General information
Is Fibromyalgia an Autoimmune Disorder of Endogenous Vasoactive Neuropeptides?
Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterised by soft tissue pain, disturbance of function, an often prolonged course, and variable fatigue and debility.
This paper proposes that immunological aberration is likely. The proposed mechanism of action is that inflammatory cytokines are provoked by tissue injury
This may trigger a response by certain vasoactive neuropeptides which then undergo autoimmune dysfunction as well as affecting their receptor binding sites.
(SCIENTIFIC STUDY is being done)
The condition that we call Fibromyalgia is recognized only in most severe cases. Great emotional and nutritional support is essential for more severe cases, and only mild exercising may be possible in such situations.
However, a more balanced program of exercise and nutrition stress management is possible in case of partial recovery.
Out of the general world population, muscle pain is a common feature in many people’s lives.
And about 11% of the general population suffer chronic widespread pain (which is the primary symptom of Fibromyalgia) that also reported symptoms of fatigue and depression.
Fibromyalgia is a disorder characterised by soft tissue pain, disturbance of function, an often prolonged course, and variable fatigue and debility. Trauma, either physical or emotional, may also contribute to this condition.
Studies show a correlation between post-traumatic stress and fibromyalgia. Researchers have detected abnormalities in the brains of people with fibromyalgia. The abnormalities were directly correlated with the severity of disease symptoms.
An increase in blood flow was found in the brain region known to discriminate pain intensity. Recent data suggests that central sensitization, in which neurons in your spinal cord become sensitized by inflammation or cell damage, may be involved in the way fibromyalgia sufferers process pain.
Certain chemicals in the foods you eat may trigger the release of neurotransmitters that heighten this sensitivity.
Evidence suggests that fibromyalgia results from local hypoxia in the muscles (low oxygen) which in turn contributes to muscle tissue breakdown.
Patients with fibromyalgia reach the anaerobic threshold in their muscles earlier, thereby using less of the available energy-rich phosphate metabolites at maximal work capacity.
Patients with fibromyalgia have a potential abnormality in high-energy phosphate metabolism, as evidenced by significantly lower levels of ATP and ADP in affected muscles.
Damaansa Holdings the manufacturers of FAITH Drops encourages personal research and a balanced view of health and nutrition topics. The information below is intended to provide a broad overview of various research findings and hypothesis on the role of nutrition in health.
Proof That Fibromyalgia Is Real
Researchers have detected abnormalities in the brains of people with fibromyalgia, a chronic condition whose symptoms include muscle pain and fatigue.
The imaging showed that women with the syndrome had "brain perfusion" - blood flow abnormalities in their brains.
The abnormalities were directly correlated with the severity of disease symptoms. An increase in blood flow was found in the brain region known to discriminate pain intensity.
Could Your Muscle Pain Really be Fibromyalgia?
One of the most important criteria to determine whether or not you may have fibromyalgia is significant pain in very specific areas of your body, including inside of your elbows, your collar bones, inside of your knees, and your hips. Usually these locations are symmetrical, so you’ll have pain equally present on both sides of your body. Another major part of the diagnostic criteria for this condition is some type of significant sleep disturbance.
Oxygen and Fibromyalgia
All symptoms of fibromyalgia are caused by cellular oxygen deprivation. Oxygen deprivation is caused by dysfunctional oxygen metabolism. Dysfunctional oxygen metabolism involves failure of enzymes involved in oxygen metabolism.
Oxygen metabolism becomes abnormal due to excessive and cumulative oxidative stress caused by sugar overload, antibiotic abuse, undiagnosed allergies, synthetic chemicals, and anger.
Proposed Cause and Cure for Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia
Chronic Fatigue is caused by restricted aerobic metabolism, the primary source of energy for almost all normal cells. This not only reduces available cellular energy, but it also promotes excess anaerobic metabolism.
The resulting excess anaerobic metabolism results in the production of excess lactic acid. This lactic acid is what causes the muscle pain associated with Fibromyalgia. This explains why these two diseases, which are always found together, are considered to be different faces of the same disease.
Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia and the Mind
For the best results when treating chronic joint and muscle pain, don't separate problems in the body from issues in the mind.
The successful reversal of chronic pain conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia may certainly require the use of multiple nutrients, enzymes, colon cleansing, dietary changes, glandular extracts, and hormones, but you must also examine the patient's state of mind and life conditions.
