Treating and Beating Fibro Blog

Urinary Tract Infections and Fibromyalgia Part II Interstitial Cystitis

2012-03-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

Recurrent UTI symptoms may point at a problem known as interstitial cystitis (IC).

Interstitial cystitis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the bladder that causes frequent, urgent, and painful urination and pelvic discomfort. The lining of the bladder breaks down, allowing toxins to irritate the bladder wall, and the bladder becomes inflamed and tender and does not store urine well. The condition does not respond to antibiotics, since it is not associated with a bacterial infection like is UTI. Like UTI, IC is much more common among women than among men. Although the disease previously was believed to be a condition of menopausal women, growing numbers of men and women are being diagnosed in their 20s and younger. Data released just this year suggests that up to 12% of women may have early symptoms of IC.

Symptoms: The symptoms of IC are basically the symptoms of UTI, only more stubborn. IC is often misdiagnosed as UTI, until it refuses to respond to antibiotics. IC symptoms may also initially be attributed to prostatitis or epididymitis (in men) and endometriosis or uterine fibroids (in women).

Causes: The cause of interstitial cystitis is unknown, though several theories are being investigated, including autoimmune, neurological, allergic, and genetic. Regardless of the disease’s origin, IC patients clearly struggle with a damaged bladder lining. When this protective coating is compromised, urinary chemicals can leak into surrounding tissues, causing pain, inflammation, and urinary symptoms.

Diagnosis: IC diagnosis has been greatly simplified in recent years with the development of two new methodologies. The “Pelvic Pain Urgency/Frequency (PUF) Patient Survey,” created by C. Lowell Parsons, is a short questionnaire that helps doctors identify if pelvic pain could be coming from the bladder. The KCL test, also called the potassium sensitivity test, uses a mild potassium solution to test the integrity of the bladder wall. Though the latter is not specific for IC, it has been determined helpful in predicting the use of compounds designed to help repair the bladder lining.

Previously, IC was diagnosed by visual examination of the bladder wall after stretching it. This test, however, can contribute to the development of small hemorrhages, making IC worse. Thus, a diagnosis of IC is made by excluding other illnesses and reviewing a patient’s clinical symptoms.

Treatment of the bladder lining: Traditional medications work to repair and hopefully rebuild the wounded bladder lining, allowing for a reduction in symptoms. But FDA-approved therapies for IC have had recent setbacks in various research studies. Elmiron (pentosan polysulfate) is supposed to provide a protective coating in the bladder. But data released in late 2005 by Alza Pharmaceuticals suggests that 84% of Elmiron is eliminated—intact—in the feces. Another 6% is excreted in the urine. DMSO, a wood-pulp extract, can be instilled directly into the bladder via a catheter, yet it is much less frequently used in urology clinics. Research studies presented at recent conferences of the American Urological Association have demonstrated that at the FDA-approved dosage of a 50% solution of DMSO, irreversible muscle contractions and damage may occur. DMSO therapy has yielded mixed results, and long-term benefits appear fleeting.

Recently, the use of a new therapeutic instillation—implemented like DMSO—has generated considerable excitement in the IC community. And rightly so. Published studies report a 90% effectiveness in reducing symptoms. This treatment is called a “rescue instillation” and can be conducted with any number of “cocktails” to treat specific symptoms.

Another bladder-coating treatment, Cystistat, is believed to replace the deficient layer on the bladder wall. The primary component of Cystistat is sodium hyaluronate, a derivative of hyaluronic acid, which occurs naturally in the fluids of the eye, in the joints, and in the bladder-lining layer that is deficient in many patients with interstitial cystitis. This layer is believed to provide the bladder wall with a protective coating. Cystistat, however, is still in the process of approval and not yet available to the public.

Treatment of the pelvic floor: Pelvic-floor dysfunction may also be a contributing factor to IC symptoms. Thus most major IC clinics now evaluate the pelvic floor and/or refer patients directly to a physical therapist for a prompt treatment of pelvic floor muscle tension or weakness. The tension is often described as a burning sensation, particularly in the vagina.

Muscle tension is the primary cause of pain and discomfort in IC patients who experience pain during intercourse. Tender trigger points (small tight bundles of muscle) may also be found in the pelvic floor.

Exercises such as Kegels can be helpful as they strengthen the muscles, but they can provoke pain and additional muscle tension. A specially trained physical therapist can provide direct, specific evaluation of the muscles, both externally and internally.

Bladder distention (a procedure done under general anesthesia that stretches the bladder capacity) has shown some success in reducing urinary frequency and giving pain relief to patients. Unfortunately, the relief achieved by bladder distentions is only temporary (weeks or months) and consequently is not really viable as a long-term treatment for IC. It is generally only used in extreme cases.

Pain control is important in the treatment of IC, as the pain of this condition has been rated equivalent to cancer pain. A variety of traditional pain medications, including opiates, can be used to treat the varying degrees of pain. Electronic pain-killing options include TENS (a machine that sends electrical impulses to the skin through sticky pads) and PTNS (similar to a TENS treatment, except a needle is used).

Natural Remedies For IC

Alkalinizing the urine through diet seems to help reduce the burning pain and urinary urgency of IC in some patients. See the facing page for a list of common foods that seem to make IC worse. I know that the list can be intimidating, but I encourage my cystitis patients to conduct a modified elimination diet for 2–3 weeks, avoiding all the foods above. Then they challenge one of these foods at a time. If you do this, be sure to keep a food diary to keep up with what you learn about your body.

For more information about IC and your diet, visit www.ic-network.com/handbook and click under “Living with IC—Diet.”

Prelief by AkPharma, Inc. is calcium glycerophosphate, a food-grade mineral classified as a dietary supplement. It’s a natural
treatment for IC and also a good source of calcium. In a retrospective study conducted by AkPharma, over 200 patients consumed acidic foods and beverages with and without Prelief. Seventy percent of the patients had a reduction in IC pain and discomfort with the use of Prelief when consuming acidic foods. Sixty-one percent of them reported a reduction in urinary urgency after using Prelief. For more information or to order Prelief, visit www.prelief.com or call 1-800-994-4711.

Bioflavonoids are naturally occurring substances that act as mast-cell inhibitors (similar to an antihistamine), anti-inflammatories, and antioxidants. Since IC is associated with an increased number and activation of mast cells and inflammation in some patients, it has been suggested that bioflavonoids—quercetin in particular—have potential in the treatment of IC.

Cysta-Q, distributed by Farr Labs, is a quercetin-based dietary supplement that was specifically developed to target the symptoms of IC. Cysta-Q also contains bromelain, papain, nonacidic cranberry powder, nonacidic black cohosh, skull cap, wood betony, passionflower, and valerian in order to enhance the effectiveness of the quercetin. The quercetin used in Cysta-Q is derived from grape skin, onion skin, grapefruit rind and green algae. Initial studies have shown promise, but additional research is needed to access the long-term benefits of this natural formula. To find out more about Cysta-Q, visit www.CystaQ.com or call 1-877-284-3976.

Polysaccharides are long chains of sugar molecules. These naturally occurring substances may work by replacing the defective lining in the bladder, and they are thought to have a protective effect on the bladder. Elmiron is a synthetic polysaccharide. Examples of natural polysaccharides include glucosamine, chondroitin, marshmallow root, spirulina, and aloe vera. Desert Harvest, Inc., manufacturers a special IC-specific formula of aloe vera available in capsule form. It contains freeze-dried, whole-leaf aloe vera with no additives or fillers. Desert Harvest designed a double-blind, placebo-controlled study in which patients ingested three capsules twice a day with eight oz. of liquid for three months. Of the eight patients who completed the study, seven received relief from at least some of their symptoms. Of those seven, four experienced significant relief from all or most of their symptoms. Only one patient had no response after completing all six months of the study. For more information about Desert Harvest Aloe Vera products, visit www.desertharvest.com or call 1-800-222-3901.

Algonot-Plus combines polysaccharides (glucosamine and chondroitin) with quercetin and also adds an organic, unrefined olive seed oil from the island of Crete which increases absorption and adds its own antioxidants.

No formal research on this combined type of treatment for IC has yet been published, but several studies indicate that these supplements may be helpful, on their own, in the treatment of IC.
Glucosamine and chondroitin have previously been given to many IC patients in an open-label study with very good results when taken for a few months.

TC Theoharides, MD, and Grannum Sant, MD, have been involved in IC research and patient care for over 10 years. Their recent studies are encouraging for the benefits of combined therapies such as Algonot-Plus. For more information on Algonot-Plus, visit www.algonot.com, or call 1-800-254-6668.

This information is taken from my book Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Learn more at www.getfibrobooks.com

If You Have Fibromyalgia or CFS-Avoid NutraSweet

2012-02-29T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Health Dangers of NutraSweet-Fibromyalgia and Aspartame

Aspartame can be found in most diet sodas and in other artificially sweetened food products. Commonly known as NutraSweet or Equal, it is broken down by the body into methanol and formaldehyde.

Toxic levels of methanol are linked to systemic lupus and now Alzheimer’s disease.

Methanol toxicity can cause depression, brain fog, mood changes, insomnia, seizures, and similar symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis.

As for formaldehyde, it is grouped into the same class of drugs as cyanide and arsenic.

An EPA assessment of methanol states that methanol "is considered a cumulative poison due to the low rate of excretion once it is absorbed. In the body, methanol is oxidized to formaldehyde and formic acid; both of these metabolites are toxic." They recommend a limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit.

When the temperature of aspartame exceeds 86 degrees F, the wood alcohol in the product is turned into formaldehyde and then into formic acid. Formic acid is the poison contained in the sting of a fire ant.

There are over 92 documented symptoms from the use of aspartame.

Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death. A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain.

Could Aspartame be contributing to your fibromyalgia or CFS symptoms?

One common complaint of persons suffering from the effect of aspartame is memory loss. Ironically, in 1987, G.D. Searle, the manufacturer of aspartame, undertook a search for a drug to combat memory loss caused by excitatory amino acid damage.

One expert, Dr. Olney, a professor in the department of psychiatry, School of Medicine, Washington University, a neuroscientist and researcher, and one of the world's foremost authorities on excitotoxins. (He informed Searle in 1971 that aspartic acid caused holes in the brains of mice.)

For more information about the dangers ofAspartame see Aspartame Sweetpoison, written by author Dr. Janet Starr Hull.

2012-02-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Chronic Pain and Fibromyalgia

The diffuse muscle pain associated with fibromyalgia can be debilitating. Unless you’ve experienced the achy all over pain that accompanies fibromyalgia you can’t imagine the amount of discomfort, stress, and fatigue it creates. For those people who don’t know what fibromyalgia is like, I ask them to imagine waking up everyday with the flu from hell.

The pain can become worse when the individual gets under more stress (depleting serotonin), the weather changes, and after being on certain prescription medications for extended periods of time (Ambien).

Pain

Pain may arise from wear-and-tear arthritis (osteoarthritis), scar tissue, lactic acid (trigger points), allergic reactions, leaky gut, intestinal dysbiosis (yeast overgrowth), nightshade sensitivity, autoimmune disorders (rheumatoid arthritis), low serotonin levels or poor detoxification processes. Finding and successfully treating the source of chronic pain can be difficult.

Pain is initiated from inflammatory chemicals that are released in response to injury. Pain acts as an alarm to warn us of potential danger. If you’ve ever placed your hand on a hot stove, you know pain acts as a potent deterrent to not make this mistake twice. Wherever there is pain, there is inflammation. Inflammation is a normal and important, bodily reaction. Inflammation allows the body to attack unwanted invading microorganisms (viruses, bacteria, etc.), remove damaged cells (from injury), eliminate toxins, and is part of the body’s repair process.

How the inflammatory system works

Trauma, infection, ischemia (reduced blood flow), toxins, poisons, and normal wear and tear cause damage and destruction to cells. This damage then triggers an orderly inflammatory response by the body’s self-regulating mechanisms. When cells become damaged, they release special enzymes. These enzymes digest the parts of the cell that have been damaged. If the damage is minor, the cell can repair itself. If the damage is severe, the entire cell is digested (autolysis) and a new cell is made. If a lot of cells (tissue) are damaged, either by trauma (sprained ankle, back joint, etc.) or autolysis (cell death from toxic exposure, radiation, etc.), certain chemicals are released into the surrounding tissues, producing inflammation and more pain.

Inflammatory chemicals

The first group of chemicals, histamine, leukotriens, and pro-inflammatory hormones (prostaglandins), cause the blood vessels to dilate or expand. The dilation of the blood vessels causes the area to become hot, red and swollen. The dilated vessels (capillaries) allow needed nutrients and white blood cells to get to the damaged (swollen) area.

The white blood cells are charged with digesting and removing damaged cells (phagocytosis). These white blood cells gobble up everything in sight. Foreign invaders or pathogens (viruses, allergens, free radicals, etc) release their own chemicals, many of which are toxic. The healthy tissue surrounding the damaged area releases anti-inflammatory prostaglandins (PG1 and PG3) to combat the inflammatory prostaglandins (PG2). Certain chemicals (proteolytic enzymes) are responsible for telling the white blood cells that their job is done. These chemicals sound the alarm for the white blood cells to stop attacking and digesting cells and tissues.

Proteolytic enzymes are manufactured to squelch the white blood cells from continuing to eat up cellular debris. As the damaged cells and tissues are removed, less of the pro-inflammatory chemicals and more of the anti-inflammatory chemicals are released. Once the inflammation process is finished, the body begins to repair itself.

The balance between inflammation, destruction, and repair is an ongoing process. Normally, this process is kept in check. When the process becomes unbalanced, chronic inflammation takes over.

Inflammation is largely regulated by the prostaglandin hormones mentioned above.

Prostaglandins

Prostaglandins are a group of regulatory hormones produced in the body from fatty acids. There are several different groups of prostaglandins, but inflammation is largely controlled by Prostaglandin 1 (PG-1), Prostaglandin 2 (PG-2), and Prostaglandin 3 (PG-3).

PG-1, PG-2, and PG-3 are produced from essential fatty acids.

Essential fatty acids are essential for our existence. They can’t be manufactured by the body but must be obtained from the foods we eat. Essential fatty acids are made-up of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs).

PUFAs are divided into two families of essential fatty acids (EFA).

PUFAs are further broken down into Omega 3 (fish oils) and Omega 6 (vegetable oils).

