Opioids are no better than other medication in fibromyalgia

 People with fibromyalgia could be no better taking opioid-based therapies than other drugs, says new research published in Pain Research and Treatment.

A total of 131 people (92% women) with fibromyalgia who were an average age of 50 years were tracked by Canadian scientists for two years.

Those who took opioids often had more severe symptoms at the start of the study and continued to have worse symptoms and poorer functional status than those who took other medication.

“Results suggest that although function, pain and psychological variables improved during care in a multidisciplinary pain clinic, these measures were independent of opioid use,” the team reports.

Opioid users were also less likely to be employed and more likely to receive disability benefits than non-users.

Fibromyalgia affects up to one in every 25 people and causes chronic widespread pain in the muscles, headaches and fatigue.