Fibromyalgia And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Treatment

How Is Fibromyalgia Diagnosed

Coping With Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia

There isnt a test that definitively diagnoses fibromyalgia. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia is clinical based on your symptoms and physical exam. Basic blood tests are recommended to exclude other causes of fatigue such as anemia or thyroid disease. The diagnosis relies on your family and medical history combined with your symptoms.

People with fibromyalgia tend to be deeply sensitive to pain that wouldnt bother most people. Your provider may assess the number of tender points, or areas, on your body that are highly sensitive to touch. For a diagnosis, widespread pain should be present for three months along with fatigue and other symptoms such as memory and concentration difficulties, poor sleep, symptoms of depression and irritability syndrome.

How Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Diagnosed

CFS diagnosis depends on two criteria:

Severity and duration. The severe and chronic tiredness lasts for more than 6 months and other medical conditions have been ruled out.

Number of symptoms. Four or more symptoms of CFS are present.

A specific treatment for CFS has yet to be proven effective. Vitamin supplements and medicines have some benefit. Many treatments just relieve the symptoms of CFS.

What Is The Difference Between Fibromyalgia And Myofascial Pain Syndrome

Myofascial pain syndrome is similar to fibromyalgia, but there are important differences in symptoms and treatment. One big difference is that myosfascial pain is confined to a specific area and is associated with trigger points. For more information, see the Made for This Moment myofascial pain syndrome page.

A person can have both fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome. That makes it especially important to consult with a medical specialist who can diagnose the difference and apply the proper treatments for each condition.

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Sleep And Fibromyalgia Fatigue

When Rose first sees a patient with fibromyalgia syndrome and chronic fatigue, she makes sure that other causes of fatigue, like anemia and thyroid problems, have been addressed.

Improving a patient’s sleep is an important part of easing fibromyalgia fatigue, Rose tells WebMD. “We know from research that sleep improves mood, pain, and in general how people feel during the day. Regardless of the reasons for the chronic fatigue, if we can get some control over quality of sleep, we’re likely to see positive benefits to mood, fatigue, concentration.”

The chronic lack of sleep affects a patient’s overall health as well as their pain, Rose adds. “They feel lousy, exhausted, and their immune system can be damaged.”

Steven Berney, MD, chief of rheumatology at Temple University Health System in Philadelphia, agrees. “In fibromyalgia, all treatments are geared toward helping people sleep better,” he tells WebMD. “If we can improve their sleep, patients will get better.”

Treatment Plans For Me/cfs

There’s no single way of managing ME/CFS that works for everyone, but there are a number of treatment options.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says you should be offered a treatment plan tailored to your symptoms.

Your doctor should discuss all of the options with you, and explain the benefits and risks of any treatment.

They should work with you to develop a treatment plan that suits you and takes into account your circumstances and preferences.

You may need advice about making lifestyle changes, specialist treatments, or a combination of both.

If your symptoms are severe, your doctor should ask a specialist for advice.

Your treatment plan should be reviewed regularly.

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Sleep Rest And Relaxation

You may have sleep problems that make your ME/CFS symptoms worse. For example, you may:

have problems getting to sleep

have unrefreshing or restless sleep
need an excessive amount of sleep
sleep during the day and be awake at night

You should be given advice about how to establish a normal sleeping pattern. Having too much sleep does not usually improve the symptoms of ME/CFS, and sleeping during the day can stop you sleeping at night.

You should change your sleep pattern gradually, and your doctor should review how it’s going regularly. If your sleep does not improve after making changes, you may have an underlying sleep problem that will need to be addressed.

It’s likely you’ll need to rest during the day, and your doctor should advise you about the best way to do this. For example, they may suggest limiting each rest period to 30 minutes and teach you relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises.

If you have severe ME/CFS and need to spend much of your time in bed, it can cause problems, including pressure sores and blood clots. These problems, and how to avoid them, should be explained to you and your carers.

Side Effects And Interactions

You can have side effects to opiates even while taking them as directed. Some side effects are the same as overdose symptoms. Common opiate side effects include:

Nausea and/or vomiting

Medications for depression, anxiety or other mental health problems

Again, these may vary by drug.

Opioids should not be stopped abruptly, especially if they’ve been taken chronically, as it can precipitate witihdrawal. Always contact your provider for information on how to taper off them safely.

It’s important for you to notify your healthcare provider and pharmacist about all drugs you’re taking, including over-the-counter ones, so they can help you avoid dangerous interactions.

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Ozone Therapy Treatment For Fibromyalgia And Chronic Fatigue

Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are lifelong medical conditions with shared symptoms overwhelming feelings of tiredness or fatigue.

The only difference between the two is that, with fibromyalgia, persistent exhaustion is caused by debilitating pain whereas with chronic fatigue syndrome, it is caused by a significant lack of energy.

Both fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome are incurable, but that does not mean you cannot control its symptoms. In most cases, a combination of medications, treatment plans, and therapies are needed to manage these conditions.

