Fibromyalgia Support Group for Surrey and Sussex

When was the last time you woke up feeling refreshed, energised and ready to get on with the day? For many people who suffer from fibromyalgia, sleep disturbance or insomnia is both common and a problem. When you sleep deeply and for an uninterrupted period of time (at least 7 hours), a cascade of hormonal and biochemical changes take place in the body that activate and accelerate the body’s innate healing processes, this helps to keep the body in optimum health and to recover from dis-ease. However, if this process is interfered with because of disturbed sleep, this healing cascade breaks down, energy levels fall and the mental ability to cope with pain and life’s circumstances lessens. So - you wake up in the morning, feeling tired, depressed, in pain, unable to cope and with just enough energy to get through the day. But does it have to be this way? What can you do and who can you turn to for help?

The conventional medical solution to insomnia - tranquillisers - is unpopular, addictive and associated with side effects. What we, the holistic medical practitioners really need and what the Fibromyalgia sufferer really want is something that is safe, effective and works, not by chemically forcing the body into a state of sleep, but by enhancing and supporting the bodies own sleep mechanisms. Enter magnetic therapy.

The magnetic solution

Magnets have been used therapeutically for hundreds of years, have been researched by some of the world’s leading scientists and are used by millions of people worldwide to naturally support the body’s healing processes. They work because you and I consist not only of a physical body, one that we can see, touch and feel, but also numerous measurable electromagnetic fields. These fields not only provide the template for, and origin of instructions for growing, repairing and healing the physical body, but they also can be influenced by, and brought back into a state of harmony with the use of externally applied magnets.

Any disturbance in our physical, emotional and psychological state originates in and is influenced by changes in the body’s electromagnetic fields first.

This realisation inspired me to explore the therapeutic applications of magnets in restoring harmony and balance to the body and particularly to help my Fibromyalgia patients who were suffering from insomnia.

The Melatonin connection

One of the main factors that determines our ability to sleep and the depth at which we sleep is the hormone melatonin. Produced by the pineal gland in the brain, it regulates and is the master hormone for regulating our sleep-wake cycle. Fascinating research has discovered that the pineal gland contains a magnetic material called magnetite and that the release of melatonin is controlled by fluctuations in the magnetic field that surrounds the body, the greatest influence of which is the Earth’s own magnetic field. One of the problems we face in this modern, technology enhanced world of ours, is that the Earth’s nurturing and healing promoting electromagnetic fields, which scientists have shown are absolutely essential to optimum health, are often distorted by the man-made electromagnetic environment within which we exist. Power cables, electric blankets, mobile phones, televisions, fluorescent lighting all contribute to the demise of this healing field and to the weakening of our own bodies electromagnetic fields. This with time stresses the body’s energy fields, distorts the information fed to our physical cells and leads to an exacerbation of Fibromyalgia type pain and disturbances in our sleep pattern. Fortunately, one way to prevent this chain of events from unfolding is for an individual to sleep on a magnetic mattress. The magnets wrap the body in a safe, nurturing magnetic cocoon, enabling and allowing the body to do what it does best – heal, repair and rejuvenate and, of relevance to those with insomnia, they trigger the release of the sleep hormone melatonin – resulting in deeper, more refreshing sleep. And interestingly, according to a study performed at the University of Virginia, sleeping on a magnetic mattress also reduces pain intensity scores, to a clinically meaningful degree.

Summary

In summary, sleep disturbance is a common problem amongst Fibromyalgia sufferers that has significant and detrimental influences at all levels of being – physical, mental, emotional and social. In many cases sufferers will not seek help or treatment from their GP’s because of their fear of becoming addicted to tranquillisers. This leaves thousands of people suffering needlessly. One practical, safe and affordable solution is a magnetic sleep mattress, which provides a nurturing magnetic cocoon for enabling the healing process to take place as well as gently stimulating the pineal gland to produce melatonin, the sleep hormone and the key to enjoying a deep and rejuvenating nights sleep and in some cases reducing the pain of Fibromyalgia.

About Dr Mark Atkinson

One’s state of health is reflected in the feet. This anatomical and physiological connection is the basis for the study of reflexes in the feet, otherwise known as Reflexology. Diagrams of feet used in Reflexology represent receptor sites that communicate to the body through the nervous system.

