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So far, I’ve discussed the fact that fibromyalgia is caused by any combination of several underlying conditions and although a “shotgun” approach to a fibromyalgia diet can be used pretty effectively, when it comes to choosing the appropriate supplements, it is important to narrow down the underlying causes of the individual’s fibromyalgia symptoms as much as possible. In Part 1 of this series, I explained how where you tend to gain weight gives clues as to where problems are occurring in the body that may be participating in fibromyalgia symptoms. In Part 2, I began discussing the different types of chronic fatigue and associated symptoms that give further clues of what exactly is going wrong. In Part 2 I focused on the sources of constant fatigue. In this part, I’m going to continue the discussion of fatigue by reviewing the sources of intermittent fatigue.Intermittent fatigue is any kind of fatigue or low energy that varies from hour to hour, day to day, week to week, and/or in association with certain foods, exposure to pollens, etc.. There are several potential causes for intermittent fatigue, but probably the most common cause is adrenal stress. The adrenal glands are small glands that sit atop each kidney. Though small in size, these glands are extremely powerful and important to health. Among other things, the various hormones produced by the adrenal are invloved in blood pressure control, heart rate, inflammation control, regulation of the kidneys, and control of fat storage in the abdomen. The adrenals are the primary glands involved in our reactions to stress. The more stress in your life (even if it’s “good stress” such as getting married, buying a house, etc.), the harder the adrenals have to work.Basically, the adrenals are designed to get us ready for “flight or fight” - the readiness to protect ourselves in a stressful situation. In pre-industrial societies, stress is often very much in the form of real threats to life and limb that require physical exertion to deal with, but are often short in duration. In the modern world, the stress tends to be most often in the form of emotional exertion, and often goes for wekks, months, or even years without ever really being resolved. This chronic stress over the long run wreaks havoc with the adrenals. The fatigue pattern most commonly seen with adrenal issues is usually one of extreme tiredness and mental fogginess in the morning and late afternoon, with periods of more normal energy and mental functioning in-between. Other signs and symptoms include cravings for salt, cheese, chocolate, and sweets, a tendency to get lightheaded when standing up too quickly, a tendency to get sick easily, nervousness/anxiety, the formation of a fat pad across the upper back, dark circles under the eyes, reddish stretch marks, and facial hair in women.Another common source of intermittent fatigue is that which is related to low blood sugar. Blood sugar-related fatigue is usually seen in association with meals, with good energy right after eating, and then tiredness setting in within an hour or two. This is most common with poor meal choices - primarily eating high-carbohydrate foods. There are fibromyalgia supplements that can help with this pattern, but it is usually also necessary to follow the fibromyalgia diet that I have previously recommended in order to prevent excessive swings in blood sugar levels.In some women, fatigue may be associated with the hormone swings that occur during the menstrual cycle and/or due to transient anemia due to blood loss with the menstrual cycle. In some cases, intermittent fatigue may also be due to blood sugar control issues that occur because some women eat more sweets and carbs at “that time of the month”. If you are careful with your diet during your period and still get fatigue issues, then hormones or anemia are likely to blame. The simplest way to figure it out the main problem is to get an inexpensive blood test (a CBC - complete blood count) for anemia. If you get your blood checked right at the end of your main menstrual flow and you don’t have anemia, we can then assume the problem to be estrogen (hormonal balance) by the process of elimination.

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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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