Naperville Integrated Wellness
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Fibromyalgia Treatment – Functional Medicine Takes A Deeper Look
For serious Fibromyalgia Functional Medicine readers only…
This will not be an easy article to read through.
If you are serious about understanding and managing this condition, then keep reading.
I am digging deeper into this condition so that you can understand what is happening in your body. By the time you get to the end of this article you will know more about the disease mechanisms that cause fibromyalgia than your doctor does.
If you have fibromyalgia, I highly recommend that you read this entire article. There is much more to this chronic health condition than you know. It is not just a “pain syndrome” and it can have long-term effects that can be very damaging to your nervous system, especially your brain. Just managing the pain is not sufficient, because underlying disease processes are still active and causing damage to you body that you may not be aware of.
This article may at times be a little complex, but it is imperative that you understand the long-term consequences of this condition. Unfortunately, most doctor’s do no properly educate their patients about this health problem and downplay what is really happening in your body. A functional medicine doctor understands the short-term and long-term concerns and seeks to address the root cause or causes of fibromyalgia.
What is fibromyalgia…really?
Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain in muscles and soft tissues all over the body. It is a disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues. Researchers believe that fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain and spinal cord process painful and nonpainful signals. It is an ongoing (chronic) condition. It can affect your neck, shoulders, back, chest, hips, buttocks, arms, and legs. The pain may be worse in the morning and evening. Sometimes, the pain may last all day long. The pain may get worse with activity, cold or damp weather, anxiety, and stress. The condition affects about 1 in 50 to 1 in 25 people in the U.S. It is most common in middle-aged women. Symptoms often begin after an event, such as physical trauma, surgery, infection or significant psychological stress. In other cases, symptoms gradually accumulate over time with no single triggering event. There are no tests that can confirm a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. You can’t test for it with blood tests and you can’t see it on x-rays or an MRI. Instead, diagnosis is based on your symptoms, a physical exam, and possibly ruling out other conditions. There are a couple of reasons why we can’t test for it. #1 it does not have a single cause and #2 it affects multiple system in your body. What makes fibromyalgia so complex is that it affects all 3 of the major regulating systems of your body…nervous system, immune system and endocrine system (the hormonal system). The cause is unknown. Researchers think there may be a link with sleep problems and stress. It may also be linked to immune, endocrine, or biochemical problems. The cause of fibromyalgia (FM) is not completely understood. The disease is characterized by a central sensitization with an amplification of pain perception (nervous system). A combination of interactions among external stressors, neurotransmitters, hormones, immune, and sympathetic nervous systems appears to be involved. Your sympathetic nervous system becomes activated when you are under stress, so we call it the “fight or flight” nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system controls the functions of the major organs that keep us alive, including the digestive system; so, it has the nickname “rest and digest” nervous system. In summary, several different parts of your nervous system, your immune system and your hormone system (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, thyroid hormone, etc.) are all involved in the cause of fibromyalgia. https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05344.x Research has shown that patients with fibromyalgia have elevated levels of certain inflammation chemicals called cytokines in the fluid surrounding their brain band spinal cord. This suggests inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. Using modern brain imaging (PET imaging) it has been shown that that the nervous system’s immune cells called glial cells are actively causing inflammation in the brain. The chronic inflammation in the brain can cause damage to brain over time and chronic inflammation of the brain is implicated in the development of many brain degenerative disorders. “A recent study from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, has found that individuals who have an increase in inflammation during midlife – that is maintained into late life – have greater abnormalities in the brain’s white matter, ultimately affecting cognitive function and possibly leading to dementia/ Alzheimer’s disease.” https://www.alzheimers.net/chronic-inflammation-linked-to-dementia https://www.apdaparkinson.org/article/the-role-of-inflammation-in-parkinsons-disease/ “We found that fibromyalgia patients had significantly less total gray matter (nerve cells/neurons) volume and showed a 3.3 times greater age-associated decrease in gray matter than healthy controls. The longer the individuals had had fibromyalgia, the greater the gray matter loss, with each year of fibromyalgia being equivalent to 9.5 times the loss in normal aging. In addition, fibromyalgia patients demonstrated significantly less gray matter density than healthy controls in several brain regions…” Hopefully you are starting to see that just taking drugs like Cymbalta, Savella, Lyrica, Flexeril and gabapentin are not treating this disease and will never correct it or reverse it. These drugs only alter how your nervous system works. They don’t fix the problems in the nervous system and do nothing for the immune system, the chronic brain inflammation or endocrine system (hormones). The most important long-term effects of fibromyalgia are what the immune system and chronic inflammation can do to the brain over time. This can cause the rapid death of brain cells, a decrease in brain size and diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Each person’s symptoms may vary. But chronic pain is the most common symptom. The pain most often affects the muscles and the points where muscles attach to bones. These are tendons. Other common symptoms