Fibromyalgia - Tracing the Cause

To be eligible for the debilitating condition of fibromyalgia you have to fulfill three major criteria: (1)

1) generalized aches and/or stiffness in at least three areas of your body for a minimum of three months;
2) Eleven or more tender points out of a possible eighteen; and
3) You have ruled out other causes of the same symptoms.

Having become eligible, you officially qualify for a fibromyalgia diagnosis by having at least four of the following eight symptoms; generalized fatigue, chronic headache, upset sleep, psychological and neurological complaints, joint swelling, numbness and/or tingling, irritable bowel, and any of these symptoms worse with stress, activity or weather changes.

There is much overlap between fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. They share the same major criteria but fibromyalgia will produce pain and chronic fatigue will produce fatigue.

What I suggest as treatment for fibromyalgia is a result of experience as well as research. I do a physical therapy called Bowen (click on the Bowen Therapy button for details on this treatment). In our Bowen Association reports, there are fibromyalgia cases that responded to this therapy alone. In my experience Bowen, which does a marvelous job on most pain including fibromyalgia, cannot do the job alone.

Solid naturopathic principles lead us to look for the cause and treat that. Research on fibromyalgia to date is invaluable in this regard.

Although fibromyalgia has many contributing factors, the overwhelming one is low serotonin which is a neurotransmitter in the brain. (2) Supplementing the immediate precursor to serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP) produces good results within a month. One case actually enjoyed a significant improvement after one week!

Because research has also shown that 5HTP given with St. John's Wort produced better results than either one alone (2) , I always suggest the two be taken together. Please note that St. John's Wort should not be mixed into any treatment that includes an antidepressant drug.

Magnesium, an important co-factor in so many of our body's biochemical reactions, has a key role to play in serotonin function. That is probably why research has shown that magnesium is usually low in fibromyalgia patients. (3) Malic acid always improves results when combined with the magnesium supplement.

Supplementation of magnesium and malic acid usually produces impressive results in fibromyalgia cases, but one could go further and ask why magnesium and serotonin are low. Serotonin is produced in your body from tryptophan. That's an amino acid which is made in your body by fully digested protein. So here we are again right back to the basics -digestion. Is your digestive system not handling protein properly? Your stomach needs strong concentrated acid to start protein digestion, and minerals like magnesium also require good stomach acid to be well absorbed. Perhaps your stomach is not producing enough acid. This is easily corrected with supplementation.

So you see that the real causes of fibromyalgia can be traced and corrected at the source. Fibromyalgia is not due to a lack of Tylenol or aspirin in your bloodstream. A natural approach that addresses your whole system -not just the painful muscles in question -with a program that may include Bowen therapy, nutritional and botanical medicines is surprisingly successful.

References:
1. D. Buchwald and D. Garrity, "Comparison of Patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities," Arch Intern Med 154 (1994): 2049-53.
2. K.P. White and M. Harth, "An Analytical Review of 24 Controlled Clinical Trials for Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS)," Pain 64 (1996): 211-9.
3. T.J. Romano and J.W. Stiller, "Magnesium Deficiency in Fibromyalgia Syndrome," J Nutr Med 4 (1994) 165-7.