Often when patients probe their own life circumstances-to see how they feel about what is happening-the "why" behind the illness becomes clear and the condition usually clears up more quickly and thoroughly than expected.
Time and Patience:
Fibromyalgia is an important syndrome. The multiple contribution factors of FM can be most effectively dealt with holistic approach. The condition can be overcome only over a period of time with patience.
Precious and Vicious Cycle:
Any action that we take - builds and benefits us and takes us on an upward spiral is called precious cycle.
And any action that we take - harms us and takes us on a vicious cycle downward. Health is a very precious, emotional, mental, physical and spiritual wealth and so we have adapted those actions that will lead to an upward precious cycle.
Treatments for Fibromyalgia and Fibromyalgia Therapy
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that is frustrating for both the patient and caregiver, and in turn is difficult to manage. The patient can be helped through a positive relationship that can be achieved through patience and confidence.
Tracing the exact multiple causative factors that are responsible for your FM condition is comforting, and may help. Our energies can be focused constructively if we can identify the causative pain.
It is however known that the causative factor is not only one, but multitude of small contributions. In unison they can be a burden. But individually none of them are significant.
A favorable, personal wellness can be achieved through a comprehensive, holistic program of diet, exercise, stress management that includes adequate sleep, refreshing sleep, supplementation and small additive changes.
Fibromyalgia is a reality and there are real solutions. The key to recovering from FM is finding the approach that closely matches your individual metabolism and personality.
You will then lead a fulfilled rich life. Diet for fibromyalgia can go a long way for providing effective treatment for the disease.
Foods That Chronic Pain Sufferers Need to Avoid
Recent data suggests that central sensitization, in which neurons in your spinal cord become sensitized by inflammation or cell damage, may be involved in the way fibromyalgia sufferers process pain.
Certain chemicals in the foods you eat may trigger the release of neurotransmitters that heighten this sensitivity.
Natural Diets for Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a condition that is characterized by having widespread pain in muscles, ligaments and tendons. Trauma, either physical or emotional, may also contribute to this condition.
Studies show a correlation between post-traumatic stress and fibromyalgia. Discuss a gluten-free diet, the raw food diet, and an elimination diet with a dietitian.
Our recommendation is to normalize your pH as soon as possible and to this end we have included information herewith that will assist you in doing so.
Diet Helps Fibromyalgia
In the study, investigators reviewed medical charts of 17 fibromyalgia patients who agreed to eliminate common foods from their diet such as corn, wheat, dairy, citrus, soy and nuts.
After 2 weeks without eating any of the potential food allergens, nearly half of the patients reported "significant reduction of pain," and 76% reported a reduction in other symptoms such as headache, fatigue, bloating, heartburn, and breathing difficulties.
Vitamins, Minerals, and Herbs for Chronic Fatigue in Women
Nutritional supplements can play an important role in your chronic fatigue recovery program. They help stimulate your immune system, glands, and digestive tract, and they can help stabilize and relax your mood.
They also promote good circulation of blood and oxygen to the entire body, a necessity for high energy and vitality.
Fibromyalgia Pain: Magnesium and Malic Acid
Research indicates that taking an adequate dose of magnesium in combination with malic acid over an extended period of time can significantly reduce the muscle and soft tissue pain associated with fibromyalgia.
Evidence suggests that fibromyalgia results from local hypoxia in the muscles (low oxygen) which in turn contributes to muscle tissue breakdown.
Fibromyalgia Relief at Your Fingertips with the Bowen Technique
The Bowen Technique is a simple yet powerful technique that helps relieve all kinds of pain; it is so gentle that it can be used on anyone.
Benefit of Ribose in a Patient with Fibromyalgia
Patients with fibromyalgia reach the anaerobic threshold in their muscles earlier, thereby using less of the available energy-rich phosphate metabolites at maximal work capacity.
Patients with fibromyalgia have a potential abnormality in high - energy phosphate metabolism, as evidenced by significantly lower levels of ATP and ADP in affected muscles as compared with patients without the disease.
Theoretically, the effect of ribose on increasing the muscle energy pool could reduce the metabolic strain in affected muscles and allow patients to assume a more active lifestyle.
In addition to paying attention to ones diet and other nutrients that are possibly lacking, a Standard Dose of FAITH Drops is recommended to ensure that the immune system and other organs are assisted where possible.