The well-known adage, “when your feet hurt, you hurt all over” is valid. Likewise, when the body hurts or is out of balance, the feet will tell. The feet are tattletales and don’t lie. Often called ‘stress cues’, the tattletales are visible and felt indications in the feet of higher imbalances in the body. It is common for these areas or ‘reflexes’ in the feet to be sensitive, relative to one’s stress or state of health. Many people do not know these sensitive spots exist until pressure techniques are applied.

Reflexologists are therapists who are trained to see the links between foot stress and other body parts (such as knees, hips, back, organs and glands). Pressure techniques are applied to the feet to therapeutically stimulate nerve receptors below the skin, commonly called ‘reflexes’. Reflexes in the feet can be sensitive or very tender when a corresponding body part is under acute or chronic stress. Reflexology techniques result in the tenderness subsiding or dissipating and the nervous system responding with easing tension, reducing pain, improved circulation, breath and relaxation. The results can play a vital role in restoring the structural function of feet and ankles as well as opening neural pathways and improving vital life energy. As we address the health of the feet, we can affect the health of the body.

The cause of Fibromyalgia Syndrome is unknown and its condition is often misunderstood or disbelieved. Therefore treatment can be hampered in a traditional medical setting where doctors are trained to cure recognised diseases.

The chief characteristic of FMS is that of chronic, widespread soft tissue pain and varying degrees of fatigue and tiredness, which in many sufferers can be intense. Added to this they may encounter other seemingly unrelated and diverse symptoms.

One of the problems I have found having worked in the field of allergy and nutritional medicine for many years is that once a patient is given a ‘label’ it is so often the case that if or when that patient complains of any variety of other symptoms (s)he is told “Oh that’s because you have M.S. or Rheumatoid or F.M.S.”

People without ‘labelled’ disease can also suffer from irritable bowel syndrome, migraines, irritable bladder, tiredness and fatigue, hormonal imbalances and a multitude of other distressing symptoms. These I feel should be viewed with objectivity as separate issues until such times as they can be taken out of the wider view of the labelled disease. Looking at nutritional, dietary, hormonal, fungal, bacterial and other bio-chemical factors can often expose specific reasons for many of the diverse symptoms presumed to be experienced because of that disease and not as an adjunct to it.

Having worked in the field of allergy and Nutritional medicine for the past 20 years, and having run my clinic here in Horley for the past 8 years, my patient ages have ranged from 3 months old to 94 years old!

Symptoms such as eczema, urticaria ( hives), bowel and digestive disorders, general fatigue, hormonal imbalances, headache/migraine and many others generally respond very well to nutritional intervention and management. Really chronic symptoms can be caused by something as simple as a food eaten on a regular basis, an imbalance in the organisms that inhabit the digestive tract or a lack of one or more essential nutrients needed to balance the body’s biochemistry.

In my clinic I view each patient on an individual basis and use a form of non-invasive biochemistry screening to ascertain areas where it is so often possible to alleviate a variety of distressing symptoms. The body has remarkable abilities for self-healing given the right environment to do so.

Please feel free to telephone me on 01293 775771 if you would like to find out more about the ways in which I may be able to help you.

Journal: Curr Gastroenterol Rep. 2005 Aug;7(4):264-71.
Affiliation: Department of Medicine, The Weill Medical College of Cornell University, 520 E. 70th Street, Suite J-314, New York, NY 10021, USA.
NLM Citation: PMID: 16042909

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of several highly prevalent, multi-symptom gastrointestinal motility disorders that have a wide clinical spectrum and are associated with symptoms of gastrointestinal dysmotility and visceral hypersensitivity.

Symptom overlap and comorbidity between IBS and other gastrointestinal motility disorders (eg, chronic constipation, functional dyspepsia, gastroesophageal reflux disease), with gastrointestinal disorders that are not related to motility (eg, celiac disease, lactose intolerance), and with somatic conditions (eg, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome), are frequent.

The clinical associations and pathophysiologic links between IBS and these disorders continue to be explored. This review discusses overlapping symptoms and comorbidity of IBS with select gastrointestinal and non-gastrointestinal disorders and attempts to identify commonalities among these conditions.

