The Road Less Traveled ...
Alternative & Cutting Edge Treatments for Fibromyalgia
Guaifenesin is an expectorant. If you have ever taken Robitussin cough syrup, you have taken guaifenesin. Guai flushes out phosphate deposits from rheumatism patients, which improves the symptoms. (Robitussin is not a part of the guai FMS protocol, because of the other ingredients in it.)
From my observations, there seems to be 3 subsets of those who follow the guai protocol:
1. Those for whom guai has been a miracle drug, and has given them their lives back. Those who have experienced remission, or periods of remission thanks to guai therapy; those who have had their symptoms greatly mitigated due to guai therapy. Those who have been able to return to work full-time and who are able to participate in activities that they were not able to prior to guai therapy.
2. Those who benefitted from guai therapy; those who have had improvements
in their condition due to guai therapy.
3. Those who have had no noticable differences in their condition after following
the guai protocol, not even the initial worsening of symptoms.
My story: When I was a teenager, I went to my doctor for the flu. He reccomended
that I use Robitussin cough syrup. I had tried many cough syrups before,
and they made me feel worse. I tried Robitussin on his reccomendation, and
it was the only cough syrup that actually made me feel better. I
swore by it ever since when I had a cold or the flu.
Imagine my surprise when I found out about using guai for fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome. It "clicked" as to why Robitussin had made me feel better, and all the other cough medicines had made me feel worse! Guai is the active ingredient in Robitussin. (Robitussin is not used in the guai protocol for FMS.)
I started on the guai protocol, and went through a brutal reversal period. It lasted 7 weeks for me; I prayed to die every day, it was that bad. (Not everyone has a bad reversal experience, but you can expect some worsening of symptoms initially.)
After the 7th week, I started improving. My muscles which had been like concrete, started to loosen up a bit. I continued to improve over the next few weeks or months, I don't remember now, until I reached a point where there was no more improvement. I have been taking guai nearly 2 years now. I take it on a maintenance basis now. I can tell when I need to take it.
I fall into the second category that I mentioned above. Guai took me up a few levels, it improved my condition. I am happy that I found out about using guai for these conditions. I am happy that Dr. St. Amand & Claudia & Devin has made this information available for FMS/MPS patients. I would still not know about it if it weren't for them. (This was one of those things that my doctors would never have told me.)
Most of all, I am happy for all the successes.
For more information please see these websites:
Guai Group
Guai-Support
Guai-Support list is a private, unmoderated support group for anyone with
an interest in Dr St. Amand's guaifenesin protocol for fibromyalgia syndrome.
It is for those who are on the protocol - or considering it, and who wish
to share information and support during the process of recovery.
Guaifenesin - Fibromyalgia/Myofascial Pain Syndrome Medications
Guaifenesin for fibromyalgia treatment
for more information please see:
Fibromyalgia and Hypometabolism
my story: although I am not following Dr. Lowe's protocol, I have been taking
cytomel since May of 1997, when I finally found a FM-friendly dr. I was having
severe cold intolerance since 1995. In 1996, there was a period when I was
off work for 7 months. In the winter of '96 it got so bad
that I would turn on the electric heater, and lie under a blanket in front
of the heater for most of the day. I was too cold to move away from
the heater, although my house was a normal temperature.
My temperature was low, when I felt feverish, my temp. would go up to around 98.6 (normal). I also had other symptoms of hypothyroidism. I had spoken to my drs. about thyroid meds many times, always to no avail, since my thyroid panels would show me in the "low-normal" range.
When I found my FMS-knowledgeable doctor, he put me on thyroid med on the first visit, without me even asking. The severity of the cold intolerance improved immediately, and has never gotten that bad since.
Insurers
giving alternative health services new look
Group Health, however, is restricting access to alternative providers like
Ballard. The enrollee must get clearance from a physician and be suffering
from a condition that qualifies for alternative care.
Acupuncture, for example, is available for 10 conditions, such as migraine headaches and arthritis. Naturopaths can treat premenstrual syndrome and chronic irritable bowel syndrome. Massage therapists can treat the pain of the muscle tissue disease fibromyalgia.Those wanting massage solely for relaxation are denied.
- All's Well Massage Therapy
- The National Holistic Institute
- Where to Find More Information on Massage Therapy
-
Illustrations of pain referral zones, photos of muscle treatment
National Certification Board for
Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.
