Stop Fibromyalgia Now

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Studies have shown that 4 to 6 million people in the world currently suffer from fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome. Have you heard of homeostasis and how it can help you with your fibromyalgia treatment?

What Is Homeostasis?

There are different types of homeostasis. When referring to the human body and homeostasis, the term typically refers to the ability of the body to heal itself. There are many different factors that affect the body’s ability to self-heal such as:

•    Temperature
•    Nutrients (glucose, ions, oxygen, etc)
•    Water
•    Rest/sleep

How Can It Help Your Fibromyalgia Treatment?

Homeostasis works with the treatment plan you have already. The treatment program that your doctor prescribes for you to use will help aide your body’s ability to heal naturally which works hand in hand with homeostasis to help you recover.

There are steps you can take in addition to your fibromyalgia treatment that can naturally help improve your condition and the way that you feel on a daily basis. When you take the proper steps to help boost your body’s own natural ability to heal and recover, the more effective your treatments will be.

Diet

One method of homeostasis as fibromyalgia treatment is to change your diet. It only makes sense that what goes into your body will affect how your body feels and looks as well as how to respond to thing in your environment.

Your diet can have a big impact on how your immune system works and how you respond to illness and disease. Certain foods will make your immune system stronger and make it easier for you to fight off illness. This will help you in your battle against fibromyalgia.

Sleep

Sleep allows your body to heal and recover naturally. It is very important that you get the proper amount of sleep each night. However, studies show that most adults do not get enough sleep. To make matters worse, fibromyalgia can cause insomnia or make it difficult to sleep due to pain caused by the condition.

This lack of sleep makes your symptoms worse because you body doesn’t have to time to self-heal at night. The more sleep you are able to get at night, the better you will feel and the less pain and stiffness of the joints you will have.

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Can anyone of you who are suffering from this diliberating disease, help me out? What cures are there avaiable?
What do you do when you have severe pain attacks all over your body?

Dear Angel,
I suffer from fibromyalgia for over 8 years now. This disabling disease has no cure but there are things you can do to help minimize the pain or to help you cope with the pain.
I run an online (FREE) support group on MSN for Fibromyalgia sufferers. It's a group full of women of many ages who are so incredible; they are there for you and offer such great advice and support. It is called Fibro Serenity Garden if you are interested in reaching out for support.
Many things you can do to help cope with the pain are hot baths, heating pads, an anti-inflammatory (such as Aleve), pain medication, and perhaps Lyrica if the doctor believe it might help you. Lyrica isn't a cure but it does offer some relief but you should know that it does not work for everyone.There are also others that doctors may try, like Neurontin. One important thing is for you to see a Rheumatologist as soon as possible. This doctor is one who is more knowledgable about this terrible disease and will be more likely to offer all types of treatments. The next step is to get a pain doctor because this doctor will not hesitate to give you a pain medication to help you with your pain attacks. These two doctors are key to getting some control back from the pain. I try everything to try to cope with the pain.
When I have a pain attack, I take my pain medicine and lay down till it takes the edge off. When I'm in a fibro flare, I will take the Aleve to try to decrease the inflammation and I also try to take my pain medication. During a Fibro Flare, you will find that it is even painful to take a shower because the water hitting your skin is so painful. Usually it takes an hour for me to be able to get up out of bed when I wake up in the morning because the stiffness and ache is so bad.
So you are not alone Angelika. There are things you can do to try to take the edge off and alleviate some of the symptoms. I hope I was able to give you some answers and at least give you some hope. I am here to help in any way I can.

While the symptoms of fibromyalgia can be debilitating, they are not life threatening. Symptoms vary, depending on stress level, physical activity, time of day, and the weather. Pain is the primary symptom, found in virtually 100% of cases—specifically, pain and tenderness in certain areas of the body when pressure is applied to them. These areas include: Back of the head , Elbows ,Hips , Knees , Neck, Upper back , Upper chest .

