Today I’ll be sharing 10 fibromyalgia treatments that really work. I have had Fibromyalgia for more than 30 years, but I have been determined not to let fibromyalgia and fibromyalgia pain keep me down. I have tried a lot of things and these are the ones that worked for me.

Wearing special green eyeglasses for several hours a day reduces pain-related anxiety and may help decrease the need for opioids to manage severe pain in fibromyalgia patients and possibly others who experience chronic pain, according to a study being presented at the ANESTHESIOLOGY^® 2022 annual meeting.

“Our research found that certain wavelengths of green light stimulate the pathways in the brain that help manage pain,” said Padma Gulur, M.D., lead author of the study and executive vice chair of Duke Anesthesiology and Duke Health, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. “There is an urgent need for additional treatments to reduce the use of opioids among patients with fibromyalgia and other types of chronic pain, and green eyeglasses could provide an easy-to-use, non-drug option.”

Few alternatives to opioids — especially non-drug options — exist for patients with severe and chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, which causes pain all over the body. Fibromyalgia affects about 4 million U.S. adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pain and anxiety share similar biological mechanisms. Additionally, fear of pain exacerbates anxiety, often leading to increased opioid use, said Dr. Gulur.

The researchers studied 34 fibromyalgia patients who were randomized to wear various shades of eyeglasses four hours a day for two weeks: 10 patients wore blue eyeglasses, 12 wore clear eyeglasses and 12 wore green eyeglasses. Patients who wore green eyeglasses were four times more likely to have reduced anxiety than those in the other groups, which saw no reduction in anxiety.

“We found that although their pain scores remained the same, those who wore the green eyeglasses used fewer opioids, demonstrating that their pain was adequately controlled,” said Dr. Gulur. “We would recommend the green eyeglasses treatment for those with fibromyalgia and are studying patients with other chronic pain conditions to determine if it would be beneficial.”

The eyeglasses are specially formulated to filter a specific wavelength on the green light spectrum, said Dr. Gulur. She noted that most patients who wore the green eyeglasses reported feeling better and asked to keep wearing them.

 Canadian researchers writing in The Journal of Pain reported that fibromyalgia (FM) patients participating in online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and treatment as usual (TAU) showed significant improvement in primary disease outcomes, such as depression, pain, sleep and pain acceptance, compared with TAU alone.

Acceptance and commitment therapy is a newer intervention within cognitive-behavioral therapy that relies on mindfulness and acceptance strategies.  In contrast with traditional interventions, ACT aims to facilitate the development of psychological flexibility through six interrelated processes:  acceptance, contact with the present moment, cognitive diffusion, self as context, connecting with personal values, and willingness and commitment. 

In several randomized controlled studies, ACT has been shown to reduce the negative impact of FM on function.  The researchers from the University of Manitoba sought to evaluate, for the first time, the efficacy of an online ACT protocol for FM.  They hypothesized that subjects treated with online ACT and TAU would improve significantly on the primary measures of FM compared to TAU control group.

Sixty-seven participants with fibromyalgia were randomly assigned to an ACT and TAU protocol or a TAU control group.  Study subjects completed the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire and a battery of self-report measures to assess disease impact. 

Results showed that online ACT significantly reduced FM impact relative to TAU, and 70 percent of online ACT participants were classified as treatment responders.  The authors concluded their study shows that individuals with FM may benefit from online ACT with minimal additional monitoring. 

 “This study is important for two reasons. One, it provides evidence that ACT, a newer treatment approach that promotes psychological flexibility and valued living, can be particularly helpful or people with chronic pain conditions such as FM, for which sustained symptom reduction tends be less obtainable; and two, it suggests a method of delivering ACT to many people with FM who may otherwise not be able to obtain help due to limited access to trained clinicians and treatment centers, or prohibitive costs, ” said Gregg Tkachuk, PhD, CPsych., assistant professor, Dept. of Clinical Health Psychology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba.

Patients with fibromyalgia who use tobacco products are at greater risk for cognitive impairment and other symptoms that affect quality of life, according to the results of a study from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MI.

Fibromyalgia is a common disorder affecting more than five million Americans. Although widespread pain is a fundamental symptom, cognitive impairment is actually one of the major manifestations and is sometimes colloquially referred to as “fibrofog.” Cognitive impairment may be even more disabling than pain symptoms, leading to memory decline, mental confusion, and concentration difficulties.

To identify potential risk factors, D’Souza et al. investigated the association of tobacco use and cognition in 668 patients with fibromyalgia from May 2012–November 2013. Specifically, the researchers found an association of worse overall cognitive function, language, verbal memory, visual-spatial memory, and concentration. They also identified that tobacco use was associated with increased fibromyalgia symptom severity, worse quality of life, worse sleep, and increased anxiety and depression.