HOW WE TREAT FIBROMYALGIA
Our treatment programmes for fibromyalgia are developed on a case-by-case basis. We often use non-invasive investigations, such as evaluation of urinary organic acids, evaluation of urinary peptides and a comprehensive stool analysis, and sometimes invasive investigations, such as a somatomedin C evaluation, which is a blood test that helps doctors evaluate production of human growth hormone. The results of these investigations will help determine your current health and nutritional status to determine the choice of treatment options.
Treatment options include:
- hyperthermia treatment – treatment sessions with our IRATHERM®, which provides intense infra-red sauna body-heating therapy, which can help to relieve the pain.
- addressing stomach or digestive problems – people with fibromyalgia often also suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This is commonly caused by food sensitivities and testing for these and provision of low-dose immunotherapy (LDI) will allow the correction of specific food sensitivities to help relieve pain and provide support.
- improving gut function – recommendations will be made to optimise your gut function by balancing the microbiomes. The gut has trillions of bacteria, viruses and fungi, which are collectively known as microbiome. Some are linked to disease while others are essential for your immune system and many other aspects of health.
- oxygen therapy – many people benefit from using an oxygen concentrator, which helps increase the oxygen levels in the blood.
- hormone treatment – after evaluating blood results, treatments using hormones may be recommended. For example, erythropoietin, which is a hormone that increases the rate of production of red blood cells, may help.
- detoxification – lifestyle changes may be recommended to help eliminate toxins in the body, including drugs.
- rectification of your energy cycle – the Krebs cycle is the citric acid cycle which is the main source of energy for living things. There are 10 steps in the Krebs cycle and if any of the steps are not performing as they should, there is a knockdown effect, which can cause extreme fatigue and pain.
- clearing airways – sometimes guaifenesin can help to excrete phosphates and make breathing easier.
- redox restorative substances
- support for endocrine disease – various treatments can improve thyroid, adrenal and pancreatic function, which will help regulate your metabolism
- support for hypothalamic function – this part of the brain regulates body temperature, blood pressure, hunger, thirst, mood, sex drive and sleep.
People with fibromyalgia may not have any clinically observable abnormality when checked physically. Many of our fibromyalgia patients were given other diagnoses before they visited our clinic. By using a fibromyalgia scoring system, fibromyalgia became apparent, which was often diagnosed with additional conditions such as chronic fatigue, depression and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Jean Monro, Environmental Naturopath
SUPPLEMENTS FOR FIBROMYALGIA
For those with fibromyalgia, there are many supplements that may be recommended in combination to help you regain your vitality. Often supplements are used in prescribed doses, which may vary considerably from the standard, recommended doses. A wide range of herbal remedies can also help as part of the first step to working towards feeling better.
Our environmental naturopath or nutritional therapist will advise you on the best supplementation programme for you during a one-hour appointment to discuss your test results and recommendations so that you know what to do next.
SYMPTOMS OF FIBROMYALGIA
In addition to the musculoskeletal pain of fibromyalgia, it is quite common for sufferers to experience symptoms of other conditions including:
- sleep disturbance with non-refreshing sleep
- chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); marked fatigue aggravated by exertion with slow recovery times
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)/allergic colitis
- irritable bladder problems
- submandibular jaw problems
- generalised pain and stiffness
- dryness of the eyes
- headaches which may be quite severe, with pain in the neck radiating to the shoulders
- cognitive disturbances so that people complain of brain fog, difficulty concentrating and memory loss
- anxiety
- depression
- irritable bladder/allergic cystitis
- Raynaud’s phenomenon with blanching of the fingers on exposure to cold
- and sometimes recurrent vaginitis, headaches, and burning hands and feet.
Many sufferers also have hypoglycaemia or carbohydrate intolerance with tiredness, panic, palpitations or light-headedness after eating sugar or starch.
Book an appointment to receive your treatment programmes for fibromyalgia.
ARTICLES ON FIBROMYALGIA
We have shared information about fibromyalgia in our Breakspear Medical Bulletins over the years including:
FAQS
What is the best test to diagnose fibromyalgia?
Diagnosing fibromyalgia accurately is important, as improper treatments can cause flare-ups and further complications. The best test for diagnosing fibromyalgia is a fibromyalgia score in addition to a clinical evaluation. We use both these tools to identify this difficult-to-diagnose condition in an accurate and reliable manner.
What do you offer at Breakspear Medical for fibromyalgia which is different to other clinics?
The initial step in treating fibromyalgia is proper history-taking and examination. Following this, a range of treatment approaches are undertaken to investigate and clear the possible cause of fibromyalgia such as immune activity, food allergies, viral or bacterial infections, mycotoxins and man-made pollutants. We often use detoxification methods such as oral administration or intravenous injection, along with hyperthermia, to reduce inflammation in patients. Other approaches, such as stabilising the gut flora, addressing sensitivities with LDI and using neuromuscular taping for pain relief have been shown to be very successful in managing symptoms of fibromyalgia.
What do you offer at Breakspear Medical for fibromyalgia which is different to other clinics?
The initial step in treating fibromyalgia is proper history taking and examination. Following this, a range of treatment approaches are undertaken to investigate and clear the possible cause of fibromyalgia such as immune activity, food allergies, viral or bacterial infections, mycotoxins and man-made pollutants. We often use detoxification methods such as oral administration or intravenous injection, along with hyperthermia, to reduce inflammation in patients. Other approaches such as stabilising the gut flora, addressing sensitivities and using neuromuscular taping for pain relief have shown to be very successful in managing symptoms of fibromyalgia.
What is the difference between fibromyalgia and ME/CFS?
Fibromyalgia is due to wide spread musculoskeletal pain. Such pain can be caused by a number of conditions, particularly inflammatory conditions which are generalised. ME/CFS has a distinct onset, often with an infection or a major exposure to moulds producing mycotoxins within the body. People with ME/CFS fulfil the criteria for SEID systemic exertional intolerance disease in which fatigue is the principal symptom rather than pain, which is more predominant in fibromyalgia.
