How I am beating Fibromyalgia

Let me start by saying that I am an ICU nurse, though I have put my license on hold for now in order to stay home with my kids. My background in medicine leads me to be extremely skeptical of any "miracle cure" offered by alternative medicine. I know there are many on here who swear by alt.cures, but I prefer the old tried and true meds, yes from big pharma, that have been tested and proven to work. That said, I don't wish to argue my nonacceptance of alternative med in this thread, but just relay what I honestly believe to be the cause of Fibromyalgia, which I have suffered with for the last 12 years. I only mention my views on the subject to let others who are like me know that I am not one to easily accept non traditional views in medicine.

Here is my story:

After being diagnosed with FM, I have spent countless hours searching for a cause behind this beast of an ailment that had robbed me of my livelihood. By the time I was diagnosed I was suffering almost all the lovely little things that folks with fibro live with every day. I had the widespread pain in my neck, shoulders, and hips, as well as ocular migraines, numbness in my arms and legs, fibro fog, extreme fatigue, IBS, TMJ, etc etc. It is not a fun thing to live with. My doctor sent me to a neurologist who placed me on Lyrica. This little pill was amazing and helped with almost all of my symptoms, decreasing them significantly. For the first time in years I felt close to being my old self again. Here comes the but.... but the Lyrica almost instantly put 30 pounds on me. Within 6 weeks I went from a size 6 to a size 14. My docs tried other meds, but none worked like Lyrica. I felt like I was stuck with the choices of either having my figure back and being in pain, or continuing the Lyrica and feeling better but at the price of gaining an unknown amount of weight. Neither choice was very appealing.

I chose to continue the Lyrica, at the same time continuing my search for the cause Fibromyalgia. I figured if I could find the cause, I could wipe this out and do away with my need for the Lyrica. I read all kinds of theories, but the one I was most sold on was that it was caused by a virus. I knew that there was a large number of nurses reporting to have fibro, so a virus would fit the bill if they were acquiring it from work. I asked my doc about trying antibiotics and he really didn't buy into the virus theory. I don't want it to sound like he was completely discounting me, he was just more of the type to wait until we have more info. I was disappointed at the time, but I am so glad he didn't give into me. If he had, I wouldn't have found hat I am about to share.

What I believe to be the cause of Fibromyalgia:

At the urging of my husband, I scheduled an appointment with a local chiropractor. This is not a normal run of the mill chiropractor, he preforms a type of chiropractic care called NUCCA. From the link

NUCCA is a unique form of Chiropractic spinal health care that uses a specific procedure focused on correcting a small misalignment of the upper neck known as the Atlas Subluxation Complex. This subtle correction ultimately restores optimal balance to the entire spinal column. Because the spinal column protects the central nervous system that controls and coordinates all body functions, good spinal balance is critical to good health. Extensive research and clinical studies show that improved body balance effectively reduces stress throughout the body and helps to relieve pain and stress. Although the NUCCA correction is performed on the neck, it affects the balance of the entire body.

I don't know how to stress how extremely skeptical I was about this helping me in any way. I had never had any major injury to my neck but if it could help my pain in any way I figured it was worth a shot. If it worked well enough, then maybe I could wean down my meds a bit. When I got to the doctors office, he did all the usual patient history, exam, xrays etc. I kept him busy for about 2 1/2 hours asking every question under the sun about his thoughts on fibromyalgia and how this procedure could possibly help. He was very patient with me I have to say, bless his heart. Anyway, he is of the belief that the cause of FM is Atlas Subluxation If you also suffer from FM, please take a look at these symptoms and tell me if any of them sound familiar

Mechanical Symptoms Headaches- often involving the base of the skull, and referring to the sides of the head and around the sinuses. Migraines, often with marked agitation and nausea. Neck pains and stiffness and difficulty finding a comfortable position on the pillow at night. Sometimes crackling or grating noises at the base of the skull when turning the head. Often there are associated shoulder pains, especially between the shoulder blades. Jaw joint pains or dysfunction. Clicking jaw. Chest wall pain- due to the distortion of the ribcage Low back pain and/or disc injuries due to abnormal posture. Nerve root irritations at any level. Pains or injuries in one hip, knee or ankle, often repeated injuries to one side of the body. Patients may be told they have one leg shorter than the other.

Symptoms based on nerve and blood vessel compromise. Vagus nerve: Nausea, heartburn, irritable bowel, constipation, vasovagal (fainting/near fainting) episodes, probably infantile colic. Cough and voice problems Internal Jugular Vein: tiredness, mental fogginess,dizziness, tinging or burning finger or toes

Sympathetic Nervous System: There are multiple reasons to believe that atlas subluxations may cause sympathetic overactivation (stress response): Poor balance itself is a cause of sympathetic overactivation, also the traction on the brain stem caused by the typical head forward posture of most people with the injury activates a stress response, and there may be further impacts on sympathetic ganglia (nerve cell clusters) that lie close to the spine along the whole length of the spine. Symptoms would include chronic anxiety and impulsiveness, fine tremor, raised heart rate It is arguable that chronic sympathetic overactivationmay be lead to: a)gut problems due to chronic diversion of blood flow away from the gut into the muscles which may well be contributory to peptic ulcers, food allergies ( via increased gut permeability) b) Adrenal gland activation and chronic over production of cortisone as an expected consequence of chronic sympathetic (stress) response. Adrenal fatigue as a downstream consequence of this. c) unstable attention- as the body is effectively being given a warning to loo for threat in the environment.

continued......

reply to post by OkieDokie


While I did read the thread; I would like to point out that pharmaceutical prescriptions actually don't do anything more than put a band-aid on the problem. Otherwise, people wouldn't need to refill their prescriptions each month. To each their own though. I wish you the best, Fibromyalgia is no joke.