Anti-inflammatory hormones

PG-1 and PG-3 come mainly from Omega 3 oils (fish oils) and are anti-inflammatory hormones. They help reduce and eliminate inflammation and pain.

Arachidonic Acid (AA) PG-2 Causes Pain and Inflammation

AA is an essential fatty acid (EFA) in the Omega 6 family. AA is found in corn and corn oil products. Corn products are used as the prominent foodstuff in westernized livestock. Red meat, dairy, and pork products have a high AA content.

The pro-inflammatory series PG-2 are made from arachidonic acid. Arachidonic acid is derived from the consumption of land animal foods (meats, cheese, eggs, etc.). Arachidonic acid stimulates the production of inflammatory chemicals including leukotriens (notorious in causing allergic reactions), thromboxanes, and prostacylins. Several research articles have demonstrated that the more animal fats a human eats, the more arachidonic acid they have in their blood and cell membranes and the more likely to have inflammation.

Conversely, a diet high in fish or supplemented with fish oil (EPA) helps reduce inflammation.

A. Omega 3 Linolenic Acid

Omega 3 oils include are found in flax seed, soybean, walnut, and chestnut oils, as well as some dark green leafy vegetables. Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) and DHA (docosahexanoic acid) are Omega 3 derivatives and are only found in cold water fish. These fish include salmon, tuna, and mackerel

The average AA (PG-2 from vegetable oils and animal products) to EPA (PG-1 and PG-3 from fish oils) of Americans is approximately 11:1. For patients with inflammatory conditions and neurological disorders, the AA/EPA ratio is 20:1 or more.

This means that Americans are eating and storing 11-20 times the amount of inflammation causing hormones (from vegetable oils and land animals) in comparison to the inflammation reducing hormones (from fish oils).

An AA/EPA ratio of 1.5:1 is considered ideal. This is the ratio found in Japanese populations which by the way have the highest life expectancy and the lowest rate of cardiovascular disease.

Our inflammatory reactions and their chemicals are therefore largely determined by what foods (fatty acids) we eat. Since most Americans are carrying around at least 10-20 pounds of excess fat, it is no wonder that arthritis and other inflammatory diseases are out of control in our country.

The average adult weighs 150 pounds, 30% of this is fat. This means that on average a person is carrying around 45 pounds of inflammatory fatty acid hormones!

Fish Oil Reduces Pain and Inflammation

The supplementing your diet with fish oils along with reducing the intake of arachidonic acid foods (land animals) can yield significant results.

Some studies have shown that supplementing with fish oils results in a dramatic reduction in a person’s leukotriens (one of the chemicals implicated in asthma) by 65%. This correlates with a 75% decrease in their clinical symptoms.

Another fish oil study, involving rheumatoid arthritis sufferers (often treated with incredibly toxic and life threatening prescription drugs) who took 1.8 grams of EPA fish oil and reduced their saturated fats (land animal foods), showed significant improvement over and above a placebo.

Sleep deprivation and pain

One study showed that college students who were prevented from going into deep sleep (REM sleep) for a period of a week, developed the same symptoms associated with fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS): diffuse pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, irritability, stomach disturbances, and headaches.

A study conducted by the University of Connecticut School of Medicine compared the sleep patterns and associated symptoms of fifty women with FMS.

The study showed that a poor night’s sleep was followed by an increase in the subject’s symptoms including, increased pain.

Avoid instant coffee

Instant coffee contains substances which block the receptor sites for endorphins and may cause increased pain.

Nightshades

In one study 70% of those with arthritis reported relief from chronic pain over a period of seven years after eliminating all white potatoes, tomatoes, peppers,(except black), eggplant, and tobacco.

Supplements That Help Reduce Pain

S-adenosyl-l-methionine (SAMe) comes from the amino acid methionine and acts as a natural anti-inflammatory and blocks pain without the side effects associated with NSAIDs.

SAMe helps boost serotonin and epinephrine levels. It also helps increase the production of endorphins. Endorphins are the bodies natural pain blocking chemicals and are more powerful than morphine.

One double-blind study showed SAMe was superior to ibuprofen in the treatment of osteo-arthritis pain.

Several studies involving SAMe and fibromyalgia patients yielded substantial improvement in over all pain levels (as well as depression).

Dosage is up to 1,200 mg. taken on an empty stomach 30 minutes before breakfast each day.

Malic Acid is found in a variety of foods. It is a vital nutrient needed for the production of cellular energy (Krebs cycle). Malic acid helps boost cellular energy and reduce achy muscles. It removes unwanted waste material from muscle cells including lactic acid, a byproduct of oxygen deficiency.

Lactic acid has been implicated as one reason for achy muscles. Lactic acid may accumulate in muscles after periods of anaerobic and aerobic exercise. It may also be involved in the trigger point pains associated with fibromyalgia.

“Malic acid gave subjective improvement within 48 hours in one study.”

Sherry Rodgers M.D., Pain Free in Six Weeks.

Studies involving FMS patients who were taking magnesium and malic acid together showed dramatic reduction in pain levels that returned with in 24 hours of discontinuing the supplements.

Gluten, Low Thyroid and Fibromyalgia

2012-02-27T15:00:00.000-08:00

Gluten Intake May Trigger Low Thyroid Function and Lead to Fibromyalgia

I find that 40-50% of my fibromyalga and CFS patients are suffering with low thyroid function. Many of these patients are plagued with Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

Gluten sensitivity has been implicated in contributing to Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism.

Several studies now show the link between gluten sensitivity and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.

Gluten sensitivity (also known as "gluten intolerance") (GS) belongs to a spectrum of disorders in which gluten has an adverse effect on the body. It can be defined as a non-allergic and non-autoimmune condition in which the consumption of gluten can lead to symptoms similar to those observed in celiac disease.

Symptoms of gluten sensitivity include bloating, abdominal discomfort, pain or diarrhea; or it may present with a variety of symptoms including headaches and migraines, lethargy and tiredness, attention-deficit disorder and hyperactivity, autism and schizophrenia, muscular disturbances as well as bone and joint pain.

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States. It is named after the first doctor who described this condition, Dr. Hakaru Hashimoto, in 1912. Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a condition caused by inflammation of the thyroid gland. It is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body inappropriately attacks the thyroid gland--as if it was foreign tissue.

Symptoms of Hashimoto's thyroididitis include anxiety, depression, fatigue, high cholesterol, weight gain, poor immune function, hair loss, cold hands and feet, and constipation.

According thyroid specialist, Dr. Datis Kharrazian, author of “Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Lab Tests Are Normal?” it’s rare to find a person with Hashimoto’s who doesn’t have some degree of gluten sensitivity or full-blown celiac disease.

Celiac disease is defined generally as an autoimmune response to intestinal tissues upon gluten exposure, as well as overall activation of the immune system.

The list of inflammation-induced symptoms brought on by a gluten sensitivity goes on and depends upon the person’s genetic makeup. Needless to say such systemic inflammation also flares up an autoimmune condition.

Experience shows a gluten-free diet is a must

Dr. Kharrazian writes that “Hashimoto’s patients fall somewhere between gluten sensitivity and celiac disease. Nevertheless, almost all patients with Hashimoto’s improve on a strict gluten-free diet, even if they do not fit the established criteria of celiac disease. By strict I mean you are 100 percent gluten-free.”

Regular Gluten Testing is Often Inaccurate

Part of the problem with negative gluten antibody tests is improper testing. The general gluten antibody test conducted by most labs today is only testing a small portion of the gluten protein, alpha-gliadin.

In reality, an individual can have an immune response to various parts of the gluten protein, including omega-gliadin, gamma-gliadin, wheat germ agglutinin, and deamidated gliadin.

Both the scientific and clinical evidence linking gluten with Hashimoto’s and autoimmune disease in general is too powerful and abundant to ignore. A strict gluten-free diet is the first and most important step to managing your Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism.

Fish Oil for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

2012-02-24T04:00:00.000-08:00

Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) for Fibromyalgia and CFS

Essential fatty acids are, as their name implies, essential for our existence.

Essential fatty acids cannot be manufactured by the body and must be obtained from food.They make up the outer membranes of each cell. These membranes determine which nutrients get into and out of the cells. The membranes of healthy cells can resist entry by viruses and other pathogenic agents and, at the same time, facilitate the entry of nutrients-the “happy hormones” serotonin.

When EFAs are deficient, cell membranes are weakened in their abilities, and the wrong substances are allowed into the cell. A deficiency in EFAs can cause some of the very symptoms associated with fibromyalgia and CFS: fatigue, anxiety, depression, GI disorders, muscle pain, insomnia, poor mental function, and lowered immunity. It’s estimated that at least 40% of the population suffers from some amount of EFA deficiency.

There are several interesting interrelationships between EFA metabolism and viral infections (commonly chronic in those with CFS). EFA’s have direct antiviral effects and are lethal at surprising low concentrations to many viruses. The antiviral activity of human mother’s milk seems to be largely attributable to its EFA content.

Interferon is dependant on EFA’s and in their absence will be compromised.

Viral infections lower the blood levels EFA’s. This has been confirmed in the case of the Epstein Barr Virus (EBV). Of particular interest was the observation that at 8 and 12 months, those who have recovered from EBV showed normal or near normal EFA blood levels. In contrast, those who were still clinically ill from Epstein-Barr show persistently low EFA levels.

In a Scottish trial, patients with chronic fatigue syndrome were given EFA supplements with great success. Placebo controlled trials were held for 70 patients with persistent CFS giving them linolenic acid (flax seed oil) and eicosapentaenoic acid (fish oil). After 6 months, 84% of the patients in the group receiving EFA supplements, and only 22% of those in the placebo group rated themselves as better or much better.

In another successful study, 63 adults with CFS were enrolled in a double blind placebo controlled study with essential fatty acid therapy. The patient’s were ill for an average of 1-3 years after a viral infection. They all suffered from severe fatigue, myalgia (muscle pain), and a variety of psychological symptoms. After one month, 74% of the patients taking EFA supplements, and 23% of those on placebo, assessed themselves as improved.

Depression

A deficiency of Omega-3 fat is one of the main causes of anxiety, depression and other mental disorders. Omega-3 fats work to keep us mentally and emotionally strong in three ways:

1) Omega-3 fats act as precursors for the body’s production of pre-prostaglandins and neurotransmitters (specific hormones).

2) Omega-3 fats provide the substrate for B vitamins and coenzymes to produce compounds that regulate many vital functions, including neurotransmitters.

Omega-3 fats provide energy and nourishment to our nerve and brain cells.

Eat to reduce inflammation.

The pro-inflammatory hormone PG-2 is made from arachidonic acid (AA).

AA increases bodily inflammation. Since AA is found in corn, and corn products are used as the prominent foodstuff for westernized livestock, red meat, cheese, eggs, and pork products have a high AA content in the United States.

Several research articles have demonstrated that the more animal fats a human eats, the more AA is in his blood and cell membranes and the more likely he is to have inflammation. So reduce your intake of grains and corn-fed livestock.

If your inflammation is severe, reduce or avoid red meat and dairy as well. Cook with olive oil or canola oil. (Avoid instant coffee, as well. It contains substances that block the receptor sites for endorphins.) Vegetables are fine and are encouraged-avoid vegetable oils not vegetables.

The functional opposite of PG-2, PG-1 and PG-3 are anti-inflammatory hormones. They help reduce and eliminate inflammation and pain. You should increase your intake of these hormones. The best sources of PG-1 and PG-3 are fish oil supplements or a diet high in deep cold-water fish.

I recommend taking 2,000 to 4,000mg of fish oil a day.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome VS. Fibromyalgia

2012-02-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome VS. Fibromyalgia

Some of the immune disorders associated with CFS are:

• elevated levels of antibodies to various viruses.

• altered helper/suppressor T-cell ratio.

• decreased NK cells or activity.

• decreased levels of circulating immune complexes.

• low or elevated antibody levels.

• increased cytokine levels.

• increased or decreased interferon levels.

• fibromyalgia and multiple chemical sensitivities.5

Chronic Viral Infections and CFS

Individuals who we suspect have chronic fatigue syndrome will have an Epstein Barr Virus EBV and or Cytomegalovirus CMV blood panels drawn. This is to see if there is a virus lingering in the body that is weakening the immune system. These blood tests measure the antibodies immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG). A test for IgM antibodies measures the acute (recent infection) phase of the virus. A test for IgG antibodies measures the dormant (inactive) phase of the virus. Our tests also measure Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA) antibodies.

► You don’t have to have a blood test to diagnose CFS. If you’re patient has chronic fatigue (hard to get out of bed each day), achy diffuse pain, and a lowered immune function (chronic infections,) then they either have CFS or they are at high risk of developing the illness.

Due to weakened immunity, individuals with chronic fatigue have terrible problems with energy as well as reoccurring bouts with the flu, colds, sinusitis, and other immune problems.

As with so many complex chronic illnesses, CFS may be aggravated by a wide variety of environmental and physiological challenges. Food allergies, environmental sensitivities, heavy metal toxicity, yeast overgrowth, intestinal dysbiosis, parasites, and vitamin/mineral deficiencies can all contribute to CFS.

The syndrome’s principal causes are a weakened immune system and a reactivated virus.

All of us have been exposed to mono or the Epstein-Barr virus at one time or another (usually as teenagers), but our bodies are usually strong enough to overcome it. Individuals with CFS have been exposed to the Epstein-Barr virus or mono from some other source, and it has now returned. Its return has either caused the immune system to be compromised or has taken advantage of already compromised immune system.

How to quickly distinguish between FMS and CFS patients.

► A quick way to distinguish between the two syndrome.

A positive EBV panel showing elevated antibodies, especially IgM is clear indicator that someone has CFS.

The CFS patient usually has chronic infections (sinusitis, upper respiratory, UTI’s, colds, flu, etc.) and is sick several times a year. They get at least 2 or more (bad) infections a year. They will usually have chronic or intermittent sore throats, swollen lymph nodes, and periodic fevers. They usually ache all over.

FMS patients may ache all over as well but usually have specific areas (neck, low back, etc.) that are the most troublesome.

CFS patients may not have a low serotonin state (“S” on Brain Function Questionnaire, see my book) and will have no problems falling and staying asleep each night.

Note-some of these individuals have a low body temperature (suggestive of low thyroid). They may have a fever when their temperature is at or below 98.6.