1735 North Lynn St., Suite 950
Arlington, Va. 22209
800-296-0644
703-524-9563
American Physcial Therapy Association
1111 North Fairfax St.
Alexandria, VA 22314
phone: (703) 684-2782
The first physician to proclaim the benefits of spinal adjustment was Hippocrates, the father of medicine himself. He advised his students, "Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases."
In America, chiropractic is the most popular of all alternative therapies, according to a 1990 New England Journal of Medicine study. Study results showed that about 18 million people made an average of 13 chiropractic visits a year.
There are 2 broad catagories of chiropractic practice: traditional and mixed. Traditional practitioners focus only on spinal manipulation. Mixed chiropractic also blends therapies such as massage, nutrition, exercise, and heat or cold treatments into the practice.
Recent research continues to examine chiropractic's credibility as a health care method. A 1995 British Medical Journal report followed 2 groups of patients for 3 years, a total of 741 people. One group had chiropractic therapy, the other group underwent hospital treatment. The study found that improvement was approximately 29 percent higher among those who received chiropractic care.
CAUTION: Sometimes serious health problems - not directly treatable by chiropractic - can manifest themselves as back & neck pain. These include cancer, endometriosis, osteoporosis, ulcers, and other organic problems. Your doctor and chiropractor should help you evaluate whether your back and neck pain has origins that are suited to chiropractic adjustment, and they can advise you whether you need another type of medical treatment.
While in the hypnotic state, we're neither asleep nor fully awake, but we're not unconscious, either. The hypnotic state seems to hover somewhere in between. Hypnosis is a tool that helps us relax, focus, and use more of our mind's resources.
Some physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, natural-health practitioners, and dentists use hypnotherapy to help their patients manage their experience of pain - whether it be acute or chronic. Practitioners also use hypnotherapy to help patients cope with the psychological stresses related to pain. People in pain often feel anxious, stressed, or depressed, which causes pain to feel worse, and triggers a spiraling pain - stress cycle.
Scientific research has substanitiated claims of pain relief through the use of hypnosis. These findings have sparked a new backing in the medical community for the use of hypnosis. In late 1995, a technology - assessment panel recommended to the National Institutes of Health that hypnosis and other behavioral therapies be accepted regimens for treating chronic pain.
All hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Although it makes for an interesting magic show, it is not true that one person can hypnotize another. Although you are in an altered brain - wave state, you are fully aware of your surroundings. Another person can be your guide and make suggestions, such as "you are starting to relax" or "your pain is decreasing", this will help you achieve your goal. If that person suggests that you "cluck like a chicken", unless you are a willing participant, your mind will reject that suggestion, and it will not happen.
You also can come out of the hypnotic state at will - for example, if you used the hypnotic technique at home, and your child started to cry, or the smoke detector alarm went off, you would be able to come into the fully conscious state immediately, and tend to the matter at hand. The worst thing that could happen is you may fall asleep - and that might not be so bad, after all.
Hypnosis, relaxation therapy, and meditation are actually the same thing. It is thought that during meditation, you clear your mind of all thoughts - this may be an impossibility! Hypnosis, relaxation therapy, and meditation are actually super - concentration. You put your full concentration on one thing. With meditation a lot of people use a one - syllable chant, repeated over and over. With hypnosis you usually concentrate on a single sound, like the ticking of a clock, or the sound of traffic going by, or you may have a tape of a waterfall, or the ocean waves.
This is thought to keep the left hemisphere of the brain (the logical side) distracted or occupied, so a person can tap into the right hemisphere (the intuitive and creative side). This is where the imagery comes in! You will now be able to image your body becoming increasingly relaxed, or you may image that a part of your body that is painful becomes increasingly warm, and the warmth drives away the pain. As for me, focusing on the body did not seem to help me. Instead, I imagine that I leave my prison of pain, and soar along the ocean shore with the majestic sea gulls, lapping at the waves, a glint of the sun on the water. [ ...don't laugh until you've tried it ;~) ]
An advantage of hypnosis is that you have the techniques available to you anywhere, anytime. This is especially useful to someone suffering from pain.
CAUTION: Do not use hypnosis if you have epilepsy, it may trigger a seizure. Do not use hypnosis if you have serious psychological or emotional problems. Do not use it when you are involved in an activity for which you need to be fully alert, such as driving.
Biofeedback is a subspecialty of behavioral medicine, a fairly new branch of modern medical science. Behavioral medicine recognizes that it's not just germs that cause illness; stress, habits, lifestyle, & environment can also be contributing factors.
