"I'm on a new drug, one that won't make me itch..."
So I saw my N.P. last Thursday and she has taken a fairly new tack. She used to favor alternative therapies, but after being reviewed by the state authorities, I think she's gotten gun-shy and is following the mainstream protocols. She wanted me to try one of the three "new" drugs now FDA-approved for fibromyalgia. All of them, from what I can tell, are not much different from what I've tried through the years. They are all called anti-depressants "but not prescribed to me for depression" (I've heard this before!). The older drugs were called SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors). The new one I'm on, Sabella, is an SNRI (Serotonin and Norepinephrin Reuptake Inhibitor. This is based on the theory that FMS is caused by a chemical imbalance in the Central Nervous System, or brain. She said it increases dopamine in the brain. I am skeptical that it will help, but I'll give it a month. I have to titrate to the therapeutic level, and if I go...