"The reader who experiences all over body pain may have an auto immune disorder more along the lines of rheumatoid arthritis. That can be confirmed by a blood test as can any vitamin deficiency (the doctor recommended more Vitamin D which is a great suggestion). Also, the reader should be taking a lot of magnesium which would help all over muscle achiness especially if she has Fibro instead. If she has been referred to Mayo Clinic maybe she should go…. Not ever doctor knows what to do. Working with a Rheumatologist could help. Also sounds like she is very depressed and needs to work with a doctor on beginning LOW DOSE anti-depressant therapy or combinations of meds at LOW DOSES to avoid side effects such as those from Lyrica. Lastly, she needs to be aware of her diet i.e. wheat/gluten/dairy/coffee/sugar being among the worst body pain offenders out there in addition to extreme interpersonal stress. God bless her efforts to get well."

"I’m a survivor (yes, it was that bad) of RSD and I know what pain is about. All over pain such as Fibromyalgia has definite similarities to RSD pain. Even extreme fibromyalgia has similarities to RSD because no matter what the cause of the pain, it has to use the same neuro-pathways. The way I was treated (successfully) for RSD was to take medications that worked on my reflex sympathetic nervous system. I eventually received even more results from biofeedback. What actually CURED me was God answering prayer. I know there is much suffering going on with this poor person. There IS hope. I’ve been virtually pain free for 11 years now. The same techniques can help with Fibro pain as well, no matter how severe. It would also be helpful if this person had their adrenal gland function checked, as well as thyroid function. My adrenals appear to be over-active and they squirt an excessive amount of adrenaline when I’m startled or frightened. The result is excruciating all-over body pain for a short while. With fibromyalgia a person has to be sure to calm the fight or flight reflex down, so stress reduction is a MUST. I know that seems impossible, but one of the simplest methods for coping with stress-related pain is a soak in hot water (as much as you can tolerate without aggravating symptoms) and epsom salts. The salts relax the muscles because they’re a neuro-transmitter that signal muscles to relax. They help by absorbing into the tissues on site (right through the skin). This has also worked WONDERFULLY on tension headaches and even migraines. I soak my head in epsom salts! I have a lot of pain from Fibro still but the epsom salts are highly beneficial. I hope this helps. I know the answers aren’t necessarily simple ones, they take effort and when someone is in pain even simple effort is difficult. However, start with the soak in epsom salts, it’s the easiest thing to try. a cup or two of salts in a very warm bath and soak for at least 20 minutes. It might give enough relief to have energy to start looking at more solutions."

"I believe that her all over body pain is the results of excessive
chronic stress of which her husband is the source. Saying she cannot
fix the awful things her husband does to her is part of the problem.
She continues to endure a severely stressful lifestyle. She needs to
get away from the stress. Spend a lot of time destressing naturally,
not relying on meds, but on psychotherapy. Compounding her problem is
she probably has chronic muscle tension which has likely caused a lot of
myofascial pain. If she is having sleep problems that will also
compound her all over body pain. I suspect the all over body pain did
not come on suddenly but was gradual. A sore muscle here, a burning
shin there, carpal tunnel, some back and neck pain, muscle spasms, etc.
I suspect her symptoms (if she's lucky) are non-existent at night while
she sleeps but as soon as morning comes her all over pain is back in an
instant. She needs to learn to assert herself with him."

"One of the best things I have found for pain is warm water therapy in a pool, you don't have to pay for a class you can go line and find some exercises . You can join a YMCA if you don't have money for that most cities or colleges have indoor pools you can use at a nominal fee. Water Therapy is not a cure however it will give you some relief if you do it two to three times a week. If you do water therapy don't over do it because you can do more in water than outside the water I would never go over 30 minutes probably starting out at 15 minutes and working up to 30 minutes is the ideal thing to do.Don't just get in the pool and stand or sit in the water because only light excerise will remove tension in the muscles. If you live in a cold climate try to dry your hair and keep something on your head when you leave the building."