Pain may be aching, burning, throbbing, or move around the body (migratory). Many patients also experience muscle tightness, soreness, and spasms. The patient may be unable to carry out normal daily activities, even though muscle strength is not affected. The pain is often worse in the morning, improves throughout the day, and worsens at night.

Other common symptoms of fibromyalgia include:

Sleep disorders (e.g., restless leg syndrome, sleep apnea) .
Gastrointestinal (e.g., abdominal pain, bloating, gas, cramps, alternating diarrhea and constipation) . Numbness or tingling sensations . Chronic headaches (may include facial and jaw pain) . Heightened sensitivity to odors, loud noises, bright lights, various foods, medicines, and changes in weather . Painful menstrual periods (dysmenorrhea) and painful sexual intercourse (dyspareunia) . Frequent urination, strong urge to urinate, and painful urination (dysuria) . Rapid or irregular heart rate, and shortness of breath . Sensation of swelling (edema) in the hands and feet, even though swelling is not present

Each fibromyalgia patient is different and may require individualized treatment. An active exercise program, low-dose anti-depressants, acupuncture, psychotherapy, behavior modification therapy, chiropractic care, massage and physical therapy, used alone or in conjunction with one another, may provide some relief of symptoms.

Is anyone familiar with Kathy Dickson from Conneitcutt on Lymes Disease and her discoveries many are suffering with Lymes Disease as well as her. You can see her on you tube type in lymes disease…she has four videos…very troubling what is happening so many people suffering and there is an answer… please take a look as Lymes Disease it is horrid and can damage even the brain… please get involved and listen to what she has to say… I know Lymes can look like plain old arthritis etc…. has many faces….. thank you for your time and your compassion to look at what this young lady is researching with documentation to back her up… very disturbing. Could be our children we need to learn all we can.

thanks again angel

Since the symptoms of fibromyalgia are diverse and vary among patients, treatment programs must be individualized for each patient. Treatment programs are most effective when they combine patient education, stress reduction, regular exercise, and medications. Recent studies have verified that the best outcome for each patient results from a combination of approaches that involves the patient in customization of the treatment plan.

There is no effective treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome. Even though there is no specific treatment for chronic fatigue syndrome itself, you may find it quite helpful to treat your symptoms. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, may help get rid of any body aches or fever, and nonsedating antihistamines may help relieve any prominent allergic symptoms, such as runny nose.

Learning how to manage your fatigue may help you improve the level at which you can function and your quality of life despite your symptoms. A rehabilitation medicine specialist can evaluate and teach you how to plan activities to take advantage of times when you usually feel better.

The lack of any proven effective treatment can be frustrating to both you and your doctors. If you have chronic fatigue syndrome, health experts recommend that you try to maintain good health by:

* Eating a balanced diet and getting adequate rest
* Exercising regularly but without causing more fatigue
* Pacing yourself — physically, emotionally, and intellectually — because too much stress can aggravate your symptoms. The course of chronic fatigue syndrome varies from patient to patient

For most people, chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms plateau early in the course of illness and thereafter wax and wane. Some people get better completely, but it is not clear how frequently this happens. Emotional support and counseling can help you and your loved ones cope with the uncertain outlook and the ups and downs of this illness.

New studies seem to show that cognitive behavioral therapy and graduated exercise programs can greatly help many. Others are helped by antidepressants.

Because well-designed clinical studies have found that patients with fibromyalgia (an illness similar to chronic fatigue syndrome) benefit from low-dose tricyclic antidepressants, doctors often prescribe these drugs for people with chronic fatigue syndrome with generally positive results. Some researchers believe that these drugs improve the quality of sleep. Patients also have benefited from other kinds of antidepressants, including the newer serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Therapeutic doses of antidepressants often increase fatigue in chronic fatigue syndrome, so doctors may have to increase the dosage very slowly, or prescribe more active antidepressants. In addition, some people with chronic fatigue syndrome benefit from the benzodiazepines, a class of drugs used to treat acute anxiety and sleep problems. Patients often try more than one drug before finding one that works and can be tolerated.