Biofeedback is a technique that teaches us to modify body functions that we usually consider involuntary - such as heart rate, brain waves, breathing, body temperature. It is thought that by controlling these functions, we can learn to avoid becoming slaves to our pains & discomforts.
ACUPUNCTURE
Acupuncture, a form of traditional Chinese medicine, is the act of inserting needles into specific points of the body to instigate healing. Its development dates back almost 5,000 years, but only in the last 50 years has the Western world started to practice it. Acupuncture was first described in The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, which is dated back to the 2nd century, BC.
The procedure is based on the theory that the body has an energy force running through it, called Qi (pronounced Chee). If the Qi is interrupted or unbalanced, it causes illness. Needles inserted just below the skin at acupuncture points are said to restore the flow of the Qi and thus, health.
Acupunture After listening to two days of scientific testimony, a panel convened by the National Institutes of Health announced that acupuncture ``merits inclusion in the comprehensive treatment for'' low back pain, asthma, nausea following surgery and chemotherapy, post-operative dental pain, addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia and carpal tunnel syndrome.
``There has been concern by insurance companies regarding what acupuncture should and should not be used for, and this decision should answer that,'' he said. ``NIH actually recommended that companies see what could be done to remove the financial obstacles to access. Some people have not been able to afford to pay for this out-of-pocket, and (NIH) felt that now is the time to consider changing this.''
Shot
in arm for acupuncture as US medics endorse its merits
The panel said acupuncture might work either with traditional Western medicine or as an adjunct to it in other areas. These included addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia (general muscle pain), low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and asthma. "We need more high-quality research to validate what appears to be useful for the millions of Americans that have used acupuncture," Dr Ramsay said.
STATEMENT:
National Institutes of Health-sponsored Consensus Development Conference
on Acupuncture
The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (AAMA) and its physician members are pleased that the NIH Consensus Development Conference has concluded that acupuncture merits inclusion in the comprehensive treatment for certain common conditions. These conditions include low back pain, asthma, adult post-operative and chemotherapy nausea, post-operative dental pain, addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, and carpal tunnel syndrome. The AAMA defines medical acupuncture as acupuncture performed by a physician trained and licensed in Western medicine who has also had rigorous training in multiple systems of acupuncture as a specialty practice. The panel acknowledged that a growing number of physicians are recognizing the effectiveness of acupuncture.
St. John's Wort, GinkoBiloba, Evening Primrose Oil, etc.
Melatonin is a hormone (one of the substances that regulate body functions) produced by the pineal gland (a small pine-cone shaped gland deep inside the brain). The secretion of melatonin induces sleepiness; secretion is stimulated by darkness, and suppressed by light.
Researchers speculate that the decrease of melatonin production with age may explain the problems many older people have with insomnia.
Melatonin was identified as a hormone in 1959, and in the 70's researchers discovered that it regulates a number of body functions and life cycles, such as the onset of puberty, and regulating our biological clocks - making it a useful tool in treating insomnia.
Secreted naturally at the fall of darkness, melatonin prepares the body for a "sleep phase" that ends with the return of light.
Melatonin is available OTC at many pharmacies and health food stores.
Suggestion: Melatonin pills usually come in 3 mg. doses. This is way too high a dosage to start with. Look for the liquid melatonin so you can regulate your dosage. Start out with 0.5mg. (1/2 of a mg.) or less & build up from there. You could also get the chewable tablets & break them for a smaller dosage. Maximum dosage should be 3mg.
Caution: Some people have reported "weird dreams" & next day grogginess from taking melatonin. If you start out at a low dosage & build up this should not be much of a problem or persist. If it does persist, discontinue use.
WARNING: Melatonin has been reported in several cases to cause SEVERE depression, or increase depression. If you become depressed after using melatonin, or your depression increases, DISCONTINUE USE IMMEDIATELY.
For adults only. Do not use if you are pregnant or lactating. No one knows what the effects are on the fetus or children.
Missing nutrients linked to fibromyalgia and chronic pain
Qi Gong (Chi Kung) & Tai Chi Chuan
The Alexander Technique
- The Alexander Technique
- ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE INTERNATIONAL
- The Complete Guide To The Alexander Technique
- North American Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique
NASTAT
North American Society of the Alexander Technique
P.O. Box 517
Urbana, Illinois 61801
217-367-6956
Feldenkrais therapy
-
Moving to end
pain
Feldenkrais therapy teaches that body awareness can help reduce chronic discomfort - Athletes are going through motions
Polarity Therapy
AyurVeda