Hi! Can it be cured? Hope u get better & better every day!

What's Lyrica, it calms the CNS or something?

So far, I'm like wow! It makes sense...interested in the rest and what other members may have to say.

Doctors using this technique are reporting up to 95% success rate using this procedure on Fibromyalgia patients.

www.efibromyalgia.com...

I have to say that after 3 months of treatment, I feel like I am actually cured! I only go every 6 weeks now, and after my next visit, it will be up to me when I feel I need an adjustment. I have been completely off my meds for 2 months now, dropped all of my weight I gained from Lyrica, and feel great! I would not believe it if I hadn't lived through it for myself. I wanted to get this info out for all the others on here that I know also suffer from this awful disease. Here is a demonstration of how the procedure works



As for the prevalence of FM in the nursing field, I now completely believe it has everything to do with the bending, lifting, and twisting we do on a regular basis.

And for the conspiracy angle, here is a quote by Ian Read of Pfizer, the ones who make the Lyrica that I once relied on and was so thankful for

Fibromyalgia is “almost a textbook definition of an unmet medical need,” says Ian Read of Pfizer, which makes the first drug to be approved for fibromyalgia, the seizure pill Lyrica, which earns $3 billion a year in sales for Pfizer.

Source

I can't vouch for the reliability of the source quoted, but I have found that quote on a few sites now and it boils my blood. I now am of the belief that some know exactly what causes FM symptoms, but are successfully hiding it in order to rake in money, and the rest just haven't searched hard enough for an answer.

If you are suffering from FM, please keep this thread in mind. I would have been one of the ones thinking, "well it's great that it worked for you, but I don't have a neck injury". Believe me, I was totally there and I am so grateful that my hubby coaxed me into going just to see. It has changed my life and I am beating Fibromyalgia!

Thanks for reading and I would love to know ya'lls thoughts and even experiences with any of this!

~OkieDokie

It kind of ties in with with a guy, Dr. Zamboni who postulates that the cause of MS is vascular. This Atlas Subjugation theory could be related.

reply to post by VeritasAequitas


Thanks for the reply and I completely agree with you 100% on the meds being a band-aid. At the time, it was really my only option. That is why I have always been trying to find the cause, so I could get to the root of the problem and do away with the need for constant meds that only treat the symptoms. I hope this thread can help even one more person from having to endure a life time of meds that only mask the problem.

~OkieDokie

reply to post by minnow

Hi Minnow, according to Doctors, it cannot be cured because they don't even know what causes it right now. That is why this tread is so important to me. I think that the subluxation is the cause and it can be cured by a few simple non invasive procedures.

Lyrica is an anti seizure medicine. It decreases the over active impulses that cause the excited pain response in the brains of Fibromyalgia sufferers. My doc thinks it is a the pressure on the spinal cord that increases the action potential of the pain response, which in turn creates a heightened perception of pain. It is also what signals the brain to create more substance P, something that is found in much higher quantities in the spinal fluild of those with FM.

~OkieDokie

reply to post by OkieDokie


How did you find the doctor and how did he come to this conclusion, I mean is this a growing theory regarding FM? Do other doctors subscribe to this idea?

Thanks for the info! I will be making my mom take a good look at this!

I am going to keep an eye on this thread and look into this more...

I too am a nurse (on leave) who has worked the Medical/Surgical department for many years. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia 14 years ago.

I tried everything including a chiropractor! It eventually helped and I honestly began to think that the diagnosis was incorrect....

Several years went by without problems until the beginning of last year. I told my husband I thought my FMS was returning. Then low and behold I am in ICU for a week with a diagnosis of MS

So my question is, are you sure it *IS* FMS and not RRMS? I have had doctors tell me that I may have had MS the whole time but didn't know it. I have also had docs tell me that it is possible to have them both. Now the docs are suggesting that I have secondary...good grief. I am waiting for a second opinion appointment because honestly I sometimes think doctors are just so overworked to really get to involved in any one individual case, or maybe because they know I am a nurse and consider me a pain in the end because I know what questions to ask....

reply to post by kosmicjack

Wow Thanks for posting that! I had never heard of him, but I think it absolutely correlates. It is mind blowing that he has had such success. The symptoms for fibromyalgia are almost exactly that of MS. For a long time I carried the official diagnosis of "Probable MS" because the symptoms are so close. It was an MRI and the absence of any lesions on my brain that moved me into the diagnosis of FM. That said, I have read cases of FM patients eventually ending up with MS. Could it be the longevity of decrease blood flow to the brain causing the lesions in MS patients? The first time I had the NUCCA procedure done, I was extremely light headed directly after it. I was surprised that a very light touch on my neck could cause such a reaction. My doc wasn't though, he just nonchalantly informed me that I was finally getting blood to my brain. haha

Your article just proves to me even more that this is most likely the right direction. Thanks again so much for that info.