Some conditions and diseases are named after the people who discovered them, or after specific symptoms. (Lupus is so named because in ancient Greece doctors thought the rash on the face of a sufferer looked like a wolf bite. Hodgkin's Disease, which is a form of cancer, was named for the person who discovered it.) Many medical terms come from the "ancient" languages - Latin and Greek. What happens is that several word parts are joined together to specifically describe what is going on.

"algia" is a suffix that means pain. "myo" (in this case the o is dropped because there's another vowel right after it) is muscle. "fibro" refers to connective tissues like tendons and ligaments. Hence, fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles and connective tissue.

"arthro" means joints, and "itis" means inflammation. Arthritis is inflammation of the joints. Again, two terms joined to describe what's going on.

Although they have not found a cure for this potentially severe, debilitating condition, it's pretty easy to see what the symptoms are, and that's where they got the name.

There is no cure for Fibromyalgia although there are treatments available through physicians and clinics to aid those who have Fibromyalgia. Many chronic fatigue and chronic pain centers also offer varying degrees of treatments also that are geared more to the individual patient rather than the illness.

can you cure youself from fibromyalgia by excercising, eating right, etc. etc. etc.?
someone claims to have done so.
i say impossible. considering she is the only one i have ever heard of doing so. i say it's more realistic that she was misdiagnosed or simply has her pain managed well, for the time being.
what are your thoughts?
(i have suffered from this illness for years and years. i know the reality of this monster.)

maybe that's helping her CONTROL it but no, it's not cured it. there is no cure. i'm with you, she was either misdiagnosed or has her pain under control for now.

is their a cure or treatment to eas the pain for fibromyalgia.and so were or location thax my mother needs the help and me to see her happy again thxx.

Honey, if there were a cure for Fibromyaliga or a good treatment some drug company or health care professional would be MEGA RICH!

I have suffered for 17 years now. There was one thing that did help, unfortunately most health insurances don't pay for it and it can be costly, that is massage therapy. NOTE it MUST be done by a therapist that specifically trained to work on folks with FMS.

Look on the net there are some very good sites to give you and your mom some good info. If you or she wishes feel free to e-mail me.

http://www.fmaware.org/site/PageServer

This is long - but good info for you and mom.

WHAT IS FIBROMYALGIA SYNDROME?