Unfortunately, most of these common treatment methods are costly and have considerable side-effects. For this reason, people are looking at alternative medicine as a viable option for treatment.

Ozone therapy has been proven beneficial to patients with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.

A Note About Sex And Gender

Natural Cure for Fibromyalgia / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Sex and gender exist on spectrums. This article will use the terms male, female, or both to refer to sex assigned at birth. .

The condition can commonly coexist with autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, but it is not an autoimmune disorder.

Fibromyalgia does not cause joint or muscle inflammation and damage, but it can increase a persons feelings of joint or muscle pain.

Facts about fibromyalgia include the following:

Fibromyalgia occurs

post-traumatic stress disorder
breathing problems

Symptoms can appear at any time during a persons life, but they are most common between the ages of 30 and 50.

Fibromyalgia can be difficult for a person to manage alone.

A rheumatologist or other specialist will design a treatment program to help manage the condition. This will typically involve a combination of pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies.

As fibromyalgia is a syndrome, every person will experience a different set of symptoms, and an individual treatment plan will be necessary.

Treatment may include some or all of the following:

a low impact exercise program

pain, tenderness, stiffness, and sleep disturbance in some people. Other practices, such as tai chi, yoga, and qi gong, may also prove effective.

If exercise is helping with symptoms, it is important to maintain consistency to see progress.

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The Problem With Traditional Treatment Models For Fibromyalgia

Unfortunately, the conventional medical model for fibromyalgia treatment does not target the root cause of the disease. Rather, the solution takes a somewhat limited directive of symptomatic treatment. Therefore, often doctors tell patients to manage the symptoms to improve well-being. Thus, they prescribe anti-inflammatory medication for pain, mood enhancement medication to decrease depression , and other options. While these approaches are essential and helpful to maintain stability and overall functional day-to-day status, they do not, however, get at the root causes which are often multifactorial but will generally include the endocrine system, the immune system, nutritional status, etc.

What Are The Symptoms Of Fibromyalgia

Chronic , widespread pain is the most common symptom of fibromyalgia. You may feel the pain all over your body. Or, you may feel it more in the muscles you use most often, like in your back or legs. The pain may feel like a deep muscle ache, or it may throb or burn. Your pain may also be worse in the morning.

Other symptoms of fibromyalgia include:3,4,5

Extreme tiredness, called fatigue, that does not get better with sleep or rest

Cognitive and memory problems 3

Women with fibromyalgia often have more morning fatigue, pain all over the body, and IBS symptoms than men with fibromyalgia have.8

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How Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Treated

Treatment is determined by your healthcare provider and based on:

Your overall health and medical history
Extent of the condition

Your tolerance for specific medicines, procedures, or therapies
Expectations for the course of the condition
Your opinion or preference

Medicine, including corticosteroids, antidepressants, and others
Light-intensity aerobic exercise
Dietary supplements and herbal preparations

Psychotherapy and supportive counseling

Who Is At Risk For Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Because the cause of CFS is not known, its hard to know what might put someone at risk for getting the condition. However, certain factors are seen more often in people with CFS. These factors include:

Gender. CFS happens up to 4 times more often in women than in men.

Age. CFS commonly affects middle-aged people, but people of any age can get it.

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Fibromyalgia And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Management Issues

Imbalances In The Sex Hormones

When the hypothalamus is not functioning properly, and other hormones get out of balance such as the thyroid and cortisol, it is very common to see imbalances in the sex hormones as well. The endocrine system is like a large symphony when one gland is causing imbalance or is out of tune, it affects the entire orchestra.

Testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone imbalances can cause symptoms such as:

Higher risk for chronic disease

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How Does Fibromyalgia Affect Pregnancy

Many women with fibromyalgia have no problems getting pregnant, and some women report that their symptoms get better during pregnancy.

But, for some women, fibromyalgia can cause problems during pregnancy. Your symptoms may flare or get worse, especially in the first few months of pregnancy. Also, some normal pregnancy complaints, such as fatigue, stress, and mood swings caused by changing hormones, may be worse for women with fibromyalgia.

Talk to your doctor about any medicines you take to treat fibromyalgia, as they may cause other health problems for you or your unborn baby.

Can You Have Both Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Fibromyalgia

How We Are Healing From CFS | Chronic Fatigue Syndrome | Fibromyalgia | Ken Tamplin

You can have both chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. In fact, many people do.

These conditions are considered cousins, of a sort. They belong to the same family of illnesses, which is called central sensitivity syndromes.

The symptoms are extremely similar. So, it can be difficult to tell if you have just one or both of these conditions.

Until theres better diagnostic testing, it may sometimes be impossible to tell if you have both. It may never even be clear which one you have, either, depending on your specific mix of symptoms.

Fortunately, the treatments are similar. So, you may get the right treatments even if youre not correctly diagnosed.

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Principal Processes Underlying Fm

Ascending and descending pathways that influence pain sensitivity.

