Fibromyalgia is a grueling disease.
People who suffer from it are overcome with fatigue and pierced by widespread chronic pain.
They must also manage insomnia and fight against concentration disorders.
It is not easy to define this condition as much as to diagnose it.
But as we will see, when it is well identified, it is possible to apply certain tricks and certain supplements to try to push it back.
Contents
- 1 What is fibromyalgia?
- 2 What are usually the first signs of fibromyalgia?
- 3 Fibromyalgia-related conditions
- 4 What causes fibromyalgia to start?
- 5 How do you test for fibromyalgia?
- 6 Can fibromyalgia be cured?
- 7 Fibromyalgia natural treatment
- 8 Fibromyalgia natural remedies
- 9 How to calm fibromyalgia pain?
What is fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition with specific symptoms.
Generalized musculoskeletal pain is a term indicating that the pain is felt in the muscles and bones.
It is generalized and is triggered by simple pressure on various areas of the body while muscle tenderness is felt in all limbs.
What are usually the first signs of fibromyalgia?
To be diagnosed, it is considered that the pain is generally located in at least 6 areas of the body and persists for more than three months.
Affected areas are:
– head
– neck
– upper chest
– back
– outside elbow
– lower back
– inside knee
The person suffering from fibromyalgia feels sharp pain at the slightest pressure or during movement.
Other symptoms may be added:
– allodynia, a pain triggered by stimulation that should normally be painless
– a stiffness felt in the muscles and joints, especially in the morning
– joint swelling felt but not apparent
– the fatigue that quickly becomes chronic and persistent (a major sign of fibromyalgia)
– sleep problems (morning awakenings, difficulty falling asleep)
– depression
– anxiety
– difficulty concentrating (brain fog)
– tension headaches (feeling pressure around the head, bilateral migraine caused by muscle tension)
– migraines (one-sided, throbbing headache) which may cause nausea, vomiting sensitivity to noise and light
– paresthesias (tingling sensations or numbness in the legs and arms)
People with fibromyalgia have the array of symptoms listed above, but there are additional physiological disturbances.
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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
The person experiences a dramatic change in bowel function, alternating constipation, and diarrhea.
These episodes are aggravated by stress and the adopted diet.
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Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
Patients are more prone to suffer from gastric reflux resulting in heartburn and acid reflux.
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Raynaud’s disease
Raynaud’s disease is discoloration of the hand and fingers due to vasoconstriction.
Blood vessels constrict and decrease blood flow, affecting and discoloring fingers that turn white, red, or blue.
The cold is often a trigger for this phenomenon, but stress can also contribute.
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Can fibromyalgia affect your eyes?
Dysfunction of the eye glands causes decreased tear production which may be caused by a disorder of the autonomic nervous system.
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Orthostatic hypotension
Hypotension is too low blood pressure also caused by autonomic dysfunction.
The tension collapses when the person gets up too quickly.
It drops because the blood in the legs and the rest of the body has difficulty reaching the head when the person stands up suddenly.
Normally, the body and in particular the nervous system reacts quickly to correct this dysfunction and thus avoids dizziness and discomfort.
But someone with fibromyalgia can’t escape getting dizzy by getting up too quickly and even risk falling.
What causes fibromyalgia to start?
In fact, to date, both the causes and the mechanism of fibromyalgia are unknown.
Some hypotheses point to overall sensitivity, with people with fibromyalgia experiencing increased pain sensitivity.
Researchers believe there is over-excitation of pain-sensing neurons and under-activity of the pain inhibitory system.
The role of stress is also a major factor, highlighting intense physical and emotional stress.
How do you test for fibromyalgia?
There is no specific test to diagnose fibromyalgia to date.
Most of the time, the undertaken tests show normal results.
However, since the 90s, criteria have been laid down to detect it through the localized pain points previously described.
Similarly, 4 different fibromyalgia groups have been established:
– extreme sensitivity to pain without an underlying psychiatric condition
– fibromyalgia with depressive background
– depression with associated fibromyalgia
– fibromyalgia due to somatization
Controversy in the international classification of fibromyalgia may be startling because it is only determined as a “functional somatic syndrome”, which under-tends that it is only a chronic disease with no identified cause.
Can fibromyalgia be cured?
Based on its unexplained nature, there is no specific treatment to cure fibromyalgia.
Medicine only attends to the symptoms in an attempt to alleviate them.
Non-drug therapies are preferred, focusing on aerobic or yoga exercises aimed at reducing pain and fatigue.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy shows the little impact in treating the condition.
Stress and sleep management remain important, requiring some daily discipline such as cutting out caffeine, pre-bed meals, and light sources before and during sleep.
As for medication, an antidepressant, anti-convulsant, painkiller or opioid may be prescribed.
Fibromyalgia natural treatment
The most effective natural fibromyalgia treatment begins with dietary changes to improve digestive function.
Why?
Your immune system, nervous system, and endocrine function are all linked by microbiota, the gut flora.
All living organisms in your intestines influence what the cells produce.
Research has shown that certain bacteria stimulate the production of certain hormones and stimulate the immune system.
This means that if there is an imbalance in the intestinal flora, it is very likely to cause errors between neurotransmitters.