Other Research shows the following:
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a relatively common disorder characterized by widespread muscle pain, stiffness, and disturbed sleep. People with fibromyalgia may have pain that lasts for months, or even years. Some people with fibromyalgia will be in continual pain.
The disease, however, is complex and poorly understood. In 1990, the American College of Rheumatology set up criteria for the classification of fibromyalgia.
Researchers have not yet uncovered the cause of fibromyalgia, although they have presented a number of theories (Kasper DL et al 2005).
Fibromyalgia tends to occur in women much more often than in men. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of people with fibromyalgia are women between the ages of 30 and 60 years (Ataoglu S et al 2003).
As many as 10 million people in the United States battle this chronic illness, and fully 5 percent of the world’s population may contend with it (Goldenberg D 2002).
Patients with fibromyalgia often present with comorbid conditions such as:
- Chronic fatigue
- Sleep disorders
- Numbness and tingling in various parts of the body
- Some degree of sexual dysfunction
Studies in Australia and Canada have shown that 50 percent of patients with fibromyalgia who took no medication experienced a complete remission of all symptoms within 2 years. The other 50 percent had one or more symptoms of fibromyalgia for more than 2 years (Goldenberg D 2002).
The Causes of Fibromyalgia
Although we do not yet know what causes fibromyalgia, great strides have been made in recent years in uncovering the underlying pathology of the disease. In fact, in recent years, researchers have begun to rethink fibromyalgia.
For many years, fibromyalgia was thought to be a muscle disorder, but new research is also implicating the central nervous system.
According to the newest research, it is a disease characterized by central sensitization of the spinal cord and central nervous system (Bennett R 2005; Gerwin RD 2005). This sensitization may occur because of inflammatory cytokines that trigger inducible nitric oxide synthase (INOS) in muscle tissue.
The INOS causes inappropriate stimulation of pain receptors and an increase in oxidants such as the peroxynitrite radical and other reactive oxygen species Numerous studies have examined the role of nitric oxide in fibromyalgia, with interesting results:
- A study found that women with fibromyalgia experienced a reduced flow of nutrients to muscles after exercise. Researchers speculated that this might be related to elevated levels of INOS, which stimulates increased levels of nitric oxide (McIver KL et al 2006).
- A paper examining the recent theories on the cause of fibromyalgia hypothesized that oxidative stress may play an important part in the disease. The paper called for double-blind studies to be done on antioxidants in the treatment of the disease (Ozgocmen S et al 2005a).
- A review of dozens of separate studies found that the central sensitization associated with fibromyalgia may be caused by stimulation of pain receptors in the muscles that causes changes in the spinal cord and central nervous system. These changes are strongly dependent on nitric oxide (Mense S 1999). A hypothesis presented in one journal proposed that abnormally elevated levels of nitric oxide within the central nervous system generate high levels of peroxynitrite, an oxidant product of nitric oxide. This causes oxidative damage in tissues affected by the disorder (Pall ML 2005c).
While there is still much to learn, these new findings suggest several targets for fibromyalgia therapy, including antioxidants to limit oxidative damage and nutrients that inhibit pain receptors and transmitters in the muscles.
One important pain transmitter is substance P, which is elevated in the cerebro spinal fluid of people with fibromyalgia (Stratz T et al 2004).
Of course, this is not the only avenue of research. Fibromyalgia is a complex disease that is influenced by multiple factors, including hormonal and psychological issues. For instance, the increased prevalence of fibromyalgia in women suggests a hormonal influence.
This association is strengthened by observations that women who have fibromyalgia are much more likely to have late onset of menstruation and lower fertility rates than women without fibromyalgia (Schochat T et al 2003).
Many of the most common fibromyalgia symptoms - widespread muscle pain, fatigue, poor sleep, gastrointestinal problems, and depression - also occur regularly in people who have demonstrated hormonal deficiencies (Adler GK et al 2002).
Alternatively, many patients with fibromyalgia report that their symptoms began after they had experienced trauma - particularly injuries to the head and neck. Fibromyalgia also seems to be aggravated by infection; it is known that chronic viral infection can trigger symptoms (Adak B et al 2005; Goldenberg D 2002).
Symptoms and Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia
All people with fibromyalgia have widespread, significant pain.