"For anyone in all sorts of pain, try AR ENCAP from Thorne, a very good dietary supplement company. This stuff has been wonderful. And this is a reliable company that sells to professionals."

"Like you said there really is no "magic pill" or "potion" to treat this really nasty chronic pain. We really are suffering and there is little compassion from medical professionals, family or friends. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia 14 years ago and I've had horrible insomnia x 20+ years - now semi-controlled with nightly Doxepin, Lunesta and as needed valerian root, melatonin, and 5-HTP which I rotate. I've had hormone balancing (Armour Thyroid, Vivelle Dot Estrogen, and Prometrium and DHEA) to see if that would help with the fatique, sleep and pain. My Vitamin D levels were low near 27 and after two years up to only 37 on 3000IU/day so I've doubled that dose to aim for a level greater than 50. My DHEA level was 71 to start and after 2+ years was only 76 and I need to aim for greater than 100. The MD from U of MN who was monitoring all this stated that it can long time to get all these levels up. I tried at least 10+ various anti-depressants and anti-seizure meds which just all made me sick from the side effects or just made my pain worse. The hormones helped my energy and sleep somewhat but not the pain. My pain became very severe after I injured my back shoveling in 12/08 and since it has been an endless round of MD appointments with the loss of my career (I was a critical care nurse and am now on LTD w/Hartford and currently filing for SSDI). I've been to 4 different pain clinics and I'd have to say I'm pretty much disappointed with all them for various reasons - ie, outright greed, lack of compassion, etc. I hated going to them but had to because my regular fibro MD would have nothing to do with filling out all the leave of absence forms from work and disability forms. They have all this power over you, so I don't have much choice with being single and no other source of income. All these doctors kept saying it was my fibro flaring and after 15 months I finally had an MRI which showed 3 disc bulges in my neck (not operable at this point). All along I kept saying this is not my regular fibro pain - nobody listened. What I have now I believe is a severe myofascial pain syndrome in my back, neck, and shoulders on top of the fibro. I'm getting botox, trigger point injections, & manual muscle manipulations at my current pain clinic. So far not a lot of relief from these but I think I'm on the right track. I too am very sensitive to meds and finally get a few hours relief a day w/a half tab of Vicodin taken with a small dose of Xanax. It's really not enough but I fear becoming addicted. All the muscle relaxants just made me nauseous and they didn't help. I can really sympathize and relate to what this reader is going through. If I ever get better I like to wrote a book about the abuse of chronic pain patients by medical professionals. It is very real and I feel as is I've been completely let down by my own profession. You need to not give up and to keep trying to find the right doctor. Perhaps there are some co-morbid conditions underlying the pain - not all pain is fibro pain and you have to come at it from every angle with your nutrition, exercise as tolerated, supplements, hormones, and meds."

"This may or may not help. Sometimes it does help with my daughter's pain. Alpha-Stim. Look it up on the web. The machine is expensive, but it has paid for itself many times over. She still has pain, but at least some of it can be relieved with this machine."

"For the woman who says her husband causes her great pain and she is dependent upon him: First of all, talk to a very good social security lawyer and get help applying for Social Security Disability. If she has already done this she can go to a Women's Resource Center to talk to a lawyer for free. (most YWCA Domestic Crisis Centers can refer her or she can contact her county's community mental health Dept. Support groups for women who have to deal with and live with abusive partners are available via YWCA and health dept. Free counseling is there too. Having a helpful ear helps a lot. Also, the lawyer can help the woman become aware of what she can do. If she has been married for over ten years, she might be eligible for some of her husband's social security benefits. Also, by law the husband is required to support his wife financially. A woman is never truly dependent and stuck on a man like in the 1990's. Even if she relied on her own Social Security disability benefits, and Welfare assistance, alone and received none of the marital property if any, after a divorce, a woman would survive. There is also State disability assistance in most states for those who can't work but are not eligible for social security disability benefits. I hope this woman can seek out information about her financial options or at least get support from a counselor and other woman in similar situations. This might improve her health, too."

