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WHAT IS FIBROMYALGIA
Fibromyalgia is a clinical disorder with widespread, chronic pain and fatigue that can cripple a person to the point that they cannot perform normal activities of daily living. The pain tends to be musculoskeletal and center on points in the body called tender points. Fibromyalgia can also affect memory, sleep, and mood. Although we have known about fibromyalgia for years, treatments are generally supportive rather than curative.
WHAT CAUSES FIBROMYALGIA
There is no definitive known cause of fibromyalgia. It used to be mistaken for depression and other psychological problems. It also was mistakenly diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome. Research into fibromyalgia shows that symptoms tend to appear after some form of trauma, such as surgery, infection, illness, or a stressful situation. Unfortunately, fibromyalgia has also shown up without any inciting event making the condition difficult to diagnose and to treat.
FIBROMYALGIA TREATMENT PROTOCOL
Loveland Medical Clinic uses a three-part protocol to treat fibromyalgia. Each step in itself has a good success rate, but when you put them all together the treatment rate is even better. This three-step program is designed to reduce inflammation and boost the immune system so that it is functioning normally. We accomplish this by changing your diet, using low dose naltrexone, and replenishing nutrients in your body with Myers Vitamin IV infusions.
FIBROMYALGIA AND LOW DOSE NALTREXONE(LDN)
Naltrexone was approved by the FDA in 1984 to treat opiate and alcohol addiction. The dosage for that was between 50-300 mg per day. Low dose naltrexone is 1/10th to 1/100th of that dose. The LDN causes a brief period of opioid blockade followed by an adaptive increase in endorphin and enkephalin production. This is what causes the pain relief in fibromyalgia patients. Stanford University did a small study on this verifying LDN’s effectiveness. Every person is different so we start at 0.5 mg per day and slowly work our way up until we find the effective dose for you. Other actions of LDN are reducing inflammation, boosts the immune system, provides a sense of well-being and satisfaction, and provides “natural” analgesia.
FIBROMYALGIA AND LOW CARB KETO DIET
The standard American diet has a lot of sugar, refined grains, and processed foods. Research tells us that people with fibromyalgia do not metabolize processed carbohydrates normally so their cells crave energy. The brain consumes more fuel pound for pound than any other part of the body. The brain will use glucose as its primary fuel under normal circumstances. People with fibromyalgia are in a constant state of deficit and have difficulty meeting the energetic needs of the brain. The result is exhaustion, pain, poor sleep, and fibro fog. It’s a vicious cycle because poor sleep, which is both caused by and exacerbates pain, leaves you with fewer cognitive resources to dampen down that pain enough to function. By going on a low carb keto diet you supply the body with an alternative source of energy(ketones) which solves the energetic deficits associated with the metabolic conditions underlying fibromyalgia.
FIBROMYALGIA AND MYERS VITAMIN IV THERAPY
Many people who are living with fibromyalgia swear by the Myers Vitamin IV Cocktail. The Myers Cocktail is a vitamin and mineral infusion done once a week. This infusion, named for John Myers, MD, the Baltimore doctor who first experimented with a vitamin and mineral mix of magnesium, calcium, B vitamins, and vitamin C – helps ease fibromyalgia pain and other symptoms, such as profound fatigue. About 12,000 people across the US are treated with the Myers cocktail, and about four out of five say the treatment helps ease fibromyalgia symptoms. We do not know the exact mechanism of why the Myers works, but here are some possibilities. B vitamins are important for nerve cells and it may be that when you rapidly bump up B vitamins, you help stabilize nerve conduction. This could be how the treatment helps ease fibromyalgia pain. People with fibromyalgia feel pain similar to what is caused by very rigorous exercise. This occurs when muscles don’t get enough oxygen and lactic acid levels rise. The Myers cocktail contains both magnesium which may help blood vessels to dilate and carry more oxygen, helping muscles to relax.
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