and co-existing health issues of fibromyalgia include: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/fibromyalgia/symptoms-causes/syc-20354780 Bone pain is a common symptom of fibromyalgia. This pain occurs in the muscles and joints, and can be experienced throughout the body. It is usually described as a deep ache or a burning sensation. The pain can be mild or severe, and it can worsen with certain activities or movements. It is thought that this type of pain is caused by increased sensitivity to pain signals in the brain. People with fibromyalgia may also experience tenderness and fatigue in the muscles, as well as difficulty sleeping due to pain. Bone pain associated with fibromyalgia may interfere with daily activities and can cause significant distress. It is important to talk to your doctor if you are experiencing bone pain, as they can help you manage your symptoms and improve your condition. Fibromyalgia parasites are microscopic organisms that are believed to cause symptoms associated with fibromyalgia. They are believed to be related to the virus that causes Lyme disease and are thought to be transmitted through tick bites, although it is not proven. These parasites have been linked to chronic fatigue syndrome, irritable bowel syndrome, and other inflammatory conditions. Symptoms associated with fibromyalgia parasites include joint pain, muscle pain, sleep problems, cognitive impairment, headaches, and depression. It is believed that these parasites can cause inflammation in the body and interfere with the normal functioning of the nervous system, leading to the various symptoms. Treatment for fibromyalgia parasites is often focused on treating the underlying infection and addressing any symptoms associated with it. Below, you will see how fibromyalgia is treated in the traditional healthcare model. Then I will give you information on how we would treat fibromyalgia from a functional medicine model of healthcare. I think you will find that a functional medicine doctor is going to address the root causes of fibromyalgia, whereas traditional medicine only focuses on alleviating symptoms. The treatment described below is directly from the Johns Hopkins website: “There is no cure for fibromyalgia. More severe cases may need to be treated with a team. This may include your primary healthcare provider, a specialist called a rheumatologist, a physical therapist, and a pain management clinic. Treatment may include: https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/fibromyalgia I find that patients with fibromyalgia have several different health issues that contribute to the root causes of their health condition. At Naperville Integrated Wellness, we believe that the most effective approach is to identify the various imbalances in the nervous system, immune system and endocrine system that cause fibromyalgia. Examples of this might include the assessment of the following: Through specialized functional medicine testing and treatment techniques we are able to provide effective treatment options for our fibromyalgia patients. Yes, our first goal is to get you feeling better, but we must also to do all we can to prevent the long-term and irreversible brain damage that can occur with fibromyalgia. You are not alone, we are here to help. We want you to feel like yourself again. You want your life back. We want this for you too. Working together, lets see if we can get you there. Contact our Chicago functional medicine doctor and schedule an appointment in Naperville today! The purpose of functional medicine is: Understanding how the body works, knowing how and where to investigate health issues, knowing what to look for, understanding the significance of what is found and creating a plan of action to reverse and correct the root cause the health problems. My wish for you…health, happiness and a better quality of life! If you would like more information about functional medicine and integrative medicine or Dr. Sexton go to napervilleintegratedwellness.com Do your own research, inform yourself and ask lots of questions. When collecting information, you MUST consider the source. There is no shortage of false, misleading, outdated, profit-driven and utterly biased information in healthcare today; even from the most respected sources and organizations. This approach to healthcare is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent any disease. This article is for information purposes and is not a substitute professional healthcare services. Contact our office for more information. Bibliography Franco, M. D., Iannuccelli, C., & Valesini, G. (2010). Neuroendocrine immunology of fibromyalgia. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1193(1), 84-90. Retrieved 10 9, 2020, from https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05344.x Schmidt-Wilcke, T., Wood, P., & Lürding, R. (2010). Cognitive impairment in patients suffering from fibromyalgia. An underestimated problem. Schmerz, 24(1), 46. Retrieved 10 9, 2020, from https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20108102How is fibromyalgia diagnosed?
What causes fibromyalgia?
What we do know…
It is known that the neuroimmunoendocrine system (nervous system + immune system + endocrine system) has a role in the cause of the disease. There are also multiple abnormal mechanisms involving the nerves that carry pain signals and how that pain is perceived in the brain are involved. Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis alterations have also been shown and an abnormal response to stress. The autonomic nervous system is also involved. Your autonomic nervous system is composed of two divisions: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. Long-term effects of fibromyalgia…brain damage.
Alzheimer’s disease…
Parkinson’s disease…
“For more than thirty years it has been understood that inflammatory changes occur in the brains of patients with PD, but only in the last few years has inflammation been viewed as part of the cause of the progressive nature of the disease and not just a result of the disease.”Your brain is shrinking…
brain cells are dying…
What are the symptoms of fibromyalgia?
If you have fibromyalgia, then you don’t need me to tell you what your symptoms are. I have put this section here so you can see how it is not just a “nerve problem.”
Fibromyalgia Bone Pain
Fibromyalgia Parasites
How is fibromyalgia treated?
Traditional medicine:
How functional medicine can help you
Contact Our Fibromyalgia Functional Medicine Doctor