Many of these individuals will have a sluggish liver (higher incidence than those with FMS). Clues that would lead you to suspect someone has a sluggish liver include, funny or negative reactions to medications (take something to put them to sleep and it wakes them up or a little goes a long ways), intolerance to caffeine, alcohol, or odors (longer they’ve had illness more sensitive they become to odors, perfumes, gasoline, smoke, cleaners, etc.), and a history of elevated liver enzymes on past blood work. Of course anyone with hepatitis or fatty liver has a sluggish liver. Long term prescription medication therapies can also create a sluggish liver.

True chronic fatigue syndrome patients are a real challenge. Their biochemistry is usually totally shot by the time they get to the right doctor. They can feel better but it requires hard work and requires a lot of patience by the doctor and the patient.

Fibromyalgia patients aren't easy either but FMS patients respond rather quickly to restoring serotonin levels. Once FMS patients start going into deep restorative sleep, they usually feel better in a matter of days.

Recommended Disease Allowance

2012-02-22T09:26:00.000-08:00

RDA Is 50 Years Out Of Date - Could This Be Why America Is So Unhealthy?

The Recommended Daily Allowance is some fifty years out of date.

Many so-called experts will tell you not to worry about taking vitamins if you are eating a balanced diet. Unfortunately, dieting alone can’t provide enough essential vitamins and minerals to promote optimal health.

For instance, you would need to consume 5,000 calories per day (mostly fat) in order to get the recommend minimum (400 IU) of vitamin E, and 12,000 calories per day to get the minimum amount of chromium. Most of our foods are now processed and, therefore, the nutrients have been leeched out of them. Could this be why pre-senile dementia and Alzheimer’s is on the rise?

Taking the minimum amount of a nutrient to prevent gross deficiency diseases doesn’t help those people who want to be truly healthy and not just be free of symptoms.

Almost as unacceptable as not recommending vitamin and mineral supplements is the recommendation of them based on the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA). The RDA is the measured amount or dosage of nutrient per vitamin and minerals recommend. The RDA or as it is sometimes called the Recommended Disease Allowance, may keep us from getting Scurvy, but it certainly won’t stand- up to the many chronic diseases that continue to plague modern man.

The RDA is inadequate if the goal is for prevention and or treatment of heart disease, cancer, cataracts, depression, senility, diabetes, arthritis and other age related disorders. For optimal health and wellbeing, many health practitioners are recommending many times higher than the RDA on certain nutrients. It’s no secret, for the majority of the U.S. population the diet is poorly lacking in essential nutrients.

Additionally, nearly all Americans are deficient even in the minimal RDA requirements, and are therefore exposed to premature death.

Take a look at how just one vitamin/mineral deficiency can lead to poor health-

Vitamin D to the Rescue!

Vitamin D is one of the oldest hormones, having been produced by life forms for over 750 million years. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, and most plants and animals that are exposed to sunlight have the capacity to make vitamin D. In humans, vitamin D is critically important for the development, growth, and maintenance of a healthy body, from birth until death.

The Institute of Medicine brought experts together recently to explore the question of whether the RDA or recommended daily allowance, of vitamin D has been set too low. The impetus for the occasion was the mounting evidence for this vitamin's role in preventing common cancers, autoimmune diseases, type 1 diabetes, heart disease, chronic pain, and osteoporosis.

Studies show that vitamin D deficiency is common in the U.S.

According to Michael F. Holick, MD, PhD, of the Boston University School of Medicine
the typical symptoms are aching bones and muscle discomfort, vitamin D deficiency is often misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome.

Vitamin D has also been implicated in the cause of various other health disorders including influenza, psoriasis, gout, otosclerosis, interstitial cystitis, decreased pulmonary function, thrombosis, chronic kidney disease, pancreatitis, rheumatology, hepatitis B infections, hemochromatosis, and gastrointestinal diseases.

Research at a Glance
Autoimmune Illnesses
Autoimmune diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, Reiter’s Syndrome. lupus, asthma, and ulcerative colitis. Researchers are discovering an increasing number of links between the immune, nervous, and endocrine systems. Hormones of the endocrine system, such as vitamin D, help the immune and nervous systems defend the body, with defects in this intricate system leading to autoimmune disorders.

Autism
Research has shown that low maternal vitamin D3 has important ramifications for the developing brain. Vitamin D is a steroid hormone with many important functions in the brain, mediated through the nuclear vitamin D receptor (VDR). Dysfunctional VDR demonstrate altered emotional behavior and specific motor deficits.

Cancer
Vitamin D inhibits inappropriate cell division and metastasis, reduces blood vessel formation around tumors, and regulates proteins that affect tumor growth. It also enhances anti-cancer actions of immune system chemicals and chemotherapy drugs.
A four-year study of 1,179 healthy, postmenopausal women showed that taking calcium, along with nearly three times the U.S. government's recommendation of vitamin D3, showed a dramatic 60 percent or greater reduction in all forms of cancer.

It’s estimated that if vitamin D levels were increased worldwide, a minimum of 600,000 cases of breast and other cancers could be prevented each year. Nearly 150,000 cases of cancer could be prevented in the United States alone.

Studies show that by taking vitamin D (about 2,000 IU/day) females can cut breast cancer incidence by half!

Chronic Pain
In a study involving 150 children and adults with unexplained muscle and bone pain, almost all were found to be vitamin D deficient; many were severely deficient with extremely low levels of vitamin D in their bodies.
Vitamin D deficiency causes muscle weakness and pain in children and adults. Muscle pain and weakness was a prominent symptom of vitamin D deficiency in a study of Arab and Danish Moslem women living in Denmark (20).

In a cross-sectional study of 150 consecutive patients referred to a clinic in Minnesota for the evaluation of persistent, nonspecific musculoskeletal pain, 93% had serum 25(OH)D levels indicative of vitamin D deficiency.

Osteoporosis
Maintenance of serum calcium levels within a narrow range is vital for normal functioning of the nervous system, as well as for bone growth, and maintenance of bone density. Vitamin D is essential for the efficient utilization of calcium by the body.
A recent study found that supplementation of elderly women with 800 IU/day of vitamin D and 1,200 mg/day of calcium for three months increased muscle strength and decreased the risk of falling by almost 50% compared to supplementation with calcium alone.

Mental Function and Moods
Recent research indicates vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood and cognitive impairment in the elderly. Vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in various psychiatric disorders including anxiety and depression.

Diabetes
Vitamin D helps maintain adequate insulin levels. Preliminary evidence suggests supplementation can increase insulin levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Prolonged supplementation may help reduce blood sugar levels.

Immune Function
There is considerable scientific evidence that 1,25(OH)2D has a variety of positive effects on boosting the immune system.
Additionally, there is growing evidence that maintaining vitamin D levels in the body during the winter prevent the flu and other viral infections by strengthening the immune system.

Heart Disease
Activated vitamin D has been shown to increase survival in patients with cardiovascular disease.
Hyperparathyroidism
Low plasma vitamin D3 has been found to be a major risk factor for hyperparathyroidism.

High Blood Pressure
Clinical and experimental data support the view that vitamin D metabolism is involved in blood pressure regulation and other metabolic processes.

Melanoma
An inability to tan is the number one risk factor for melanoma. Those who tan easily or who have darker skin are far less likely to develop the disease. A new theory is that melanoma is actually caused by sunlight (vitamin D) deficiency and that safe sun exposure actually helps prevent the deadly disease.

Multiple Sclerosis
Vitamin D supplementation may help prevent the development of MS as well as provide for additional treatment.

Osteoarthritis
Low intake and low serum levels of vitamin D appear to be associated with an increased risk for progression of osteoarthritis.

Osteoporosis
Vitamin D deficiency is extremely prevalent in the elderly. Most often the first symptoms are muscle pain, fatigue, muscular weakness, and gait disturbances. More severe deficiency causes osteomalacia (bone weakening and loss) with deep bone pain, reduced mineralization of bone matrix, and bone fractures.

How much vitamin D does the average person need?

In the summer, those with at least 15 minutes of sun exposure on their skin most days should take around 1,000 mg of vitamin D3 each day. In the winter, those with dark skin, or those who have little sun exposure on their skin, should take up to 4,000 mg each day. Those who have darker skin, are older, avoid sun exposure or live in the northern US should take the higher amounts, around 2,000mg a day.

Vitamin D is remarkably safe; there have been no deaths caused by the vitamin.
People consuming only government-recommended levels of 200-400 IU/day
often have blood levels considerably below 50 ng/ml. This means the government’s recommendations are too low, and should be raised for optimal health function.

High Dose Vitamin D can be purchased at a number of health food or big name drug stores. However, please be advised that not all vitamin D is equal. I recommend using only pharmaceutical grade, naturally-occurring Vitamin D3.

The Verdict is in-Cholesterol Drugs are Dangerous

2012-01-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

Statin lipid lowering drugs including Levacor, Zocor, Pravachol, Lipitor, and Crestor, are some of the most widely prescribed drugs in the world. In fact, the propaganda for these medications has been so hyped for lowering cholesterol that some doctors have advocated they should be sold over-the-counter like aspirin or worse placed in our drinking water. Others want children as young as two to be on these drugs as a way to prevent elevated cholesterol!

Before you fall victim to the propaganda, you should know that scientist’s from the University of California (UC) San Diego School of Medicine have published a review paper setting the record straight.

Analyzing the nearly 900 research studies on statins to see just what the facts are. The verdict? The drugs may predispose many people to serious muscle and kidney problems, potentially deadly heart arrhythmias, depression, fatigue, muscle pain, dementia, and a host of other health problems.

The paper, co-authored by Beatrice Golomb, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and director of UC San Diego's Statin Study group, and Marcella A. Evans, of UC San Diego and UC Irvine Schools of Medicine, was published in the on-line edition of the American Journal of Cardiovascular Drugs.

It provides the most comprehensive look to date of not only the reported side effects of statins, but the evidence of how these side effects are caused by the drugs. The paper also offers explanations as to why certain people on these medication are at increased risk for adverse reactions.

For example, the paper points to accumulated data showing higher statin doses and statin drugs with the strongest ability to lower cholesterol are linked to the greatest risk of developing side effects. Certain genetic conditions have also been found to place people at higher risk for serious problems from the prescription medications.

"Muscle problems are the best known of statin drugs' adverse side effects," Dr. Golomb said in a media statement. "But cognitive problems and peripheral neuropathy, or pain or numbness in the extremities like fingers and toes, are also widely reported." In addition, the paper discusses other negative health effects from the drugs, including irregular heartbeats, elevated blood glucose, and tendon problems.

Specifically, the review of statin research found powerful evidence that statins induce injury to mitochondria, membrane-enclosed organelles often described as "power plants" inside the body's cells. They generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used as a source of cells' chemical energy. So by interfering with this pathway, statins may cause many of the adverse effects that occur to people taking the medications. With injured mitochondria, the body produces less energy and more "free radicals" are produced.

As they block the production of cholesterol in the body, statins also block the production of much of the body's coenzyme Q10 (Co-Q10), a compound important to the process of making energy within mitochondria and also to stopping free radical damage. In addition, statins reduce the very blood cholesterol that is needed to carry Co-Q10 and other fat-soluble antioxidants throughout the body.

Hypertension and diabetes -- as well as advancing age -- are independently linked to higher rates of mitochondrial problems and associated with a higher risk of statin complications, too.

"The risk of adverse effects goes up as age goes up, and this helps explain why," Dr. Golomb said in the media release. "This also helps explain why statins' benefits have not been found to exceed their risks in those over 70 or 75 years old, even those with heart disease."

Did you know you are likely to die from all causes with low cholesterol than high cholesterol? Did you know that statin drugs reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke by a whopping one percent?

You can read more about the medical myths of hear disease and why the AMA’s propaganda is flat out wrong at the link below-

http://drmurphree.blogspot.com/2010/08/medical-myths-of-cholesterol-what-you.html

Swimming in a Sea of Green

2011-11-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

Swimming in a Sea of Green

by Dr. Rodger Murphree, D.C.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PRMA), the industry’s trade association, recently announced new voluntary guidelines concerning direct marketing to physicians. Under the new guidelines doctors won’t be getting pens, pads, mugs, and other gifts that drug makers bombard doctors with on a daily basis. Under the new guidelines these items and other freebies will be forbidden. In order to squelch the groundswell of public distrust for drug company tactics, the PRMA has been cowed into action.

"What took so long?" you might ask. There are millions of reasons that come to mind—all of them green with former presidents on the front of them. The medical institutions and doctors themselves have become addicted to the pharmaceutical industry’s largesse; it’s hard to imagine they can break their addiction.

But, please be aware that these are voluntary guidelines. And they provide no definite limit on the millions of dollars spent on speaking and consulting arrangements that drug makers have forged with tens of thousands of doctors. Nor do they ban the bribing of office staff through office breakfasts and lunches. Nor do they ban the common practice of inviting and paying doctors to attend educational dinners at fancy restaurants.

In 2005, drug companies paid hundreds of millions of dollars and provided for 60 to 80 percent of the costs of doctors’ continuing-education classes.¹

These classes have now become nothing more than a "my drug is best," brainwashing sales-pitch. Medical doctors routinely receive expense-free trips to vacation destinations for these seminars. Many are paid handsomely to speak on behalf of the drug companies at these conferences. We’re talking $750 to $2,000 for a thirty-minute speech.

For instance, drug companies paid the American Psychiatric Association $60,000 for each of its 50-plus yearly industry-sponsored symposia. Pharmaceutical companies paid an additional $200,000 to $400,000 in expenses to host each of these events.²

Pharmaceutical companies often fly doctors to annual  meetings in exotic locations—free of charge—where they dine on gourmet meals in four-star resorts.

"I’m not that hopeful for any real change," says Dr. Marcia Angell, past editor of The New England Journal of Medicine and author of The Truth About Drug Companies. "They have bought politicians and doctors. They’ve looked at everyone and anyone who could stand in their way and they’ve thrown money at them."

Drug companies have lined the pockets of politicians, universities, and the medical profession (as a whole) for so long and with so much money that real change isn’t even on the radar. In fact, drug companies spend more money on lobbying than does any other industry. There are now two lobbyists for every member of congress.³

Through the promise of increased wealth, the drug companies continue to persuade (bribe) and brainwash the majority of medical doctors about the newest "great" drug. As reported by Melody Petersen in her book, Our Daily Meds, Dr. Martin Keller, the chief of the psychiatry department at Brown University, earned more than $500,000 in consulting fees, mostly from companies whose drugs he touted at medical conferences and in published reports.⁴

And bottom-line results clearly show that free samples, vacation "workshop" retreats to posh resorts, and free educational "classes" over gourmet dinners do, in fact, sway the opinion of doctors. Profits are soaring for drug companies. The top ten companies reported combined profits of $35.9 billion dollars in 2002. That was more than the remaining 490 Fortune-500 companies put together ($33.7 billion) for the same year.⁵

"The result of all those attractive women in short skirts armed with pseudo-science invading the practices of doctors is that Americans are over-medicated, taking far too many drugs, most of which they don’t even need, and they are paying too much for them," says Jerome Kassirer, another former editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Americans now spend over $250 billion a year on prescription drugs. In fact, Americans spend more on drugs than do all of the people in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom combined!⁶

Spending on drugs continues to increase by an average of 12 percent each year. Drugs are now the fastest growing part of the staggeringly high American health-care bill, and over $400 billion is spent on prescription drugs worldwide.⁷

Drug companies must aggressively market their wares, lest the public and gullible doctors learn the truth about the drugs they peddle. First, they’re often ineffective. Second, they’re quite dangerous. Drugs aren’t the "magic bullets" that the TV ads would like for you to believe. Far from it, they are often no better than a placebo. Dr. Brian Spear, a scientist at Abbott Laboratories, reviewed the effectiveness of drugs used to treat fourteen different diseases and found that the recommended drugs worked for as few as 25 percent of those who took them.⁸

Dr. Allen Roses, a top executive at GlaxoSmithKline, has reported that some 90 percent of drugs work in only thirty to fifty percent of the people who take them.⁹

Drug companies definitely don’t want you to know that prescription drugs—taken as directed—claim the lives of 300 Americans a day.^10,11

Nonetheless, drug companies are all too happy to provide us with an abundance of synthetic, often worthless, and potentially dangerous drugs for everything that might ail us.

While I applaud the PRMA’s new voluntary guidelines, I don’t think much will change. Doctors will still be paid to attend free seminars at posh resorts while their peers on the drug company payroll deliver highly manipulated data promising what they most likely can’t deliver—a safe and effective treatment.

The American Medical Association and the other drug-company influenced associations have been swimming in a sea of green for so long, it’s hard to imagine their coming ashore.

Dr. Murphree is a board certified nutritional specialist and chiropractic physician who has been in private practice since 1990. He is the author of 5 books for patients and doctors, Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You and Treating and Beating Anxiety and Depression with Orthomolecular Medicine. To contact Dr. Murphree or for more information about his Doctors VIP One-on-One Nutritional Coaching Program, visit www.Essentialthera.com or call 1-888-884-9577.

Fibromyalgia and Irritable Bowel Syndrome Is There A Connection?

2011-10-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

Fibromyalgia syndrome is associated with chronic severe muscle or soft tissue pain. Fibromyalgia has also been linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, cognitive dysfunction, depression, and anxiety.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a disorder that involves abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, as well as changes in bowel movements – constipation or diarrhea, or alternation of both. People with IBS often experience anxiety and depression.

Millions of people have at least one of these conditions. Fibromyalgia affects over 5 million U.S. adults, and an estimated 25 million to 45 million people in the U.S. have IBS.

Studies are now showing that if you have fibromyalgia or IBS, you may be more likely to have the other one, too.

In one study, 32% of people with IBS also had fibro symptoms compared with 4% of people without IBS. Another study showed fibromyalgia occurring in 20% of people with IBS. And studies have estimated 32% to 70% of people with fibromyalgia also meet criteria for IBS.

I find that about 80% of my fibro patient’s has IBS.

Fibromyalgia and IBS don't always go together. They're two separate conditions.

Pain Processing

Researchers see a possible pain link between IBS and fibromyalgia. In short, people with those conditions respond to pain differently than people without the two conditions.

IBS patients are hypersensitive to intestinal pain; people with fibromyalgia are hypersensitive to skin, soft tissue, and muscle pain. Both have a lowered threshold to pain in general. In fibromyalgia, the central nervous system may be highly sensitive, making someone feel more pain than what someone without fibromyalgia would feel in a similar situation.

The neurotransmitter, serotonin has been linked with both fibromyalgia and IBS.

I find that once I start to return my patients serotonin level to normal their IBS goes away within a couple of weeks.

If you’d like to know more about reversing IBS please see my past article Treating and Beating IBS click on the link below-

http://treatingandbeatingfibroblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/reversing-irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs.html

Dehydration Contributes to Fibromyalgia Symptoms

2011-05-08T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hormones that may be Affected by Hypothalamic Dysfunction

The hypothalamus is the master gland controlling the activity of most other glands in the body.

This small gland coordinates a phenomenal portion of the body’s activity. The hypothalamus receives and transmits messages from the nervous system and hormonally through the circulatory system.

Because of its broad sphere of influence, the hypothalamus could be considered the homeostatic regulating center. It regulates appetite, monitors blood sugar, blood volume (fluid level within the circulatory system), and metabolism. It is the coordinating center for much of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system is like our little robot that controls all of our unconscious functions including breathing, heartbeat and digestion.

Low Vasopressin (anti-diuretic hormone).

This causes decreased ability to hold on to fluid resulting in frequent urination and increased thirst.

Dehydration then occurs despite increased water intake. Because vasopressin is also a stimulus for adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and adrenal function, low vasopressin could also result in decreased adrenal function. Both dehydration and low cortisol (a hormone secreted by the adrenals) can increase the susceptibility to NMH.

“How do you tell who has the worst case of FMS or CFS? By the size of their water bottle.”

Dehydration can cause many of the chronic symptoms seen in FMS and CFS including NMH, depression, excess body weight, high blood pressure, fatigue, low back and neck pain, and headaches.

Dehydration depletes the neurotransmitter serotonin. A reduction in serotonin is associated with insomnia, increased pain and depression and is a major cause of fibromyalgia!

From Dr. Batmanghelidj and his book “Your Body’s Many Cries for Water” comes the following;

“The human body is composed of 25% solid matter (the solute) and 75% water (the solvent). The brain tissue is said to consist of 85% water...It is the solvent-the water content-that regulates all functions of the body, including the activity of all the solutes (the solids) that are dissolved in it.

The disturbances in water metabolism of the body (the solvent metabolism) produces a variety of signals, indicating a “system” disturbance in the particular functions associated with water supply and its rationed regulation. Let me repeat, every function of the body is monitored and pegged to the efficient flow of water. “Water distribution” is the only way of making sure that, not only an adequate amount of water, but its transported elements, hormones, chemical messengers and nutrients first reach the more vital organs…

However, since water shortage in different areas of the body will manifest varying symptoms, signals and complications now labeled as disease, as soon as water is offered as a natural solution, people may think this could not be so!”

I recommend my patients drink pure water-half their weight in ounces on a daily basis.

The above material comes from my book “Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.”

You can read more about my book by clicking the link below-

http://store.drmurphreestore.com/trandbefiand1.html

Electromagnetic Fields And Poor Sleep

2011-05-07T05:38:00.000-07:00

Artificially generated electromagnetic Fields (EMFs) are produced when alternating current passes through electrical wires or a portal device, like your cell phone. The energy that's produced, known as an EMF, exerts pressure and impacts everything around it including the cells in your body.

The Earth has its own static electromagnetic fields, with magnetic poles located roughly at our North and South Poles. We don't fully understand these magnetic fields. We do know that many of our basic bodily functions, including sleep and sense of direction are largely controlled by these fields.

For decades, numerous scientific entities including the World Health Organization have been telling the public that there are almost no credible health risks from excess exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). The official public-health-agency position is that, aside from a small increased risk of childhood leukemia, consumers are perfectly safe no matter how many appliances litter their homes and offices, or how many power lines exist nearby.

However, this view is being challenged by dozens of studies including the $8 million, seven-year study by the California Electro Magnetic Fields (EMF) Program.

"To one degree or another, all three of the scientists who worked on the EMF Program are inclined to believe that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can cause some degree of increased risk of childhood leukemia, adult brain cancer, Lou Gehrig's disease and miscarriage," says Dr. Raymond Neutra, one of the scientists who wrote the report.

I’ve been educating my fibromyalgia patients about the potential dangers of excess EMFs for several years now. I’m particularly concerned EMFs and their ability to deplete normal melatonin levels. Low melatonin levels contribute to poor sleep- linked to numerous health conditions including anxiety, depression, fibromyalgia, obesity, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, hypothyroid, low metabolism, accelerated aging, heart disease, high blood pressure, chronic pain, diabetes, and migraine headaches.

The Importance of Melatonin

The pineal gland is located at the base of our brain, and the ancient Greeks considered it the seat of the soul. This thought may not be far off, since the pineal gland is responsible for releasing melatonin, an extremely important hormone that plays a vital role in regulating the body’s sleep-wake cycle.

Melatonin is a potent antioxidant that plays a part in preventing cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, diabetes, colds, chronic inflammation, fibromyalgia, mood disorders, headaches, and heart disease.

Once a curiosity to scientists, melatonin is now known to slow down or perhaps even reverse the effects of aging. It’s also a powerful antioxidant that, unlike other antioxidants, can cross the blood-brain barrier and attack any free radicals floating around in the brain. This is perhaps one reason why it is so important in preventing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, two illnesses that attack the brain.

Normally, melatonin levels in your body begin to rise in the mid-to-late evening, remain high for most of the night, and then decline in the early morning hours.

But some things can work against your body’s production of melatonin. Levels gradually decline with age, and some older adults produce very small amounts or none at all.

Melatonin is also affected by a person’s exposure to light.

Levels start to rise as the sun goes down and drop off as the sun comes up. The eyes are extremely sensitive to changes in light, and an increase in light striking the retina triggers a decrease in melatonin production. Conversely, limited exposure to light increases melatonin production.

Exposure to electromagnetic fields can also deplete melatonin. Do you keep any of these things in your bedroom? Electric clock or radio, electric blanket, sound machine, cell phone, electric telephone, electric fan, television, or computer? In fact, any plugged-in electrical device generates electromagnetic fields. I recommend you remove all EMF generating appliances from your bedroom.

Melatonin levels can also be decreased by certain drugs including non-steroidal anti- inflammatory (NSAIDs), antidepressants (SSRI’s), and anti-anxiety medications (benzodiazepines).

Sleep Hygiene

If you’re like some 20 million Americans who find it hard to fall asleep at night find it hard to fall asleep at night, you may be suffering from delayed sleep phase insomnia- a disruption of normal circadian rhythms. Removing those melatonin- zapping EMFs from your bedroom may be all you need to do for a good night’s sleep.

However, if your melatonin levels are really depleted, you may need to use over the counter melatonin replacement therapy. Studies have shown that 3-6 mg. of melatonin taken at 11 p.m. helps reset these rhythms while providing deep restorative sleep.

An alternative to supplementing is to get more melatonin in the foods you eat. Foods high in melatonin include oats, sweet corn, rice, Japanese radishes, tomatoes, barley, and bananas.

I recommend that before bed, you turn off the TV, computer, avoid all EMF generating gadgets (cell phones), and find a comfortable, quiet room (other than your bedroom) where you can read something pleasant by the light of a soft low-wattage lamp.

Relax and read or listen to soothing music for 30 minutes to an hour. Keep the lights low, and avoid any stimulation, especially the TV. Simply pour one cup of Epsom salts into a warm bath, and soak.

Sweet dreams.

The Insanity Continues—Statins for Children by Dr. Rodger Murphree, D.C.

2011-04-25T13:29:00.000-07:00

The Insanity Continues—Statins for Children

by Dr. Rodger Murphree, D.C.

The over-hyped, pharmaceutical fueled, disease known as hypercholesterolemia has now reached an all time level of insanity.

Insanity. In-san-i-ty. Function: noun. a: extreme folly or unreasonableness b: something utterly foolish or unreasonable.

Ex: "The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends cholesterol screenings for children who are two years or older, greater use of cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as statins, for a select group of kids who are eight or older at risk, and low fat diets."

There is no better example of pure insanity than the recent announcement by the AAP to begin screening two-year-olds for high cholesterol and placing eight-year-olds on statin drugs! One statin, Pravachol, has already been approved by the FDA for use in children as young as eight.

This absurd advice is being offered even though statin drugs have never been tested on young children, have not been proven to increase longevity or reduce the number of cardiovascular deaths (compared to control groups), have actually been shown to have a one percent greater risk of death over ten years compared to those not taking statin drugs, and are associated with numerous life robbing side effects!

The medical profession and its societies, including the AAP, have been hoodwinked by pharmaceutical propaganda and obviously haven’t read my book, Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You, or the dozens of other books which report the dangers of statins, which list numerous studies showing that statin drugs don’t lower the death rate for those with cardiovascular risk.

In just one meta-analysis, analyzing forty-four trials involving almost 10,000 patients, the death rate was identical, at one percent of patients in each of the three groups—those taking atorvastatin (Lipitor), those taking other statins and those taking nothing.

Taking statins for one year raised the risk of polyneuropathy and nerve damage by about 15 percent—about one case for every 2,200 patients. For those who took statins for two or more years, the additional risk rose to 26 percent. The damage is often irreversible.

Numerous studies find that low cholesterol is just as, if not more, dangerous than elevated cholesterol. In nineteen large studies of more than 68,000 deaths, reviewed by Professor David Jacobs from the Division of Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, low cholesterol predicted an increased risk of dying from gastrointestinal and respiratory diseases.

An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that, in every study with rodents to date, statins have caused cancer. In the CARE Trial, breast cancer rates of those taking a statin went up 1500 percent.

Cholesterol is one of the most potent antioxidants, protecting us from cancer and toxic free radicals.

It is the precursor to adrenal cortex hormones (cortisol, DHEA, testosterone, estradiol, progesterone, etc.), which are crucial for regulating moods, the immune system, and stress coping abilities. Cholesterol facilitates the production of vitamin D, produces bile salts required for the digestion of fat, and is vital to proper neurological function. It plays a key role in the formation of neurotransmitters in the brain, including serotonin, the body’s feel-good chemical. When cholesterol levels drop too low, the serotonin receptors become dysfunctional. Poor memory, anxiety, and depression are byproducts of low cholesterol levels. I can’t think of a more dangerous scenario than having children take statin drugs for the rest of their lives. Surely this has the pharmaceutical industry foaming at the mouth as they contemplate all the additional drugs needed to counter the side effects of these statin drugs—antidepressants for low moods, Ritalin for poor mental clarity, and maybe some Lyrica for the statin induced polyneuropathy.

