GSE
Fibromyalgia: "Symptoms of a cause"
Fibromyalgia
Causes of fibromyalgia?
Infection
Well documented connections exist between
fibromyalgia and several infections:
Mycoplasma GL Nicholson, NL Nicholson, Diagnosis and Treatment of Mycoplasmal Infections in
Persian Gulf War Illness - CFIDS patients, Int. J Occup Med Immunol Tox 1996; 5:
69-78. Chlamydia
pneumoniae. Machtey, Chlamydia pneumoniae antibodies in Myalgia of Unknown Cause
(including Fibromyalgia) Hepatitis C. A
Spanish study found 15% of 112 FM patients had Hepatitis C viral Infection (HCV).
Rivera J, De Degio A, Trinchet M, MonforteAG, Fibromyalgia-associated Hepatitis
C Virus Infection, Br J Rheum, 1997; Parvovirus B19.
30-60% of the general population test positive for Parvovirus B19, which
incidence increases with age. AM Berg, SJ Naides, RW Simms, Established Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Parvovirus
B19 Infection, J Rhu, 1993; 20: 1941-1943. HIV .
Up to 25%
of HIV patients have fibromyalgia symptoms.
D Buskila, DD Gladman, P Langevitz, S Urowitz, HA Smythe, Fibromyalgia in Human
Immunodeficiency Virus Infection, J Rhu, 1990; 17:9, 1202-1206. Epstein-Barr.
D Buchwald, DL Goldenberg, JL Sullivan, AL Komaroff, The "Chronic Active
Epstein-Barr Virus Infection" Symdrome and Primary Fibromyalgia, Arth & Rhu,
1987; 30:10, 1132-1136.
The following infections are zoonotic
(i.e. can be transmitted between
wild or domestic animals and humans). Of the 1,415 pathogens known to affect humans, 61% are zoonotic - usually
from ticks, but also fleas, lice, and mites. According to Dr. Hines, a naturopathic doctor, master herbalist and endocrinologist,
70% of his patients with fibromayalgia or CFS had one or more of the following
zoonotic infections:
Fibromyalgia may be caused by spirochetes.
"After entering the body
through a tick bite, spirochetes burrow into the muscles where they take up
residence. Spirochete bacteria are very resilient and can adapt to resist attack.
Yhe spirochete can take a cyst form,untouchable by most antibiotics. It also hides in the joints of the body,
in areas of poor circulation, and possibly within immune system cells. Long-term
antibiotic use has shown some success against fibromyalgia, but not without the
antibiotics creating their own set of problems, including kidney and liver
damage, and gallbladder and other digestive problems. Living in a community, it multiplies and
poops producing toxins in muscles and
joints . These
toxins are attacked by the immune system, which leads to chronic inflammation
and pain, with accompanying destruction of muscles and joints.
Spirochetes are difficult to diagnose.
Since they are not in the blood
Lymes disease. Caused by the spirochete Borrelia
Burgdorferi, which is a microphile. i.e. requires
low-level oxygen; 25-40% of long-term Lyme's disease patients develop
fibromyalgia-like symptoms;Leptospira.
Another disease caused by spirochetes, possibly the most common zoonotic
infection worldwideBabesiosis. Commonly coexists with Lyme's Disease, caused by the blood parasite Babesia, of
which there are over 100 species. Disease typically occurs in cattle, dogs,
horses, sheep and swine.Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever - an infection caused by rickettsii.
A parasite found in fleas, ticks,
lice, and mites, transmitted by bite to vertebrate hosts, including humans. It
is characterized by high fever, pains in joints, bones, and muscles, and a skin
eruption. First reported in the Rocky Mountain area, but now widely spread
throughout the U.S.. This infection is the most lethal and most frequently
reported rickettsial illness in the U.S.Cat Scratch Fever.
Caused by a viral infection resulting from the scratch or bite of a
cat. It is characterized by fever and swelling of the lymph nodes.
