A New Look at Fibromyalgia?

If there were to be something coming from this story I'd like to see proper thyroid testing, nutritional counseling, and supplement support.

I say this because I worked for several years as a resource person for a large urban hospital FMS/CFIDS group.

I also worked with an MD and an LMP to develop and monitor a natural approach to fibromyalgia.

Guess What? Many of our group lost the FMS and the diagnosis!

New criteria proposed for diagnosing fibromyalgia

ScienceDaily (2010-06-06) -- The American College of Rheumatology is proposing a new set of diagnostic criteria for fibromyalgia that replaces the tender point test with a rating system that includes common symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive problems, as well as pain. ... > read full article

Fibromyalgia Awareness Day, Today - 12 May

For some years I served as a health advocate and resource person for a hospital based FMS/CFIDS (fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue) support group. My focus - of course - was natural healing options for these concerns.

With today being FMS Awareness Day, I thought I would post some information I've recently received about the benefit of ADVENTURX for FMS and CFIDS.

The report provided me with the following feedback -

ADVENTURX helped improve sleep and was very instrumental in raising energy levels throughout the day as well as supporting exercise programs. The most positive statement is that the daily use of ADVENTURX showed that the results "held", and of a natural course, because of more restful sleep, pain levels were reduced and pain perception was less frequent.

Additionally we have updated our FMS protocol to include ADVENTURX along with the other formulas used since we developed the HeartLeaf Remedies in the mid 90s.

You'll find posts here at Natural Health News about the drugs promoted for FMS and learn about the very risky problems they can create.

For more information, please contact us.

Fibromyalgia and Naltrexone?

Heroin Addiction Drug May Relieve Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

Here is some information about Naltrexone you may find helpful.

It can cause liver problems when given in large doses. Stop using this medication and tell your doctor immediately if symptoms of liver problems develop (e.g., persistent nausea, abdominal/stomach pain, yellowing eyes/skin, pale stools, dark urine).

This medication should not be used in patients who already have liver or kidney problems.

You should carry identification to alert medical personnel to the fact that you are taking REVIA. A REVIA medication card may be obtained from your physician and can be used for this purpose. Carrying the identification card should help to ensure that you can obtain adequate treatment in an emergency. If you require medical treatment, be sure to tell the treating physician that you are receiving REVIA therapy.

The risk of depression and suicide is known to be increased, as is lethargy and a slightly higher risk of some cancers.

http://www.rxlist.com/revia-drug.htm

Once again I am amazed at the focus on drugs for FMS rather than effective therapy for recovery from this illness. Revia is not the first drug used with FMS that has dire consequences of depression and suicide as well as many other health related side effects.

I am pleased to learn that my formulas, Heart Leaf Remedy 6:4 and ADVENTURX, have proven helpful to so many with fibromyalgia.

Our complete program has helped many to recover.

What People are Looking For: Chronic Pain

UPDATE:March 23 - It may be that this works, however consider that the amount of Vitamin D varies depending on geography. The farther north in latitude you live and the less sunlight you receive, the more vitamin D you need. In some cases, however, people have an exccess level, so the caveat should be to get a test first.
25-hydroxyvitamin D is used to determine if bone weakness, bone malformation, or abnormal metabolism of calcium (reflected by abnormal calcium, phosphorus, PTH) is occurring as a result of a deficiency or excess of vitamin D.
And remember: Vitamin D is a FAT soluble vitamin/hormone and it requires a healthy gut, healthy thyroid/parathyroid and calcium (phosphorus and magnesium too), as well as sunlight, to work effectively in the body. Usually the government RDA level is much too low to be therapeutic, especially if you are a person of color.

Chronic pain linked to low vitamin D
ROCHESTER, Minn., March 23 (UPI) -- U.S. researchers found a correlation between inadequate vitamin D levels and the amount of narcotic medication taken by patients who have chronic pain.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., found chronic pain patients who required narcotic pain medication, and who also had inadequate levels of vitamin D, were taking much higher doses of pain medication -- nearly twice as much -- as those who had adequate levels.

The study, published in the journal Pain Medicine, also found the patients with the lower levels of vitamin D self-reported worse physical functioning and worse overall health perception.