As mentioned in one of the many articles that I go through for curiosity and education to help patients, there is something important that I think we all need to look at even though we don’t feel like doing what I am about to talk about.

There is nothing funny at all about Fibromyalgia, nor Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. That being said, we all need to explore the power of laughter and humour in our lives.

Perhaps a review of fibromyalgia which is called a disease, a disorder and loads of other names, depending on the practitioner, should be mentioned again.

For all practical purposes FMS is a condition of the musculoskeletal system that is associated with symptoms of general muscle aches, stiffness, overall fatigue, and poor sleeping habits (see Fibromyalgia Basics) for a complete list of symptoms, you can read or already know the basics, and if not…..go to the library, or get on your computer.

Fibromyalgia is known to occur frequently in women and the onset may be during a stressful event in life. Cognitive behaviour therapy and certain types of prescription drugs are effective in both. I still advocate the use of physical therapy, and psychological therapy (this being a disease as I state below that affects the entire family system), and can ruin a family and their lives, due to the lack of understanding of the family. A big dose of exercise, and the right diet, and napping and email me, and I will tell you what I do. Frenetic or stressful events make things worse, not better, and need to be addressed and you need a safe place to address these issues. The English have the advantage of going to Osteopaths, which is wonderful. Use that advantage.

I know that it still does not feel good to hear this but origins are still unknown. Relatively speaking, the medical communities are just beginning to recognize IBS and FMS as legitimate disorders and not psychosomatic problems. The bottom line is that Research is still in its infancy, and we as patients, must look seriously at that hope. Years back, the medical profession was not paying too much attention to these problems, and as I mention again and again, some physicians still discount these problems.

It helps to re-fresh one’s knowledge about what they have and where it hurts. Knowledge is power. Laughter stimulates our immune system, and gives a feeling of well-being. Laughter aides brain function by improving and oxygenating our bodies. We need to take ourselves more lightly. Take forgetfulness, and instead of being all stressed out because you can’t remember something, you can cry and obsess and get depressed or laugh at your silly mistake. It really feels better to do the laughter.

We know certain things to be truthful about Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia. We know that if everything hurts, and you are forgetful, confused, have IBS, or know only too well what is on television in the middle of the night, that you probably are suffering some of the many symptoms from these illnesses.

One of the best ways if you use a computer is to hook into the internet, and use one of the search engines, specializing in your type of humour, to help laughter in the use of release of hormones for this disease. Laugh as it is therapy. There are even sites that you can go to that will mail you a joke every day. Don’t sit at your computer all day, but stretch and get up and move around. Again, keep your body stretching and moving.

We recently received two emails from our clients, Val and Daria, who have suffered from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue for many years: “It's so good to be able to do things without feeling totally exhausted. Your work is so far in advance of anything else . . . You have given me back my life." "This is stupendous therapy - I'm feeling better than I have for seven years. It happened so quickly! . . . My energy is incomparably better . . . I can't tell you how happy I am."

Val and Daria have been experiencing improvements through a technique called ERA - Energy Recovery Awareness - that we created in 1982, to help people recover from long-term illness. ERA is a way of becoming increasingly aware of the energies that are damaging your health and well-being - and what you can do about them. One of ERA's key principles is that every symptom or illness results from an energy-draining lesion in the body's energy field. And any form of treatment will only be effective if it fully closes this lesion.

ERA can be practised in many different ways, but we use it in its original form which is that of looking directly at the body's energy field. For example, in all cases of fibromyalgia, a lesion starts at the top of the head, then goes down the spine to a point just to the left of the navel. This is the 'fibromyalgia lesion.' The fibromyalgia lesion results from a harmful environmental energy - an 'environmental stress' - penetrating the body's natural defences and entering the top of the head. The presence of this 'foreign energy' in the body eventually causes disease.

The home of someone suffering from fibromyalgia usually includes at least one environmental stress that attacks the upper head area of the human energy field. Electromagnetic fields are one common form of environmental stress that can cause this kind of lesion. It is vital that such a stress is eliminated because it not only continues to weaken the afflicted area of the body's energy field but, also, often prevents the body from responding well to treatment. We identify sources of environmental stress through our "Living Home" service. Alternatively, a graduate of our weekend ERA Training can usually do this for herself.

