1) MESSAGES INHIBITED For some reason the
flow of the messages along the nerves from the brain to the various
parts of the body is interrupted, either temporarily, on & off , or
permanently. The causes for this are probably different in every single
FM patient. In some, a virus or injury may have damaged the nerve
passageways or portions of them---- in others stress, trauma, change of
life, diet etc have caused a change in the hormones & chemicals in
the body that aid transmission or reception of these messages, in still
other cases injury to the spinal column or something out of place or
even just the expansion of fluids and swelling from other causes may
crowd the pathways — but some mechanical reason prevents the
messages from being transmitted properly. In my case I have had some
symptoms since childhood My mother & one son also have it. So
initially I considered chemical deficiencies and things like a narrow
spinal chord passageway where the nerves don't fit properly through as
hereditary possibilities. My symptoms were first exacerbated by the
arrival of my firstborn into simple problems (mostly back pain that
disturbed my sleep), again by a second childbirth and later by a
car accident into severe problems. The car accident has led me to
believe that the narrow spinal opening (Chiari syndrome or cervical
spinal stenosis ) or some mechanical problem may be a more likely
explanation than a "chemical' or hormonal one in my case.
Exercise helps one minute & hurts the next. Drugs have been
ineffective and supplements cause some improvement.
2) DOMINO EFFECT What is important to
know is that each system that does not work properly then affects many
many other systems that depend upon it. So , for example, if the
messages to just one muscle are interrupted and that muscle doesn't work
properly, when you move the rest of your body anyway, you can do
"damage to " or create inflammation or distress in a related
muscle or joint. That in turn creates other problems. Which in turn
creates pain. Which in turn creates fatigue. Which in turn can lead to
depression..... etc. Sleep problems may be part of the domino effect or
the root problem - To oversimplify : if the messages that are
being sent to call for seratonin, for example, are interrupted or the
transmission of the seratonin itself is inhibited and as a result your
sleep is interrupted due to this lack of seratonin.......... Then,
the sleep deprivation alone may cause numerous other problems, including
possible joint pain, aches & stiffness ...............Then,
when one muscle doesn't move, the fascia can become
inflamed.............Then pain from the inflammation alone can in turn
cause stress...............Then, stress itself causes other
changes - like chemical changes that reduce the function of the
neurotransmitters and ...........Voila - you are in the
middle of vicious cycle - the pain and problems can appear all
over your body & affect many systems, not just one or two.
They also can come and go. And no one can seem to pin down the
original cause anymore. Hence a "syndrome" (
collection of symptoms) known as Fibromyalgia that seems to
respond to different treatments in every patient.
3) WHICH THERAPIES? Because the doctor
can't FIND the place where the messages are interrupted or SEE the lack
of chemicals, he doesn't know which therapies and remedies might work
best for you. So ALL are often recommended. Usually most will have
some benefit but not "cure" or "solve" the problem
because the root cause is often still there, still invisible and still
beginning the circle of symptoms. In Chiari syndrome, for instance, the
neuro passageways that are too small for the spinal chord to pass
through properly will not get larger by exercise or with drugs.
Nearly every small change that reduces or affects this space will
produce some negative effect ( ie: symptoms may be worse at the
"time of month" for women because the excess fluids cram that
passageway even tighter, cutting off even more messages.) But diet
change or supplements that improve overall transmission may actually be
"somewhat helpful" even though this is NOT the actual source
of the problem. When overall transmission is improved, this
may aid the patients overall health - (just as it would a non Fibro
person) - but it has not taken away the cause which will again and again
thwart efforts to reach a complete improvement. Furthermore, while
the medical conclusion is that FM itself is not degenerative, most
people with FM bitterly disagree. In my opinion, I believe that FM
ITSELF is not degenerative - but what happens when your exercise is
decreased or severely limited, or when you are in constant pain, or when
your sleep is non-existant or regularly disturbed, is that these
each lead to MORE problems ( as noted above) and degeneration of
overall health comes as it would to ANYONE who stopped exercising, or
was mentally or physically depleted and sleep deprived. So it IS
degenerative - but not because the "disease is spreading" -
just because it is causing an unhealthy life process.
4) EXPERIMENTATION MAY LEAD TO DISCOVERY
OF THE CAUSE IN YOUR OWN CASE: Each person should experiment with ALL of
the different types of therapies, in my opinion, to see what works and
what doesn't - and has to understand that one therapy might bring relief
one day - but not work the next. They should not let this discourage
them. If a lack of a nutrient, hormone or chemical, for instance, was
inhibiting neuro-transmission and they add that substance by diet
or supplement - then they may actually effect a reversal of their
own Fibromyalgia symptoms. In others, as stated above - this may
bring improved general health but no solution for the condition itself.
The more we know about Fibro & understand about the many possible
causes and the many types of remedies, the more we can assess which ones
might likely be the cause of our own condition. Many people get
discouraged when the first umpty-ump suggestions bring no relief and
they stop seeking a solution. For example, some are encouraged to keep
excercising no matter how much it hurts. This can cause more
damage. Once you understand how the fascia may be affected , you
may understand that you would do well to keep exercising as much of you
as you can - but if it really hurts, stop & exercise a different
part. Just don't stop exercising!! While we all are
experiencing the same general symptoms, we need to understand that we do
not likely have the same causal factors. So our treatments will be very
individual. The greatest reason for grouping together is to help us
explore & share treatments and to educate doctors who have decided
that this is all in our heads.
Please note that this is my own opinion
that has come through a lot of reading, a lot of doctoring, and a lot of
years of living with Fibromyalgia. You should not accept this as medical
advice - only as an opportunity to have "spoken with" a fellow
sufferer. I am hoping that by sharing it, I will either help others or
have others "correct" my line of thinking and help me!
Follow-up : Since I published this,
one person who read it sent a web address to check out ------ and the
MEDICAL explanation of the above is supported by this news update - The
article was found at WebMd
and is entitled Malfunctions
in Two Key Body Systems May Contribute to Disorder ! Now I have
something new to take to my md!