"This is an important finding as we continue to investigate the causes of chronic pain," lead author Dr. Michael Turner said in a statement. "Vitamin D is known to promote both bone and muscle strength. Conversely, deficiency is an under-recognized source of diffuse pain and impaired neuromuscular functioning. By recognizing it, physicians can significantly improve their patients' pain, function and quality of life."

The researchers studied 267 chronic pain patients admitted to the Mayo Comprehensive Pain Rehabilitation Center from February-December 2006. Vitamin D levels at the time of admission were compared to other parameters such as the amount and duration of narcotic pain medication usage; self-reported levels of pain, emotional distress, physical functioning and health perception; and demographic information such as gender, age, diagnosis and body mass index.

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If I knew exactly what people are looking for I could probably buy a tropical island and go live the party life. I might enjoy it for a day or two but then I'd get bored and have to get creative so I'd have something meaningful to do.

I think running this blog is meaningful, and sometimes I find a query by a reader I think is important enough, so I'll add a comment and hope the information makes a difference for at least one person.

In the midst of the flurry of activity on Natural Health News I noticed some one searching to information about chronic pain.

Pain is a very personal issue because of individual tolerance and what has been found to be useful. It also depends on culture, education and socialization, and it has a deep, emotional component.

I know there are a plethora of drugs that could be prescribed, but I am not a fan of drugs. What is termed "self-medication" (often in a derogatory way) can refer to alcohol or other drugs, even self-mutilation.

Today I was listening to some continuing education seminars from the pain foundation. The first wasn't too bad but it really excluded a lot of what the speaker termed CAM, alternative or integrative medicine.

I don't like any of those terms because it tells me that mainstream medicine just doesn't understand a lick about natural healing.

The second was a presentation, again by a nurse, focused on fibromyalgia, and all of it was drug based. What frustration.

Had it been my presentation I would have looked at acupuncture, the Y-Dan exercise tape, hydrotherapy, herbs, spiritual phyto-essencing, homeopathy, and not to be the last on a list to any extent, flower essences.

I've developed some pretty effective natural remedies in all the years I've been in this field. One of the best isn't one of my originals but it is one I educate people about on may occasions.

The nice part about it is that it doesn't interfere with drugs (Rx) and it really works. The best part is that it was hospital tested ( wink, wink for all the doubting mainstream types like the "doctors" blog I found today that ripped every natural remedy on that fallacious argument that there is no science behind it).

This very simple, natural remedy for pain is flower essence of impatiens. Bach called it equal to or better than morphine. It can be used as often as every five minutes with no untoward effects.

There are some other essences that can be used for pain as well, but I think it is best to start simply.

For Impatiens, my choice is Healing Herbs brand, as they are made true to the way in which Bach created them by hand.

You can find more about the essences here

Pain suffered by NHS patients is not taken seriously enough, says Sir Liam Donaldson
Chronic pain suffered by millions is not being taken seriously enough with specialist services remaining a 'cinderella and neglected area of healthcare', Sir Liam Donaldson said.

by Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor, The Telegraph, UK
16 Mar 2009

Around eight million people in the UK suffer with chronic pain, with children affected as well as the elderly.

But only 14 per cent of people with pain see a specialist in the area because services do not have the capacity to keep up with demand, the report said.


"Although we now have effective means of tacking both pain and the consequences of pain, services have not kept up with demand and too many people struggle to cope with their symptoms," Sir Liam said in the foreword to his annual report.

All healthcare professionals should be trained in chronic pain, inpatients should have their pain score monitored closely and rapid access pain clinics should be set up nationally, Sir Liam said.

He also called for greater support for men diagnosed with prostate cancer to help them decide if they want to have their cancer treated aggressively and risk the side effects or adopt a watch-and-wait approach.

Unlike most other forms of the disease prostate cancer is split into 'tigers' which are aggressive and potentially life threatening, and 'pussycats' which grow very slowly and may never cause harm in the patient's lifetime.

In the UK around 26,000 men are diagnosed with localised prostate cancer, which may indicate a pussycat form of the condition. Surgery and radiotherapy often clear the tumour but carry a risk of impotency and incontinence, he said.

The decision to have treatment has been described as 'hellish' by patient, Sir Liam said.

See also: Pain Free Naturally

New Drug Approved for FMS - Read this first before your rush to buy it

I do agree that fibromyalgia is not an enjoyable condition. However, to me, and for all of the people who do live with FMS on a daily basis, I find it offensive that the only focus is to offer a risky drug that manages only the symptoms.

