FIBROMYALGIA
It is estimated that Fibromyalgia affects nearly 6 million or 1 in 50 people, and is characterized by chronic muscle pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, brain fog or cognitive impairment, depression and painful tender points throughout the body.
A common, complicated, easily overlooked chronic disease, the symptoms of Fibromyalgia include:
Gluten Intolerance
Gluten has been liked to more than 55 diseases and is often called the ‘big masquerader’. The reason for this is that the majority symptoms of gluten intolerance are not digestive in nature but rather neurological such as pain, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbances, behavioral issues, fatigue and depression.
Candida Overgrowth
Candida is a fungus or yeast, and a very small amount of it lives in your intestines. However, when overproduced, candida breaks down the wall of the intestines and penetrates the bloodstream, releasing toxic byproducts into your body causing a host of nasty symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, digestive issues and pain. Virtually EVERY ONE of my patients with fibromyalgia has had Candida overgrowth.
Thyroid
More than half of the people with thyroid issues have no idea they have one and 90% of these have hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid gland. It is vital that your doctor check NINE different blood markers to measure your thyroid gland’s function. It’s imperative that your doctor use the OPTIMAL levels rather than the standard reference range when assessing and diagnosing. Getting my patient’s thyroid levels into an OPTIMAL range typically alleviates their fatigue, brain fog, sleep disturbances and depression. (See ‘Why we are Different’ under ABOUT US tab)
Vitamin Deficiencies
Magnesium, vitamin D and B12 deficiency are the most common vitamin deficiencies I see in those who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I have known several patients completely reverse their fibromyalgia symptoms with magnesium alone. The best way to measure magnesium is a red blood cell (RBC) magnesium level, which can be tested through any conventional lab.
Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth and Leaky Gut
There are more bacteria in us and on us then there are of our own cells. When these bacteria get out of balance through use of antibiotics or a sugar-rich diet we can lose our ability to digest and absorb nutrients, particularly B12. You must fix the gut first in anyone with fibromyalgia or any chronic illness.
Adrenal Fatigue
Adrenal fatigue is a result of the chronic stress whether real or perceived. Chronic pain is a stress to the adrenal glands, though typically not the initial adrenal stressor. The initial stressor is usually something such as food intolerances, Candida, mercury toxicity, vitamin deficiencies or mycotoxins. My goal is to support the adrenals with adaptogenic herbs while we search for the ROOT CAUSE of the stress and correct it.
Glutathione Deficiency
Glutathione is one of the most critical parts of our body’s DETOXIFICATION system. Glutathione gets recycled in our body unless our toxic burden gets too high. Taking glutathione or the precursors (NAC, alpha lipoic acid, milk thistle) often help my patients dramatically with fatigue.
As you can see from the above list, many of these causes are interrelated and often there is no one single ROOT CAUSE to fibromyalgia or any chronic illness. It is a combination of several or possibly all of the above. You do not need to suffer needlessly or mask your symptoms with pain medication and antidepressants. There are doctors like myself who can help you.
Taking you from Nutritional Deficiency to Nutritional Sufficiency and from Cellular Toxicity to Cellular Purity is the natural, superior way to support your FIBROMYALGIA & CHRONIC FATIGUE symptoms.
This is the HOPE of Functional Medicine and the PROMISE of The Roadmap To Health!