Although living in an environmental stress-free environment is very important, environmental stress that has already accumulated inside your energy field must also be eliminated. This can be difficult because a foreign energy - especially one in the head region - can become increasingly fixed or stable in the energy field, as the body's own energy drains away.

Consequently, the methods used to seal the fibromyalgia lesion in different people can vary greatly, according to the nature of the underlying stress and each individual's strengths and weaknesses.

Environmental Stress and Fibromyalgia

We recently held two ERA Trainings in Iceland, gave Living Homes' to some local celebrities and appeared on national television. In all of our, back-to-back, Energy Solutions appointments during the entire two weeks we were there, every single person we saw complained of chronic fatigue - and several people, also, of fibromyalgia.

Iceland has the highest per capita ownership of mobile phones in the world. The capital, Reykjavik, is built on volcanic ground and features many mobile phone transmission masts. Electrical installations have different effects on the human energy field according to where they are located. The whole of Reykjavik is blanketed by a powerful environmental stress, due to the density and locations of the many transmission masts. This stress damages the energy of the head, heart and other areas.

Although the Reykjavik level of stress is unusual, background electromagnetic radiation continues to grow everywhere - it is now well over 1000 times stronger than at the beginning of the 20th century. Medical science - which is increasingly dominated by powerful financial interests - has not yet acknowledged the connections between this form of energy and human illness. However, ERA techniques - that you can learn yourself - easily show how some electrical devices directly damage your energy field.

Eliminating Environmental Stresses

Since it's impossible to avoid these harmful energies, we use a small device - the Environmental Stress Eliminator (ESE) - to help the body eliminate them more efficiently. Katherine, an electromagnetically-sensitive owner of the ESE - recently wrote to us, saying, "I feel so much better in this house. I don't have anymore sweats at all. It is wonderful at night - I can now sleep in bed, not on top. On Tuesday evening I sat and watched television for about 1 hour - the first time for weeks. On Wednesday evening, I forgot my ESE. After about 10 minutes, I had to go out of the room - the sweat was pouring from me. So, from now on, I'll be carrying it in my pocket. I'm feeling great now - a million thanks."

Although the ESE has helped thousands of people resist the effects of harmful environmental energies, it's not a substitute for an energetically-clean home. It's far better to be in a place that is life [energy]-supporting rather than one where your body is constantly battling harmful energies. More and more people are choosing to create a Living Home (an environmental stress free house) for themselves because this can, on its own, make such an enormous difference to your health and well-being. As one client put it: "I can't wait to get back home every day - it's such a relief not being attacked by your surroundings all the time."

We appreciate that the usual response to illness is to hope there is a drug that will treat it.

However, in over 20 years of specialising in helping people who are suffering from many forms of chronic illness, and who have already tried many drugs, we find that recovery is often possible through other, less well-known, means - and without any harmful side-effects. These can include upgrading the environmental energies in your home and/or developing your own energy awareness.

My first encounters with Fibromyalgia were in my years as a General Practitioner in Elgin. I soon realised the difficulties that Doctors had been experiencing in trying to treat patients with this frustrating condition. Painkillers were pretty ineffective even at dosage levels that risked nasty side effects. The diagnosis normally ended up being given by our local Rheumatologists who usually added that they had no idea what caused the, often severe, symptoms. Our medical training makes this admission one that is difficult to swallow for Doctors and I was no exception.

I spent much of my General Practice years trying all sorts of conventional and alternative treatments with my patients with Fibromyalgia. These were frustratingly unsuccessful.

As I had trained in Hypnotherapy and psychotherapy and had a small private clinic, I started to employ these skills to cases of Fibromyalgia. Again this was fruitless and I was getting nowhere. This is of course not surprising since these techniques were designed to treat ‘psychological’ illness – which Fibromyalgia is not.

I began to notice many similarities between Fibromyalgia syndrome and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/M.E, which suggested a common pathology. It is not uncommon in medicine for there to be quite a wide spectrum of symptoms associated with any physical illness. As I began to look more closely into these conditions I became more convinced that the problem was arising in the Hypothalamus gland. Over the coming three years I started to base my treatment on this assumption and I began to develop what has become Mickel Reverse Therapy. This therapy was unlike anything that had been described before and was basically a talking treatment that was able to treat physical conditions such as Fibromyalgia. This declaration is still one that generates a great deal of scepticism amongst my fellow professionals and laymen alike. But then this does not surprise me. If I had been told during my early medical career that someone could treat such devastating physical conditions merely by talking then I would not have believed them.