Are we so far removed from humanity that all of the millions in drug research can't be diverted to find the cure?

It is unfortunate that so little is made available in media outlets for those natural care approaches that have helped thousands with this diagnosis.

I am pleased to learn that my formulas, Heart Leaf Remedy 6:4 and ADVENTURX, have proven helpful to so many with fibromyalgia.

Our complete program has helped many to recover.

"Fibromyalgia is a complicated chronic pain condition, so it is important that physicians and patients have access to treatments that have been shown to help manage the symptoms that define the experience of fibromyalgia," Daniel Clauw, professor of anesthesiology and medicine at the University of Michigan, said in a company news release.

See also

BLACK BOX WARNING: SUICIDALITY AND ANTIDEPRESSANT DRUGSSee full prescribing information for complete boxed warning.
• Increased risk of suicidal ideation, thinking and behavior in children, adolescents, and young adults taking antidepressants for major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders. Savella is not approved for use in pediatric patients (5.1)

The most frequently occurring adverse reactions (≥ 5% and greater than placebo) were nausea, headache, constipation, dizziness, insomnia, hot flush, hyperhidrosis, vomiting, palpations, heart rate increased, dry mouth, and hypertension (6.3).

SNRIs, including Savella, have been associated with reports of increase in blood pressure.

Patients taking prescription drugs need to be nutrition-conscious

Prescription drugs often become a necessary component of patients' health. And that presents a new need -- the need for physicians and pharmacists to discuss the possible ramifications of taking a prescription, including nutrient depletion in the body.

Most people are well-versed in the importance of vitamins, minerals, and herbs to their health. Stress, environmental pollutants, and poor diet all contribute to the depletion of nutrient levels in the body.

Unfortunately, most people are not aware of how prescription drugs create drug-induced nutrient depletion. This is an important issue that becomes even more important when a patient must take a prescription for a chronic condition.

As America ages, it's inevitable that more of the population will need prescription drugs for chronic conditions. There's already an influx of prescriptions for Americans' high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, heart disease, and other health concerns. This is a prime opportunity to educate your patients about the need for nutritional therapy as an adjunct to taking prescription medications. Not only does this benefit the patient, but also enables you to integrate natural medicines into your clinic or pharmacy.

Consider that anti-hypertensive medications for blood pressure, drugs that comprise the sixth largest dollar-volume category of prescription drugs in the U.S. in 1998, will deplete zinc in the body. This mineral is crucial to the immune system and its many functions including wound healing and infection fighting. A zinc deficiency can also cause insulin resistance and sexual dysfunction.

Cholesterol-lowering drugs such as Lipitor® and Zocor® comprise the third largest category of prescription drugs in the United States in 1998 and can easily deplete Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). On the flip side, magnesium may inhibit the absorption of these drugs. And even commonplace NSAIDs deplete nutrients like folic acid. And it's this deficiency that poses greater risk for women because of the link to cervical dysplasia and birth defects in their children. Other problems associated with a lack of adequate folic acid include anemia, depression, elevated homocysteine levels (and corresponding risk of cardiovascular disease), and increased risks for developing breast and colorectal cancers.

Antidepressant Drugs
Includes drugs used to stimulate the mood of a depressed patient. Some are used in eating disorders, treating obesity, and panic disorders. Drugs include tricyclic and SSRI medicines such as Amitriptyline, Elavil, Tra-zodone, Desipramine, Pamelor, Nortriptyline, Serzone, Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft and Imipramine.

B-Complex Vitamins: Additional B--vitamins are critical when taking antidepressants for short or extended periods. Vitamin B12 and folic acid are especially necessary. There may also be an additional need for riboflavin (B2) and pyridoxine(B6, necessary to produce serotonin).

Selenium: Stores of selenium are compromised with extended use of these drugs. A suggested supplementation dose would be 50 to 100 micrograms daily.

Zinc: Depletion of this antioxidant can slow wound healing and reduce the sense of taste. Supplement with a dose of 10--35 mg per day.

L-Gluthathione: An important amino acid that decreases free radicals and helps to protect your liver.

Calcium/Magnesium: Take for nutritional support, along with additional minerals.

Vitamin C, CO Q 10, and some reports of sodium depletion.

Drugmaker's Dollar Daze

For several years I served as a resource person for a hospital based support group for people with CFIDS and FMS (Fibromyalgia).

