Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is a condition characterized by muscle pain and stiffness throughout the body accompanied by fatigue. Basically, the person “hurts all over”. Specific areas or “trigger points” in the muscles, when pressed elicit pain. A positive diagnosis occurs when 11 of the 18 trigger points are reactive when pressed. Unfortunately, Fibromyalgia has become the “catch-all” diagnosis when a doctor doesn’t take the time to find out what’s wrong with a patient and is frequently mis-diagnosed. For instance, when a patient complains of “arthralgia” – pain in the joints, it is often diagnosed as FMS. Although arthralgia frequently accompanies FMS, as a stand alone complaint, it is not FMS.
Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and Multi-Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) conditions are very closely linked and almost identical in their symptom pictures. There are definite reasons why. In CFS there is extreme fatigue, sometimes to the point of the patient becoming bedridden, with secondary complaints of muscle pain. The second greatest complaint by patients with FMS is extreme fatigue. MCS patients complain of both.
In fact, all 3 of the above groups have a very common denominator. Chemical sensitivities. In all of the above conditions, certain chemicals (household or environmental) will trigger these conditions and when removed, the conditions resolve. Different people react to different toxic onslaughts with differing reactions. The more toxic the person is, and the less capable the liver is in managing it, the greater the reaction (or sensitivity). So, if 3 people were exposed to the same toxic load, one may have a severe reaction, another mild or moderate reaction and the 3rd may have no reaction at all – according to each of their own biochemical makeup.
From a traditional medical standpoint, the cause of FMS “remains elusive” and lacks both explanatory power and therapeutic implications. Medical research finds no pathophysiology – no disease to explain it. Since medicine is dependent on pathophysiology as a means for treatment, in their eyes, there is no cure. They either prescribe drugs to enable the patient to live with it easier, tell them they have to learn to live with it, or tell them “it’s all in your head” and prescribe anti-depressants.
In my practice, my ever dominating question is “WHY”? Since the body has the capacity to heal anything that’s wrong with it, and it isn’t, WHY NOT? What is the underlying mechanism that is preventing the body from healing? Are the raw materials (fats, proteins, enzymes, minerals, carbohydrates, etc.) that the body needs to heal with missing? And if so, why? Are they not in the diet, is the body not metabolizing or assimilating them, or is something in the diet preventing the body from utilizing them? Or is there some persistent element in the persons’ life preventing healing (such as inadequate sleep, continuous stress, or toxic chemicals in their living or work environment, etc)?
I am not the only one asking these questions. Much research and clinical correlation has been directed toward this condition from a different standpoint – the “WHY” angle, not so much the pathophysiology angle. This has resulted in the following conclusions about why FMS exists:
A basic equation has not only evolved, but become quite clear: Chronic malnutrition + foul nutrition + chronic chemical exposures = FMS.
Let me elaborate. Chronic malnutrition sounds like something primitive societies experience. Not here in the U.S. where obesity and food abound. However, our foods are so refined and adultered that they no longer nourish the body. They are canned, fried, boxed, pickled, frozen, freeze-dried, homogenized, pasteurized, flaked, puffed, baked, refined, dehydrated, concentrated, and basically processed to the point that the nutritional content is missing! Then we add chemicals, preservatives, dyes, artificial sweeteners, and artificial vitamins, minerals that are indigestible, aluminum, fluoride, chlorine, pesticides, herbicides, hormones, fillers, excipients and other toxic elements and wonder why we’re sick and malnourished!
“Foul-nutrition” is a term used to identify non-foods or grossly altered foods we consume that foul up the biochemical balance of our body, leading to states of mal-nutrition. These non-foods are margarine, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats and oils, sodas, coffee (and caffeine), alcohol, etc. Since these consumables cause leaching of minerals or blockage of absorption of nutrients or cause the body to change chemistry to adapt to them, they contribute to a wide range of illnesses, including Fibromyalgia.
Another “foul-nutrient” which surprises many, is vitamins. Most sold today are chemical versions that create more havoc in the body than help. The goal of most vitamin manufacturers is shelf life. So they’ve traded dollars for health. In fact, most vitamins are so bad that a person is much better off taking nothing at all. Unfortunately, we do need vitamins due to our nutritionally depleted foods. However, they need to be real “foods” and not synthetic or fractionated versions (see previous article on vitamins). Many who suffer FMS suffer it because of their poor vitamins. Don’t believe the marketing hype – the basis most people use to determine what is a good vitamin or a bad one. And the word “natural” on a label means nothing.
Chemicals which cause reactions in the body come from many sources. They come from pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals in our food, our water and in the air. Even everyday things such as air fresheners (including the kinds that plug in, candles, hanging types and sprays), detergents and flame-retardants in new clothing and bedding.
Nutritional deficiencies such as Vitamin C Complex (not ascorbic acid – which contributes to the problem), Vitamin A Complex (not Vitamin A acetate or Beta-Carotene – which worsen FMS), and Vitamin E Complex (not d-alpha tocopherol) and many other vitamins and minerals add to FMS and prevent the person from healing. The synthetic or fractionated vitamins listed above in parenthesis actually worsen FMS and should be avoided. There is hope. Through a comprehensive health and medical history which serves to uncover the underlying etiology, and through nutritional intervention combined with acupuncture treatments, this condition CAN BE RESOLVED. Fibromyalgia need not be a diagnosis which condemns you to a life of pain, fatigue and woe. There is much that can be done to help the individual recover.
©2005 Holly A. carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
