10 Effective solutions for fibromyalgia

Nearly six million Americans (90% of which are women) suffer what is arguably one of the most painful yet baffling conditions known to man.

Fibromyalgia.

And since it’s rather mysterious, you can bet your bottom dollar that a good number of people that have suffered from it either haven’t been diagnosed or haven’t received effective treatment.

Let’s take a brief look at the history of this medical mystery, as well as the latest thinking as to what causes it and most importantly, 10 safe, natural, effective ways you can help get relief if you’ve got it!

A rose by any other name
The condition we know as fibromyalgia has a long history of various descriptions.

In 1843 Dr. Robert Froriep described it as “rheumatism with painful, hard places.” Then in the early 1900s Sir William Gowers called it “fibrositis”—suggesting that inflammation caused the classic muscle pain.

From the early 1900s until 1987, there was a lot of doubt as to whether fibrositis was even a physical condition, and it was largely suspected to be psychiatric (‘all in your head’)!

But finally in 1987 the American Medical Association recognized the newly renamed fibromyalgia (meaning pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons) as a legitimate physical condition due to its incredibly long list of symptoms.

Hold on to your hat
The classic symptom of fibromyalgia is widespread chronic muscle pain. It might start gradually then increase over time in frequency and severity, or it can appear suddenly, following a traumatic event, illness or infection.

However, fibromyalgia’s effects go FAR beyond muscle pain and can include the following:

Nervous/Mental:

• Overwhelming fatigue
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Apathy
• Impaired memory and concentration
• Suicidal thoughts
• Insomnia
• Frequent awakening and/or non-restorative sleep

Musculoskeletal:

• Pain and morning stiffness of muscles, tendons and ligaments, particularly around the neck, shoulders, upper and lower back, hips, knees, inner and outer elbows, wrists, fingers, toes and chest.
• Swollen joints
• TMJ (temporomadibular joint dysfunction)
• Numbness of the extremities or face
• Restless leg syndrome
• Leg and foot cramps

Skin:

• Undue sweating
• Rashes, hives, red blotches
• Rosacea
• Eczema
• Brittle nails
• Dull, lifeless hair
• Feelings of skin crawling or electric vibrations
• Hypersensitivity to touch
• Hot, sweaty palms, soles and thighs

Gastrointestinal:

• IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
• Leaky gut
• Spastic or mucus colitis
• Nausea
• Gas, pain, bloating
• Alternating constipation and diarrhea
• Mucus in stools
• Hyperacidity with reflux

Genitourinary:

• Pungent-smelling urine
• Frequent urination
• Bladder spasms
• Dysuria
• Vaginal yeast infections; bladder infections
• Vulvitis
• Vaginal spasms or cramps
• Burning discharge
• Painful intercourse
• Decreased libido

Head, ENT:

• Headaches; migraines
• Dizziness
• Vertigo
• Dry eyes
• Blurred vision
• Excessive nasal congestion and postnasal drip
• Bad or metallic taste in mouth
• Painful, burning tongue
• Tinnitus
• Sensitivity to light, sounds and odors
• Asthma and hay fever symptoms

Miscellaneous:

• Weight gain
• Low-grade fever
• Lowered immunity to infections
• Night sweats
• Sensitivity to temperature changes

Methinks you’d need quite an imagination to have all of those symptoms come out of your head.

The latest thinking
Although there still has not been an obvious clear-cut disease process established with fibromyalgia, the latest theories as to the underlying causes are centered on the following factors that can lead to a poor state of health which eventually can manifest itself as fibromyalgia:

• Unhealthy diet (especially lots of processed foods) which leads to poor digestion and intestinal flora imbalance
• Lack of exercise
• Nutritional deficiencies, especially Vitamin D (which is important for the immune system)
• Toxins from food and the environment which inundate your cells with wastes
• A weakened immune system
• A traumatic emotional or physical experience
• Food and environmental allergies
• Stress, anxiety and/or depression (stress further upsets digestion and your flora balance)
• Hormonal imbalances, especially thyroid and growth hormones
• Low levels of cell energy production

How to fight back at fibromyalgia
Even though fibromyalgia still remains largely a mystery, the more you can address some of the underlying factors behind it, the better your chances of getting REAL relief!

Here are measures you can take to help make a tremendous difference in how you feel. Now keep in mind that they all might not address your unique fibromyalgia situation, so it’s important to keep trying until you see what works for you.

1- Look for clues
It’s crucial is to look for clues about what may be behind your fibromyalgia.

Many sufferers have unresolved emotional issues or post-traumatic stress. If that’s an issue for you, counseling with a skilled therapist can make a big difference.

In addition, in order to be more certain of a diagnosis of fibromyalgia (and avoid misdiagnosis) as well as uncover any other conditions which may coexist with fibromyalgia (and require treatment), ask your doctor to perform the following lab tests:

• Adrenal tests (including DHEA and cortisol)
• Autoimmune tests (including antinuclear antibodies-ANA; C-reactive protein and autoantibody tests)
• Blood sugar tests
• Candida yeast tests
• CBC (complete blood count)
• Food and other allergy testing
• Gluten intolerance/Celiac disease testing
• Heavy metal exposure testing (hair or urine analysis)
• HIV and hepatitis testing
• Hormone testing (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, etc.)
• Lyme disease testing
• Parasite/malabsorption testing (stool analysis)
• Thyroid testing (including TSH, Total T4, Free T4, T3, thyroid peroxidase antibodies and thyroid binding globulin)
• Vitamin and nutrient deficiency testing

2- Avoid offending foods
Certain foods have been shown to worsen fibromyalgia symptoms in some people. While these are not "universal offenders" many people have been helped by avoiding some or all the following:

• Aspartame (NutraSweet)
• Food additives like MSG (monosodium glutamate) and nitrates
• Refined carbohydrates (sugar, white flour & all products made with them)
• Caffeine
• Dairy
• Nightshade vegetables (bell peppers, tomatoes and eggplant)

3- Consider supplementing with Vitamin D
At least half of the people with fibromyalgia have Vitamin D deficiency, and many have seen their symptoms literally disappear once supplementation was started!

