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“Living With Fibromyalgia” Documentary Film Trailer

The above video is a trailer for a new documentary on fibromyalgia.  The film is intended to give a better understanding of the condition to fibromyalgia sufferers and their families as well as to give hope and information on how various people have approached the condition.  For more information, go to www.LivingWithFM.com and check out the fibromyalgia section here on my blog.

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In Supplements For Fibromyalgia - Part 1, we discussed how it is necessary to figure out what underlying conditions are producing your fibromyalgia symptoms before we can figure out what supplements and natural remedies will work best for you.  In part 1, we covered that carrying excess weight and, more importantly, where on the body we carry our excess weight is the first major clue in figuring out the specific underlying problems involved. 

In this post, I’m going to begin discussing fatigue and other symptoms that further point to which organs, glands, and systems of the body are involved.  Most people with fibromyalgia have fatigue/low energy, but fatigue can be caused by a number of different underlying causes, and will manifest in different ways and in association with different symptoms.  How fatigue manifests and what other symptoms are present with it give big clues as to what problems need to be addressed to help a given individual’s fibromyalgia symptoms.

For the sake of simplicity, we’ll start by considering two basic patterns of fatigue:  constant and intermittent.  Constant fatigue remains pretty much the same over a long period of time and does not vary significantly with time of day, meals, or any other factor.  In other words, you feel pretty much the same all day, every day.  Intermittent fatigue changes with time of day, time of month, meals, life events, and other factors.

Constant fatigue is usually related to thyroid problems, anemia, and/or  chronic infections (especially intestinal yeast and parasitic infections).  When there is an underlying thyroid issue (not necessarily low thyroid hormone, as explained in my post about the thyroid), the body is unable to efficiently burn calories for the energy the cells need to perform their functions.  This results in fatigue and weight gain, and also may manifest in the form of low appetite (because you’re not burning calories, you aren’t neurologically stimulated to eat), or cravings for quick sources of blood sugar, such as sweets, bread, pasta, and cereal.  In addition, thyroid issues typically cause a sensitivity to cold temperatures, and a tendency to have cold hands and feet.  Another common indicator of thyroid issues is brittle hair and fingernails and thinning hair (including body hair).  People with poor thyroid function also may develop a thickened tongue that actually widens to the point where indentations form along the side of it from pressing against the teeth. 

Anemia (lack of adequate numbers of normal red blood cells) will also produce constant fatigue, because the lack of blood cells means that the body cannot get adequate oxygen to the brain, muscles, and other tissues.  The same thing happens with respiratory and heart disorders because the lungs must oxygenate the blood and the heart must pump it throughout the body.  Heart and lung problems are usually detected on most medical evaluations and are usually not diagnosed as fibromyalgia, but certain “sub-clinical” anemias can go undetected in some cases and may factor in to cases diagnosed as fibromyalgia.  For example, someone might have a blood test that shows them to be borderline for anemia, but still in the normal range.  If that person also happens to be extremely sedentary, a heavy smoker (smoking decreases blood oxygenation) and/or happens to be a particularly large individual, that combination of factors can result in a shortage of oxygen to the brain and tissues, resulting in constant fatigue, and often muscle pain as well. 

Chronic infections related to constant fatigue are most often due to yeasts and parasites, as they tend to rob the body of nutrients.  While viral and bacterial infections usually show up on standard blood tests (except in very long-standing infections), yeast and parasitic infections may not, particularly if they are localized to the GI tract.  Yeast infections are often related to poor diet, particularly diets high in sugar and refined carbohydrates.  In addition to fatigue, people with yeast issues will tend to have constant, major cravings for sugar.  Consuming sugar and carbs usually results in intestinal bloating, as the yeasts produce gases when they are given sugar to feed on.  Parasites will tend to cause constant, severe hunger for just about any kind of food.  Most people who have parasite issues have a history of travel to Asia, South America, Central America, or Mexico, but parasites can also be acquired from pets and occasionally other people (requires close personal contact in most cases).  Detection of both yeast and parasite infections can be difficult, but the symptoms above are definite clues, and both yeast and parasite infections tend to make the infected more susceptible to other infections, particularly of the GI tract.  So, if you’re fatigued, hungry all the time, and have a lot of episodes of gastrointestinal viruses and bacterial infections, there’s a good chance that yeast or parasites are to blame.  Think yeasts if you primarily crave sugar and carbs and also bloat when you eat those foods (bloating from fatty foods is usually tied to liver and gallbladder problems). 

That covers the main sources of constant fatigue, with the exception of those with major sleep disturbances, which will be covered in a future part of this series.  If your fatigue and other symptoms matched the thyroid description, make a note of that, particularly if you also have the thyroid weight pattern.  I’ll be discussing various approaches you can take with that problem in the very near future. 

If you aren’t sure about anemia, the simplest way to check for that, and for common types of infection is through a “CBC” which stands for complete blood count.  This is a relatively inexpensive test that you can get through your family doctor, or you can also usually get it done in any metropolitan area at a testing lab (look online or in the yellow pages for “laboratory services”).  Anemia will show up as various abnormalities in things like the red cell count, and stats like MCV and MCHC.  I’ll discuss more about what these mean in the near future when specific supplement recommendations are discussed.

Besides the symptom pattern described, there are more advanced tests for yeasts and parasites.  These usually need to be ordered by a licensed physician, can be unreliable, and can be pretty expensive.  Since the treatment recommendations I’ll be making for these problems are inexpensive and harmless to use if you don’t happen to have these issues, I suggest considering testing only if the remedies I will be recommending in an upcoming part of this series prove ineffective for you. 