During that time I worked jointly with an area massage therapist and a physician to develop and review the outcomes of a therapy program I designed.

My remedies are called the Heart Leaf Remedies. This package especially for FMS includes an herbal tincture with flower essences, 6-4 Remedy; our exclusive biosupplemente formula; our special magnesium based formula; a special massage oil, a salve for trigger points, and a special clay for healing baths. The basket of supplements was accompanied by a Tai Chi exercise video. Another of my remedies is called ADVENTURX and while it was developed for sports it has been helpful for people with FMS.

Several people chose to let the physician follow their progress and some were eventually relieved of the diagnosis.

Then about two or three years ago I came face to face with Lyrica, learning about its severe and very risky side effects first hand. And there is Cymbalta that has an atrocious set of statistics from the premarket studies.

Of course there is a great deal you can do to improve your health naturally if you are living with CFIDS and FMS.

And it is not drug related.

More of the story -

Drugmakers' push boosts 'murky' ailment
By MATTHEW PERRONE, AP Business Writer

WASHINGTON – Two drugmakers spent hundreds of millions of dollars last year to raise awareness of a murky illness, helping boost sales of pills recently approved as treatments and drowning out unresolved questions — including whether it's a real disease at all.

Key components of the industry-funded buzz over the pain-and-fatigue ailment fibromyalgia are grants — more than $6 million donated by drugmakers Eli Lilly and Pfizer in the first three quarters of 2008 — to nonprofit groups for medical conferences and educational campaigns, an Associated Press analysis found.

That's more than they gave for more accepted ailments such as diabetes and Alzheimer's. Among grants tied to specific diseases, fibromyalgia ranked third for each company, behind only cancer and AIDS for Pfizer and cancer and depression for Lilly.

Fibromyalgia draws skepticism for several reasons. The cause is unknown. There are no tests to confirm a diagnosis. Many patients also fit the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome and other pain ailments.

Experts don't doubt the patients are in pain. They differ on what to call it and how to treat it.

Many doctors and patients say the drugmakers are educating the medical establishment about a misunderstood illness, much as they did with depression in the 1980s. Those with fibromyalgia have often had to fight perceptions that they are hypochondriacs, or even faking their pain.

But critics say the companies are hyping fibromyalgia along with their treatments, and that the grantmaking is a textbook example of how drugmakers unduly influence doctors and patients.

"I think the purpose of most pharmaceutical company efforts is to do a little disease-mongering and to have people use their drugs," said Dr. Frederick Wolfe, who was lead author of the guidelines defining fibromyalgia in 1990 but has since become one of its leading skeptics.

Whatever the motive, the push has paid off. Between the first quarter of 2007 and the fourth quarter of 2008, sales rose from $395 million to $702 million for Pfizer's Lyrica, and $442 million to $721 million for Lilly's Cymbalta.

Cymbalta, an antidepressant, won Food and Drug Administration approval as a treatment for fibromyalgia in June. Lyrica, originally approved for epileptic seizures, was approved for fibromyalgia a year earlier.

Drugmakers respond to skepticism by pointing out that fibromyalgia is recognized by medical societies, including the American College of Rheumatology.

"I think what we're seeing here is just the evolution of greater awareness about a condition that has generally been neglected or poorly managed," said Steve Romano, a Pfizer vice president who oversees its neuroscience division. "And it's mainly being facilitated by the fact the FDA has now approved effective compounds."

The FDA approved the drugs because they've been shown to reduce pain in fibromyalgia patients, though it's not clear how. Some patients say the drugs can help, but the side effects include nausea, weight gain and drowsiness.

Helen Arellanes of Los Angeles was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in September 2007 and later left her job to go on disability. She takes five medications for pain, including Lyrica and Cymbalta.

"I call it my fibromyalgia fog, because I'm so medicated I go through the day feeling like I'm not really there," Arellanes said. "But if for some reason I miss a dose of medication, I'm in so much pain."

A single mother of three, Arellanes sometimes struggles to afford all her medications. She said she is grateful that a local Pfizer sales representative occasionally gives her free samples of Lyrica "to carry me through the month."

The drugmakers' grant-making is dwarfed by advertisement spending. Eli Lilly spent roughly $128.4 million in the first three quarters of 2008 on ads to promote Cymbalta, according to TNS Media Intelligence. Pfizer Inc. spent more than $125 million advertising Lyrica.

