Is Fibromyalgia a real disease? It seems so, as Lyrica, the first medicine to treat this health problem, was recently approved by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Or maybe they are all wrong and Pfizer, the drug company that created Lyrica, will be simply cashing some money for treating nothing else than an imaginary disease. Or maybe not.  

However, Lyrica’s approval as a legal drug for a “legal” (that is opposite to “imaginary”) disease became recently a real topic of debate in the United States: two camps were already formed and doctors and common people are already feverishly debating on whether Fibromyalgia exists or not. For doctors who believe Fibromyalgia is a real disease the Lyrica approval represents a milestone, while for the opponents this medication is useless.

Fibromyalgia is said to affect middle-aged women and its symptoms are reportedly characterized by chronic, widespread pain of unknown origin. In many cases it is also said that sufferers are afflicted by other conditions, such as the irritable bowel syndrome. According to doctors specialized in Fibromyalgia, this disease does not typically respond to conventional painkillers such as aspirin. Taking into account that this disease doesn’t virtually affect any organ, Lyrica will in fact affect the sufferers’ brain and the way they perceive pain.

Some doctors say that 2 to 4 percent of adult American women, that is as many as 10 million people, suffer from this Fibromyalgia.

However, despite the controversy, the Food and Drug Administration seems to have recognized Fibromyalgia as a diagnosable disease and approved Lyrica. And the FDA is also in the process of deciding whether two other similar drugs should be approved on the market.