FMS (fibromyalgia syndrome) is a widespread musculoskeletal pain and fatigue disorder for which the cause is still unknown.
Fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons–the fibrous tissues in the body.
FMS used to be called fibrositis, implying that there was inflammation in the muscles, but research later proved that inflammation did not exist.
Most patients with fibromyalgia say that they ache all over. Their muscles may feel like they have been pulled or overworked. Sometimes the muscles twitch and at other times they burn.
More women than men are afflicted with fibromyalgia, but it shows up in people of all ages.
To help your family and friends relate to your condition, have them think back to the last time they had a bad flu. Every muscle in their body shouted out in pain. In addition, they felt devoid of energy as though someone had unplugged their power supply.
While the severity of symptoms fluctuate from person to person, FMS may resemble a post-viral state and this is why several experts in the field of FMS and CFS believe that these two syndromes are one and the same.
SYMPTOMS AND ASSOCIATED SYNDROMES
Pain - The pain of fibromyalgia has no boundaries. People describe the pain as deep muscular aching, burning, throbbing, shooting and stabbing. Quite often, the pain and stiffness are worse in the morning and you may hurt more in muscle groups that are used repetitively.
Fatigue - This symptom can be mild in some patients and yet incapacitating in others. The fatigue has been described as "brain fatigue" in which patients feel totally drained of energy. Many patients depict this situation by saying that they feel as though their arms and legs are tied to concrete blocks, and they have difficulty concentrating.
Sleep disorder - Most fibromyalgia patients have an associated sleep disorder called the alpha-EEG anomaly. This condition was uncovered in a sleep lab with the aid of a machine which recorded the brain waves of patients during sleep.
Researchers found that fibromyalgia syndrome patients could fall asleep without much trouble, but their deep level (or stage 4) sleep was constantly interrupted by bursts of awake-like brain activity. Patients appeared to spend the night with one foot in sleep and the other one out of it. In most cases, a physician doesn't have to order expensive sleep lab tests to determine if you have disturbed sleep. If you wake up feeling as though you have just been run over by a Mack truck–what doctors refer to as unrefreshed sleep–it is reasonable for your physician to assume that you have a sleep disorder.
It should be noted that most patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome have the same alpha-EEG sleep pattern and some fibromyalgia-diagnosed patients have been found to have other sleep disorders, such as sleep myoclonus or PLMS (nighttime jerking of the arms and legs), restless leg syndrome and bruxism (teeth grinding). The sleep pattern for clinically depressed patients is distinctly different from that found in FMS or CFS.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome - Constipation, diarrhea, frequent abdominal pain, abdominal gas and nausea represent symptoms frequently found in roughly 40% to 70% of fibromyalgia patients.
Chronic headaches - Recurrent migraine or tension-type headaches are seen in about 50% of fibromyalgia patients and can pose as a major problem in coping for this patient group.
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome - This syndrome, sometimes referred to as TMJD, causes tremendous face and head pain in one quarter of FMS patients. However, a 1997 report indicates that as many as 90% of fibromyalgia patients may have jaw and facial tenderness that could produce, at least intermittently, symptoms of TMJD. Most of the problems associated with this condition are thought to be related to the muscles and ligaments surrounding the joint and not necessarily the joint itself.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome - Sensitivities to odors, noise, bright lights, medications and various foods is common in roughly 50% of FMS or CFS patients.
Other common symptoms -
Painful menstrual periods (dysmenorrhea),
chest pain,
morning stiffness,
cognitive or memory impairment,
numbness and tingling sensations,
muscle twitching,
irritable bladder,
the feeling of swollen extremities,
skin sensitivities,
dry eyes and mouth,
frequent changes in eye prescription,
dizziness, and impaired coordination can occur. Aggravating factors - Changes in weather, cold or drafty environments, hormonal fluctuations (premenstrual and menopausal states), stress, depression, anxiety and over-exertion can all contribute to symptom flare-ups.
POSSIBLE CAUSES
The cause of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome remains elusive, but there are many triggering events thought to precipitate its onset. A few examples would be an infection (viral or bacterial), an automobile accident or the development of another disorder, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or hypothyroidism. These triggering events probably don't cause FMS, but rather, they may awaken an underlying physiological abnormality that's already present in the form of genetic predisposition. What could this abnormality be? Theories pertaining to alterations in neurotransmitter regulation (particularly serotonin and norepinephrine, and substance P), immune system function, sleep physiology, and hormonal control are under investigation.
Substance P is a pain neurotransmitter that has been found by repeat studies to be elevated threefold in the spinal fluid of fibromyalgia patients. Two hormones that have been shown to be abnormal are cortisol and growth hormone. In addition, modern brain imaging techniques are being used to explore various aspects of brain function–while the structure may be intact, there is likely a dysregulation in the way the brain operates.
The body's response to exercise, stress and simple alterations in position (vertical versus horizontal) are also being evaluated to determine if the autonomic nervous system is not working properly.
Your body uses many neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine and epinephrine, to regulate your heart, lungs and other vital organs that you don't have to consciously think about. Ironically, many of the drugs prescribed for FMS/CFS may have a favorable impact on these transmitters as well.