So what is Mickel Reverse Therapy? This is the most common question that I am asked and still one that I struggle to answer coherently. I think in my defence that this is because it is so unlike any other treatments that there are no comparisons to refer to. It is not a psychological treatment, nor hypnosis, nor a form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. So again what is it?

Well the simplest way to describe it is that it is a treatment that returns a dysfunctional Hypothalamus gland and all the effects of this back to normal. The explanation of this is complicated and it is for this reason that I have written a book on the subject. However the underlying process means that employing the Mickel Reverse Therapy allows us to interpret and translate the chemical, cellular changes that are occurring in the condition as a message from the body’s unconscious. By responding to the energetic content of this message we are able to stop the cellular dysfunction and return the individual to full asymptomatic health.

Now, doesn’t that sound like a load of ‘New Age’ rubbish? It would have to me but I know that this is effectively what we do. As I discuss in my book on the subject, we have to be able to look at symptoms of any condition in humans as a form of communication. For example common symptoms such as hunger, although physiological, have a clear inherent message behind them of ‘eat something now’. Applying this same understanding to symptoms of physical conditions means that they then become treatable by Mickel Reverse Therapy.

My experience of reactions to this simplified explanation has taught me that it sounds too good to be true. Indeed one of the first talks I ever did was at a small Fibromyalgia Support Group of twelve people. Following my talk, scepticism and disbelief were such that only three of the group came to me for treatment. I am glad to say that all three were very soon cured of their Fibromyalgia. In fact it was following one of these cases being successfully treated that I made my decision to leave General Practice and focus solely on Fibromyalgia and CFS/M.E treatment.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome can be a major hurdle to getting a good night's sleep. Some of us have trouble getting off to sleep because we're sensitive to noise or because we're 'wired' at bedtime. Others suffer more severely with insomnia. The cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a stressed mind-body system. Stress causes a build-up of toxicity, which burns-out the adrenal glands and mimics the effect of coffee in the way it stimulates the mind.

An over-stimulated mind at bedtime can be like a barking dog. It's annoying and exhausting. Even if we do get off to sleep, we can often wake during the night because our sleep is so light. Most of us wake up feeling brain-dead and hung-over. Then we have the dreaded heavy lead feeling of physical fatigue as we get out of bed. Tiredness weighs us down for most of the day and any attempt to catch-up on inadequate sleep by napping never seems to work.

Sleeping With The Enemy

Cortisol Current research shows that fatigue sufferers have a Cortisol imbalance. Cortisol is a stress hormone that causes wakefulness and alertness. High Cortisol levels at night throws a spanner into the workings of our sleep-wake cycle. The research indicates that we have low levels of Cortisol during the daytime and high levels at night - the reverse of what it should be. This is probably why many of us feel our minds are 'wired' and over-stimulated at bedtime. However, you can reverse the Cortisol imbalance by learning to implement sleep and lifestyle skills that reduce the Cortisol effect at night.

Sleeping With The Friend - Growth Hormone

Growth Hormone is another important hormone associated with sleep. Growth hormone is vital for energy production, tissue repair and muscle growth. We need Growth Hormone daily for our bodies and brains to self-repair. The latest research is showing that fatigue sufferers have a lack of Growth Hormone. This is because we're not getting stages 4 and 5 of sleep.

There are 5 stages to sleep:

• Stages 1 and 2 - light sleep

• Stages 3 and 4 - beginning of deep sleep

• Stage 5 - deep or Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep

It's only in stages 4-5 that the body produces sufficient Growth Hormone to effectively self-repair and provide energy to recover from physical activity. So learning how to nurture and deepen your sleep is an essential and often first step towards recovery.

Sleep Disorder - Case Study

When Emma first contacted me, she was suffering from severe mental fatigue and lethargy - she couldn't work and felt very overwhelmed. When I asked Emma about her sleep pattern, she said it was quite good. She usually got off to sleep ok and apart from having to get up to go to the bathroom, usually slept through the night. However, when I asked how she felt upon waking, she said she felt nearly as exhausted as when she went to bed the night before. She usually awoke with a hangover and brain-fog. It would take her a couple of hours to come around before she felt she could face anything.

