Fibromyalgia, Part 1: Causes and Treatments

What you are experiencing is real.

This is important for you to hear. From sleepless nights and widespread pain to acute fatigue and psychological distress, there’s a reasonable explanation for your pain. Some may have told you that it is “all in your head.” And they are right. It is all in your head—but it is not made up.

We can help.

The fact that you are reading this means that you know fibromyalgia is not your fate.

Scientific research shows us that, as a fibromyalgia sufferer, your pain is centered in your brain. That inability to remember why you walked into a room. Forgetting where you parked your car. Difficulty in concentrating. There is a reason and it starts with helping your brain receive the fuel it needs along with proper activation so that your body can heal and function properly.

Whether you’ve seen other professionals or this is your first step toward healing, you’ve come to the right place. While we see people facing similar conditions and diagnosis, no one person can be cared for in the same way. So rather than let the diagnosis determine the care, we look at the person and care for them.

Simply put, your brain may not be firing properly. We can fix that.

While the symptoms are different for each patient, the following services have helped provide relief from the pain and put our patients on a path to healing.

Evaluating neurologically reveals that many fibromyalgia sufferers have an overactive nervous system and upper brain. In order to slow down an overactive nervous system and counter the cause of your pain, we use:

• Exercise With Oxygen Therapy (EWOT) – Exercise With Oxygen Therapy, or EWOT, allows us to make adjustments to how the brain is firing in order to restore proper oxygen levels in the brain and body.
• Chiropractic Adjustments – Based upon our neurologic work-up, we are able to adjust specific sides or regions of your spine, which fires the less dominate side of the brain, bringing you back to a higher functioning level.
• Brain Based Therapies (BBT) – Specific activities to up-regulate the function of your brain.

Many fibromyalgia suffers – and possibly you – have significant food sensitivities and intolerances in addition to their over-active nervous system. We evaluate how your metabolism is functioning with:

• Blood Panel Analysis – Blood sample testing allows us to evaluate the function of all your organs and to address any underlying hormonal and nutritional imbalances
• Adrenal Stress Index – By measuring the free fraction of cortisol in the saliva over a 24 hour period, we are able to evaluate the role abnormal adrenal and HPA axis rhythm, as well as blood sugar dysregulation, may be playing in their symptom picture, which may include: altered energy production, skin integrity, muscle and joint function, immune system function, bone health, sleep quality, thyroid function, blood sugar regulation, brain function and emotional health, and a tendency to allergies and autoimmunity.
• Microbial Organic Acids Test (MOAT) (Great Plains Laboratories) or GI panel – Results of the MOAT indicate the metabolites produced by yeast and bacteria. Elevated test values are related to yeast or bacterial dysbiosis. This test reports 21 metabolites (including creatinine), which include markers for beneficial bacteria, harmful bacteria, Clostridia species, Candida species, yeast and fungal metabolites, and general markers of dysbiosis. We also utilize other functional GI health panels to further evaluate factors contributing to an imbalanced microbiome and related symptomology.
• Food Sensitivity Testing and Food Sensitivity Elimination Diet – IgG (immunoglobulin G) Food allergy test results can aid in the structuring of elimination diets that may relieve symptoms of many chronic neurological, gastrointestinal, and movement disorders. IgG antibodies are present in all body fluids and serve as a first line of defense against infection, but do not release histamine or produce the familiar immediate hypersensitivity reactions of itching, hives, flushing, or sneezing associated with classic IgE allergic reactions. In contrast, IgG antibodies may have more subtle immune effects, ranging from gastrointestinal bloating and nausea to headaches, mood changes, and fatigue. Unknowingly, people may continue to eat “offending” foods, not connecting delayed reactions to the foods eaten perhaps hours or days before. By measuring IgG antibodies specific to antigenic food proteins, it is possible to identify which foods may be responsible for hard-to-define symptoms. The 93 foods tested in the IgG Food Allergy Test w/ Candida include representatives of major food groups common in the western diet. Elimination of IgG-positive foods can improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, autism, ADHD, cystic fibrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and epilepsy, according to numerous clinical studies (courtesy of Great Plains Laboratory website: https://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/igg-food-allergy-test).