Fibro Myalgia

[janlee]

Hi

My sister (age 47) was diagnosed with FM and hypothyroidism 2 years ago..

Any suggestions would be helpful... she takes a bucket ful of pills.. to help with pain, to sleep, etc, thyroxine for thyroid... plus is overweight...

Thankx people

janlee

[Matthew Shea]

FM, from what I understand, tends to be a catchall disease when the doctors can't figure out what's truly causing the symptoms. Someone my wife knows was diagnosed with FM only to later find out she has a wheat allergy. She removed all wheat products from her diet (not an easy thing, mind you) and the symptoms went away. I'm not saying your sister has a wheat allergy, but that might be one area to explore. Perhaps something in her diet is causing the problems she's having. Perhaps she should try eliminating some of the common allergenic foods one at a time for about a week at a time to see if anything makes a difference. Some of the common ones that come to mind are peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, dairy and berries.

[PhyllisZ]

Originally Posted by Matthew Shea

FM, from what I understand, tends to be a catchall disease when the doctors can't figure out what's truly causing the symptoms. Someone my wife knows was diagnosed with FM only to later find out she has a wheat allergy. She removed all wheat products from her diet (not an easy thing, mind you) and the symptoms went away. I'm not saying your sister has a wheat allergy, but that might be one area to explore. Perhaps something in her diet is causing the problems she's having. Perhaps she should try eliminating some of the common allergenic foods one at a time for about a week at a time to see if anything makes a difference. Some of the common ones that come to mind are peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, dairy and berries.

Great advice.

[escapee]

Avoid/minimize non fermented soy product (key), Uncooked broccoli, turnips, radish, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. All of them are known to have goitrogen that supress the thyroid function. My father used to have serious thyroid condition ( couldnt even walk at one time ) and he does not touch those food until now. If you have to consume them, at least mix it with iodine rich food (eg : seafood ).

Avoid/minimize all fast food, refined sugar, sugary product, deep fried food or anything that is man made .

Cut down starchy carbohydrate intake. replace it with vegetable and low glycemix fruits.

Use Virgin Coconut oil (Lauric acid, medium chain fatty acid) for cooked food and Virgin Olive oil (monounsaturated fat)for uncook.

Hope it helps and good luck

[da1prophet]

Not saying that this is the case with your sister, but everyone whom I've ever known that's been diagnosed with FM is usually overweight and almost always has a very unhealthy diet and lifestyle. As some of the other posters have noted, a change in diet works wonders and could actually improve her condition as opposed to just treating the pain with the "buckets" of pills...

[guscave]

My ex-girlfriend had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and was later diagnosed with FM. The over-weight issue for her came about because of all the different medication she was taking.

Unfortunately since not too much information is known about these two diseases, the usual approach is to try everything, including experimental drugs and therapy. This unfortunately opens up the doors for a lot of scam and unscrupulous practices.

So make sure you tell your sister to read everything she can and inform herself as best as possible about the disease and the latest treatments out there. I know that many times my ex-girlfriend was more informed about certain therapies and medications than the doctors she was seeing, and this helped her a lot.

[tipsypixie]

I was diagnosed with FM in 2002 following 2 years of extreme ill health and a constant migraine that I was subsequently hospitalised for. I am not overweight, nor have I ever been. At the worst point of my illness I lost a lot of weight - 7kgs (roughly a stone) in 3 weeks, despite eating extremely well. I resent the implication that it is a lifestyle related illness and/or that it is a label given because of an inability by medical practitioners to diagnose anything else.

I have no personal experience with thyroid issues but I can tell you what has helped me with the FM. I don't know why, but it's important to shower or bathe very soon after waking up. It just helps. A stable climate also helps enormously - for us moving house from Tasmania to Queensland in Australia has made a huge difference. FM is also believed to be caused by or aggravated by sleeping disorders. You may not even be aware that your sleep patterns are haywire - get it checked out. Small doses of amitriptyline (prescribed by your GP) when needed can help with the sleep. Hydrotherapy in a heated pool (I keep mine at 30 degrees centrigade) is also great. Learning and actively practicing relaxation techniques such as self-hypnosis and yoga are useful.

Mobility can become a huge issue with FM. I went through a period where I couldn't walk as far as my mail box (about 50 yards). It is just so important to keep moving, even when everything absolutely aches.

More than anything I believe that FM is stress related. A truly positive outlook can perform miracles. Exercise is just so important with this syndrome. When we left Tasmania we got a new horse (I hadn't had one for 5 years). Because of riding and looking after her every day, swimming and less changes in barometric pressure I am now well. I know it's still there, it reminds me every day with little things, but I can function and stay awake and alert now. I had a full physical just last week for my job and my GP was astounded at my overall excellent health (her words) and flexibility. I'm 46 years old and have more mobility now than most 25 year olds.

FM is the pits but it is not life threatening and can be dealt with. I tried every medication and herbal remedy that was recommended to me by naturopaths, GPs, Neurologists, Rheumatologists etc etc and they only thing that helped was the amitriptyline. I still take it occasionally, particularly in the storm season and it does help. I've taken 3 25mg tablets in the past 7 weeks - not exactly an addiction.

Wish your sister the best of luck from me. I do understand some of what she's suffering and know that she can recover.

Cheers
C.