Dealing with fibromyalgia can truly be challenging. However, there’s good news for those millions of people who are affected by this difficult and painful condition. You can control or even eliminate symptoms of fibromyalgia by following natural treatment methods. The secret is in discovering the contributing causes that play a role in its symptoms.
Aches and Pains of Soft Tissue
A majority of muscle and tendon aches originate from physical overexertion, too much stress, and the resulting physical tension that it creates. Therefore, taking time out to heal and pamper yourself often solves the short-term problem in just a few weeks. But, what happens when aches and pains won’t go away after several months?
Several possible causes for these persistent pains include:
– Drugs such as statins (to lower cholesterol and heart attack risk), ACE inhibitors (for hypertension), or cocaine (if someone unfortunately uses it)
– Infections such as low-grade viral infections (Epstein-Barr, herpes strains), fungi (mycotoxins), or atypical bacteria (mycoplasma)
– Auto-immune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (also known as lupus), dermatomyositis, or polymyositis
– Fibromyalgia syndrome
Fibromyalgia Syndrome
Fibromyalgia (FMS) is a common syndrome characterized by body-wide aches and pains of the muscles, ligaments, and tendons for more than three months. It is much more common in women than in men.
FMS patients often experience tender points of these soft tissues where even slight pressure can cause pain. Additionally, they frequently have associated fatigue and corresponding insomnia, which can eventually lead to headaches, anxiety, and finally, depression.
Up until a few years ago, many physicians did not even believe in FMS because there are no blood tests to confirm the diagnosis. As a result, they would typically prescribe an SSRI anti-depressant, suggesting that it is a psychological condition.
However, there is much to know about FMS, and there are far better ways to treat it than antidepressant pills.
The Causes of Fibromyalgia
Quite predictably, there are known causes of fibromyalgia which can help a patient deal with this chronic illness, including:
– Heavy metals (such as mercury): Nerve cells are especially sensitive to these
– Environmental chemicals: Some trigger an immune hypersensitivity reaction
– Infections: Fungi, parasites or Clostridium difficile bacteria in the bowel, or viruses (Epstein-Barr) in the blood
– Nutrient deficiency: Proteins (amino acids, neurotransmitters), minerals, B vitamins
– Hormone imbalances (usually deficiencies): Adrenal hormones (cortisol deficiency), sex hormones (DHEA, estrogen, testosterone), thyroid hormone
– Certain medications: Narcotics (pain relievers), benzodiazepines (anti-anxiety), and sleep aids can cause a cycle of sedation and increased pain sensitivity
– Autonomic nerve dysfunction: Arteries that constrict blood flow to a soft tissue area
– Stress: Causes a number of chemical reactions in the body, affecting hormones, energy production, neurotransmitters, etc. Chronic stress depletes cortisol, and adrenaline becomes the dominant neurochemical produced to combat stress
Stress Is a Major Problem
Case in point – Suzanne, a 22-year-old woman who had classic fibromyalgia symptoms for the previous three months. Her healthcare provider explored dietary factors, exposure to chemicals or heavy metals, infections, hormone imbalances, and medications as possible causes. All these offered no clear explanation for her difficulties.
Upon further probing by a female physician, her life stresses – including her marriage relationship of less than a year – revealed serious stressors. She was being verbally and, to an extent, physically abused by her new husband but did not dare tell anyone about it. Through emotional release sessions, she confronted her husband and took control of her health. Within a few months, her symptoms were completely gone.
This demonstrates how stress can have a tremendous effect on health and that it is a real underlying cause for fibromyalgia.
What You Can Do
While you and your healthcare provider search for causes, you may want to use a combination of medications for pain relief such as an NSAID (Advil), Tylenol, Tramadol (prescription Ultram), or a muscle relaxant such as Baclofen.
Additionally, adopt changes in your diet plan. The best diet for reducing pain of fibromyalgia is one that is high in fiber (fresh produce), with no refined sugar, dairy, or gluten (if you find these adversely affect you). Patients have reported that simply cutting out all refined sugar and dairy products from their diet can drastically reduce pain. Further recommendations include a mostly raw food diet (high-density nutrition and high in fiber) plus juicing two or more times daily. It may also be beneficial to eliminate gluten-containing grains (wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, triticale, and sometimes oats).
Leaky gut syndrome is an important factor in this context. It essentially means that incompletely digested food particles pass through the intestinal absorptive wall, getting into your bloodstream and triggering an autoimmune hypersensitivity reaction of inflammation.
You can also consider supplements that may help in reducing fibromyalgia symptoms:
– L-glutamine to help repair the small intestinal lining
– A good probiotic between meals to establish good intestinal bacteria
– Digestive enzymes with meals to help reduce leaky gut syndrome
– Liver-support from milk thistle (silymarin), Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA), N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), selenium, and magnesium
– B-vitamins (such as vitamin B12 and B complex injected weekly to monthly)
– Co-Enzyme Q10 at 100 to 300 mg daily
– Zinc (with copper) 40 mg daily
– D-ribose 5-10 grams daily
– L-carnitine 2 grams daily
– Meyer’s Cocktail (at your doctor’s office) which contains multi-minerals, magnesium, calcium, vitamin C, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and vitamin B complex in sterile water given slowly IV over 20 minutes
Additionally, remember that mild to moderate exercise will also reduce pain symptoms as it increases endorphins and feel-good neurochemicals, such as serotonin.