But some say the grants' influence goes much further than dollar figures suggest. Such efforts steer attention to diseases, influencing patients and doctors and making diagnosis more frequent, they say.

"The underlying purpose here is really marketing, and they do that by sponsoring symposia and hiring physicians to give lectures and prepare materials," said Wolfe, who directs the National Data Bank for Rheumatic Diseases in Wichita, Kan.

Similar criticisms have dogged drugmakers' marketing of medicines for overactive bladder and restless legs syndrome.

Many of the grants go to educational programs for doctors that feature seminars on the latest treatments and discoveries.

Pfizer says it has no control over which experts are invited to the conferences it sponsors. Skeptics such as Wolfe are occasionally asked to attend.

The drug industry's grants also help fill out the budgets of nonprofit disease advocacy groups, which pay for educational programs and patient outreach and also fund some research.

"If we have a situation where we don't have that funding, medical education is going to come to a screeching halt, and it will impact the kind of care that patients will get," said Lynne Matallana, president of the National Fibromyalgia Association.

Matallana founded the group in 1997 after she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. A former advertising executive, Matallana said she visited 37 doctors before learning there was a name for the crushing pain she felt all over her body.

A decade later, her patient advocacy group is a $1.5 million-a-year operation that has successfully lobbied Congress for more research funding for fibromyalgia. Forty percent of the group's budget comes from corporate donations, such as the funds distributed by Pfizer and Eli Lilly.

Pfizer gave $2.2 million and Lilly gave $3.9 million in grants and donations related to fibromyalgia in the first three quarters of last year, the AP found. Those funds represented 4 percent of Pfizer's giving and about 9 percent of Eli Lilly's.

Eli Lilly, Pfizer and a handful of other companies began disclosing their grants only in the past two years, after coming under scrutiny from federal lawmakers.

The message in company TV commercials is clear. "Fibromyalgia is real," proclaimed one Lyrica ad. Researchers who've studied the condition for decades say it's not that simple.

Since the 1970s, Wolfe and a small group of specialists have debated the condition in the pages of medical journals. Depending on whom you ask, it is a disease, a syndrome, a set of symptoms or a behavior disorder.

The American College of Rheumatology estimates that between 6 million and 12 million people in the U.S. have fibromyalgia, more than 80 percent of them women. It's not clear how many cases are actually diagnosed, but Dr. Daniel Clauw of the University of Michigan said pharmaceutical industry market research shows roughly half are undiagnosed. People with fibromyalgia experience widespread muscle pain and other symptoms including fatigue, headache and depression.

After 30 years of studying the ailment, rheumatologist Dr. Don Goldenberg says fibromyalgia is still a "murky area."

"Doctors need labels and patients need labels," said Goldenberg, a professor of medicine at Tufts University. "In general, it's just more satisfying to tell people, 'You have X,' rather than, 'You have pain.'"

While Goldenberg continues to diagnose patients with fibromyalgia, some of his colleagues have stopped, saying the condition is a catchall covering a range of symptoms.

Dr. Nortin Hadler says telling people they have fibromyalgia can actually doom them to a life of suffering by reinforcing the idea that they have an incurable disease.

"It's been shown that if you are diagnosed with fibromyalgia, your chances for returning to a level of well-being that satisfies you are pretty dismal," said Hadler, a professor at the University of North Carolina, who has occasionally advised health insurers on how to deal with fibromyalgia.

Hadler said people labeled with fibromyalgia are indeed suffering, not from a medical disease but from a psychological condition. Instead of drugs, patients should receive therapy to help them "unlearn" their predicament, he said.

Research by the University of Michigan's Clauw suggests people with fibromyalgia experience pain differently because of abnormalities in their nervous system. Brain scans show unusual activity when the patients experience even minor pain, though there is no abnormality common to all.

Clauw's work, however, illustrates the knotty issues of drug company funding. He has done paid consulting work for the drugmakers, and he's received research funding from the National Fibromyalgia Research Association, which receives money from the drugmakers.

While Clauw acknowledges that Lyrica and Cymbalta do not work for everyone, he has little patience for experts who spend more time parsing definitions than helping patients.

"At the end of the day I don't care how you categorize this — it's a legitimate condition and these people are suffering," Clauw said.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved