Stress Busting DHEA and Fibromyalgia

Adrenal fatigue is common among those battling fibromyalgia. 

 

The adrenal glands are located atop each kidney. These glands and the hormones they release allow us to be resilient to day-to-day stress. They allow us to build-up stamina to stressful situations-to rebound from daily stress or stressors.

Individuals with fibromyalgia will find that their adrenal glands have been stressed to the max. They will experience symptoms associated with adrenal fatigue including low energy, brain fog, poor immune function, anxiety, depression, poor sleep, and other stress depleting symptoms. In short they don’t handle stress very well. Because of this they will try to avoid stressful situations as much as possible. Those with severe cases will be become totally withdrawn from social situations, hibernating in their homes and avoiding stress at all costs.

Of course stress also increases their anxiety, makes their symptoms worse and causes them to have flare-ups.

Because they’ve lost their ability to handle stress if they have a day when they feel good and over do it (clean the house, paint the playroom, grocery shopping, etc.). Then they usually crash the next day. These flares are repeated over and over when a person suffers with adrenal fatigue.

Once adrenal exhaustion sets in, it’s not long before the body begins to break down. Getting “stressed out” and staying “stressed out” is the beginning of chronic illness for most, if not all, of the fibromyalgia patients I work with.

One way to repair adrenal fatigue and boost stress coping abilities is to supplement with the over the counter hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).

DHEA

The adrenal cortex, when healthy, produces adequate levels of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).

DHEA boosts:

• Energy, both mental and physical

• Sex drive

• Resistance to stress, builds tolerance and stamina to stress and stressors

• Self-defense mechanisms (immune system)

• General well being

  And helps to raise:

• Cortisol levels-our major stress coping hormone

• Overall adrenal function

• Mood

• Cellular energy

• Mental acuity

• Muscle strength

• Over all stamina

DHEA is notoriously low in my fibromyalgia patients. Chronic stress initially causes the adrenals to release extra amounts of stress hormone cortisol. Continuous stress raises cortisol to abnormally high levels. Then the adrenal glands get to where they can’t keep up with the demand for more cortisol. As the cortisol levels continue to become depleted from on going stress the body attempts to counter this by releasing more DHEA. Eventually they can’t produce enough cortisol or DHEA. This is where most of my patients find themselves in-low DHEA levels from years of stress.

Aging makes holding on to DHEA even tougher. Even in healthy individuals, DHEA levels begin to drop after the age of 30. By age 70, they are at about 20% of their peak levels.

Stress and DHEA

DHEA helps prevent the destruction of tryptophan (5HTP), which increases the production of serotonin. This helps provide added protection from chronic stress. Serotonin is one of the most important stress coping chemicals. This happy hormone increases or moods, reduces pain (increases pain threshold), and is responsible for stimulating the production of the sleep hormone melatonin. If you’ve read my book, Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, you know the importance of 5HTP and serotonin. And I spend quite a bit of time discussing the merits of DHEA for reversing anxiety and depression in my book, Treating and Beating Anxiety and Depression With OrthomolecularMedicine.

DHEA is one the most effective antianxiety therapies available and much safer than benzodiazepine drugs.

Studies continue to show low DHEA to be a biological indicator of stress, aging, and age-related diseases including neurosis, depression, peptic ulcer, IBS, and others.

DHEA and Immune Function

The decrease in DHEA levels correlates with the general decline of cell-mediated immunity and increased incidence of cancer. DHEA protects the thymus gland, a major player in immune function. DHEA is a potent immune booster. It is one of my go to supplements when treating patients with poor immune function including those with chronic fatigue syndrome and shingles.

Get Tested

DHEA Supplement I recommend to my patients

To know if you need to start taking over the counter DHEA, have your blood tested. The normal range is quite large and so most doctors will tell you if you have DHEA show up above 20 you are good. Don’t listen to this nonsense. Numerous studies and 17 years of clinical experience show that optimal levels of DHEA are needed for optimal health. For women optimal DHEA levels should be above 250 and for men closer to 350.

Overcoming Poor Sleep Is Key To Reversing Fibromyalgia

Chronic poor sleep is the beginning of fibromyalgia. Sure chronic pain and even fatigue get all the press, but poor sleep is the real nail in the coffin for fibromyalgia.