"I am finding that pain that doesn't respond to pain meds is often a mental/emotional thing trying to get released. A great book called "Insight Yoga" deals with this and gives passive yoga poses that release the emotions. While these aren't "curing" the pain, they will help her deal with the emotions aroused by her husband. My guess is that he is an ongoing factor. My empathy to this writer. I am going through a bad spell right now on continuous all-over pain also, and I know the times when I think I can't do it anymore. The meditation helps me relax from my desperation and the decreasing of tension lowers the pain."

"My heart goes out to your reader with severe all over body pain. That is how my fibro was too, before my doctor finally got my pain under control. I was so desperate for relief as well. My suggestion for your reader would be to start immediately on a good magnesium supplement, as it is a natural muscle relaxer. She will probably require some type of medication in addition though. The only types of medication that work on this type of pain are some type of CNS-acting medication such as antidepressants and/or benzodiazepines, also the newer drugs like Lyrica. For me, the “magic combo” was Paxil CR and Klonopin, and also Ambien for sleep. I totally understand the sensitivity to meds and fear of the side effects. I am so thankful I found a doctor who also understood this, and worked with me on very gradually increasing the dosages. She started me out on the most minute doses of each med and gradually worked me up. For example, I started with 0.25 mg of Klonopin and worked up to 0.75 over a course of a year or so. That is where I have been for about 3 years now, with no problems. This is what your reader needs her doctor to do with her. She should be aware though, that even with this small tapering up of the drugs, she can still have side effects. I always felt miserable (sometimes even suicidal!) for about a week after changing the dosage of my meds, and then I would stabilize and feel better. A week is a good amount of time to give it to see if you level off and can tolerate it. Also, the older, NON-control release drugs are the best for being able to cut them down to the smallest possible dose. I pray this reader finds some help. Oh, I can also relate to the horribly mean husband. I have lived with one for 14 years. Now that I am better, I finally got free of him. I could never have taken care of myself when I was in the worst of my fibro pain. But the Lord has strengthened me to where I can now, by His grace."

FROM DOM: Wow! As we end 2010, I realized that I have many readers who have been reading the newsletter for well over 10 years! I started writing the newsletter in 1996 when I began my site at www.fms-help.com. It just shows how much there still is to learn about this illness! I was diagnosed with FMS in 1982 at age 30 www.fms-help.com/fibro.htm. My fibro morphed into CFIDS in 1987 www.fms-help.com/fatigue.htm - then got worse from working in toxic mold in 2005 www.fms-help.com/mold.htm.

Now in 2010, at age 59, I am doing much better. I have learned to MANAGE my condition and have had to make many lifestyle changes and also learn to say NO to many things that I know will push me over the edge. I also have to avoid stress like the plague! I depend on a number of things that help me stay functional (read: working). See www.fms-help.com/what.htm.

I am deeply grateful to my readers for ALL they have shared with me over the years - their information, research, burdens, struggles, and their victories. it is because of YOU ALL (Southern expression) that this newsletter even exists, because most of the information is sent in by readers. I am only a "funnel" to get this info out to others. Many years ago I realized that I have a moral obligation to share the info that comes my way, and I have accepted this responsibility as something God wants me to do for my fellow man (or woman....ha!) - as long as I have life and strength. I have tried several times in the past to stop writing these, but it didn't take long before I knew I had to pass along the excellent information I was receiving from others. So, onward into 2011, by the grace of God we go!