And what about the APA recommendation for low fat milk? The low fat diet myth is just as dangerous as the medical myths associated with cholesterol. Various nutritional experts, including Sally Fallon, Mary G. Enig, and Marion Dearth, authors of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook That Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, have voiced their opinions on the fact that saturated fats aren’t harmful to our health. Saturated fats are needed for proper absorption of calcium. These valuable fats also help protect the liver from alcohol and other toxins. Saturated fats enhance the immune system. And, they help with the retention and utilization of essential fatty acids. Our bodies, especially young maturing bodies and minds (70 percent of brain matter is fat), need both polyunsaturated as well as saturated fats.

Research shows that there is no evidence that saturated fats are bad for health, and plenty of evidence that saturated fats actually prevent both cardiovascular disease and stroke.

In fact, the fatty acids found in clogged arteries are mostly unsaturated (74 percent), of which 41 percent are polyunsaturated. Avoid trans-fats, yes; but advocating low fat diets to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease is just another sign of just how crazy the APA and other medical groups who suggest this have become.

Low-fat diets don’t alter mortality rates associated with cardiovascular disease. In fact, it’s been shown that low fat, low cholesterol diets cause a whole host of health problems, including increased death, depression, suicide, and hormonal imbalances. The American Heart Association and others have advocated a low saturated fat diet as a way to lower the risk for heart disease for two-plus decades. But the research doesn’t show this approach to be valid. In fact, Americans have steadily reduced their consumption of animal-based saturated fats over the last sixty years. While consumption of cholesterol actually rose one percent, saturated fat was reduced from 83 percent to 62 percent over this sixty-year period. While saturated fats were being decreased, polyunsaturated fats increased. This was especially true for man-made trans fatty acid laden polyunsaturated fats, which increased during this period by over 400 percent. Our sugar consumption increased by 60 percent.

Trans fats, sugar and inflammation are the enemies of cardiovascular disease, not saturated fat and certainly not cholesterol. For more information about the true cause of cardiovascular disease, see my past article, "It’s the Inflammation, Stupid."

If the insanity continues, and I’m sure it will, it won’t be long before the pharmaceutical industry brainwashes the APA into believing that children need to be vaccinated for cholesterol.

Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia With Orthomolecular Medicine

2011-04-22T06:17:00.000-07:00

Dr. Janet Travell, White House physician for Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, and Professor Emeritus of Internal Medicine at George Washington University, co-wrote Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual, which is acknowledged as the authoritative work on muscle pain. In one chapter alone, 317 studies are referenced showing that problems such as hormonal, vitamin, and mineral deficiencies can contribute to muscle pain and soreness.

Vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and certain enzymes, when properly supplemented, can provide profoundly beneficial results for those suffering from poor health.

Below is a sample listing of essential nutrients and their contributions to the treatment of FMS and CFS.

• Vitamin E helps to relieve pain in CFS patients. It can also improve nighttime leg cramps, which interfere with sleep.

• Vitamin C boosts the immune system by increasing natural-killer (NK) cells, B cells, and T cells.

• Magnesium and malic acid have been found by controlled
studies to be effective in relieving the symptoms of FMS. Magnesium is essential to healthy muscle function, and, working with malic acid, it increases cellular energy, reduces pain, and enhances immune function by increasing NK cells. Magnesium is also a natural muscle relaxant and critical for the relief of muscle pain.

• Inositol enhances the immune system by increasing NK cells.

• Selenium supports the immune system by enhancing antibody production.

• Vitamin D regulates many immune functions.

• Amino acids, such as glycine, serine, taurine, and tyrosine, are essential for the production of energy in the body and for brain function.

• Zinc supports the immune system by enhancing white-blood-cell activity and supporting healthy antigen-antibody binding.

But I Already Take Vitamins

You might be thinking, I’ve taken vitamins for years, and I haven’t noticed a difference. You probably haven’t been taking enough to even make a dent in your deficiencies. If you compare Centrum or One-A-Day vitamins to the Essential Therapeutics multivitamin and mineral formulas, including the CFS/Fibromyalgia formula, you’ll notice that our specially designed vitamins have 50 times—and in some cases, 100 times—the recommended daily allowance (RDA).

This is because the RDA is an outdated system that does not take into account the depletion of our nutrient-rich top soil, environmental pollutants, chemical food processing, the addition of artificial ingredients, and the increased demands placed on an individual’s homeostatic system in the 21st century.

So nearly as criminal as not recommending vitamin and mineral supplements is the recommendation of them based on the RDA. It was never intended to advance health, only to prevent deficiency diseases like scurvy and rickets.

Taking the minimum amount of a nutrient to prevent gross deficiency doesn’t help those people who want to be truly healthy and not just free of severe symptoms. And optimal health should be the goal for all of us.

The key to reversing disease and the unwanted symptoms, pain, fatigue, depression, poor sleep, etc. is to take the RIGHT DOSE AND RIGHT COMBINATION of optimal daily allowance nutrients. The reason my patients see such a drastic improvement on the CFS/Fibromyalgia Jump Start supplements.

Are these higher doses safe?

One of the arguments against megavitamin treatment is that a high dose of certain vitamins are toxic and may cause certain adverse reactions. Let me present some statistics to you and let you decide for yourself.

The American Medical Association reports that death from medical errors is now the third leading cause of death in the United States, behind only heart disease and cancer. As reported in JAMA,
over 250,000 Americans die each year from medical therapies, including at least 113,000 from the negative effects of prescription medications.

The total number of deaths from vitamin/mineral therapy during the years of 1983 to 1990 was zero.

what is orthomolecular medicine?

When we establish nutritional deficiencies, our health suffers. Man-made chemicals (synthetic prescription drugs) can’t correct these deficiencies, but a nutritional-replacement therapeutic program can. This is the very premise of orthomolecular medicine, which means, “right molecules in the right concentration.”

Linus Pauling, two-time winner of the Nobel Prize, is regarded as one of the greatest biochemists of our times. He defines orthomolecular medicine as “the preservation of good health and the treatment of disease by varying the concentrations in the human body of substances that are normally present in the body.” This concept involves a medical approach based on the physiological and enzymatic actions of specific nutrients present in the body, such as vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. The idea that to beat a disease one has simply to “get healthy” may seem trivial to those with such life-robbing illnesses as FMS and CFS. Still, it’s hard to argue with the results.

Synthetic drugs may be helpful at times, but they always have an inherent ability to cause harm. Not only are nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and essential fatty acids unharmful, the body depends on them for survival. The body knows what to do with—and depends on—vitamin B6. The same certainly can’t be said for Lyrica. The World Health Organization’s definition of health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” These words advocate to us the need to correct the biochemical causes of disease rather than merely covering up the symptoms with drugs.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid stated in a recent report that the nation spent $140.6 billion in the year 2000 on prescription drugs. And of course this number is rapidly escalating; over one billion prescriptions were written last year. But even though the United States spends more money on health care per capita than any other country in the world, The World Health Organization ranks the overall health of the United States as 15th among the 25 industrialized countries.

Even with this dismal ranking, things in the United States are changing. A new paradigm is emerging, one based on taking responsibility for our own health through abstinence from dangerous habits—like nicotine, trans-fats, sedentary lifestyles, and excessive stress—and through proactive behavior like regular exercise, healthy diet decisions, and optimal nutritional supplementation.

You can reverse fibromyalgia and get your life back. It won’t happen with a magic new drug though, that is a dead end (see Lyrica, Savella, and Cymbalta). Having specialized in treating fibromyalgia for almost 14 years I know orthomolecular medicine is the only true way to beat fibromyalgia.

What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About IBS

2011-04-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You About IBS

How You Can Reverse IBS In As Few As 2 Weeks

An estimated 40 million Americans suffer with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Some experts, recognizing that many go undiagnosed, suggest that irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) affects approximately 10–20% of the general population. The majority of patients I see for fibromyalgia suffer with IBS.

Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by a group of symptoms in which abdominal

pain or discomfort is associated with a change in bowel pattern, such as loose or more frequent bowel movements or diarrhea, and/or hard or less frequent bowel movements or constipation.

We know that gender plays a clear role, as more than 80 percent of IBS patients are

women between 20 and 55 years old.

The criteria for diagnosing IBS is based on the newly modified Rome criteria (Rome II criteria) as the presence for at least 12 weeks (not necessarily consecutive) in the preceding 12 months of abdominal

discomfort or pain that cannot be explained by a structural or biochemical abnormality and that has at least two of following three features:

(1) pain is relieved with defecation, and its onset is associated (2) with a change in the frequency of bowel movements (diarrhea or constipation) or (3) with a change in the form of the stool (loose,

watery, or pellet-like).

Some people with the disorder have constipation (IBS-C). Some have

diarrhea (IBS-D). And some alternate back and forth between constipation and diarrhea (IBS-A).

IBS symptoms result from what appears to be a disturbance in the interaction between the gut or intestines, the brain, and the autonomic nervous system that alters regulation of bowel motility

(motor function) or sensory function.

Research has shown that the cause of IBS is related to neuroendocrine- immune system dysfunction (brain and stomach hormones). This connection is largely mediated by the neurotransmitter or brain hormone known as serotonin. The brain and gut are connected through the neuroreceptors (hormone docking stations) for serotonin, 5-hydroxytriptamine-3 (5-HT3) and 5-hydroxytriptamine-4 (5-HT4).

These serotonin receptors regulate the perception of intestinal pain and the GI motility (contractions that move food through the intestinal tract). Therefore serotonin controls how fast or how slow food moves through the intestinal tract. In fact, there are more serotonin receptors in the intestinal tract than there are in the brain. Ninety percent of serotonin receptors are in the intestinal tract.

Research suggests that IBS patients have extra sensitive pain receptors in the gastrointestinal tract, which may be related to low levels of serotonin (another link to fibromyalgia). Decreased levels of serotonin may help explain why people with IBS are likely to be anxious, depressed or have fibromyalgia. Studies

show that 54–94% of IBS patients meet the diagnostic criteria for depression, anxiety, or panic disorder.

Restoring optimal levels of serotonin has been the focus of traditional drug therapy. Zelnorm, a 5-HT4 receptor agonist, was once hailed as “the drug” for IBS-c (IBS with frequent constipation), has

recently pulled from the market for its association with heart attacks and stroke. The percentage of patients taking Zelnorm that had serious and life-threatening side effects was 10 times higher than the

percentage of patients taking a placebo.

Even before this drug was recalled cardiovascular risks, many experts warned that this drug was dangerous for its other potential side effects including severe liver impairment, severe kidney impairment,

bowel obstruction, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, headaches, abdominal adhesions, gallbladder disease, and back pain.

Antispasmodics (Levsin, Levsinex, Bentyl, Donnatal, etc.) are routinely prescribed for the treatment of IBS symptoms.

Potential side effects include bloating; blurred vision; clumsiness; constipation; decreased sweating; dizziness; drowsiness; dry mouth; excessive daytime drowsiness ("hangover effect"); feeling of a whirling motion; headache; light-headedness; nausea; nervousness; rash; hives;

difficulty breathing; tightness in the chest; swelling of the mouth, face, lips, or tongue agitation; confusion; diarrhea; difficulty focusing eyes; disorientation; exaggerated feeling of well-being;

excitement; fainting; fast or irregular heartbeat; hallucinations; loss of coordination; loss of taste; memory loss; muscle pain; pounding in the chest; severe or persistent trouble sleeping; trouble

urinating; unusual weakness; very slow breathing; vision changes; vomiting.

Using potentially dangerous drugs to reduce symptoms, while ignoring natural and often more effective approaches is typical of what is wrong with “cookbook” (symptom-focused)

medicine.

Reversing IBS With Nutritional Therapy

I find that IBS usually disappears rather quickly once my patient’s correct their poor eating habits (increase fiber, reduce simple sugars, caffeine and junk foods), uncover any hidden allergies when

present, including gluten intolerance (Celiac disease), boost optimal stress coping chemicals (serotonin, magnesium, B-vitamins, etc.), restore bowel ecology (probiotics), and take the right digestive enzymes with their meals.

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5HTP

To boost serotonin levels I recommend patients take, the amino acid responsible for making serotonin, known as 5-hydroxytryptophan (5HTP). 5HTP along with the right vitamins and minerals, is responsible for making serotonin.

Patients should take 300-400mg a day with food or if have fibromyalgia and suffer with poor sleep, start with 100mg taken on empty stomach 30 minutes before bed with 4 ounces of grape juice and increase by 100mg each night up to 300mg.

Digestive enzymes

Most digestion and absorption takes place in the small intestine and is regulated by pancreatic enzymes (digestive) and bile. The pancreas aids in digestion by releasing proteolytic enzymes, which help break

down proteins into amino acids. Natural digestive enzymes are found in raw fruits and vegetables. Processed foods are usually devoid of digestive enzymes.

Over consumption of these processed foods can lead to digestive enzyme deficiencies. This may then lead to malabsorption and or intestinal permeability syndrome (bloating, gas, indigestion, diarrhea,

constipation, and intestinal inflammation). To ensure proper digestion and absorption, I recommend taking pancreatic enzymes with each meal.

For stubborn IBS symptoms, I recommend using a high dose, pharmaceutical grade, pure 8X (100% stronger than most over the counter digestive enzymes).

Magnesium

I always recommend people take a good optimal daily allowance

multivitamin/mineral formula. Patients with IBS have depleted their stress-coping chemicals (serotonin, magnesium, and vitamins) and this not only leads to IBS but also prevents them from overcoming IBS.

It is a vicious cycle that can only be broken by taking adequate amounts of essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients I’ve already mentioned above. The mineral magnesium, which is involved in over 300 bodily processes, is particularly important for reversing the symptoms of IBS-c and IBS-A.

Magnesium helps relax the smooth muscle of the colon (natural laxative) allowing normal bowel movements. While a diet high in nutritious fiber is important, magnesium is even more important. A

magnesium deficiency not only causes constipation but can also lead to heart disease, mitral valve prolapse (MVP), depression, anxiety, chronic muscle pain, headaches, migraines, fatigue, and many other unwanted health conditions. Those with IBS-c may need up to 1,000mg of

magnesium each day. While those with IBS-d, may need less than 500mg.

I recommend patients begin with 500mg of magnesium a day, preferably taken in a multivitamin formula.

