Xyrem being studied for Fibro sleep disorders

November 20, 2004

Have any of you heard that Xyrem is being studied as a drug therapy

for Fibromyalgia? I got an e-mail from the lady who leads my local

Fibro support group, that was forwarded from a sleep disorder clinic

in Cleveland,OH, where part of the study is being done. They were

looking for people with Fibro to participate in the study.

I was reading all of these wonderful things that they suggest that

Xyrem will do, so I started to do a search on my own...it just

sounded too good to be true. Of course it was! The active compound

in it is GHB!! So basically, they're studying the " date rape " drug

to see if they can get make it more accessible than it is now. Does

this scare anyone else besides me? I'm sure that researchers and

the drug companies will argue the fact that because it's a Schedule

III drug, it won't be any easier for people to get without a

prescription, but it's already an issue now....what will it be like

if it's approved for use in Fibro patients?

I'm also not too sure I'd want to take a med that makes me totally

forget everything, and makes me pass out the minute it hits my

system, which is pretty much what GHB does. Would that be safe for

people who live alone? Would they be able to wake up if, say, a

fire started in their home? And in reading the dosing indications,

it has to be taken in 2 separate doses, one in the middle of the

night. Who wants to get up at 2 or 3 in the morning to take another

sleeping pill? Somehow this " great " new treatment regimen being

studied doesn't sound so great after reading the fine print!

Hope you are all doing well!

Jen

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