"Sleep tips - I was wondering if you could mention in the newsletter the only brand of 5 HTP that worked for me with sleep is Carlson brand 50mg . They dissolve in the mouth. No other brand of 5 htp worked for me. I sleep most nights now and my fibro-adrenal fatigue symptoms are gone now. Everyone is different, don't give up on 5 htp! I still take 50 mg 5 HTP at breakfast, 50 mg at lunch, 250mg just before bedtime. I also take 500mg niacin, 1000mg calcium lactate, 500mg magnesium chloride liquid. My dreaming has increased since adding the niacin, calcium,magnesium,evidently this means my melatonin levels have increased. I "earth," get a lot of daytime sunshine, got rid of wireless, cordless, phones, no computer, no tv after 7:30 or i don't sleep. It took me a long time to figure out what worked and what did not and i was ready to give up at times."

http://cfschronicles.blogspot.com/2010/12/retrocrapologists-allow-infectious.html - Snippet: "Yesterday’s supposed grand slam of “evidence” that XMRV is a contaminate was a direct result of the UK’s long standing antagonistic nature toward ME/CFS. It’s actually quite amazing that without a leg to stand on, they can cite contamination as the reason they have never found infectious XMRV virus in any sample. Then they somehow make the leap from supposed contamination of some test tubes to saying Mikovits, Lo and Hanson are only finding contamination – fragments of some MLV endogenous virus that are so closely related to XMRV that it’s no wonder poor Mikovits, Lo and Hanson were fooled. Apparently, it takes UK scientists (and one of our own) to set us all right. Ha! Not! A patients, we need to see this game they are playing. They think we can be fooled into believing that there is even a question about HMRV existing as an infectious retrovirus, that it is in the blood supply, that it is causing ME/CFS, cancers and other diseases. DO NOT let this junk science win. I talked with Dr. Mikovits briefly by email. “Ours is not a PCR game and NOT contamination. We isolate infectious virus from each patient AND show they have an immune response. You cannot have an immune response to a lab contaminant.”......."So, who do you believe? I have the WPI’s number. I’d be happy to arrange for each of these “retrocrapologists” a lifesaving transfusion from any one of Lombardi’s supposed “contaminants”. Let’s see who takes me up on that offer. We’ll see how much they stand behind their data then!!"

FROM DOM: Amitriptyline (Elavil) was one of the first antidepressants doctors prescribed (1990's) to get me to sleep. Even at low doses, it left me with a very "navy blue" feeling and like a dark cloud was hanging over my head. Drugs work differently with each person. I'm for anything that will help us sleep and relieve pain! Trouble is, there is no one single thing that seems to work the same for each and every fibromite. After 28 years of battling this disorder, I finally have a great regimen going for myself since August 2009/ See www.fms-help.com/what.htm - what I use is based on years and years of experimentation and much misery, side effects, etc. Finally found things that work for me. I also have 100 Tips for Coping with Fibromyalgia and Insomnia at www.fms-help.com/tips.htm.

"I found out that I do not have cold sores, but shingles! I have been battling this over 3 months! It is on my face and scalp. I am currently taking Valtrex along with a handful of supplements. Do your readers have any advice?"

FROM DOM: I have had shingles twice - the first time was horribly painful and widepread - the second time it was very mild because I got on the right meds immediately. I took Acyclovir (antiviral) 800 mg, 5 times per day. It stopped the shingles virus in its tracks. To prevent cold sores, I take 800 mg Acyclovir once a day, plus I use oxygen drops in my drinking water and DMSO topically. For shingles pain, my doctor suggested Lyrica, which helps nerve pain. Lortabs, etc. did not do much for the shingles pain but sort of take the edge off and make me drowsy. You can search my newsletters and site for references to shingles by using the search box at the end of this newsletter. For more info on cold sores, see my page at www.fms-help.com/coldsores.htm.

