Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Advice to Help You Sleep Better with Fibromyalgia
A reader of our Arthritis White Paper asks: I have fibromyalgia and have been having trouble sleeping at night. Antidepressants have not helped. Are there any other alternatives? Here’s our advice …
Canadian investigators recently studied a drug called nabilone (Cesamet). Nabilone belongs to a class of drugs called synthetic cannabinoids. You may know that cannabinoids are the active ingredients in marijuana, and they affect the areas of the brain that control nausea and vomiting. Synthetic cannabinoids are often used to control nausea and vomiting in chemotherapy patients.
The investigators assigned 29 people to receive nabilone or the antidepressant amitriptyline for two weeks. The participants then had a two-week break from medications, followed by a switch to the other drug for two weeks. They did not know which medication they were taking, and neither did their physicians.
Both drugs were associated with better sleep, but nabilone was superior to the antidepressant for reducing the severity of insomnia. Both medications caused similar improvements in pain, mood and quality of life. Adverse effects, primarily drowsiness and dizziness, were more common with nabilone, but patients seemed to be equally satisfied with both drugs on this score.
If sleep is a problem, ask your doctor about the possibility of trying nabilone.
Posted in Arthritis on October 3, 2011
Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
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I have severe bouts of insomnia at times staying awake as much as 3 to 5 nights a week. I was given amitriptyline which doesn't help and then given seroquel 100mg which did not help either. The problem with nabilone is that my dr won't prescribe it because of the marijuana ingredient. In November I was struck with a severe stomache flu (vomiting and naseau) that lasted for 4 days before I went to the ER and was admitted to the hospital with an intestinal blockage. While there they gave me the nabilone wiich almost immediately stopped the vomiting and nausea within a couple of days. They kept me for 4 days due to the blockage and dehydration. When I was dismissed they gave me a prescription of 5 pills of the nabilone just in case I needed it and my pharmacy told my husband I didn't need it. After I persisted for a few days they tried to fill it but I had to have prior authorization from my dr which she refused to do.. I don't understand because it worked so well in the hospital. I didn't know it had that ingredient in it from marijuana, but I was so sick that I didn't care anyway. So what can we do to convince our dr's that at times we do need this med to help us get the much needed sleep that we are missing at times. I'm not saying that it should be used daily but just during the times that I described above when you can't sleep for up to 4 days at a time. There has to be a solution to this problem, I'm sure I'm not alone in this problem...............
Posted by: nanny97 | January 14, 2012 2:10 PM
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Haven't tried nabilone yet but sounds like a very good idea!
Posted by: smjiggs | October 8, 2011 8:04 AM