Poor sleep leads to more pain, inflammation, brain fog, depression, fatigue, headaches, IBS, RLS, weight gain, and other health robbing symptoms.

Melatonin is the primary hormone of the pineal gland and acts to regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, especially the sleep/wake cycle.  When administered in pharmacological doses (1-3mgs), melatonin acts as a powerful sleep-regulating agent that controls the circadian rhythm. 

The same area of the brain that releases melatonin also regulates the happy hormone serotonin. Serotonin helps to produce melatonin. If you are deficient in serotonin, you’ll also be deficient in melatonin (can’t sleep). If you’re low in serotonin, I recommend you start taking 300mg 5HTP before beginning melatonin therapy.

Melatonin is affected by a person’s exposure to light. Melatonin levels start to rise as the sun goes down and drop off as the sun comes up. The retina (eyes) are extremely sensitive to changes in light. An increase in light that strikes the retina triggers a decrease in melatonin production. Conversely, limited exposure to light increases melatonin production. This explains why some individuals suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder.

What Can Decrease Melatonin Levels? 

Essential Therapeutics Melatonin  P.R.

Chronic stress and depletion of stress coping chemicals including serotonin, 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP)• exposure to bright lights at night
• exposure to electromagnetic fields
• NSAIDs (Celebrex, Vioxx, Mobic, Alleve, Bextra,etc.)
• SSRIs, yes the very same antidepressants that many take for FMS, including Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa, Paxil, and Lexapro.
• anxiety meds (benzodiazepines) like Klonopin, Ativan, Xanax, Restoril, etc.
• anti-hypertensive meds (beta-blockers, adrenergics, and calcium channel blockers) including, Inderal, Toprol, Tenormin, Lorpressor, etc.
• steroids
• over 3 mg. of vitamin B12 in a day.
• caffeine
• alcohol
• tobacco
• evening exercise (for up to three hours afterwards) 
• depression

Instead of addressing the cause, countless pharmaceuticals have been created to treat the symptoms of these conditions (many based on serotonin, the very hormone that is dependent upon producing your natural sleep hormone melatonin). Most patients are taking sleep drugs that don’t promote deep restorative sleep (benzodiazepines-Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin, Seroquel, etc.) and don’t ever feel rested.

Popular prescriptions for insomnia have recently made headlines due to “Risk of Death”. The following are only some that have been named:

• Ambien
• Restoril
• Sonata 
• Lunesta

A recent article on FOX News.com stated,

“People who took more than 132 pills a year were not only five times more likely to die, but were also at greater risk of developing several types of cancer, and 35 percent more likely to be diagnosed with any type of cancer, overall”

In the UK, the following was said in an eye opening article;

   ”Experts have warned that sleeping pills prescribed in the UK could increase the risk of death more than four-fold.”

also finding that…

“The benefits of hypnotics, as critically reviewed by groups without financial interest, would not justify substantial risks.“ Sleeping Pills ‘Quadruple Risk Of Death’

The list of drugs used for treating anxiety is almost endless, however some of the more popular include:

• Cymbalta
• Ativan
• Lexapro
• Paxil
• Valium
• Xanax 

Dr. Peter Bongiorno, naturopath, wrote an interesting article in Psychology Today. He states,

“These anti-anxiety and antidepressant medications are among the most prescribed in the United States – and possibly the most dangerous. According to a report in the 2010 Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, people who use anti-anxiety medication have a 36% increased mortality risk. That means persons using these drugs are almost 40% more likely to die than people who do not use them…”

Treat The Cause Not The Symptoms

Poor sleep can and must be corrected preferably with natural supplements which correct the cause, low serotonin and or melatonin. Sleep drugs potentially create more problems and often lead to other drugs. For an in-depth discussion on sleep, sleep meds, and natural remedies please see my book Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. http://store.drmurphreestore.com/trandbefiand.html

What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About IBS

  

What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About IBS

How You Can Reverse IBS In As Few As 2 Weeks

An estimated 40 million Americans suffer with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Some experts, recognizing that many go undiagnosed, suggest that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects approximately 10–20% of the general population. The majority of patients I see for fibromyalgia suffer with IBS. 

Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by a group of symptoms in which abdominal

pain or discomfort is associated with a change in bowel pattern, such as loose or more frequent bowel movements or diarrhea, and/or hard or less frequent bowel movements or constipation.

We know that gender plays a clear role, as more than 80 percent of IBS patients are

women between 20 and 55 years old.

The criteria for diagnosing IBS is based on the newly modified Rome criteria (Rome II criteria) as the presence for at least 12 weeks (not necessarily consecutive) in the preceding 12 months of abdominal

discomfort or pain that cannot be explained by a structural or biochemical abnormality and that has at least two of following three features:

(1) pain is relieved with defecation, and its onset is associated (2) with a change in the frequency of bowel movements (diarrhea or constipation) or (3) with a change in the form of the stool (loose,

watery, or pellet-like).

Some people with the disorder have constipation (IBS-C). Some have

diarrhea (IBS-D). And some alternate back and forth between constipation and diarrhea (IBS-A).

IBS symptoms result from what appears to be a disturbance in the interaction between the gut or intestines, the brain, and the autonomic nervous system that alters regulation of bowel motility

(motor function) or sensory function.

Research has shown that the cause of IBS is related to neuroendocrine- immune system dysfunction (brain and stomach hormones). This connection is largely mediated by the neurotransmitter or brain hormone known as serotonin. The brain and gut are connected through the neuroreceptors (hormone docking stations) for serotonin, 5-hydroxytriptamine-3 (5-HT3) and 5-hydroxytriptamine-4 (5-HT4).

These serotonin receptors regulate the perception of intestinal pain and the GI motility (contractions that move food through the intestinal tract). Therefore serotonin controls how fast or how slow food moves through the intestinal tract. In fact, there are more serotonin receptors in the intestinal tract than there are in the brain. Ninety percent of serotonin receptors are in the intestinal tract.

Research suggests that IBS patients have extra sensitive pain receptors in the gastrointestinal tract, which may be related to low levels of serotonin (another link to fibromyalgia). Decreased levels of serotonin may help explain why people with IBS are likely to be anxious, depressed or have fibromyalgia. Studies

show that 54–94% of IBS patients meet the diagnostic criteria for depression, anxiety, or panic disorder.

Restoring optimal levels of serotonin has been the focus of traditional drug therapy. Zelnorm, a 5-HT4 receptor agonist, was once hailed as “the drug” for IBS-c (IBS with frequent constipation), has

recently pulled from the market for its association with heart attacks and stroke. The percentage of patients taking Zelnorm that had serious and life-threatening side effects was 10 times higher than the

percentage of patients taking a placebo.

Even before this drug was recalled cardiovascular risks, many experts warned that this drug was dangerous for its other potential side effects including severe liver impairment, severe kidney impairment,

bowel obstruction, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, headaches, abdominal adhesions, gallbladder disease, and back pain.

Antispasmodics (Levsin, Levsinex, Bentyl, Donnatal, etc.) are routinely prescribed for the treatment of IBS symptoms. 

Potential side effects include bloating; blurred vision; clumsiness; constipation; decreased sweating; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; excessive daytime drowsiness ("hangover effect"); feeling of a whirling motion; headache; light-headedness; nausea; nervousness; rash; hives;

difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue agitation; confusion; diarrhea; difficulty focusing eyes; disorientation; exaggerated feeling of well-being;

excitement; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; hallucinations; loss of coordination; loss of taste; memory loss; muscle pain; pounding in the chest; severe or persistent trouble sleeping; trouble

urinating; unusual weakness; very slow breathing; vision changes; vomiting.

Using potentially dangerous drugs to reduce symptoms, while ignoring natural and often more effective approaches is typical of what is wrong with “cookbook” (symptom-focused)

medicine.

        Reversing IBS With Nutritional Therapy

 I find that IBS usually disappears rather quickly once my patient’s correct their poor eating habits (increase fiber, reduce simple sugars, caffeine and junk foods), uncover any hidden allergies when

present, including gluten intolerance (Celiac disease), boost optimal stress coping chemicals (serotonin, magnesium, B-vitamins, etc.), restore bowel ecology (probiotics), and take the right digestive enzymes with their meals.

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5HTP

To boost serotonin levels I recommend patients take, the amino acid responsible for making serotonin, known as 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP). 5HTP along with the right vitamins and minerals, is responsible for making serotonin.

Patients should take 300-400mg a day with food or if have fibromyalgia and suffer with poor sleep, start with 100mg taken on empty stomach 30 minutes before bed with 4 ounces of grape juice and increase by 100mg each night up to 300mg.

 Digestive enzymes

Most digestion and absorption takes place in the small intestine and is regulated by pancreatic enzymes (digestive) and bile. The pancreas aids in digestion by releasing proteolytic enzymes, which help break

down proteins into amino acids. Natural digestive enzymes are found in raw fruits and vegetables. Processed foods are usually devoid of digestive enzymes.

Over consumption of these processed foods can lead to digestive enzyme deficiencies. This may then lead to malabsorption and or intestinal permeability syndrome (bloating, gas, indigestion, diarrhea,

constipation, and intestinal inflammation). To ensure proper digestion and absorption, I recommend taking pancreatic enzymes with each meal.

For stubborn IBS symptoms, I recommend using a high dose, pharmaceutical grade, pure 8X (100% stronger than most over the counter digestive enzymes).

Magnesium

I always recommend people take a good optimal daily allowance

multivitamin/mineral formula. Patients with IBS have depleted their stress-coping chemicals (serotonin, magnesium, and vitamins) and this not only leads to IBS but also prevents them from overcoming IBS.

It is a vicious cycle that can only be broken by taking adequate amounts of essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients I’ve already mentioned above. The mineral magnesium, which is involved in over 300 bodily processes, is particularly important for reversing the symptoms of IBS-c and IBS-A.

Magnesium helps relax the smooth muscle of the colon (natural laxative) allowing normal bowel movements. While a diet high in nutritious fiber is important, magnesium is even more important. A

magnesium deficiency not only causes constipation but can also lead to heart disease, mitral valve prolapse (MVP), depression, anxiety, chronic muscle pain, headaches, migraines, fatigue, and many other unwanted health conditions. Those with IBS-c may need up to 1,000mg of

magnesium each day. While those with IBS-d, may need less than 500mg.

I recommend patients begin with 500mg of magnesium a day, preferably taken in a multivitamin formula.

Probiotics

The human intestines are inhabited by billions of beneficial bacteria. These bacteria, which are mostly located in the colon, aid in digestion by fermenting substances that were not digested in the small

intestine and by breaking down any remaining nutrients. A healthy intestinal tract contains some 2-3 lb. of bacteria and other microorganisms, such as yeast, that normally don’t cause ay health

problems.

However, when the intestinal tract is repetitively exposed to toxic substances (antibiotics, steroids, NSAIDs, etc.), these microorganisms begin to proliferate and create an imbalance in the bowel flora.

Harmful organisms like yeast and some normally dormant bacteria, begin to overtake the good bacteria. This is known as intestinal dysbiosis.

IBS and small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth may share similar symptoms. One study showed that 78% IBS participants had small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth. To aid in digestion and prevent intestinal dysbiosis, patients with IBS should take probiotics (Lactobacillus and Biidobacterium) on a daily basis.

I recommend taking a high dose (9 billion strong), pure, enteric coated probiotic formula once a day on an empty stomach for 2-3 months.

This approach isn’t guaranteed to solve every case of IBS. However, in

the majority of my patients, their IBS symptoms are usually gone within two weeks.

Here We Go Again-Another Idiot Doctor

I was just made aware of a story on fibromyalgia that The New York Times ran early last year. How many arrogant idiotic doctors are there in this world. Just when I feel like patients with fibromyalgia are finally getting the support and understanding they deserve, some prehistoric physician, locked in the dark ages, paints fibromyalgia with the "all in their head" label. It would be funny if it weren't so offensive to those who battle this illness on a daily basis. Fibromyalgia is a real disease and those with  the syndrome suffer real pain. Who would want to make all this up in their head?