Other symptoms include, in descending order from most common to least common (Wallace D et al 2002):
- Unrefreshing sleep
- Stiffness
- Tension headache
- Painful menstrual periods
- Irritable bowel, with recurring diarrhea and constipation
- Vaginal pain and dryness
- Difficulty with concentration and related cognitive functions
- Depression and mood disorders
- Restless leg syndrome
- Irritable bladder and urinary complaints
Fibromyalgia has also been associated with depression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Researchers believe this may be caused by the chronic pain and sleeplessness associated with the disease, which tends to depress HPA activity - including growth hormone, androgens, and cortisol levels (Calis M et al 2004; Geenen R et al 2002; Okifuji A et al 2002). Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) levels are also diminished in women who have fibromyalgia (Dessein PH et al 1999).
Diagnosis of fibromyalgia is complicated by the fact that there is no single test that detects it. Instead, it is diagnosed by a history of widespread pain and tenderness in at least 11 of the 18 pressure points identified by the American College of Rheumatology. These pressure points are located in the neck, shoulders, back, arms, and legs.
Before a diagnosis of fibromyalgia is confirmed, physicians usually need to exclude a wide variety of other conditions, including cancer, leukemia, hypothyroidism, anemia, and multiple sclerosis
In a Fibromyalgia clinic they have identified five distinct etiologies of Fibromyalgia.
One is associated with prolonged emotional or physical stress and the subsequent adrenal depletion, leaky gut and food allergies.
One is associated with exposure to organic chemicals, heavy metals or pesticides. One appears to be genetic and seems to be associated with food allergies or with increased need for enzyme substrate in the liver detoxification pathways or serotonin pathways.
One type occurs after immunizations or viral illness, and there is one type of fibromyalgia that occurs after whiplash injuries, cervical trauma or after surgery. The postsurgical cases are thought to occur when the neck is hyper-extended during intubation and constitutes a cervical injury.
A.K. has had Fibromyalgia for 18 years.
After eight weeks of treatment she was off all pain medication. At her first visit she had 14/18 tender points. After eleven treatments* eight weeks later she had four of eighteen tender points and was sleeping through the night without medication.
She had OGI physical therapy for reconditioning and is still doing very well. Her response is optimal for this group (Treatments refer to our Frequency Resonance Therapy which we provide here at the Health Retreat as part of your program).
Much of Fibromyalgia is the result of major depression and when people go through our Depression Recovery Program and their depression disappears so does their fibromyalgia.
Testing for Fibromyalgia
You're constantly in pain; you have extreme fatigue and suffer from chronic headaches as well as irritable bowel syndrome. But is it really fibromyalgia?
Diagnostic Criteria
The difficulty with diagnosing fibromyalgia lies in the fact that, in most cases, laboratory testing appears normal and that many of the symptoms mimic those of other disorders. A definite diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndrome should only be made when no other medical disease can explain the symptoms. This is to say, fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion.
A proper history and physical exam coupled with blood work and/or x-rays may be done to rule out:
- Hormonal imbalance
- Anemia
- Infection
- Muscle disease
- Bone disease
- Nerve disease
- Joint disease
- Cancer
- Rheumatoid arthritis
Hypothyroidism (including primary hypothyroidism, secondary hypothyroidism, Hashimotos thyroiditis, iodine deficiency goiter, and genetic thyroid enzyme defects).
Thyroid - stimulating hormone levels should be checked routinely because this condition can mimic many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Electrical nerve and muscle testing, known as electromyography (EMG) or nerve conduction velocity (NCV), may also be done to check the muscles and nerves.
Fibromyalgia Tender Points
Upon physical examination, the fibromyalgia patient will be sensitive to pressure in certain areas of the body called tender points. To meet the diagnostic criteria, patients must have:
1. Widespread pain in all four quadrants of their body for a minimum of three months. Pain is considered widespread when all of the following are present:
- Pain in the left side of the body
- Pain in the right side of the body
- Pain above the waist
- Pain below the waist
- Pain in the neck, front of your chest, mid-back, or low back
2. At least 11 of the 18 specified tender points of fibromyalgia (see diagram below). These are areas of pain on touch but without signs of redness, swelling or heat in the surrounding joints or muscles.
For a tender point to be considered "positive" you must feel pain when someone pushes with their finger with an approximate force of 4kg (roughly the amount of pressure needed to change the color of the skin).