~OkieDokie

reply to post by kosmicjack


I actually found this doc through my mother in law. My husband and his family are farmers and he had his back broken in a tractor accident when he was younger. The only chiropractor in his town was a NUCCA and so that is who the family went to. He was so amazed at how much it helped him and so was his family. When we moved out closer to his mother, she had already searched for and went to a NUCCA doc in this area, so that is who I went to. In the NUCCA link I posted above, you should be able to find a doc in your area. I drive about an hour both ways for a 2 minute procedure because they aren't as easy to find as a regular chiropractor.

As far as how he came to this conclusion, it is simply by results and the science that he has found that backs it up. Like I said, I was skeptical about it helping FM since I thought it was a virus He told me that there is a guy up in Tulsa that now only treats Fibro patients because of the success he was having with them. I don't know if it is a growing theory, I only know it works and I wish I had known about it years ago. There is not much literature on it anywhere and that is a shame because I really think that thousands of people could be almost completely healed from FM with this.

~OkieDokie

reply to post by chiefsmom


That is great! I hope she does look into it. With Fm you really don't have much to lose. The only down side for me was that our insurance doesn't cover it, but some do. The consult was free, xrays were the big one being $250, then $45 a visit afterwards. I have read that there are some that will skip the xrays, but it helps them to calculate exactly what angle of pressure they need to use for you. The investment has paid for itself now with the lack of payment for meds , and mainly in my health. You just can't put a price on having your life back.

~OkieDokie

reply to post by abeverage


Please do look into it more! I may be a nurse, but some of the stuff I have found is still way over my head. I would love for others to find out more of the science behind this, or possibly even share their experience with it.

Thanks

~OkieDokie

.

OP: I want to thank you for posting this thread. My wife of 16 years has been in tremendous neck and shoulder pain for 5 years; the legacy of a nasty car accident. Along with the usual pain, she has endured TMJ, increased migraine and other postural symptoms. Though she has never been diagnosed with FMJ, she has many if not all of the usual symptoms, and I am always looking for a way to help relieve her pain.

Your thread inspired me to go looking for a mechanical breakdown of this particular technique, and though I did not find any nuts and bolts material, I did find a very well put together instructional video for a related technique called Sub-Occipital Release, which I quickly integrated.

www.youtube.com...

We will be trying this as soon as she gets home from work, this evening.

All the best, and thanks again!

Well, well, finally a signifigant breakthrough....(for some at least)!
I aplaud yer hubbys persistence....!
Thanks for the sharing, there are a lot of people who could potentially benefit from this adjustment.
I am a man of 67 who has had a few serious injuries from work.
My neck has taken a beating and my back/ribs broken in a couple spots....
I am wondering, as fibro is primarily a complaint of the fairer sex, if these adjustmnents may be of help in my own circumstances.....
I will see if i can find one of these guiys here in Canada..Your little tip may be invaluable....
Meanwhile i have friends who need to hear this.............

reply to post by Starwise


Hi Starwise! I had to chuckle at your post because I know the feeling. My GP just laughs at me in my face now because I ask too many questions.

As far as MS, I really don't know what to tell you, I wish I did. I am so sorry that you are suffering with both, I cannot imagine. From my other post, you will read that I have had both the diagnosis of probable MS then changed to FM. They seem to be so closely related in their presentation that you would think they are related, but my thinking has led me astray before. You said that you went to a regular chiropractor before and it helped and that is great. Many FM patients report minimal if any relief from chiropractic care from things I have read online, it is one of the reasons I discounted this as being able to help me.

This NUCCA is a specialized form of Chiropractic and deals only with the cervical spine and returning normal blood flow and impulses through the spinal cord from the brain to the body. I can tell you that it has almost completely healed me of FM and I would tell anyone who has FM it is worth the money to give it a try. The first day after I first had this done, I felt like a truck hit me, but by the next day, I felt great and it has only gotten better each time. I still feel my body trying to heal. It has been out of wack for about 12 years now, so I know it will take some time before my immune system heals completely as well as my gut. But as for the pain, it has removed that factor completely, as well as those flashing migraines, and the numbness in my arms and legs.
If you do try it, please post back here and let us know. I would really love to hear from others and their experiences with this and FM. It may be the start of relief for many many people.

~OkieDokie

Stars and a flag ...thank you so much for this. I've been wondering about this for a long time and found a trip to an osteopath a while ago did help, but this is something else...will be back later tomorrow to digest this fully. I tick just about everything on the fibro list, although a severe change of diet has helped a lot.