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Now before all you fibromyalgia sufferers send me a bunch of hate email after reading that title, stick with me for just a minute while I explain what I’m talking about…

Now, I’m not some arrogant doctor who, in an attempt to protect his ego proclaims that fibromyalgia is an imaginary illness that is all in the sufferer’s head, for the sole reason that if it was a real condition, he the “great doctor” would be able to cure it. I may be arrogant, but I’m not saying that fibromyalgia is imaginary.

What I am saying is that fibromyalgia is not one single condition with one underlying cause and therefore it is highly unlikely that any one treatment will work for even a small majority of fibromyalgia sufferers - despite all the hype for Lyrica.

I have been treating people diagnosed with fibromyalgia for over 15 years in my holistic health practice. I say “diagnosed with” because these are people who come to see me who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia (either by themselves or by one or more doctors). I don’t use that diagnosis myself, because I don’t think it is particularly useful. I do tell people that OTHER doctors would diagnose them with fibromyalgia, and then explain what I’m about to discuss now.

The problem is that the diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia are pretty darned vague. If we use the “11 of 18 tender point” standard, you’d get the diagnosis of fibromyalgia if you just exercised too hard the day before having a medical exam!

Getting back to what I was referring to in the title, in my experience, “fibromyalgia” is simply a set of symptoms that can be caused by any number of underlying conditions. And while fibromyalgia is still considered to be untreatable for the most part (Lyrica works well for a few people, but it is far from what it is being advertised as, and the side-effects rule it out as an option for many people who try it), the underlying conditions that are causing the symptoms are usually quite treatable. The problem is that most doctors are making the diagnosis of fibromyalgia and not looking any further. Even if they are looking further, they don’t know what to look for, and often wind up missing something very important, yet relatively easy to fix.

In my experience, the most common conditions that produce fibromyalgia symptoms include hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, adrenal fatigue, homocysteine toxicity, allergies and food sensitivities, chronic infections, biomechanical dysfunction, depression, heavy smoking, dehydration, nutritional deficiencies, physical inactivity, and emotional reactions (by emotional reactions I am referring to very real mind-body effects, not “imaginary” symptoms). Most of these conditions are not even checked for by the majority of medical doctors who diagnose and treat fibromyalgia. Of those, such as hypothyroidism and hypoglycemia, that are typically tested for, the standard testing procedures may not be adequate to uncover problems.

So what happens is that people with any combination of symtoms that fit the fibromyalgia pattern (widespread pain, sleep problems, fatigue, digestive disorders, etc.) all get lumped together under the fibromyalgia diagnosis. Worse yet, fibromyalgia sufferers are typically told that there is nothing that can be done to cure them and the best they can do is manage the symptoms with medication. In fact, many of the people I have seen with the fibromyalgia diagnosis have told me that their doctors actively discouraged them from “wasting their time” trying to find a better way to deal with the situation. After all, if the doctor said it was incurable, you should just take his or her word for it - who are YOU to disagree with “THE DOCTOR”?

Unfortunately, there are so few healthcare practitioners who do know what to look for, how to look for it, and how to fix it when they find it, that the vast majority of fibromyalgia sufferers are being managed by doctors who really don’t know much more about it than the patients themselves!

The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to find a doctor to help you - although assistance from certain healthcare providers is usually very helpful. You can take a “shotgun” approach to the problem using a combination of natural approaches. Unlike using medication, using multiple natural treatments at once isn’t hazardous (you wouldn’t want to take medication for every possible cause of fibromyalgia because you probably wouldn’t survive the side-effects!). In fact, the “side-effect” of the approach I’m about to recommend is that other health problems usually improve at the same time as the fibromyalga symptoms! The biggest downside is that using multiple natural approaches simultaneously can be somewhat costly, but costs can be kept down the more you learn to do for yourself.

I’ll be going into detail on the various treatments I’m recommending over the course of several future posts, but let me summarize the program now. Step 1: Use diet and supplementation to provide vitamins, minerals, trace nutrients, essential fatty acids, enzymes, and fiber in order to balance blood sugar, neurotransmitters, and modulate inflammation and immune response. Also supplement with natural hormones when necessary. Step 2: Find and eliminate toxicities and allergies. Also, withdraw from any unnecessary medications. Step 3: Use exercises and body work (masage, chiropractic, etc.) to correct biomechanical function, reduce soft tissue restrictions, and improve circulation to the joints and muscles. Step 4: Manage stress and handle emotional reactions. Step 5: Correct energy flows through the body’s acupuncture meridian system through the use of acupuncture (using needles, electrical stimulation, or laser), acupressure, reflexology, and/or herbal remedies. Step 6: Enjoy life!

Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for more information on natural fibromyalgia relief.