Natural Treatments For Fibromyalgia
People who suffer from fibromyalgia
often say they wake up in the morning
feeling like they've been run over by a
truck. This is typical of the condition
known as fibromyalgia (FM).
FM affects mainly women in their late
30's and 40's, with symptoms of
generalized pain and aching throughout
the body, morning stiffness, fatigue,
disturbed sleep, and multiple tender
spots on the body. The cause of FM is
unknown but it may be part of chronic
fatigue syndrome (CFS).
Diagnosis
- Widespread muscle pain, aching or
stiffness.
- Eleven out of eighteen trigger points
located on body tender when pressed on.
- Absence of other conditions that would
account for the pain.
- Non-refreshing sleep, frequent
headaches, numbness, tingling, pain in
the neck and shoulders, irritable bowel
syndrome.
Treatment
- Gentle exercise and massage.
- Stress reduction and relaxation
exercises.
- Acupuncture stimulation of trigger
points and tender points.
- Nutritional supplements including
magnesium, Vitamin-B-1, Vitamin-B-3,
Vitamin-B-12, essential fatty acids,
antioxidants.
- Trial of co-enzyme-Q-10 90 to 300mg
daily for six weeks.
- Trial of vitamin-B-12 injections 1,000
micrograms three times a week.
- Elimination diet to identify food
allergies.
- Cut out sugar, junk food, excessive
animal products.
- Tryptophan or 5-HTP helpful for sleep
and pain.
- Amino acid phenylalanine 500 to 1,000mg
in the morning.
- Small doses of antidepressant drugs at
bedtime may help.
- Niacinamide 500 to 1,500mg a day
helpful for pain.
- A new supplement called
S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) 800mg helps
reduce symptoms.
- Magnetic therapy often helpful either
localized or sleeping on magnetic
mattress (Magnetico at 1-800-265-1119).
- MSM or methylsulfonylmethane is an
exciting new supplement which relieves
pain in 50 percent of the cases. The
dosage of MSM must be increased until
pain relief is achieved. The usual
dosage is 5gm to 30gm divided in three
doses, with each meal.