Here is a partial snippet of the article


The Voices of Fibromyalgia

People who suffer from fibromyalgia experience problems beyond the pain caused by their illness. Their condition is little understood and hard to explain, and often they are disbelieved by doctors. Even friends and loved ones may express skepticism toward the fibromyalgia sufferer, who, burdened with inexplicable pain, may cancel social plans, miss work and recoil from physical affection because it hurts too much.

For a glimpse into the frustrating world of fibromyalgia sufferers, listen to the latest installment in the Patient Voices series by producer Karen Barrow.

You’ll meet Christine Wysocki, 33, of St. Augustine, Fla. who waited three years before a close friend and co-worker believed she had a health problem.

“Frankly I still don’t know if I understand exactly what it is,” says Ms. Wysocki. “Everything seems so vague about what fibromyalgia is, and it feels like no one wants to commit to what an actual answer is.”

And there’s Leon Collins, 59, of Clayton, N.J., who was relieved when he heard he had fibromyalgia because he at least had a diagnosis after many other doctors had dismissed his symptoms.

“We even experienced one doctor who wanted to send me to a psychiatrist because he felt my pain was imagined,” he said.

The Skeptic 

Count me as one of the skeptics. Not necessarily whether fibromyalgia exists, just that the vast majority of sufferers actually have it. I won’t use the word hypochondria, because I think that is inadequate. I think that many of these people suffer from a somatiform or somatization disorder. Still a disorder in need of treatment, but not fibromyalgia.

Understand, I think that this has definitely had a “wolf-crying” effect on people who do have it, and also on people who suffer, quite beyond their control, from untreated somatiform disorders. This results, not from the inability of medical science to test and confirm the diagnoses of fibromyalgia beyond cataloging the symptom complaints of sufferers, but from the fact that so many people who report these symptoms also complan of other vague maladies and bring to doctors their own self-diagnoses that the doctors have little choice but to attempt to treat them as they are reported.

This is how I put it to the last such person I spoke to: “What are the odds, mathematically, that one person should suffer from so many obscure and medically unconfirmable maladies? Maladies that have symptoms that can only be accepted or rejected based on your word that they exist?” The simple mathematical improbability that one person suffer from Meniere’s Disease, Epstein-Barr Syndrome, and Fibromyalgia, all three vague disorders that seem to show up in varied combinations among middle aged women, commonly with a history of childhood abuse, begs the question: Why are doctors being guilt-tripped into rejecting the possibility that these patients don’t suffer from what they think they suffer from, but indeed do suffer from something? Is the mere social stigma of psychological and emotional disorders enough that we should reject the possibility? I say no.

— Dr Hirschberg

Dr. Hirscberg validates that there are stupid doctors in this world and you should avoid them like the plague. If you have a skeptic for a doctor, if he or she isn't listening to you FIRE THEM and get another doctor! 

Fibromyalgia and Atypical Antidepressants

Atypical antipsychotics remained the top-selling class of medicines in the United States with $14.6 billion in sales, about equal to 2008 revenue.

Atypical antidepressant drugs including Zyprexa and Abilify are being aggressively marketed "off label" for all sorts of ailments including fibromyalgia. There is a growing campaign of propaganda to make folks think they are bi-polar and need these drugs. Not a week goes by that I don't encounter a patient with fibromyalgia who has been placed on one of these mind numbing drugs.

Atypical Antidepressants are Dangerous

Researchers have already reported that newer antipsychotics are associated with an increased risk of diabetes. The Food and Drug Administration put out warnings on this danger in 2004.

According to the new study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, patients taking antipsychotics tended to gain weight after one month and had increases in their cholesterol levels after three to four months.

Obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes all increase the risk of heart disease.

"This change in risk is evident early in the course of treatment, within several weeks of continuous use, but may continue to alter over several years," Foley told Reuters Health in an email. The "risk varies depending on the specific drug taken and how long it is taken for," she added.

About one in 100 adults in the U.S. has schizophrenia, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.

But antipsychotic drugs are also given to some patients with bipolar disorder, personality disorders, or anxiety, general depression, ADHD, fibromyalgia, and other "off label" targeted conditions.