Spirochetes
Malabsorption problems
Chronic stress
is #1 initiator of malabsorption. Acute stress necessarily shuts
down GI tract function to divert all energy to the muscles in the 'fight or
flight' response. However, chronic stress intereferes with necessary GI
function, and leads to inflammation and
decreased stomach acid production. This in turn can cause
increased intestinal permeability , which leads to problems such as:
Gluten
Sensitivity / Other food allergies Nutrient
Deficiencies. Especially of Vitamin B12Autoimmune
Diseases Stomach
Infections. E.g.
H
Pylori Bacteria and Intestinal Candida
Some common nutrient deficiencies cause pain
Magnesium
Deficiency. Muscle spasms can be partly attributed to a severe magnesium
deficiency -a common problem for many people. The microspasms that occur in
Fibromyalgia are so severe that some researchers refer to them as 'Tetany'. The
constant muscle spasming not only causes pain, but uses up the muscle energy
stores making your muscles feel weak. Stress plays a major role in depleting the
body's magnesium. Be aware that blood tests for magnesium are not helpful in
determining magnesium status.
Magnesium - Missing Miracle Mineral
Vitamin D
Deficiency. Can be partly responsible for pain, since it can cause
osteomalacia by preventing calcium absorption into the bones. As bone cells lose
calcium, the ensuing bone
demineralization leads to osteoporosis. A 'gelatin-like' substance inside bones
becomes more porous, absorbing water, and as it expands, it pushes on the thin
living layer covering the bone, called the perosteum. The many nerve fibers
running through the perosteum respond by what we feel as pain, sometimes
widespread all-over body pain.
Vitamin D -The Sunshine Vitamin
B-12 Deficiency.
B12 is needed to
build myelin, and its deficiency can cause myelin sheath damage affecting neural
transmission of pain, seen in fibromyalgia, M.S., and peripheral neuropathies
A vitamin B12 deficiency can present as:
Soreness and weakness in legs and arms Pain - including back painMental
symptoms / illness - including depression, dementia , Alzheimer's.
"Brain Fog"M.S. and other
degenerative neural disease Infertility - can
effect ovulation , cause
recurrent miscarriage and reduce male infertility
PubMed ,
PubMed Blood disorders - E.g.
Macrocystic Anemia
Possible
causes of a B12 deficiency, include:
Being vegan. Since
animal products are the only significany B12 source and even though the liver
stores up to 3 years of the small amounts of B12 obtained from vegetables, it
may stil not be enough.H. Pylori infection.
Responsible for stomach ulcers, it can also cause increased intestinal
permeability, resulting in B12 (and vitamin
D) malabsorption Low stomach acid.
The real problem for those with heartburn; also responsible for
H. Pylori infectionIntestinal by-pass surgery.
Commonly a cause of
B12 (and Vitamin D ) malabsorption /deficiencyB12 -depleting
drugs, include:
Nitrous oxide.
"Laughing Gas"used for anaesthesia at the dentist.
Metformin .
Sommon diabetic drug Nipride.
Used
in ICU
Lack of intrinsic factor.
Needed for B12 absorption. Although possible,
the other causes listed are more likely culprits.
Oxidative stress
Oxidative stress produces
reactive oxygen species
(ROS) (free radicals.
Can cause inflammation and tissue damage.
Oxidative stress can originate from many sources.
Including toxin overload,emotional stress, too much sugar, damaged fats
Where do the body's ROS Come from?
The antidote to oxidative stress.
Eliminate its
source or counter it with antioxidants
Mitochondrial dysfunction
Lowered cellular energy production is involved
with fibromyalgia. Crucial
nutrients used by the cell's mitochondria to produce energy include:
Magnesium Carnitine Coenzyme Q10 Selenium
Hypothyroid condition ?
Fibromyalgia
(and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome)
may be a manifestation of a hypothyroid condition
Hypothyroidism
Adrenal gland fatigue
Adrenal gland
fatigue is a well-researched component of fibromyalgia. Several
stressors can wear out the adrenals to the point of you feeling exhausted.
However, chronic inflammation, a symptom of fibromyalgia, may well be initiating
the adrenal fatigue, rather than some other stressor.
Fibromyalgia
may also stem from adrenal glands that are smaller than average - according
to some studies.
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