Probiotics

The human intestines are inhabited by billions of beneficial bacteria. These bacteria, which are mostly located in the colon, aid in digestion by fermenting substances that were not digested in the small

intestine and by breaking down any remaining nutrients. A healthy intestinal tract contains some 2-3 lb. of bacteria and other microorganisms, such as yeast, that normally don’t cause ay health

problems.

However, when the intestinal tract is repetitively exposed to toxic substances (antibiotics, steroids, NSAIDs, etc.), these microorganisms begin to proliferate and create an imbalance in the bowel flora.

Harmful organisms like yeast and some normally dormant bacteria, begin to overtake the good bacteria. This is known as intestinal dysbiosis.

IBS and small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth may share similar symptoms. One study showed that 78% IBS participants had small-intestinal bacterial overgrowth. To aid in digestion and prevent intestinal dysbiosis, patients with IBS should take probiotics (Lactobacillus and Biidobacterium) on a daily basis.

I recommend taking a high dose (9 billion strong), pure, enteric coated probiotic formula once a day on an empty stomach for 2-3 months.

This approach isn’t guaranteed to solve every case of IBS. However, in

the majority of my patients, their IBS symptoms are usually gone within two weeks.

Study Links Obesity and Fibromyalgia

2011-04-16T08:08:00.000-07:00

The purpose of the study, conducted by University of Utah researchers, was to evaluate the relationship between fibromyalgia and obesity. They hypothesized that obesity significantly adds to the disease and disability burden of the condition. Two hundred fifteen fibromyalgia patients were evaluated in the study and given several physical tests to measure strength, flexibility, range of motion, and strength. Heart rates and sleep quality also were assessed.

The authors reported that consistent with previous studies, obesity is common among those with fibromyalgia. Half the study sample was obese and an additional thirty percent were overweight. Also consistent with previous findings, obese patients in this study showed increased pain sensitivity, which was more pronounced in lower body areas. The obese patients also had impaired flexibility in the lower body and reduced strength.

The study concluded that obesity is a common comorbidity of fibromyalgia that may compromise clinical outcomes. The adverse impact of obesity is evidenced by hyperalgesia, disability, impaired quality of life and sleep problems. The authors also noted that recent evidence suggests weight loss improves fibromyalgia symptoms, perhaps resulting from patients adopting healthier lifestyles and taking more positive attitudes toward symptom management, and overall quality of life.

In recent years, scientists have looked at fat cells and their surrounding cells not just as yellow blobs that make our clothes too tight, but more as an organ, or neighboring bodies of organic fatty tissue. The fat cells, or “adipocytes,” within this tissue have several functions, such as pumping out vital energy-producing fatty acids, storing fatty acids for future use, and secreting hormones that regulate body weight. But unfortunately, among the obese, they’re a source of inflammatory chemicals.

My thoughts-first not everyone with fibromyalgia is obese, true many are but one third of Americans are overweight so this is no big surprise. Second if anything- being overweight is a result of fibromyalgia not the cause of fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia lowers a person’s metabolism (low thyroid). Those with fibromyalgia become less active as their energy levels decrease and painful flares from over activity, including exercise, increases.

What needs to be clear about this study is that fat cells store inflammatory chemicals, the more fat cells you have the more inflammatory chemicals you have-and of course the pain you experience.

Dietary Changes Can Help Reduce Inflammation

To reduce degenerative disease, it’s necessary to avoid pro-inflammatory foods and rely exclusively on anti-inflammatory foods:

Pro-inflammatory foods to avoid:

* Red meats from corn-fed, antibiotic/hormone-laden animals (choose grass fed livestock when possible)

* Saturated fats such as lard and over consumption of meat fats

* Fried foods

* Partially hydrogenated (trans fats) found in margarines, chips, candies, cereals and baked goods

* Cooking oils that are exclusively corn, safflower, sunflower or soy based

* Soft drinks (both high sugar and diet varieties)

* Excess sugar (both from heavily processed sources, such as candy and from naturally occurring sources such as fruit juice)

Reduce Sugar Consumption

Sugary foods quickly elevate blood sugar, creating an insulin release along with free radicals that oxidize fats. When oxidized, the fats form plaque deposits in our arteries, leading to disease. Thus, a diet high in sweets, pasta, fruit juices, cereals and even rice cakes can actually lead to heart disease. Insulin release also increases stored body fat and release of pro-inflammatory chemicals causing cell damage and accelerated aging.

Anti-inflammatory foods and dietary supplements to include:

* Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, especially cold water, wild-caught fish (or fish oil supplements)

* Raw nuts and seeds (especially pecans, almonds, walnuts and flaxseeds)

* Dark green vegetables (especially kale, seaweed and greens)

* Antioxidants in supplement form (especially vitamins C and E, and qurcetin)

* Zinc taken in supplement form, which assists healing and reduces inflammation

Extra virgin organic olive oil is good anti-inflammatory oil

Fertile Soil Yields Best Results For Fibromyalgia

2011-04-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

Several years ago, my family and I moved into a beautiful 80-year-old house with a large, but barren, backyard.

Like a good, urban yuppie gardener, I went to Home Depot and purchased the essential tools of the trade - shiny new shovels, rakes, hoes, rubber gardening shoes, and heavy leather gloves.

Wanting to make my backyard a garden paradise, I enlisted the help of Master Gardner William Keith. The following Saturday, William showed up with a truckload of dirt. "Healthy soil yields a healthy garden," he said. Over the next several days, he unloaded and redistributed rich, dark dirt throughout my backyard. Day after day I'd come home ready to plant some roses, jasmine, or maybe a maple tree, and I'd find William in the backyard spreading more dirt. Finally, after a week of daily dirt deliveries, William declared the yard ready for planting.

And plant we did - roses, Carolina jasmine, Confederate jasmine, wisteria, Japanese maples, peach trees, plum trees, Oakleaf hydrangeas, cone flowers, lilies, salvia, rosemary, sage, thyme, and all sorts of perennials.

The result of taking the time to use nutrient-rich soil was easy to see. Simply plant something - anything - and it grew like crazy.

Like a healthy garden, our body is dependant on having the essential nutrients it needs for optimal health. Unfortunately, the typical Western diet falls short of providing the essential nutrients our bodies need to be healthy.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration study which analyzed over 234 foods over two years found the average American diet to have less than 80 percent of the RDA of one or more of the following: calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and manganese. Other studies have demonstrated magnesium deficiency in well over 50 percent of the population.

The only way to be sure you're nutritionally sound is to supplement your diet with the essential nutrients your body needs for optimal health.

Traditional medical doctors often scoff at the notion of taking vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to improve your health, but does anyone suffer from a drug deficiency? Well, of course not. And yet, those with fibromyalgia often end up on a medical merry-go-round, seeing one doctor after another - taking an endless concoction of life-draining, potentially dangerous drugs: drugs to put you to sleep, drugs to wake you up, pain pills, mood-altering drugs (for the side effects of the sleep drugs), sedatives, and muscle relaxants. It just never ends. Drug therapy can be useful; however, merely covering symptoms with drugs often leads to further problems.

Nutrients - not drugs - are what make the hormones that regulate your body. Every essential chemical in your body, including thyroid hormones, testosterone, estrogen, neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, etc.), antibodies, adrenaline, cortisol, and white blood cells, are made from vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and amino acids.

I've researched and implemented numerous therapies over the years - keeping what works, discarding what doesn't. For the last nine years, I've been using a specially developed nutritional protocol known as the Fibromyalgia Jumpstart Program.

The Fibromyalgia Jump Start Program provides the essential nutrients needed for beating fibromyalgia. It includes these four core products:

1.FMS Support Pack contains a high-dose multivitamin/mineral formula with extra magnesium (680 mg per two packs), free-form amino acid blend, fish oil - needed to form the brain chemicals serotonin and norepinephrine, and malic acid.

2.Adrenal Cortex reverses adrenal fatigue while building stamina and resistance to stress. This is a crucial step toward avoiding fibromyalgia "flares." If you don't repair your sluggish adrenal glands, you'll crash every time you attempt to overdo it.

3.Digestive Enzymes make sure you're breaking down and absorbing the nutrients in your foods and supplements. I recommend all my chronically ill patients take digestive enzymes.

4.5HTP is responsible for making serotonin, a major stress-coping chemical that reduces pain, anxiety, IBS, fibro fog, and depression. It also helps promote deep restorative sleep (boosting melatonin by 200%, the most important step in beating fibromyalgia.

By providing the essential nutrients your body needs for optimal health, you lay the foundation for getting healthy. It's not unusual for numerous chronic symptoms to disappear within a few weeks of taking the Jump Start Package. You won't be totally well; this will take time and perhaps additional nutrients, but taking time to get your body's inner soil healthy will always yield positive results.

You can read more about my Fibromyalgia Jump Start Pack at the link below:

http://store.drmurphreestore.com/ficfsjupa.html

Drug Therapy Continues To Fail Those With Fibromyalgia

2011-04-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

A recent survey report by BioTrends Research Group* suggest that a majority of U.S. fibro patients currently taking a prescription medication for their symptoms don't feel the drugs help enough, and have “higher expectations.”  Overall, more than two-thirds would be somewhat or very likely to switch to some new drug that offered improvement over their current therapy in treating pain, fatigue, and/or sleep, problems, says analyst Andrea Buurma.   The data also suggest that patients now taking an FDA approved FM drug tend to be less “well-established” on their drugs than those on off-label drugs.  Only 40% of those now taking one of the three approved drugs (Cymbalta, Lyrica, and Savella), and about 50% of those taking off-label drugs say they're “very unlikely” to ask their doctors if they can try a switch in the next 12 months.  “This indicates there is a significant opportunity for emerging novel agents,” Buurma observes.

You can read more about how and why traditional medicine alone fails those with fibromyalgia by visiting the link below

http://treatingandbeatingfibroblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/traditional-medicine-offers-little-for.html

Neurontin-Here We Go Again

2011-03-24T10:17:00.000-07:00

A recent Cochrane Report, embracing the use of Neurontin for Fibromyalgia is making noise in the medical profession. It apparently doesn’t matter that Neurontin has been largely abandoned by most doctors who treat fibromyalgia and by patients who have fibromyalgia. Once the side effects of Neurontin became well known and sales started to become compromised, Lyrica was released-same drug different name.

See my article on Lyrica here http://treatingandbeatingfibroblog.blogspot.com/2010_10_01_archive.html

The Cochrane Report-

Gabapentin (Neurontin) for chronic neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia in adults

Antiepileptic drugs like gabapentin are commonly used for treating neuropathic pain, usually defined as pain due to damage to nerves. This would include postherpetic neuralgia (persistent pain experienced in an area previously affected by shingles), painful complications of diabetes, nerve injury pain, phantom limb pain, fibromyalgia and trigeminal neuralgia. This type of pain can be severe and long-lasting, is associated with lack of sleep, fatigue, and depression, and a reduced quality of life.

In people with these conditions, gabapentin is associated with a moderate benefit (equivalent to at least 30% pain relief) in almost one in two patients (43%), and a substantial benefit (equivalent to at least 50% pain relief) in almost one in three (31%).

Over half of those taking gabapentin for neuropathic pain will not have good pain relief, in common with most chronic pain conditions. Adverse events are experienced by about two-thirds of people taking gabapentin, mainly dizziness, somnolence (sleepiness), edema (swelling), and gait disturbance, but only about 1 in 10 (11%) have to stop the treatment because of these unpleasant side effects. Overall gabapentin provides pain relief of a high level in about a third of people who take it for painful neuropathic pain. Adverse events are frequent, but mostly tolerable. This review looked at evidence from 29 studies involving 3571 participants.

I have several issues with this drug:

It only works in about 30% of patients who take it-if you’re in the 30% group, great. Most folks with fibromyalgia won’t notice any pain relief. And two-thirds of patients taking the drug will have side effects. Please keep in mind that two-thirds is extremely conservative and the percentage of those who will experience side effects is realistically more like 75%-90%.

You can read more about the deceitful marketing campaign Pfizer orchestrated in their attempts to take a worthless drug and turn it into a multi-billion dollar block-buster seller-click link below-

http://drmurphree.blogspot.com/2010/10/neurontin-for-everything.html

In my experience of treating hundreds of patients who’ve tried Neurontin and Lyrica I find both drugs to be potentially dangerous, toxic and ineffective for fibromyalgia.

Do You Have Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Both

2011-03-12T05:22:00.000-08:00

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) shares many similarities with FMS. Several studies have suggested that they are the same illness. One study comparing 50 CFS patients with 50 FMS patients showed the following symptoms to be the same for both groups: low-grade fever (28%), swollen lymph nodes (33%), rash (47%), cough (40%), and recurrent sore throat (54%). Another study comparing CFS patients with FMS patients showed that brain wave patterns, tender points, pain, and fatigue were virtually identical in both groups.

A 1997 study by Allen N. Tyler, MD, ND, DC, muddies the water even further. Ten patients, all of whom met the ACR criteria for FMS, were selected at random for blood testing. They were tested for influenza type-B antibodies, and three of the ten tested positive. Another randomly selected group of ten FMS patients (meeting all the ACR criteria) were tested for antibodies to influenza type-A. Nine of them tested positive.

Symptoms of CFS include-

mild fever

fatigue

recurrent sore throat

painful lymph nodes

muscle weakness

muscle pain

migratory joint pain

prolonged fatigue after exercise

recurrent headaches

neurological or psychological complaints, such as:

depression

excessive irritability

forgetfulness

sensitivity to bright light

confusion

inability to concentrate

sleep disturbances

Due to weakened immunity, individuals with chronic fatigue have terrible problems with energy as well as recurring bouts with the flu, colds, sinusitis, and other immune problems. As with so many complex chronic illnesses, CFS may be aggravated by a wide variety of environmental and physiological challenges. Food allergies, environmental sensitivities (odors), heavy metal toxicity (mercury, aluminum, etc.), yeast overgrowth, parasites, and vitamin/mineral deficiencies can all contribute to CFS.

All of us have been exposed to mono or the Epstein-Barr virus (or other viruses) at one time or another (usually as teenagers), but our bodies are usually strong enough to overcome the exposure. We develop immunity to the virus. We carry the virus around inside of us until we die. Normally, this dormant virus never causes any more problems. It is kept in check by a healthy immune system.

Individuals with CFS aren’t able to squelch the normally dormant virus (or other bug), and it begins to raise its ugly head once again. Individuals with CFS may feel like they are walking around with the “flu from hell.” They have all the symptoms of a very bad case of the flu. But unlike most cases of the flu, CFS doesn’t disappear after one or two weeks.