I explained that her symptoms upon waking were an indication of a lack of deep sleep and a resulting deficit in the production of energy promoting Growth Hormone. Emma quickly realised that although she was getting off to sleep and sleeping though the night, the quality and depth of her sleep was very poor.

We subsequently did an over-the-phone Sleep Skills Session (more information at: http://www.fatigueanswers.com/phone-coaching.html), covering in-depth drug-free techniques and natural strategies for promoting deep sleep for Growth Hormone production. Just two weeks later she contacted me to say her quality of sleep had dramatically improved, her energy levels were improving and the hangover effect upon waking was nearly gone.

Summary

Getting deep restful sleep is an essential part of getting well from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It is often the easiest place to start on the road to recovery, because you're healing as you sleep. Making some gentle adjustments to your lifestyle to support your sleep at night pays many dividends. Learning how to deepen your sleep at night is a skill that can be easily learned. It can be applied for immediate relief and becomes a skill-for-life that you can share with others.

Sweet Dreams!

I can summarize what I was taught about chronic pain in medical school in 2 sentences. Use Tylenol and/or Motrin –like medications. If the patient has cancer, you can use narcotics if you have to. It is no surprise then that pain patients flock to alternative therapists so they can get relief. Fortunately, most chronic pain can now be effectively treated!

Pain is not the enemy!

Pain is often simply an important indicator of underlying problems that need to be taken care of. In fact, pain can be viewed as the red, flashing, warning light on your dashboard telling you that something urgently needs your attention. To simply mask the pain with medication would be like covering up your “low oil” warning light because it was annoying you.

Therefore, in addition to teaching you how to turn off the pain signal, we will also help you to understand what the pain is trying to tell you that your body needs. When these are addressed, the pain usually goes away! While the underlying problems that need attention are being addressed, it is then also very important to turn off/mask pain so that you can be comfortable.

So how do I treat the underlying problems causing the pain?

There are usually four key areas that need to be treated to eliminate muscle/myofascial and nerve pain. It helps to remember the acronym “S. H. I. N.”. This stands for Sleep, Hormonal support, treating Infections, and Nutritional support. We will briefly review each of these areas and natural tools that will make it easier to treat them.

1 - Nutritional inadequacies

First you need to give the body the nutritional building blocks it needs to heal. Otherwise, it cannot even begin to get well. B Vitamins, antioxidants, magnesium, zinc, selenium and amino acids (proteins) are especially important. There is a product that contains over 50 key nutrients in one scoop of a good tasting powder and one capsule taken daily. It is called the Energy Revitalization System (from Enzymatic Therapy) and supplies an excellent, easy and affordable foundation for nutritional support for almost everyone -- including those with pain. It is easy to use and literally replaces the need for 35 capsules of nutritional supplements a day. We have even seen patients’ chronic pain go away simply with this nutritional support.

Next, although the powder has most of what your body needs, joints require other specific nutrients for healing in addition to what’s in the vitamin powder. So for arthritis, get Glucosamine Sulfate (500 mg 3 x day) and consider MSM (1.5-3 grams a day). Within 6 weeks, most people’s arthritis markedly improves and these actually help to heal your joints! For nerve pain, add lipoic acid 300 mg 3x day for at least 6 weeks.

2 - Sleep-Pain patients frequently have insomnia - which is often profound.

This contributes to pain. Your body’s repair cycle occurs during sleep and you need 8-9 hours of sleep a night for optimal healing. Put differently, your pain will simply not go away until you regularly get 8-9 hours of deep sleep a night!

Many natural remedies that are very effective for sleep also directly help pain. My favorite is the combination of 6 herbals contained in the Revitalizing Sleep Formula by Enzymatic Therapy. Other natural remedies that help sleep when taken at bedtime are magnesium (e.g. 100 -- 300 milligrams), calcium (500 -- 600 mg), 5-HTP (100-300mg-takes 6 weeks to work), &/or melatonin (3/10-1mg) at bedtime.