2.1.1. Peripheral and Central Sensitization

Clinical studies based on functional magnetic resonance imaging have confirmed a central neuronal alteration in nociceptive processes. In particular, following the same amount of pressure stimuli, patients with FM had greater neuronal activation in the pain-processing areas of the brain than control subjects . In individuals with diffuse hyperalgesia or allodynia, the main brain regions in which greater neuronal activity is observed are the posterior insula and secondary somatosensory cortices . The subtle differences in fMRI results in studies on FM or other chronic pain conditions are due to the fact that the stimulus to induce pain is not normalized and therefore may differ in intensity with each scan. fMRI studies have also been useful for determining the involvement of psychological factors in pain processing in FM .

As previously mentioned, the chronic pain typical of FM is due to alterations in central and peripheral sensitization. Over the years, researchers have searched for biomarkers that are capable of detecting these changes. In particular, they focused on factors capable of acting on the growth and survival of nerve cells, such as nerve growth factor . This factor is indeed involved in promoting the growth, proliferation and survival of sensory neurons that transmit pain, temperature and tactile sensations .

2.1.2. Inflammation and Immunity

Suppression Of The Hypothalamus Gland

The hypothalamus gland controls most other glands in the body including the adrenals, the thyroid, and the sex hormones. It also controls the autonomic nervous system and sleep. Because the hypothalamus is suppressed, we often find imbalances with other hormones as well. When the hypothalamus is weakened, it causes a cascade of negative effects in your body. The weakness of the gland happens because of long-term stress, acute trauma or stress, chronically deficient diet, exposure to toxins, as well as a number of other factors.

Critique Synthesis And Discussion

Perhaps related to referral patterns in America where patients with widespread pain were sent to rheumatologists and patients with severe fatigue to infectious disease specialists, research on CFS and FM has tended to follow separate tracks. However, the overlap in symptomatology between the two syndromes and the fact that both remain medically unexplained despite decades of research has led some to consider them common illnesses, indicative of somatic amplification, differing from one another only in degree. While such an explanation may explain some number or percentage of patients with these disorders, this review provides evidence that it cannot explain all cases in that the data we have reviewed suggest that, at least in some cases, the illnesses may be different. Across a number of systems, patients with CFS alone differ from those either with CFS + FM or from those with FM alone with the bulk of these studies showing clear qualitative differences differentiating CFS from FM.

Diagnosing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome And Fibromyalgia

My Fibromyalgia And Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Recovery

ME/CFS and fibromyalgia are both diagnoses of exclusion, which means:

They dont have objective lab or imaging tests.
Other possible conditions must be ruled out.
Multiple factors must be interpreted to come up with an answer.

This process can take a long time. You may have to push your healthcare provider to keep searching or to give you a referral.

Free Phone Consultation With Our New Patient Coordinator

Renewed Vitality is a place of hope. Our knowledgeable providers are experts in their field and take the time to find the underlying causes of hormonal imbalances and illness. We will work with you using proven, scientific-based technology, in a warm and compassionate environment, to help you restore your health so that you can live a life of vitality and wellness.

Please contact our New Patient Coordinator for your Free Phone Consultation. She can answer any questions or concerns that you may have and give you additional information about our providers, our protocols and fees, what is covered by insurance and what is not, and any other details you may need. We can also get you booked for your first appointments if you decide we are a good fit for you. There are no obligations to book an appointment. You can reach us at 740-4703, or complete the form below and we will contact you!

Will I Still Be Able To Work With Fibromyalgia

Usually. Most people with fibromyalgia continue to work, but you may have to make changes to do so. You can cut down the number of hours you work, switch to a less demanding job, or adapt a current job. If you face challenges at work, an occupational therapist can help you design a more comfortable workstation or find more efficient and less painful ways to do your job. A number of federal laws protect your rights.

However, if you cannot work because of your fibromyalgia, you may qualify for disability benefits through your employer or the Social Security Administration.

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There Is Hope Renewed Vitality Can Help

Although Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome symptoms may be severe and overwhelming, dont despair! Renewed Vitality provers are experienced at investigating each individual root cause through clues, symptoms, and lab work using thorough and well-researched methods. Restoring patients back to health and vigor is a commonplace occurrence at Renewed Vitality.

Here Dr. Spurlock discusses the clues to look for and lab testing thats used to diagnose the root causes:

Possible Side Effects Of Cortisol Treatment

Effective Treatment of Chronic Fatigue & Fibromyalgia

Also, its important to remember that long-term hormone use carries a wealth of possible side effects, including:

> psychological problems, including depression

> weight gain

Consult your doctor

As always, it is of the utmost importance for any fibromyalgia patient to consult his or her doctor before beginning any new treatment regimen. Because cortisol treatment does require a prescription, you will have to talk to your doctor in order to begin this treatment. Your doctor will help you to weigh all of the pros and cons of this cortisol treatment based upon your personal symptoms and overall health condition.

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