The dosage recommended by most experts is 1,000 – 2,000 IU.

4- Encourage efficient digestion and elimination of wastes
Poor digestion can lead to intestinal flora imbalance, which in turn can affect your immune system functioning (since your gut houses 70 percent of your immune system) and encourage the development of food allergies, all of which are factors behind fibromyalgia like I mentioned above.

It can also cause poor nutrient absorption which is also a concern for people with fibromyalgia.

Plus when you eat lots of fast and processed foods (which are standard staples in the typical American diet!), the acid residue from those foods can get absorbed into your bloodstream from the intestines and add to accumulated cell wastes—which is yet another fibromyalgia characteristic.

So to fight (or help prevent) fibromyalgia, it's essential to eat real (not processed) foods and help encourage better digestion and elimination of wastes!

And that is precisely what you will learn to do with the Great Taste No Pain health system.

Great Taste No Pain will show you how to enjoy eating delicious, nourishing foods in pairings that are easier for your body to break down.

That means you can help cut fibromyalgia right off at five of its primary underlying factors!

Plus you will likely feel the difference in many other ways too--fewer digestive problems like IBS, heartburn or gas, more energy and everyone's favorite--lose excess weight without even TRYING!

Now if you’re gluten sensitive, I’ve got you covered too. Great Taste No Gluten is for you instead.

5- Explore alternative therapies
Alternate therapies such as chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga, Pilates, massage therapy or physical therapy can all help reduce pain, ease stiffness and improve flexibility.

6- Get regular exercise and reduce stress
Although many fibromyalgia sufferers find it difficult to exercise and suffer exhaustion afterward, regular exercise boosts your body’s endorphins (natural pain-fighting, feel-good molecules); it helps to naturally relieve stress, anxiety and depression; it can help improve flexibility and energy levels, it helps with quality of sleep and strengthens your bones and muscles.

In addition, since stress can impair the immune system by altering the gut flora, and since fibromyalgia sufferers are susceptible to infections, leaky gut, IBS and other GI issues, it’s crucial to reduce stress.

7- Get adequate sleep as much as possible
Many fibromyalgia sufferers have chronically poor sleep, so it’s crucial to encourage more restful sleep. This includes the avoidance of caffeine and alcohol before retiring and sticking to a regular bedtime each night.

5HTP or melatonin supplementation may also be helpful—these are typically available in health food stores.

8- Reduce pesticide and chemical exposure.
People with fibromyalgia are frequently sensitive to various chemicals and odors in the environment, plus their bodies are already challenged with the burden of the condition--which can only be worsened by having to stress the liver and kidneys to detox these chemicals out of the body.

9- Supplement with probiotics
Probiotics can help reverse imbalanced intestinal flora and ease allergies, both of which are triggers for fibromyalgia symptoms.

It’s important to use a formula which contains both bifidobacterium species (for the colon) and lactobacillus species (which beef up the small intestine)—that way you’re covered from one end of the intestinal tract to the other.

Super Shield multi-strain probiotic formula is up to this important challenge.

Super Shield’s 13 strains of beneficial bacteria can help restore and maintain a healthy flora balance in both your small and large intestines.

Plus Super Shield can help keep digestion smooth, which can in turn help prevent toxins and improperly broken down food molecules from getting into your bloodstream and taunting your immune system, and encourage proper nutrient absorption.

10- Supplement with Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is VITAL for proper cell energy production (which is a major concern for people with fibromyalgia).

The problem is, even if you’re getting sources of B12 in your diet (like shrimp, scallops, salmon, beef, lamb, cod, yogurt, milk and eggs), B12’s absorbability in your GI tract is dependent on the ability of your stomach acids to cleave the B12 from its “partner” amino acids…so you may be getting far less than you think.

This is especially true if you take acid reducing medications—since you’re shutting down your stomach’s acid production, it’s practically a given that most or all B12 you take in will flow back out of you untouched.

But there is a VERY effective way to get B12 that costs less than shots and can bypass shortcomings in the GI tract that affect absorbency.

It’s Hydroxaden 2.5 B12 spray.

Hydroxaden 2.5 is a Vitamin B12 spray that you simply spritz right under your tongue each day. The B12 can be quickly and efficiently absorbed right into your bloodstream where it's needed through the mucus membranes in your mouth.

From there it can get to work helping with your cell energy production, as well as encouraging sharper mental function, stronger immune health, protection from heart disease and a healthier overall you!

Stop the endless cycle of pain!
If you suffer from the agony of fibromyalgia, your days of feeling hopeless and going from one pain-filled day to the next can be over very soon.

See for yourself how much better you can feel when take safe, natural measures to alleviate your symptoms and most importantly, help tackle fibromyalgia at some of its common underlying causes!

To your health,

Sherry Brescia

PS: Always be sure to let your doctor or healthcare provider know what supplements you are taking.