HOW TO QUICKLY DISTINGUISH BETWEEN FMS AND CFS

A positive EBV panel is a clear indicator that someone has CFS. However, you don’t need a blood test to diagnose CFS. If you have chronic fatigue (hard to get out of bed each day), achy diffuse pain, chronic sore throats, and a lowered immune function (chronic infections), then you either have CFS or you’re at high risk of developing it.

The CFS patient usually has chronic infections (sinusitis, upper respiratory, urinary tract infections colds, flu, etc.) and is sick several times a year. He or she gets at least two bad infections a year. They will usually have chronic or intermittent sore throats, swollen lymph nodes, and periodic fevers. They usually ache all over. FMS patients may ache all over as well, but they usually have specific areas (neck, low back, etc.) that are the most troublesome.

Many CFS patients will also have a sluggish liver (more likely than in those with FMS). Clues that would lead you to suspect a sluggish liver include funny or negative reactions to medications (they take something to put them to sleep, and it wakes them up, or “a little goes a long way”); intolerance to caffeine, alcohol, or odors (the longer they’ve had the illness, the more sensitive they become to odors, perfumes, gasoline, smoke, cleaners, etc.); and a history of elevated liver enzymes on past blood work. Of course, anyone with hepatitis or fatty liver has a sluggish liver. Long-term prescription-medication therapies can also create a sluggish liver.

CFS AND LIVER DYSFUNCTION

CFS patients are more likely than FMS patients to have a sluggish liver. Clues that would lead you to suspect you may have a sluggish liver include:

chemical sensitivities (see below)

funny or negative reactions to medications (you take something to put you to sleep but it wakes you up, or a little goes a long way)

intolerance of caffeine

intolerance of alcohol

intolerance of odors (the longer patients have had the illness, the more sensitive they become to odors, perfumes, gasoline, smoke, cleaners, etc.)

a history of elevated liver enzymes on past blood work.

CFS patients may have severe chemical sensitivities and may not be able to tolerate nutritional supplements. They may have allergic reactions to even the purest multivitamins. This complicates things. It is best to start slow, especially with individuals who have severe chemical sensitivities.

Individuals with fibromyalgia have a lot of similar symptoms of CFS but in general their immune system is not compromised-they don’t get chronic sore throats, and infections. A person can be a true fibromyalgia patient-poor sleep, chronic pain, etc. but intact immune function or a true CFS patient fatigue, achy pain, and KEY poor immune function. However patients can share symptoms of both of these illnesses and have both.

You can read more about fibromyalgia and CFS on my website www.treatingandbeating.com

Does the Weather Affect Your Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

2011-03-11T07:02:00.000-08:00

Fibromyalgia patients often report that changes in the weather affects many of their symptoms. Many fibromyalgia sufferers feel that their symptoms vary according to temperature changes, changes in air pressure, and changes in precipitation. Most fibromyalgia sufferers claim that they experience “flares” when the weather changes.

They may experience a worsening of their fibro symptoms including -

More pain

Poor sleep

Decreased moods

Low energy

Foggy thinking

Numerous studies have been conducted in order to evaluate whether or not fibromyalgia symptoms do appear to be influenced by changes in the weather. Most of these studies have had surprising results.

In 2002, a study was conducted in Cordoba, Argentina, where there are four distinct seasons every year. The study involved fibromyalgia sufferers and a healthy control group and aimed to find out whether pain symptoms could be linked to specific weather changes. Participants were asked to rate their pain symptoms on a scale from one to ten, every day for 12 months. After 12 months, these symptoms were correlated to weather patterns for the entire year.

Researchers found that pain symptoms of the participants with fibromyalgia correlated directly to weather changes. Specifically, pain increased as temperatures fell and atmospheric pressure increased. The healthy control group did not show any correlation between pain and weather patterns.

Another study performed in Norway found a similar relationship between fibromyalgia symptoms and the weather. Fibromyalgia symptoms appeared to get worse during the months of December and January, but began to improve during April and May. This suggests a direct relationship between colder temperatures and lower barometric pressures and a rise in fibromyalgia symptoms.

According to a study performed in 1981, a large percentage of fibromyalgia sufferers may actually be sensitive to changes in the weather. In this particular study, 90% of patients claimed that weather was one of the most important influences on their fibromyalgia symptoms.

Why Does Weather Affect Fibromyalgia Symptoms? 

Unfortunately, researchers do not yet know why weather appears to affect fibromyalgia symptoms so much. However, here are a few possible explanations:

Change in Sleep Cycle: Weather, particularly hot and cold temperatures, can sometimes affect the way in which you sleep. This could have a great affect on symptoms and flares if you are a fibromyalgia sufferer.

Change in Circadian Rhythm: Your body operates using an internal clock known as the circadian rhythm. Changes in seasons and the amount of light that your body receives can throw off your circadian rhythm, causing you to feel fatigued and more achy then usual.

Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines: There does appear to be a relationship between low temperature levels and an increase in the number of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the body. These cytokines appear to be related to pain intensity.

Weather Factors That May Affect Fibromyalgia Sufferers?

There are five major weather factors that appear to affect fibromyalgia symptoms. These include:

Changes in Temperature: Rapid changes in temperature can sometimes trigger a fibromyalgia flare or help to ease fibromyalgia pain. Cold weather tends to make fibromyalgia symptoms worse, while warmer weather tends to ease those troublesome symptoms.

The Barometric Pressure: Barometric pressure is a measurement of the weight that is exerted by the air all around us. On beautiful sunny days, barometric pressure tends to be quite high, but during a storm or similar weather front, barometric pressure drops suddenly. Fibromyalgia sufferers often find that these changes in barometric pressure can trigger muscle aches and pains.

Increased Humidity: Absolute humidity is a measurement of the amount of water vapor present in each unit of air. When absolute humidity is low, fibromyalgia sufferers often report stiffness, and flares in widespread pain.

Precipitation: Precipitation is the term used to refer to any type of water that falls to the ground from the sky, including rain, sleet, snow, or hail. Precipitation is often accompanied by a change in barometric pressure, and therefore may exacerbate your symptoms of pain and fatigue.

Wind: Whether it’s a light wind or a gale-force wind, wind generally causes a decrease in barometric pressure. This means that wind can trigger fatigue, headaches, and muscle aches in fibromyalgia sufferers.

Do you have flares when the weather changes? How does changes in temperature affect you? What about storm fronts? I find that my patients with fibromyalgia can lessen their weather flares by building up their stress coping savings account and stress coping glands with my Fibromyalgia Jump Start Program.

Staying hydrated, drinking plenty of water, getting a consistent good night’s sleep, and reducing your overall-stress are crucial for reducing future flares. Making time for prayer, meditation, or stress reducing reflection are important health enhancing daily routines and should be incorporated into your daily routine.

Heartburn, Reflux, and Gerd

2011-03-10T14:42:00.000-08:00

One estimate is that 40% of the US population has some degree of esophageal reflux, with 20% of adults complaining of weekly episodes of heartburn and 7–10% complaining of daily symptoms. Esophageal reflux occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter malfunctions, allowing the backward flow of acid, bile, and other contents from the stomach into the esophagus. Reflux can result from gastritis (inflammation of the stomach itself), peptic or duodenal ulcers, a hiatal hernia, or even the chronic use of NSAIDs.

GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) can cause esophageal scarring or Barrett’s syndrome, a chronic esophageal irritation that causes normal cells to be replaced by precancerous ones. An endoscopy test is used to diagnose GERD. Conventional treatment usually involves H2 antagonists (such as Tagamet, Pepcid, Zantac, or Axid) and antacids (such as Tums or Maalox) as the first line of treatment. Proton-pump inhibitor drugs (such as Nexium, Prevacid, or Prilosec) might also be initiated.

are antacids the answer?

No! These medications block the absorption of nutrients like zinc, folic acid, B12, calcium, and iron. This can lead to fatigue, anemia, and depression. And long-term use of these medications can block all stomach acid. But your body needs acid! Here’s why:

• The esophageal sphincter is stimulated to close by the release of stomach acids. Picture the esophageal sphincter as being a door that separates our esophagus (throat) from our stomachs. The door is opened by the food we take in and closed when the naturally occurring stomach acid is released. When there’s not enough acid present—because antacids have neutralized them—the esophageal sphincter may not close properly, allowing acid to travel back up into the esophagus and cause heartburn. Ironic, isn’t it? Antacids can actually make heartburn worse.

• The stomach needs acid to break down proteins for digestion. No protein digestion means no amino acids. No amino acids means no neurotransmitters (serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, etc.). This can lead to all sorts of problems: including
intestinal permeability, anemia, fatigue, increased allergy disorders, depression, anxiety, and bacterial and yeast overgrowth.

• An acidic environment is one of the body’s first lines of defense, destroying viruses, parasites, yeast, and bacteria.

protocol for low stomach acid

If you’re suffering from heartburn and you have FMS or CFS, low stomach acid is most likely the problem. Try these solutions rather than antacids:

• Take a digestive enzyme with each meal. If you’ve been taking Nexium, Prevacid, Pepcid, Prevpac, Prilosec, Propulsid, Reglan, or Zantac for over three months, then you may have to stay on the medication as you begin the digestive enzyme. But many of my patients have found that they don’t need these prescription medications once they start taking a good high-potency digestive enzyme. Still, don’t discontinue any prescription medication without consulting your medical doctor first.

I recommend my patients use a potent 8X (double the strength of most) pancreatic digestive enzyme formula that utilizes USP porcine-derived high-potency pancreatin for reliable and consistent enzyme activity.

• Consider supplementing with hydrochloric acid if the problem persists (see the next page). If this makes your heartburn worse, then you probably have enough stomach acid. Stop supplementing the HCl, and continue using digestive enzymes.

• Avoid foods that can relax the esophageal sphincter and make heartburn, reflux, and GERD worse. These include fried, spicy, or fatty foods; carbonated drinks; citrus fruits; peppermint; chocolate; coffee; tea; alcohol; tomatoes; garlic; and onions.

• Avoid lying down for at least three hours after you finish eating. When you do lie down, try elevating the head of your bed about six inches (to facilitate keeping the gastric contents in the stomach). You can also try sleeping on your side, which would remove pressure from the esophageal sphincter, helping to keep gastric contents from backing up into your esophagus.

• Try to eat smaller meals, and more frequently (perhaps four or five in a day).

Fibromyagia-Stress Coping Savings Account

2011-03-04T08:58:00.000-08:00

We’re all born with a stress-coping “savings account” filled with chemicals—such as hormones, amino acids, and nutrients—that can be deposited and then withdrawn when needed. Depending on our genes, some of us have large accounts, and some of us have smaller ones. The more stress we’re under, the more withdrawals

We make. If we make more withdrawals than deposits, we get overdrawn, and poor health quickly follows. Individuals with fibromyalgia and/or CFS have bankrupted their stress-coping savings account.

Although some patients bankrupt their accounts with one overwhelming event, most experience a series of stressful events over the years. These events typically involve stressful jobs, marriages, family dynamics, surgeries, illnesses, loss of a loved one, divorce, financial failure, etc.

Many of my patients can remember the day when their account went belly-up. It might have been after a surgery or following the loss of a parent. Whatever happened, the person was never the same from that point on; she just couldn’t get well. My CFS patients often relate how they came down with a bad case of flu and just never completely got over it. Once these individuals get enough rest and stop making withdrawals, they may attempt to do something as mundane as sweep the kitchen floor only to be wiped out once again. And forget about grocery shopping!

That could put them in bed for weeks.

FMS and CFS are the result of internal biochemical (hormonal, enzymatic, neuronal, and chemical) imbalances that manifest themselves as physical symptoms (pain, weakness, and mental impairment). So in order to right the homeostatic system, you must correct the underlying biochemical problems. Just like an onion, you peel away one layer at a time until you get to the core. But we’ll discuss these practical steps soon. For now, let’s make sure that you understand all of these “layers of the onion.” One of these is dysautonomia.

Dysautonomia is defined by Taber’s Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary as “a rare hereditary disease involving the autonomic nervous system with mental retardation, motor in coordination, vomiting, frequent infections, and convulsions.” But dysautonomia symptoms are usually nowhere near this severe. Dysautonomia patients are more likely to be suffering from mitral valve prolapse and neurally mediated hypotension (dizziness upon standing) than mental retardation and vomiting.

A better description, then, of dysautonomia would be a malfunction in the body’s master regulating (homeostasis) system, which—as you may recall from earlier chapters—is known as the autonomic nervous system or the HPA axis. The HPA axis (comprised of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland, and the adrenal glands) controls millions of involuntary actions such as breathing, releasing of endocrine hormones, blood flow, smooth muscle tone, immune response, heartbeat, detoxification, and elimination. We don’t have to think about breathing; we just do it. We don’t try to pump blood through the heart and into the muscles; it is initiated and monitored by our HPA axis.

Normally all the systems in the body speak to and coordinate with one another. This is the essence of homeostasis. But when a person depletes her savings account of stress-coping chemicals, her HPA axis begins to self-destruct. This is dysautonomia. It’s as if the immune system starts to speak in Spanish, the endocrine system in German, the musculoskeletal system in Greek, and the digestive system in French! And when no one can communicate, chaos results!

Most of us can handle the ups and downs of our daily lives, even the occasional catastrophe. We dig in our heels, persevere, and eventually learn to cope. However, some individuals have an altered stress-coping system, which prevents them from managing daily stress. Human studies suggest that for some folks, the cumulative effects of physical, mental, chemical, or emotional burdens in early childhood may increase the affects of stress later in life. (It’s possible that the reason for his effect is an overstimulation or dysfunction of the HPA-axis). Retrospective studies show that the stress of emotional, physical, or sexual abuse during childhood also increases the future risk of developing certain symptoms, including many associated with FMS and CFS.

Apparently, for some children and adolescents, too many traumatic or stressful events decondition their normal homeostatic stress-coping abilities. Thus stress, particularly traumatic stress, early in life may alter the set point of their stress-response system. As they get older, have more responsibilities, and experience an increase in their daily stress, they often find their health beginning to suffer. They may start to have bouts of anxiety and depression, or perhaps they’re just tired all the time. They become extremely vulnerable to major stressors: the death of a loved one, chronic illness, invasive surgery, physical trauma, etc. Like a ticking time bomb, it’s only a matter of time before they explode.