Some health care providers may use an instrument called an algometer during the examination of the patient to ensure that only a 4kg load is being placed. The locations of the 18 tender points are:
- (1 & 2) Occiput: on both sides (bilateral), at the sub-occipital muscle insertions.
- (3 & 4) Low Cervical: bilateral, at the anterior aspects of the inter-transverse spaces.
- (5 & 6) Lateral Epicondyle: bilateral, 2 cm distal to the epicondyles.
- (7 & 8) Knee: bilateral, at the medial fat pad proximal to the joint line.
- (9 & 10) Second Rib: bilateral, at the second costochondral junction, just lateral to the junctions on upper surfaces.
- (11 & 12) Trapezius: bilateral, at the midpoint of the upper border of the muscle.
- (13 & 14) Supraspinatus: bilateral, at origins, above the spine of the scapula (shoulder blade) near the medial border.
- (15 & 16) Gluteal: bilateral, in upper outer quadrants of buttocks in anterior fold of muscle.
- (17 & 18) Greater Trochanter: bilateral, posterior to the trochanteric prominence.
Why Eleven Points?
Some experts believe that a person does not need to have the required 11 tender points to be diagnosed and treated for fibromyalgia. This criterion was originally intended for research purposes.
A diagnosis of fibromyalgia may still be made if a person has less than the 11 of the required tender points so long as they have widespread pain and many of the common symptoms and associated syndromes connected to fibromyalgia, such as sleep disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.
If a patient has some symptoms but does not meet the tender point criterion, a diagnosis of "possible fibromyalgia syndrome" may be assigned.
You should also remember that self-diagnosis is not advised and that you should consult a skilled medical professional to conduct a thorough examination.
What Goes with Fibromyalgia?
Commonly associated symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
- Fatigue
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Sleep disorders
- Chronic headaches
- Jaw pain
- Cognitive or memory impairment
- Muscle pain or morning stiffness
- Painful menstruation
- Numbness and tingling in the extremities
- Dizziness or light headedness
- Skin and chemical sensitivities
- Limitations of the Diagnostic Criteria
Since fibromyalgia sufferers have typically normal laboratory or x-ray tests the above listed criteria are important for diagnosing and studying the syndrome. However, the criteria are not without their drawbacks.
First, the tender point paradigm assumes that fibromyalgia sufferers only experience pain in the 18 anatomical sites of the body. Recent research has made it evident that individuals with fibromyalgia are sensitive to painful stimuli throughout the body, not merely at the identified locations.
Second, many patients with fibromyalgia will often find that on a given day they will have less than the diagnostic 11 tender points in their body. Does this mean that some days you have fibromyalgia others you don’t? Obviously this is not the case.
Patient tenderness varies from day to day and, as a result, tender point counts on some days can be below the required 11 while on other days it may surpass it. Furthermore, some patients will not always have pain in all four quadrants of the body.
Some experience pain only on one side or on the upper or lower half of the body. That being said, in the absence of a foolproof laboratory marker for fibromyalgia, the criteria explained above remains the best diagnostic tool for this condition.
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Fibromyalgia is closely linked to, and sometimes mistaken for, chronic fatigue syndrome. Some researchers now believe that the diseases are related by some underlying mechanism, even though they have some important distinctions (Pall ML 2005b).
Both diseases affect women far more often than men; both most commonly involve chronic, debilitating fatigue, muscle pain, poor sleep, and difficulty with clear thinking; both tend to last for many months and even years; and neither can be cured (although they often resolve spontaneously).
However, people with chronic fatigue syndrome often have a sore throat that can last for many months but that does not develop into an upper respiratory illness.
Most patients with chronic fatigue syndrome also have swollen glands and run low - grade fevers, symptoms that are not normally found in patients with fibromyalgia. Patients with chronic fatigue syndrome also tend to have elevated blood antibodies and tender lymph nodes, both of which are indicative of infection (Wallace D et al 2002).
Patients with fibromyalgia tend to find that mild exercise improves their overall sense of well-being, while patients with chronic fatigue syndrome normally find even the gentlest exercise debilitating.
Patients with fibromyalgia also report that both heat and massage often reduce muscle pain, and that standing or sitting too long in a single position makes their pain significantly worse (Aaron LA et al 2000). These symptoms are not typical of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.
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