The drugs in Foley's study included Janssen's Risperdal, and Lilly's Zyprexa, among others.

Foley and her team looked at 25 previous studies that had tracked risk factors for heart disease in patients taking older or newer antipsychotics. These included high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and body weight.

They found that across all the studies, six to seven of every 10 people on antipsychotics were overweight after six months. Before taking the drugs, only about four of every 10 were overweight, the same as in the general population.

Fibromyalgia isn't caused by a drug deficiency, certainly not one as dangerous as Abilify or Zyprexa.

You  can read my article on atypical antipsychotic drugs-Abilify and Zyprexa by clicking on this link http://www.theamericanchiropractor.com/interviews/item/4886-the-evolution-of-mood-disorder-wonder-drugs.html

Danger-These Drugs Are A Disaster For Your Health

Benzodiazepines

These medications are usually used as sleep and anti-anxiety medication, they include Xanax (alprazolam), Klonopin (clonazepam), Ativan (lorazepam), Restoril (temazepam), BuSpar (buspirone hydrochloride), Tranxene (clorazepate dipotassium), Serax (oxazepam),
Librium (chlordiazepoxide), Tegretol (carbamazepine), Valium (diazepam), Trileptal (oxcarbazepine), Seroquel (quetiapine), Risperdal (risperidone), and Symbyax (olanzapine and fluoxetine HCl).

Benzodiazepines are addictive, and patients build up a tolerance so that the drugs eventually lose effectiveness as a sleep aid. Addiction may occur in as little as two weeks.

The big problem with these medications, though, are the side effects, many of which mirror the symptoms of fibromyalgia and CFS. And they don’t promote deep, restorative sleep, so they are definitely not worth the risk.

Benzodiazepines depress the central nervous system and act on the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-amino butyric acid). GABA acts as a calming chemical as it transmits messages from one cell to another. So directly or indirectly, these drugs influence almost every brain function and most other bodily systems, including those of the nervous, neuromuscular, endocrine, and gastrointestinal systems. It’s no wonder their side effects are so severe.

Benzodiazepines should be weaned off, starting as soon as possible. Be sure to work with a medical doctor as you wean off, and take it slow to avoid terrible withdrawal symptoms.

Potential side effects of benzodiazepines: Poor sleep; seizures; mania; depression and suicidal thoughts; tinnitus (ringing in the ears); transient amnesia; dizziness; agitation; disorientation; low blood pressure; nausea or vomiting; fluid retention; muscular incoordination and tremors; sexual dysfunction; prolonged drowsiness or a trance-like state; fatigue; headaches; body aches and pains; chills; runny nose; cough; congestion; difficulty breathing; feelings of discouragement, sadness, or emptiness; diarrhea; difficulty swallowing; vision and voice changes; and a host of others.

The crippling side effects and addictive nature of these drugs have been known for at least 40 years, yet doctors continue to prescribe them at an ever-increasing rate, especially for seniors. Surveys show that over 5.6 million adults over the age of 65 are now taking benzodiazepines. A mouth-dropping 50% of all women 60 and older will be prescribed a benzodiazepine drug.

And since addiction often occurs within four weeks of starting these drugs, the majority of these folks are now dependent on them.

Tolerance to the hypnotic (sleep) effects of these drugs may occur within one week. Symptoms of tolerance are identical to drug-withdrawal symptoms and may include anxiety, panic, severe insomnia, muscle pain and stiffness, depression, suicidal thoughts, rage, heart and lung problems, and agoraphobia (extreme fear of public or crowded spaces).

Tragically, only 10%–30% of people are able to successfully stop taking these drugs. The rest are addicted for life.

Please avoid these drugs if possible. Seek out alternatives, preferably over the counter natural amino acid therapy (5HTP, SAMe, L-Theanine, etc.) when facing anxiety disorder. For sleep related issues try over the counter 5HTP and or melatonin. You can read more about mood and sleep disorders at www.treatingandbeating.com

Traditional Medicine Offers Little for Fibromyalgia

With so many different symptoms, it’s no surprise that fibromyalgia and CFS patients are typically taking 6–12 different prescription drugs. Lyrica, Elavil, Klonopin, Paxil, Effexor, Xanax, Trazadone, Neurontin, Zanaflex, Ambien, Lunesta, Cymbalta,  and Provigil have all been heralded as “the drug” for fibromyalgia. 

