Resource Consumer Reports Recommends Generics over FDA Approved Drugs for Fibromyalgia 2016-07-07

[Cort]

Cort submitted a new resource:

Consumer Reports Does Not Recommend FDA Approved Drugs for Fibromyalgia - CR suggests Fibromyalgia Patients Try Generic Drugs First

The FDA approved drugs for Fibromyalgia underwent extensive testing, and most doctors probably reach for them first, but Consumer Reports does not recommend their use in FM.

Instead based on cost and effectiveness criteria Consumer Reports asserts that three generic drugs are probably the best choice for FM patients going the drug route.

With regard to the FDA approved drugs, CR states that "studies show that the benefits of these medications are generally small. There is no clear...

Read more about this resource...

 

[Snow Leopard]

Consumer Reports seem to be missing the point - those 'generic' drugs have different effects than the name-branded drugs. Secondly. paroxetine-IR and amitriptyline are unlikely to be effective for many patients. And amitriptyline has significant side effects (for me: bad POTS symptoms).

Patients will likely try all the available treatments until they find something that works...

 

[Cort]

Consumer Reports seem to be missing the point - those 'generic' drugs have different effects than the name-branded drugs. Secondly. paroxetine-IR and amitriptyline are unlikely to be effective for many patients. And amitriptyline has significant side effects (for me: bad POTS symptoms).

Patients will likely try all the available treatments until they find something that works...

Consumer Reports relied on study data, I believe, for their analyses...the studies suggest that proxetine and amytriptyline are as effective as the FDA approved drugs in FM - that's why they recommended that they be tried first.

 

[Snow Leopard]

I have seen such studies and they aren't exactly of the highest quality (some are from the ancient past - the 1980s!).

 

[Cort]

I have seen such studies and they aren't exactly of the highest quality (some are from the ancient past - the 1980s!).

Anything from the 1980's I would pretty much discard. I imagine they hardly anything about FM back then.