http://www.color-medicine.com/ - Snippet: "Alternative medicine also uses light in the practice of color therapy. With color therapy, there are different associations, attributes and possible benefits to each color. See TherapyColor.com for more information on this. But it is also thought that there may be medical benefits. This is how color therapy is believed to work: A color will vibrate at a specific frequency. It is said that organs and glands of our bodies also vibrate at specific frequencies and that colors correspond to the areas of our body which have the same frequency. When we are sick, our organs and glands may become out of balance and not function at their proper frequencies. Restoring the proper frequency is thought to restore health. For those interested in holistic health, a convenient and efficient way to apply this color therapy is to wear color therapy glasses. It is believed that the color entering the eyes is directed to the hypothalamus gland, from there to the pineal gland and then to the pituitary gland, which regulates and governs hormone production. As the brain processes this information, it is believed that it causes cellular and hormonal changes. The key is that the frequency of the color may be transmitted to the area of the body which recognizes it. The frequency, or vibration, of the color is constant. The vibration can "tune" that area of the body. In other words, that area may now be restored to its proper vibration and be restored to health while the color is being used. If used regularly, the body may learn to function properly on its own, much as it will with physical therapy.....Did you know that RED could help with sleep? A small clinical study showed that wearing red or magenta glasses after sundown increased secretion of melatonin by 70%. If you are going to a movie or watching television after 9:00 P.M., try wearing magenta colored glasses to block out the green light."

FROM DOM: WOW! Don't miss this article! It gives whole new meaning to "seeing the world through rose colored glasses"! Check out the different colors on this site and see how they affect our body and brain!

"I have always had allergies to foods. In my 30's or 40's, can't remember my whole body swelled up standing with my doctor in his office. He panicked as I was swelling in front of him and he was afraid my throat would close up and I would die. In a moment I couldn't walk, my feet were like balloons, he put me in a wheel chair and called for emergency help and got me to the hospital where I was admitted and filled with cortisone, etc. Little by little I got back down but my allergy and itching remained with giant hives on my body. Doctors filled me with prednisone to the dangerous level and sent me home with benadryl. Allergists were called who did NOTHING to find out why. So after laying in bed and taking benadryl I took my medical book and found the chapter on allergies. Said if you want to see if your hives are from an illness or just an allergy, do this (which I did and I CURED MYSELF). For three days eat nothing but rice, string beans and lamb. If you clear up, you have no illness. Day two I was almost clear of the hives and day three, they were all gone and never came back. When I related this to a doctor a few years later he said "You desensitized yourself, doctors do that all the time." Ha! What doctors do that all the time? I had to research and find this out for myself. This may be helpful to your readers sometime. It worked for me, don't know if it would work for anyone else."

http://www.fibromyalgia-symptoms.org/fibromyalgia_light.html - Snippet: "The effectiveness of light therapy has been debated over the years. However, recent studies now suggest that light therapy is very effective at reducing symptoms of chronic pain, fatigue, headache, and depression. In a study of migraine sufferers, 99% of migraine patients experienced a reduction in the number of headaches they experienced after using light therapy. Another study analyzed light therapy in fibromyalgia sufferers. 66% of sufferers using low light laser therapy experienced a reduction in muscle pain symptoms. The side effects caused by light therapy tend to be minimal and temporary. The most common side effects include eye sensitivity and irritation. You may also experience some mild nausea at the beginning of your light therapy sessions. Some patients complain of becoming restless or over-stimulated by light therapy. Reducing the time spent in light therapy can help to eliminate this restlessness. Light therapy isn’t for everybody. Be sure to speak with your health care provider before trying any form of light therapy. Light therapy is generally advised against if you are suffering from: glaucoma, cataracts, or other eye diseases, epilepsy, skin sensitivities or bipolar disorder."

FROM DOM: Wow! What a fascinating article. See references to light therapy in my past newsletters by using the Google box at the end of this page.

"Have you ever had a myelogram or know any one who has? I have a compression stress fracture in my lumbar region and the spine doctor wants to do this test. I have read on the computer and I am really worried about this test. If you have any suggestions or thoughts I would truly appreciate them."

"This is a follow-up to my comment on the meniere’s reader who takes valium, etc. This is a diagram of a theory of why migraine associated vertigo (MAV), balance disorders (meniere’s and vestibular conditions), and anxiety have overlap symptoms and treatment options. http://www.mvertigo.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=457. There seems to be neurological overlap in the brain. Benzodiazepenes are an established and efficient treatment option for many of these disorders among other medications, supplements, or therapies."