Fibromyalgia
For those of you that
are suffering with fibromyalgia believe us,
we understand. You have an illness that is hard to
medically prove and even harder to live with. You've
probably seen doctor after doctor and taken handfuls of
prescription drugs. When the prescribed medications
didn't work or stopped working you probably have been
told that it was all in your head. You may even have
family around you that think you are a hypochondriac or
lazy. You may even have started to believe they were
right.
At Peak Health Clinic
we want you to know
that what you are dealing with is real, it has real
causes, but more importantly real solutions. There is
nothing we enjoy hearing more than, "my
muscles don't hurt anymore" or "I haven't felt this good
in twenty years." When we see the "life" come back
into patients and hear their progress it makes our day.
Does this list of
symptoms sound familiar: diffuse pain throughout the
body, headaches, allergies, decreased immune system,
numbness or tingling, insomnia, anxiety, depression,
poor memory, digestive problems, and constant fatigue?
Over 10 million Americans suffer with Fibromyalgia
syndrome (FMS), most of them are women 20-50 years old.
There is no diagnostic test to confirm fibromyalgia.
Patients typically have had the illness for year and
have been seen by dozens of doctors before being
diagnosed.
The 1990 American
College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for defining FMS
is a history of widespread pain lasting more than three
months and the presence of at least 11 of a possible 18
muscle tender points. These tender points are found in
the neck, shoulders, rib cage, chest, arms, lower back,
thighs and knees. Pain is widespread and you must have
pain on both sides of your body and above and below the
waist to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia.
Clinically there is
typically low levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter),
decrease in Human Growth Hormone (HGH), decreased
5-hydroxyindole acetic acid, decreased blood levels of
ATP, elevated evening cortisol levels, increase in nerve
growth factor (NGF), elevated levels of substance P,
elevated blood antibodies, low thyroid function, and
dysfunction of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)
axis.
Fibromyalgics have muscle and connective tissue pain
that intensifies their sleep disturbances. The
interrupted sleep decreases human growth hormone (HGH)
production, which is responsible for repairing the
microscopic tears in tissue that occur daily. Also,
fibromayalgia patients have tighter muscles, making
them more susceptible to tears and micro-trauma injury.
This results in a cycle of pain, inflammation, and
sleeplessness.
Many patients with
FMS report that their symptoms started after a
significant stressful event. It may have been after a
car accident or other trauma, abuse, infections,
surgery, or loss of a loved one. A recent finding
published in 1997 in Arthritis & Rheumatism
showed that people with neck injuries are more likely to
develop fibromyalgia than those with other injuries.
This is one more reason chiropractic works so well in
fibromyalgia patients. As simple a thing as not sleeping
well can tax your autonomic nervous system and trigger
symptoms.
Most researchers
believe that the primary abnormality leading to the
expression of symptoms in FMS is aberrant central
nervous system function.(1) Basically a miscommunication
between nerves. Helping to improve the nervous system
and nerve flow is one of the primary goals of
chiropractic.
Unfortunately
conventional medicine's desire to satisfy society's
"quick fix" demands has led to covering up symptoms
instead of treating the causes. We've got to stop
thinking "stop the pain" and start thinking, "fix the
problem!" Did you know that the medication you're taking
is mostly likely part of the problem. The ACR has
reported that Klonopin, Zanax, Medrol, prednision, Mobic,
Celebrex, and Bextra have been shown to be ineffective
and should be generally avoided.
The potential side
effects of Ambien for instance include foggy memory,
flu-like symptoms. Other prescription sleep aids may
cause upset stomach, joint pain, and sore throat.
Antidepressants, Tranquilizers, Benzodiazepines,
Beta-Blockers and Stimulants may cause constipation,
headache, heartburn, diarrhea, rash, muscle pain, mental
confusion, swelling, fatigue, anxiety, sleeplessness,
weakness, low thyroid function, and more. Sounds a lot
like the symptoms of fibromyalgia doesn't it?
The body will adapt
and often become addicted to these synthetic chemicals
that stop being of benefit but still full of harm. The
holistic approach, however, is to address the cause of
the pain and support the health of the nervous system,
muscles and connective tissue. No one suffers from a
deficiency of prescription drugs. Yet many medications
can cause nutritional deficiencies.
Most patients with
fibromyalgia have significant and severe deficiencies in
key vitamins and minerals. Listed below are some of the
most common.
Malic Acid: Several studies have found that is
can be helpful for fibromyalgia support. In one
randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, crossover
pilot study published in the Journal of Rheumatology,
significant reductions in the severity of all three
primary pain/tenderness measures were obtained. The
study concluded that malic acid was safe and may be
beneficial in the treatment of patients with
Fibromyalgia. (2)
Magnesium (as Malate, citrate): FM patients have
low magnesium, which is needed for over 200 biochemical
reactions in the body, including energy production and
muscle tissue repair.
Calcium (as Citrate): There is evidence that an imbalance
of calcium and magnesium may be involved in the etiology
of the fibromyalgia syndrome. (3)
Other important
nutrients can help the body to recover and repair are Glucosamine Sulfate, Zinc,
Grapeseed extract, Betaine HCL, Silymarin Extract,
Proteolytic and digestive enzymes, Bromelain, Lecithin,
amino acids, and N-Acetyl Glucosamine.
Dr. John C. Lowe,
author of The Metabolic Treatment of Fibromyalgia
believes that most patient can fully recover. He
believes that a wholesome diet, nutritional supplements,
exercise to tolerance, balancing hormones, and avoidance
of metabolism-impeding drugs will bring dramatic
results. "Most patients require careful, systematic
guidance to achieve a normal metabolism and symptom
relief. Some have never know what is necessary to
achieve and maintain optimal health, and others lost
sight of this during their illness. Through guidance
they will learn this either for the first time or once
again. This is a time and energy consuming process for
both patients and doctors, but this is the nature of
rehabilitation."
At Peak Health
Clinic, we will take your health seriously and not push
you aside like so many others have. As Dr. Lowe said, "it
takes time and energy", but the results are worth it. Let
us help you change your life and allow you to live
again.
1- Klippel, J., et
al. Primer on Rheumatic Diseases 12th Ed., 2001
2- Magaladi, M., et al. Changes in intracellular calcium and
magnesium ions in the physiopathology of the fibromyalgia syndrome. Minerva Med. 2000
Jul-Aug;91(7-8):137-94.
3- Russell, I. et al. Treatment of fibromyalgia syndrome with super
Malic: a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled,
crossover pilot study. J Rheumatol. 1995; 22(5):953-8.
4- Shomon, M., Living
Well with Autoimmune Disease., 2002
5- Murphree, R.,
Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome., 2006
6- Di Novi, B.,
Nutrition for a Wellness Lifestyle., 2006 |
