About 1 in 30 adults are affected by FMS, with a female-to-male ratio of about 5:1. The most frustrating part of FMS is the lack of any reliable, valid and objective clinical tests for diagnosing it. When people present with widespread body pain and fatigue and the doctors have no clue as to why, they just call it FMS; a trash bin diagnosis. Meaning since they have no clue what is going on, they simply label the person as having “Fibromyalgia”. I despise the term as it means nothing more than “muscle fiber pain” (when directly translated from Latin).
Some healthcare providers confidently prescribe various opioids or supplements and vitamins to help the symptoms associated with FMS, but…
“There is no evidence that pure opioids are effective in fibromyalgia” (Littlejohn et al 2016)
“Little evidence was found to support the hypothesis that vitamin and mineral deficiencies play a role in the pathophysiology of CFS and FMS, and that the use of supplements is effective in these patients.” – Joustra et al 2017
Although vitamin D deficiency has been associated with FMS, it sadly has not been found to be a cure. “Our results highlight an association between vitamin D deficiency and fibromyalgia.” – Ellis et al 2018
Interestingly, there seems to be a relationship between dopamine and pain perception. “The data suggest that abnormal dopamine function may be associated with differential processing of pain perception in fibromyalgia.” – Albretcht et al 2016
I was therefore quite excited reading this recent paper that found serum niacin (Vitamin B3) and dopamine levels to be significantly lower in those with FMS when compared to asymptomatic healthy individuals (Katar et al 2022). We must however appreciate that association does NOT mean cause, so taking vitamin B3 may not be the cure for FMS.
“Since niacin is a crucial vitamin of dopamine synthesis, changes of niacin levels can be considered in some rheumatological diseases, particularly in FMS leading to inadequate dopamine synthesis and, thereby, causing the major symptom of FMS, chronic widespread pain.” – Katar et al 2022