COMMON TREATMENTS
Traditional treatments are geared toward improving the quality of sleep, as well as reducing pain. Because deep level (stage 4) sleep is so crucial for many body functions, such as tissue repair, antibody production, and perhaps even the regulation of various neurotransmitters, hormones and immune system chemicals, the sleep disorders that frequently occur in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue patients are thought to be a major contributing factor to the symptoms of this condition.
Medicines that boost your body's level of serotonin and norepinephrine–neurotransmitters that modulate sleep, pain and immune system function–are commonly prescribed. Examples of drugs in this category would include Elavil, Flexeril, Sinequan, Paxil, Serzone, Xanax and Klonopin.
A low dose of one of these medications may be of help. In addition, nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen may also be beneficial.
Most patients will probably need to use other treatment methods as well, such as trigger point injections with lidocaine, physical therapy, acupuncture, acupressure, relaxation techniques, osteopathic manipulation, chiropractic care, therapeutic massage, or a gentle exercise program.

WHAT IS THE PROGNOSIS?
Long term follow-up studies on fibromyalgia syndrome have shown that it is chronic, but the symptoms may wax and wane.
The impact that FMS can have on daily-living activities, including the ability to work a full-time job, differs among patients.
Overall, studies have shown that fibromyalgia can be equally as disabling as rheumatoid arthritis. On the other hand, follow-up of people meeting the chronic fatigue sydnrome criteria indicates that as many as 40% may significantly improve but few are thought to completely recover from this syndrome.

Longer term follow-up studies are not available to indicate whether these "improved" CFS patients later relapse with an increase in symptoms. A preliminary follow-up study by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) reveals that for those individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome who do not recover or significantly improve after five years duration, their most prominent symptom changes from fatigue to muscle pain with concentration problems (sounds a lot like the permanent syndrome of fibromyalgia but the CDC is not checking patients for tender points).

we have a health problem in our house. our daughter in law is suffering from FIBROMYALGIA. will any one suggest a possible
cure for this disease please.

gouraswamy krishna murthy
Bangalore - india

Ack… I hate to say this, but there is no cure!! But there numerous ways of trying to deal with it!

Fibromyalgia is a SYNDROME. Thus it is a collection of symptoms with no known cause, hence why it is difficult to treat. the symptoms themselves need to be dealt with.

In terms of non-pharmacological therapy (ie. no drugs) there needs to be plenty of focus on improving her sleep! Fibromyalgia patients notoriously have horrible sleep patterns. Sure, the pain is a large reason why the patient cannot sleep, but lack of sleep will only serve to aggrevate the problem more!

In terms of pharmacological methods of treatment this is where it gets messy. Hundreds of different treatments have been tried, but I will give the methods I have seen work the best. Pain relievers need to tried first. Start with OTC products (ie. acetaminophen, ASA, ibuprofen, naproxen.. if available). Then you can move to the prescription meds. Muscle relaxants (ie. cyclobenzaprine) have sometimes been successful, but probably only because they help one sleep better! Probably a better bet are "nerve pain" relievers, such as amitriptyline (my first choice), gabapentin, or pregabalin. Ideally you should also take something to help with sleep, and products like amitriptyline can double for this function, but sometimes a benzo such as lorazepam, or a pseudo-benzo such as eszopiclone are needed.

Topically there products to try as well. You should first try OTC products such as methylsalicylate rubs (ie. A535) and/or capsaicin rubs. Keep in mind that capsaicin rubs can take up 3-4 weeks before you see the maximum benefit! Next on the list, you should ask for a prescription for an anti-inflammatory rub. Diclofenac in diffusimax/phlogel seems to work best. We typically have to make this in the pharmacy. ALSO my personal favorite for this is a specialty compound I have seen made up (only at a few select pharmacies in town) that also contains KETAMINE. Ketamine is a tranquilizer used in horses and it is also a drug of abuse with some people, but it makes for a great anaesthetic rub especially with fibromyalgia patients!

There have been reports of using guaifenesin orally for fibromyalgia, and there is a book written on this from about a decade ago, but there is no good evidence this works, and it is damn near impossible to GET guaifenesin powder and to follow the diet and practices enforced by the book without going insane. Not worth the time and money in my opinion.

And most importantly she need to stay positive that she can fight this off! The pain may never go away completely, but studies have shown that positive thinking is crucial in the treatment of this syndrome! Think of ways to enhance her mood! Lower stress, times to relax, vacations, etc.!!

Good luck!!