This is especially true for those who have a genetic predisposition that makes them more susceptible to the ill effects of daily stress, including reduced serotonin levels. Some research has suggested that FMS/CFS patients may in fact by afflicted by this genetic abnormality.

Sadly, I find that many of my FMS and CFS patients have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse as a child. Some patients report abuse from their spouse (sometimes physical but more often emotional). This stressful situation, though begun in adulthood, can still eventually deplete their stress-coping chemicals and lead to a state of disease.

The symptoms of fatigue, pain, poor sleep, poor digestion, irregular bowel movements, mental confusion, poor memory, anxiety, and depression are all warning signs that certain stress-coping chemicals (including vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and hormones) have become deficient. These deficiencies then complicate one another until the body’s homeostatic mechanism and

HPA-axis become dysfunctional.

The final tick of the time bomb may be just another part of chronic daily stress, or it may be a sudden traumatic event like the birth of a new baby. I know I didn’t think I’d survive the first colic-plagued six months of my daughter’s life. And I’m extremely healthy! I pulled my weight and spent every other night walking and rocking my crying daughter into the early morning, and this is main reason it took another nine years before my wife could convince me to have another child!

It’s no wonder that many of my patients report that their fibromyalgia began after the birth of a child, often a firstborn. Anyone with children can relate to sleeping (if you can call it that) with one eye and two ears open, making sure the baby is breathing. Or how about trying to sleep without moving so that you don’t wake the baby up? Then there’s the endless nights of breast and bottle feedings, diaper changes at two in the morning, and the early morning piercing cry: “I’m awake, folks!” It’s enough to bankrupt anyone’s stress-coping savings account! Whew! Let’s move on.

we are all born with a stress-coping savings account filled up with chemicals we need for the body to work properly. These chemicals—serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, cortisol, DHEA, HGH, and others—help us deal with stress.

Every time we are exposed to stress (chemically, emotionally, mentally, or physically), we make withdrawals from our stress-coping savings account. These withdrawals can be triggered by any stimulus, including sounds (especially loud or irritating noise), odors, and bright light. You may have noticed that the longer you’ve had your illness, the less tolerant you are to certain odors, chemicals, or noises.

Emotionally stressful situations cause the body to release adrenaline, cortisol, and insulin, and these stress hormones stimulate the brain to secrete serotonin. Long-term stress and poor dietary habits can therefore deplete the body’s serotonin stores. If we aren’t careful we’ll find that we are making more withdrawals than deposits, bankrupting our own account. And when we do, FMS and CFS are often the result.

But when a person enters deep, restorative sleep, she makes more serotonin, which then gets deposited into her stress-coping savings account. The more stress a person is under, the more serotonin she’ll need to replenish. It’s a vicious cycle. If she doesn’t have enough serotonin, she won’t be able to go into the stage of sleep in which she is able to make more serotonin!

solving your serotonin problem

The first reaction of many physicians to a patient’s serotonin deficiency is to recommend a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) drug. But while prescription antidepressants can be helpful, they have some serious potential side effects (see chapter 6). In addition, they tend not to work for FMS patients. And here’s why: SSRIs can help a patient hang onto and use their naturally occurring stores of serotonin. They work like a gasoline additive would work in your car, helping to increase the efficiency of “fuel.” But most of the patients I see with fibromyalgia are running on fumes! A gasoline additive is not likely to help. If you don’t have any serotonin to re-uptake, then using a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor drug is pointless.

And by pointless, I mean exactly that. It’s money thrown away. In fact, depending on which study you quote, from 19% to 70% of those taking antidepressant medications would do just as well on a placebo.

This is precisely why I recommend that my fibromyalgia patients boost their serotonin levels by taking 5-HTP, not an antidepressant. Why put an additive in your gas tank...when you can just fill it up with what it’s really thirsty for? The proper function of our adrenal glands is second only to a good night’s sleep in winning the battle against fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

The importance of restoring optimal adrenal gland function can’t be overstated. An individual with FMS or CFS who suffers from adrenal fatigue will find her stress-coping abilities to be severely depleted. Simply put, she “stresses out” easily. Consequently, she has to avoid stressful situations in order to just feel OK (which makes for complicated relationships). Stress causes her physical pain, worsens her other symptoms, and can cause a flare-up that lasts well beyond the time of the stressful incident.

If she has a day when she feel good, she’ll usually overdo it. Her reason? “I’ve got so much to do! And who knows when I’ll feel good again.” So she cleans the house, stays late at work, re-sods the front yard, goes Christmas shopping, and plays outside with the kids. Then she crashes—hard—the next day.

She just doesn’t have any resistance to stress. If her sister calls at 9:00 p.m. with some bad news, she can just forget about sleeping. And of course she’ll feel terrible the next day, so she can go ahead and cancel that lunch date. “But how can I cancel on my friend again? She already thinks I’m avoiding her!” She just can’t make any firm plans, because she never knows if she’ll be having a good or bad day. Below are some sample accounts from patients of mine who have suffered from adrenal fatigue. Does any of it sound familiar?

Adrenal fatigue is already known to cause many of the same problems associated with CFS/FMS, such as muscle or joint pain, dizziness, fatigue, decreased mental acuity, low body temperature, a compromised immune system, depression, constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

For the past 14 years, I’ve successfully treated thousands of patients with high does of certain vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and other nutrients—an approach known as orthomolecular medicine (see ch. 7). It’s based solely on biochemistry, using the right chemicals inherently natural to your body’s optimal functioning.

In short, by using the natural building blocks that make up your normal biochemistry, we can correct, drastically improve, or even reverse the cause of your illness. Nutrients— including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids—make the hormones that regulate your body. They compose every essential chemical in the body, including thyroid hormone, testosterone, estrogen, neurotransmitters (serotonin, norepinephrine, etc.), antibodies, adrenaline, cortisol, and white blood cells.

Unlike with drug therapy, there is never any danger in getting healthy. Once you become familiar with my protocols, you’ll realize that they’re safer and often more effective than drug therapy alone. And they often work quickly, having a person feel better than she has in years.

I’ve found that it’s best to start with the following core nutrients, which I call the Jump-Start Package. The supplements in this package are essential for reversing fibromyalgia and CFS symptoms, and they don’t take a lot of measuring, counting, or reorganizing of your medicine cabinet. Ninety-nine percent of the time, I start my pain-and-fatigue patients on the four pillars of the Jump-Start Program from day one: 5-HTP, adrenal cortex, digestive enzymes, and an optimal daily dose multivitamin and mineral formula.

When my patients begin the jump-start package, they consistently report feeling better within 2–4 weeks.

That’s because these supplements help address the core issues of fibromyalgia and CFS. I call these the four pillars, and we begin them all at the same time.

1. 5-htp

This builds serotonin and promotes deep restorative sleep, the most important step in beating fibromyalgia and CFS. See chapter 10 to read all about it, including what to do if it doesn’t seem to be working for you.

2. Adrenal cortex

Once you get sleeping well and restore you serotonin levels, you should start feeling better than you have in years. However, if you don’t repair your sluggish adrenal glands, you’ll crash every time you attempt to overdo it. I know you can relate to having a day or two when you feel good and then overtaxing yourself only to “flare up” again and end up in bed for several days. Supplementing with adrenal cortex (500 mg. daily divided into two doses) and/or other supplements that help the adrenal gland repair itself is a crucial step towards avoiding these flare-ups. Check out chapter 11 again if you’re not convinced.

3. Digestive enzymes

The majority of my patients are suffering from poor digestion, and most are taking antacids or proton-pump inhibiting medicines to block their stomach acids. As I’ve already discussed, this can cause further nutritional deficiencies. If you’re not breaking down and assimilating the nutrients in your foods or the supplements your taking, you’ll be wasting your money and never feel as good as you could. That’s why I recommend that all of my patients take an 8X pancreatic digestive enzyme—or betaine HCl with pepsin enzyme—with each meal. Read more in chapter 12.

4. The CFS/Fibro formula

I’ve already established the important roles vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and amino acids play in reversing many of the most troubling symptoms of fibromyalgia and CFS. After working with fibromyalgia and CFS patients for over a decade, I’m firmly convinced that without taking a good optimal daily allowance multivitamin-and-mineral formula similar to the one I’ve developed, patients are doomed to a life-long battle with poor health. Chapters 26–29 will give you more details about the ingredients in the CFS/Fibro Formula.

The CFS/Fibro Formula is taken as one pack with food, twice a day. I’ve designed what I consider to be (and which has proved itself to be) the best on the market, if I do say so myself.

get jumping

This Jump-Start Package is the place to begin in your journey to wellness. Start here, and give yourself some time to improve. As your stress-coping savings account builds up for a couple of weeks, you should definitely feel better. Some of you will show a dramatic improvement. You won’t be totally well yet, and you might never feel like you did when you were 20. But you shouldn’t have to suffer like you have been.

Stress and Fibromyalgia

2011-02-28T11:35:00.000-08:00

A survey by The Fibromyalgia Network reports that 62% of their respondents list physical or emotional stress as the initiating factor in their acquiring fibromyalgia.

I believe chronic stress is the underlying catalyst for the onset of HPA dysfunction and fibromyalgia. Several studies have demonstrated how chronic stress undermines the normal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) function.

When explaining the role of stress in fibromyalgia, I find the following analogy helps put stress and fibromyalgia into perspective.

“We are all born with a stress coping savings account. This account is filled with numerous chemicals we use to help us deal with daily stress-serotonin, norepinephrine, cortisol, magnesium, and other important hormones and nutrients al help counter stress. The more stress we encounter, the more stress coping chemicals we use. We replenish our stress coping savings account with adequate rest. Consistent deep restorative sleep ensures we are making more deposits than withdrawals from our stress coping account.

Since fibromyalgia patients struggle with getting a consistent good nights sleep they eventually bankrupt their stress coping account. Once tyour stress coping savings account is depleted poor health and the many symptoms associated with fibromyalgia, pain, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, depression, low thyroid, etc. start to raise their ugly heads.

With so many different symptoms, it’s no surprise that fibromyalgia and CFS patients are typically taking 6–12 different prescription drugs. Lyrica, Elavil, Klonopin, Paxil, Effexor, Xanax, Trazadone, Neurontin, Zanaflex, Ambien, Lunesta, Cymbalta, and Provigil have all been heralded as “the drug” for fibromyalgia. Some of these are helpful, some worthless, and some really dangerous.

Drug management alone typically fails to yield lasting relief from the most common fibromyalgia and CFS symptoms, and patients’ and doctors’ optimism over a new drug treatment eventually gives way to this sad reality. Oh well, a new drug with an even larger marketing budget is on the horizon. (Forgive my cynicism. I’ve just seen this situation so many times!)

After seventeen years of specializing in treating and beating fibromyalgia I’ve learned that traditional medicine alone yields little if any long-term results.

The best hope for those with fibromyalgia is to find and work with a doctor who practices integrative medicine-combining judicious use of prescription drugs (short-term if possible) and natural therapies (vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients).

Combining prescription drugs (when needed) with natural supplements allows the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia to be corrected, not just covered-up.

Hang in there-you can beat fibromyalgia. Don’t give up.

Here We Go Again-Another Idiot Doctor

2011-02-25T12:00:00.000-08:00

I was just made aware of a story on fibromyalgia that The New York Times ran early last year. How many arrogant idiotic doctors are there in this world. Just when I feel like patients with fibromyalgia are finally getting the support and understanding they deserve, some prehistoric physician, locked in the dark ages, paints fibromyalgia with the "all in their head" label. It would be funny if it weren't so offensive to those who battle this illness on a daily basis. Fibromyalgia is a real disease and those with the syndrome suffer real pain. Who would want to make all this up in their head?

Here is a partial snippet of the article

The Voices of Fibromyalgia

People who suffer from fibromyalgia experience problems beyond the pain caused by their illness. Their condition is little understood and hard to explain, and often they are disbelieved by doctors. Even friends and loved ones may express skepticism toward the fibromyalgia sufferer, who, burdened with inexplicable pain, may cancel social plans, miss work and recoil from physical affection because it hurts too much.

For a glimpse into the frustrating world of fibromyalgia sufferers, listen to the latest installment in the Patient Voices series by producer Karen Barrow.

You’ll meet Christine Wysocki, 33, of St. Augustine, Fla. who waited three years before a close friend and co-worker believed she had a health problem.

“Frankly I still don’t know if I understand exactly what it is,” says Ms. Wysocki. “Everything seems so vague about what fibromyalgia is, and it feels like no one wants to commit to what an actual answer is.”

And there’s Leon Collins, 59, of Clayton, N.J., who was relieved when he heard he had fibromyalgia because he at least had a diagnosis after many other doctors had dismissed his symptoms.

“We even experienced one doctor who wanted to send me to a psychiatrist because he felt my pain was imagined,” he said.

The Skeptic

Count me as one of the skeptics. Not necessarily whether fibromyalgia exists, just that the vast majority of sufferers actually have it. I won’t use the word hypochondria, because I think that is inadequate. I think that many of these people suffer from a somatiform or somatization disorder. Still a disorder in need of treatment, but not fibromyalgia.

Understand, I think that this has definitely had a “wolf-crying” effect on people who do have it, and also on people who suffer, quite beyond their control, from untreated somatiform disorders. This results, not from the inability of medical science to test and confirm the diagnoses of fibromyalgia beyond cataloging the symptom complaints of sufferers, but from the fact that so many people who report these symptoms also complan of other vague maladies and bring to doctors their own self-diagnoses that the doctors have little choice but to attempt to treat them as they are reported.

This is how I put it to the last such person I spoke to: “What are the odds, mathematically, that one person should suffer from so many obscure and medically unconfirmable maladies? Maladies that have symptoms that can only be accepted or rejected based on your word that they exist?” The simple mathematical improbability that one person suffer from Meniere’s Disease, Epstein-Barr Syndrome, and Fibromyalgia, all three vague disorders that seem to show up in varied combinations among middle aged women, commonly with a history of childhood abuse, begs the question: Why are doctors being guilt-tripped into rejecting the possibility that these patients don’t suffer from what they think they suffer from, but indeed do suffer from something? Is the mere social stigma of psychological and emotional disorders enough that we should reject the possibility? I say no.

— Dr Hirschberg

Dr. Hirscberg validates that there are stupid doctors in this world and you should avoid them like the plague. If you have a skeptic for a doctor, if he or she isn't listening to you FIRE THEM and get another doctor!