Ten million people live with widespread pain from fibromyalgia every day. It's difficult to diagnose and there is no cure. But there is hope. One of the treatments now being studied is an ingredient found in cough syrup.

KING

Pamela Kennedy lovingly takes care of Kenton, while living with muscle aches and fatigue.

Pamela Kennedy sings every day to the little boy she thought she would never have.

"With fibromyalgia, I have had pain for the last 15 years in all my joints and we were trying to have children, but I was never able to conceive," Pamela said.

Pamela adopted little Kenton. She lovingly takes care of him, while living every minute with muscle aches and fatigue.

"It's really hard, especially because he's not walking and he's heavy. I take pain pills all day," she said.

The pills help relieve nerve cells that are highly sensitive.

"So these patients with minor activities experience significant pain," said rheumatologist Dr. Roland Staud.

A new twist on an old drug may help. Dextromethorphan is an ingredient commonly found in cough syrup. But doctors found it also targets nerve cells.

"The activity of these nerve cells is significantly decreased, resulting in less amplification of pain," Dr. Staud said. 

But the levels found in cough syrup are not strong enough. A special dose needs to be taken to feel a difference.

"So, if they could find something where I could be lucid all day, be a good mom, that would be very good.," Pamela said.

The down side is that at high doses, dextromethophan causes problems related to memory and confusion. The drug is still being studied and isn't available to the public yet.

The dose being used in the study was about four to five times stronger than what you can buy over the counter.