In the context of fibromyalgia, three hypotheses are considered:
- you suffer from a breakdown of the intestinal walls, which triggers an inflammatory reaction
- your gut is permeable
- specific endotoxins produced by certain bacteria enter the blood system and trigger a severe immune reaction
The consequence of damaged intestinal walls while having insufficient intestinal flora is a chronic immune reaction and widespread inflammation.
Your pain then comes from this inflammation caused by the immune system.
And pain perception is further heightened by neurotransmitter errors.
How to solve this problem?
You must remove everything that attacks you and in particular, all the chemicals that are in your diet.
Let’s be clear, there are thousands of chemicals built into what we consume even though most have not been tested for their effects in long term.
So you are forced to adopt a whole food diet assuming that what you eat every day is chemical free in order not to kill any beneficial bacteria in your gut.
Similarly, you must be aware of the presence of pesticides (and in particular glyphosate) which can also affect your microbiota, and opt for certified organic products.
Fibromyalgia natural remedies
In addition to essential dietary changes, certain supplements can help you relieve your fibromyalgia.
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Magnesium
Conventional treatment involves the prescription of muscle relaxants.
But the best natural muscle relaxer is magnesium.
Most people with fibromyalgia have to deal with a fairly high level of stress, which makes them vulnerable to magnesium deficiency.
This lack can worsen the symptoms of the condition, further crashing magnesium levels.
Insomnia, and lack of sleep causes hormonal changes that also destroy magnesium.
But the body needs it to produce ATP which is a source of energy.
An insufficient rate of ATP aggravates fatigue which itself increases stress and thus a vicious circle is set up.
In addition, this nutrient has an important role in the nervous system and an insufficient level can result in chronic nerve pain.
According to researchers, magnesium is one of the essential vitamins for treating fibromyalgia.
Go for a magnesium bisglycinate (#ad) which is the most absorbable form by the body, without side effects.
The recommended dosage is 300mg per day.
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Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency is very common even if we think we get enough sunlight.
This deficiency is not to be taken lightly as it is correlated with the development of many diseases, and fibromyalgia is one of them.
Taking a vitamin D supplement (#ad) daily to bring your levels back to normal is therefore imperative.
The recommended dosage is 2000-5000IU per day.
Preferably choose a supplement that comes in capsules containing oil for better absorption.
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5-htp
5-htp is an amino acid and a natural antidepressant.
There is nothing chemical about it since the body makes it naturally.
It uses tryptophans and amino acids from your diet to convert them into 5-htp which will be transformed into serotonin.
So taking a 5-htp supplement (#ad) allows you to increase your serotonin levels and reduce depression symptoms or anxiety.
It will also help you fight fatigue, muscle, and joint stiffness, pain and stabilize your sleep.
But just like with antidepressant medication, remember that it takes an average of 4-6 weeks of treatment to get the full effect.
The recommended dosage is 300 to 600mg but it is best to start your cure at 100mg per day to increase it gradually until the active dose to avoid any gastrointestinal effect.
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Probiotics
Probiotics are essential to help you replenish a diverse gut flora that will help you fight constant inflammation.
Go for a supplement containing both prebiotics and probiotics (#ad) to achieve better efficiency and maximum effect.
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Melatonin
You know melatonin well to improve sleep and fight insomnia.
Researchers confirm that this hormone made naturally by the body helps treat insomnia and early awakenings from fibromyalgia.
You should consider taking sublingual melatonin (#ad) one hour before bedtime.
The recommended dosage is 1-3mg per day.
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Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is essential for the nervous system.
The body uses it to support nerve cells while producing red blood cells.
It also needs this vitamin to turn your food into energy.
People with deficiency experience fatigue, anxiety, and tingling in the extremities, symptoms found in fibromyalgia.
It is therefore important to raise the rate by taking an extra vitamin b12 methylcobalamin (#ad).
This vitamin is not dangerous because it does not accumulate in the body and any surplus is excreted by the kidneys.
The recommended dosage is 1000mcg per day.
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L-carnitine
Carnitine is well known as a performance-enhancing supplement for athletes.
But it is above all a natural component that the body produces and that is easily found in food.
Fibromyalgia sufferers are deficient in carnitine and research has shown that carnitine supplementation (#ad) can easily improve symptoms, including chronic fatigue and depression.
The recommended dosage varies between 500mg and 2g per day preferably with a source of carbohydrates.
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GI Revive
This natural supplement contains all the needed ingredients to repair and strengthen the intestinal walls.
It contains quercetin, okra, aloe vera, marshmallow, deglycyrrhizinated licorice, L-glutamine, chamomile, MSM, mucins, N-acetylglucosamine, pectin, elm red, cat’s claw, Zinc L-carnosine.
This unique combination creates a protective film on the intestinal walls allowing you to heal more easily.
The ideal is to take a one-month course of GI Revive (#ad) and then follow up with a cure of probiotics.
How to calm fibromyalgia pain?
Fibromyalgia is a difficult disease to live with which unfortunately has no cure.
Despite regular medical monitoring, sufferers have a very impaired quality of life.
It may be very worth trying natural alternatives by taking proven vitamins and supplements.
They can be very effective in relieving you.
* Read more:
How to deal with chronic fatigue