So, make a note of what, if any, of the constant fatigue causes seem to apply to you and later in this series, we’ll be discussing supplements and other natural remedies for each of these problems. 

In the next part of this series, I’ll cover the causes of intermittent fatigue. 

 Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for the rest of the “Supplements For Fibromyalgia” series.

****To View The Other Parts Of This Series, Click On The Links Below****

Part 1     Part3     Part 4     Part 5     Part 6

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Going back to my basic premise that has been discussed in a previous post on fibromyalgia, it is my opinion that fibromyalgia is a set of symptoms that can be caused by any combination of several underlying disorders.  With this in mind, it really isn’t possible to give a single set of supplement recommendations, and it would be cost-prohibitive, as well as potentially cause certain nutrient imbalances in the long-run to take a “shotgun” approach as I did with my fibromyalgia diet recommendations.

This means that to be able to recommend supplements, the primary causes of the fibromyalgia symptoms for each person need to first be narrowed down.  While this is a somewhat complicated process, if we take it in steps, it is possible to figure out at least the major contributing factors and address them with nutritional, herbal, and/or homeopathic natural remedies. 

In this post, I’ll begin with the indicators that can be found by looking at one’s weight deposition pattern.  Not all fibromyalgia sufferers are overweight, and if weight control is not an issue for you, chances are the remainder of this post will not apply to you, but the future installments on this topic will be of more use. 

There are 4 basic patterns of weight deposition that give indication of what is going wrong in the body.  Now, it is possible to have more than one of these patterns happening at the same time, but try to chose the one that seems to fit you the best.  In the future installments in this series, we’ll go into other ways to further determine what physiological problems are present and then what supplements and other aspects of treatment will be of most benefit to you.

The first weight pattern we’ll discuss is the adrenal type.  The picture below is a good illustration of the typical way that abnormal adrenal function presents in terms of weight distribution.

Adrenal-related weight is primarily deposited in the lower abdomen and waistline area.  In those who are only slightly oveweight, it is seen as the lower abdominal “pooch”.  It should be noted that this is a flabby, sagging kind of weight, which may form rolls, as opposed to the liver pattern that will be discussed next.

The liver weight pattern is primarily in the abdomen too, but the weight is typically held somewhat higher, and it is very firm as seen below.

Again, the liver weight is very firm and does not sag like the adrenal-type.  The liver type is the most common type of extra weight seen in men, but it definitely occurs in women.  In women, because of the shape and location of the weight, it may be mistaken  for a pregnancy by well-intentioned, but soon to be apologetic, well-wishers congratulating you on what they think is a baby to be. 

The third type of excess weight is thyroid-related weight gain.  Thyroid weight is deposited pretty evenly on the whole body, including the arms and legs.  In the picture below, notice that there is even some bulging in along the back of the woman, as fat has deposited on top of the back muscles.

Finally, we come to the fourth weight pattern, which is the estrogen type.  Although estrogen is considered to be a “female” hormone, men do produce estrogen and can be exposed to chemicals that mimic the effects of estrogen.  So, although this pattern is more common in women, it can occur in men.  Estrogen-related weight typically deposits mostly around the hips, thighs, and buttocks.  In greater amounts of weight gain, some weight will be deposited around the rest of the body as well, primarily because high-estrogen interferes with thyroid function and produces some of the same characteristics as the thryoid pattern.  Even so, when estrogen is the primary problem, the largest percentage of weight will be in the hips, thighs, and buttocks as shown in the picture below.

Weight deposition is just one of the ways to determine what the specific causes are of your fibromyalgia symptoms, and subsequently what supplements will help you.  Make a note of what type of excess weight you have.  If you feel that you have a mixture of a couple of the types, make a note of that and the primary issues will become more clear as we go throught the process of evaluating the other signs and symptoms that are present.  Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for Part 2 in determining the supplements for fibromyalgia. 

****To View The Other Parts Of This Series, Click On The Links Below****

Part 2     Part3     Part 4     Part 5     Part 6

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On a regular basis in my practice I see patients who have experienced a sudden onset of severe pain that can eventually be traced to some medication they are taking.  I have previously commented on the painful side-effects of  statin drugs for lowering cholesterol, but they are not the only culprits (it’s just that so many people are on them that they are the most common of the pain-syndrome producers).  In addition to the statins, the osteoporosis drugs such as Fosamax and particularly Bonniva (probably because it is taken as a high dose) can cause severe, debilitating pain.  Ironically, the much-touted Lyrica currently being promoted for fibromyalgia can also cause severe all-over pain that could be mistaken for…fibromyalgia!

 The following links give more information about this phenomenon:

Recalls and Safety Alerts: Severe Pain with Osteoporosis Drugs
SUMMARY: Recalls and Safety Alerts: Severe Pain with Osteoporosis Drugs FDA is alerting healthcare professionals that severe bone, joint, or muscle pain can occur in patients taking bisphosphonate drugs such as Fosamax (alendronate sodium), …

Beware: Cholesterol-lowering STATINS - The STATIN side effects …
SUMMARY: …and, in rare cases, these side effects of statins can escalate to debilitating and even life-threatening damage. Now a study led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), helps explain these statin side effects. …

Lyrica 4 Neuropathy & Fibromyalgia
SUMMARY: I find it interesting also that in explaining Lyrica on 2 different pages within the same web site, that what it does and what it’s side effects are, are explained differently per the condition it is being prescribed for. …

The point of all this is not to convince you to never take medication.  In some cases, medication is necessary.  The point here is to make people aware that their pain problems may not be something that require any treatment besides simply getting off of the medication they are on. 

Stay tuned to my natural remedies blog for updates!

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