3 - Hormonal deficiencies

Most lab norms are based on healthy hypothalamic function- which is often not present in chronic pain. Hormonal status needs to be assessed by symptoms and physical exam, despite normal lab tests, and treated accordingly. It may be necessary to treat with:

• A - Thyroid (Armour thyroid)—if you are tired, achy, and cold intolerant, or if you have weight gain and/or brain fog. Even 2 of these symptoms warrant a trial of natural thyroid hormone regardless of your blood tests.

• B - Adrenal (e.g. - adrenal glandulars such as Adrenal Stress End, and DHEA)—consider treatment if you get irritable when you are hungry (hypoglycemia), get dizzy when you stand, crash with stress, or if you have low blood pressure.

• C - Natural ovarian and testicular hormones – if you are a woman, whose pain gets worse the few days before your period, consider natural estrogen (which is much safer than pregnant horse urine – Premarin). If you have low libido and a low normal testosterone blood test, it is reasonable to consider treatment with natural testosterone in both men and women. When symptoms suggest the need for them, these natural hormones have been found to be fairly safe and very beneficial for pain and energy when used in low doses.

4 - Unusual infections

Although there are many, clinically we have found that yeast overgrowth is the most important infection to treat for. Avoid sugar, use Acidophilus Pearls and consider natural antifungals or the medications nystatin plus Diflucan. When yeast is properly treated, chronic sinusitis and spastic colon will also usually go away.

Using fibromyalgia as a model for widespread myofascial pain, our research team did a placebo-controlled study treating sleep, hormonal deficiencies, infections and nutritional deficiencies. The average improvement in quality of life was 90 percent. The majority of patients no longer even qualified for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia after treatment! In addition, an editorial in the Journal of the American Academy of Pain Management noted that our treatment protocol is an "excellent and highly effective part of the standard of practice for the treatment of fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome". The full text of our study and the editorial can be seen at www.vitality101.com. You'll be amazed how even pain that has lasted decades can go away quickly when these underlying problems are taken care of.

What if pain persists after treating these areas?

Although my new book “Pain-Free 1-2-3!” goes into detail about how to eliminate dozens of the most common types of pain (e.g. – headaches, back pain, arthritis, neuropathic pain, abdominal pains, carpal tunnel, etc.) space does not allow detailed discussions of all of these in this article. There are literally hundreds of natural and prescription therapies that can be tailored to your specific type of pain. For more information on over 250 natural and prescription treatments (by category), including dosing and other patient instructions, click on the "treatment protocol" link on my website (bottom left at www.vitality101.com).

Three of the most effective natural general pain herbals are willow bark, Boswellia, and tart cherry. All 3 of these can be found in combination in End Pain by Enzymatic Therapy. Studies show them to work like and to be as or more effective than Motrin related medicines &/or COX 2 inhibitors like Vioxx and Celebrex, but much safer and less expensive. Let’s briefly look at these 3 herbals.

Willow bark is the original source of aspirin, but when used as the entire herb it has been found to be much safer and more effective. Many studies have been done using willow bark, and they consistently show its effectiveness in reducing pain. For example, in 2 studies of 661 patients with severe chronic low back pain, willow bark extract with 240 mg of salicin left ~40% pain free after 4 weeks, with improvement being evident after only 1 week of treatment. In those receiving standard orthopedic care and Motrin for four weeks, only 18% were pain-free. No adverse effects on the stomach lining (e.g.-indigestion, ulcers, etc) were observed with Willow bark, in contrast to aspirin. Willow bark extract has also been shown to be as effective as Vioxx for osteoarthritis.

Boswellia, also known as Frankincense, has been used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. It has been shown in studies to be helpful for both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, with the pain index falling by 90% after eight weeks with a similarly dramatic increase in function. Boswellia has also been demonstrated to have significant anti-inflammatory properties, being helpful in asthma and colitis as well as pain. A common dose is 350 mg 3 times a day.

Cherry Fruit contains compounds which inhibit COX-1(inflammation) as effectively as ibuprofen and tart cherries possess both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

In addition, though we have focused on metabolic therapies, do not forget how powerful manipulative therapies, acupuncture, body and energy work, etc can be in treating pain - especially when combined with these therapies.

You do not have to be in pain any more!