Some of these are helpful, some worthless, and some really dangerous.

Drug management alone typically fails to yield lasting relief from the most common fibromyalgia and CFS symptoms, and patients’ and doctors’ optimism over a new drug treatment eventually gives way to this sad reality. Oh well, a new drug with an even larger marketing budget is on the horizon. (Forgive my cynicism. I’ve just seen this situation so many times!)

Many of the most commonly prescribed drugs for fibromyalgia have side effects that are similar or identical to the symptoms of FMS and CFS. These similarities can cause a lot of confusion when doctors are trying to determine the effectiveness of treatment. Ambien, for instance, can cause flu-like symptoms, achy muscle pain, sore throat, and fatigue. Sounds like CFS, doesn’t it?

Tranquilizers are often prescribed for restless leg syndrome; achy, tight muscles; and sleep problems. But these drugs deplete the sleep hormone melatonin, which then leads to a disruption of a person’s circadian rhythm (sleep-wake cycle). Instead of promoting deep restorative sleep, these drugs prevent it!

It’s important to realize that your drug or drugs may be causing or contributing to some or all of your symptoms. 

I spend a great deal of time with my new patients reviewing and discussing their current drugs—how they interact with each other, and the potential side effects. I often find that by asking the right question, I can help the patient realize that her symptoms began or worsened soon after the drug treatment began.

Sometimes, though, I do find drug-induced symptoms that began months after the start of the drug treatment. Drugs deplete essential nutrients that the body needs to properly function, but it can take weeks, months, or even years for the drug to fully deplete the nutrient and for you to see the side effects surface.

Still, not everyone can be drug free, and most of my patients are on at least one prescription medication. But the least offensive drug should be used—sparingly—and only to manage symptoms unresponsive to more natural therapies.

A study conducted by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research demonstrates the need the limitations of traditional medicine alone for treating fibromyalgia.

Thirty-nine patients with FMS were interviewed about their symptoms. Twenty-nine were interviewed again 10 years later. Of these 29 (mean age 55 at second interview), all had persistence of the same FMS symptoms. 

Moderate to severe pain or stiffness was reported in 55% of patients, moderate to a great deal of sleep difficulty was noted in 48%, and moderate to extreme fatigue was noted in 59%. These symptoms showed little change from earlier surveys. 

The surprising finding was that 79% of the patients were still taking medications to control symptoms. 

We can conclude that the medications weren’t making a significant impact.

Conventional medical treatments for FMS and CFS is a controversial topic, and I certainly have no desire to offend the many brilliant medical doctors out there. 

Still, in my experience, most traditional doctors continue to rely on prescription medications to treat fibromyalgia, even though their own studies show them to be ineffective and potentially dangerous. 

They still just don’t get it. Those with fibromyalgia and CFS are sick and they want to feel well, not drugged.

Just try to find a doctor who really knows anything about these illnesses. Most don’t. It’s even harder to find one who is having any lasting success treating these illnesses. How many folks with fibromyalgia get well under the care of a traditional rheumatologist? 

I rest my case.

I speak to fibromyalgia support groups across North America, and I can tell you what the answer is: very few. The three-month wait for a new patient appointment typically ends in a two-hour interview and exam followed by a 10 minute visit to discuss test results, and then several prescription drugs and a follow-up appointment every 3–6 months.

And let’s face it, those with fibromyalgia are medical misfits, they don’t usually respond to medications like other folks. The ACR has, like many physicians, thrown up their hands and admitted they have little if anything to offer for those suffering from fibromyalgia. They focus more on helping their patients “cope.” At least they’re honest about their limitations.

Are Fibromyalgia Patients Crazy?

www.treatingandbeating.com

www.beatfms.com

Have you’ve been told you’re crazy, lazy or depressed? If so you’re not alone. Friends, family and doctors may try to make you think your illness isn’t real, “its all in your head.”

