muscle relaxants, or sleep aids.

1.) Anti-Depressives

The most commonly used anti-depressives in fibromyalgia treatment are tricyclics, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and serotonin-norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitors (SNRIs). The doses used are not as large as those used to treat depression. Doctors use an amount large enough to improve sleep and lessen pain. If a patient is clinically depressed in addition to having fibromyalgia, the doctor will increase the dose to treat the depression as well.

Tricyclic has shown to be beneficial for short-term use. This includes the drugs Amitriptyline, Norpramin, Sinequan and Asendin. Their side effects are dry mouth, heart rhythm disturbances, erectile dysfunction and weight gain.

SSRIs drugs used to treat fibromyalgia are Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac. They increase the serotonin levels in the brain helping patients sleep, ease fatigue and improve mood. Their side effects include agitation, nausea, erectile dysfunction and insomnia if taken at night.

SNRIs act on two chemicals in the brain. They help manage the norepinephrine and serotonin levels and are more effective than SSRIs in treating fibromyalgia. The most commonly used drugs in this group are Cymbalta, Effector, and Pixel. Pixel is not approved for fibromyalgia treatment in the United States, but research has shown it is effective in treating pain associated with the disease.

2.) Anti-Seizure Agents

Anti-seizure agents prevent the nerve cells from over firing and causing pain. This improves a patient's ability to sleep, relieve fatigue and help improve pain. Pregabalin is well-tolerated by patients at doses up to 600mg.

Its side effects are dizziness and slight impairment of motor function. Gabapentin is another anti-seizure agent used in treating fibromyalgia. It suppresses pain transmission making it easier for patients to sleep and become less fatigued.

3.) Muscle Relaxants

Muscle relaxants are used to ease muscle spasms and improve muscle function. Doctors routinely use Flexeril. It has similar properties to tricyclic drugs and the same side effects.

4.) Pain Relievers

Analgesics and anti-inflammatory agents are commonly used in fibromyalgia treatment. A combination of acetaminophen and trampoline taken 4 times a day is beneficial.

The nonstrategic anti-inflammatory drug Bonsais produced a 50% reduction in pain, but long-term use of opioid and narcotic analgesics can lead to addiction.

Pharmacological fibromyalgia therapy research has shown that Naltrexone, a drug used for heroine withdrawal, can reduce fibromyalgia pain by 30% in some patients.

Dopamine agonists used to treat parkinsons disease have shown promise in control for fibromyalgia pain. And, Adrenergic agonist, used to treat MS (multiple sclerosis) muscle spasms, can relieve pain and improve mobility as well.