FIBROMYALGIA

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Fibromyalgia is a form of generalized muscular pain and fatigue that affects almost 5 million Americans. It is estimated that as many as 10-15 million more individuals go undiagnosed. The term fibromyalgia means pain in the muscles and connective tissue surrounding the muscles, ligaments, and tendons. Many medical doctors insist that a patient must have a certain number (11 out of 18) of positive trigger points (painful areas) in order to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Presently, there are some medical doctors who feel that there is no need to find any positive trigger points in order to diagnose a patient with fibromyalgia. My feeling is “who cares?” Fibromyalgia is a name, a label so to speak. Fibromyalgia literally means to me, “I have pain all over and I’m really tired.” Fibromyalgia cannot be revealed by an abnormal lab finding; the diagnosis instead depends mostly on a person’s report, complaints and feelings.

Pain is the most prominent symptom of fibromyalgia and it generally occurs through the entire body, although it may start in one region, such as the neck and shoulders, and spread to other areas over a period of time.

The majority of patients with fibromyalgia experience moderate to severe fatigue. Along with, the patient will experience lack of energy, decreased exercise endurance, and the kind of exhaustion that results from the flu or lack of sleep are very common. At times, the fatigue is more of a problem than the pain. Abdominal pain, bloating, alternating constipation and diarrhea, migraine headaches and muscular tension headaches are all part of the fibromyalgia syndrome. Some patients may suffer from a frequency of urination. The skin and circulation can be sensitive to temperature changes, resulting in a temporary or sometimes permanent change in skin color. Patients may suffer from a mental fatigue in which they feel they are literally in some type of “brain fog.”

n treating fibromyalgia patients over the years, I have found that many (not all) fibromyalgia patients have been under some type of severe stress in their lives.

Fibromyalgia patients as well as all other chronic pain patients (symptoms lasting longer than six months), must be monitored closely. Before and after treatment, blood pressure, pulse, and tissue saturation of oxygen should be taken, and positive neurological tests should be monitored. If the patient is not closely monitored, it is possible to over stimulate a patient’s metabolic capacity and increase the severity of the symptoms.

In every case of fibromyalgia that I have treated, I have found a high mesencephalic output. Remember the brainstem? It consists of the mesencephalon (top portion), pons (middle) and medulla (lower). High output in the mesencephalon causes the symptoms that fibromyalgia patients experience. Sensitivity to light, increased warmth or sweating, inability to sleep, increased pulse or heart rate, urinary tract infections, pain and fatigue are all classic signs that the mesencephalon (upper brainstem) is over firing as a result of the ponto-medullary (lower brainstem) region failing to inhibit it, or slow it down.

Light sensitivity is one result of a high mesencephalic output. The third and fourth cranial nerves are based in the mesencephalon, and the third cranial nerve allows the pupil to constrict. When the third cranial nerve is not firing properly, the pupil will dilate and the patient will become sensitive to light.