You often lose your train of thought mid-sentence, have strange reactions to medications, and suffer with an assortment of health problems; yet all your labs are normal. You’ve got numerous complaints including anxiety, depression, fatigue, chronic pain, insomnia, IBS, MVP, chronic sinusitis, tingling in their extremities, night sweats, chemical sensitivities, headaches, reflux, and other symptoms.

I’d be crazy too if I went days without sleeping, had diffuse chronic pain, no energy, no life, and no hope. You’ve been bounced from one doctor to another, had dozens of tests, taken numerous drugs which didn’t help, and continue to get worse, year after year. The traditional drugs of choice for fibromyalgia, including, NSAIDS, antidepressants, anticonvulsant medications, muscle relaxants, tranquilizers, and pain medications, may provide short-term relief, yet their results are often fleeting and their side-effects detrimental. It’s not unusual to be taking twelve or more prescription drugs, many of which contribute to their erratic behavior.

The sleep drugs Ambien and Lunesta may cause short-term memory loss, fatigue, flu-like symptoms, and depression. Tricyclic antidepressants, including Trazadone and Elavil, may cause early-morning hangover, mental confusion, and lethargy. SSRI drugs may cause anxiety, depression, mental blunting, and lethargy. Klonopin and other benzodiazepines may cause depression, fatigue, and decreased mental function. All of these drugs are known to deplete at least one or more essential mood-dependant vitamin, mineral, or nutrient (B6, B12, CoQ10, Folic acid, etc.). Individuals with fibromyalgia are also deficient in the brain chemicals, which help regulate mood and mental function.

Neurotransmitter Deficiencies

Research shows that the majority of fibromyalgia patients are deficient in serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These three neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) are essential for optimal mood and mental function. Serotonin, also known as the “happy hormone,” helps regulate mood, sleep, digestion, bowel movements, pain, and mental clarity. Individuals with fibromyalgia have low levels of the amino acid tryptophan, as well as 5HTP, which are needed for the production of serotonin.

L-phenylalanine derived norepinephrine, when released in the brain, causes feelings of arousal, energy, drive, and ambition. No wonder you suffer with “fibro fog.”

 

Stress Coping Savings Account

I like to use the analogy of being born with a stress-coping savings account. We have certain chemicals, vitamins, minerals, and hormones like serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cortisol that allow us to handle moment-to-moment, day-to-day, stress. The more stress we’re under, the more withdrawals we make. Individuals with fibromyalgia have made more withdrawals than deposits.

Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, Lexapro, Paxil, Zoloft, and others, don’t make serotonin, they only help the brain hang onto and use serotonin more effectively. These drugs are like using a gasoline additive, but those with fibromyalgia don’t have any serotonin to re-uptake. They’ve bankrupted their stress coping savings account and depleted their serotonin. These drugs usually don’t provide long-term relief.

Fortunately, there are some tried-and-true nutritional protocols that can help build up the bankrupted stress-coping savings account.

5-Hydroxytryptophan 5HTP

Double-blind, placebo-controlled trials have shown that patients with FMS were able

to see the following benefits from increasing serotonin through 5HTP replacement therapy:

• Decreased pain.

• Improved sleep.

• Less tender points.

• Less morning stiffness.

• Less anxiety.

• Improved moods in general, including in those with clinical depression.

• Increased energy.

S-adenosyl- L-methionine  (SAMe)

S-adenosyl- L-methionine  (SAMe) increases the action of several neurotransmitters including serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine, by binding these hormones to their cell receptors. However, patients with fibromyalgia have been shown to be deficient in this essential amino acid.

One study shows that patients taking SAMe for a period of six weeks had an improvement of 40 percent in pain reduction and 35 percent improvement in their depression.

Along with 5HTP and SAMe, I’ve found that a good optimal daily-allowance multivitamin with a free-form amino acid blend, fish oil, malic acid, and generous amounts of magnesium is essential for reversing the “brain fog,” poor energy, chronic pain, mood disorders, and sleep disturbances so common in fibromyalgia.

Please know that, while you might not think you’re the sharpest tool in the shed, with the right nutrients you can replenish your brain chemicals, build-up your stress coping savings account, and even remember where you put your car keys.