ABSTRACT

Low dose sublingual nitroglycerin (NTG) works best on the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) patients with fibromyalgia and has a greater effect on women than men. NTG also reliably relieves the “idiopathic” chest pain which CFS patients experience. Some patients report that NTG potentiates the effect and duration of opioid analgesics significantly although there is nothing in the literature as of this writing on the interaction of NO and opioids. CFS patients with multiple chemical sensitivity sometimes report improvement in their symptoms after NTG. CFS patients who respond to NTG often report a clearing of “brain fog” and an increased ability to read and remember. Patients report that the quality of NTG-induced anxiolysis is different from that obtained from benzodiazepines. They report feeling less drugged, and thus more “normal.” NTG will sometimes relieve the pain of irritable bowel syndrome; this relief is usually accompanied by anxiolysis.