Many symptoms can accompany fibromyalgia and manifest slightly differently in each affected person. However, chronic pain always occurs. Sleep disorders and digestive problems are often added. A concrete diagnosis cannot be made with conventional medical measurements alone. Conventional medicine also lacks a helpful therapy. Naturopathy, however, offers many possibilities that can lead to a concrete improvement in the various complaints.
Fibromyalgia – the pain disorder
Fibromyalgia is not a fad, nor is it a new disease. As early as the 19th century, there were reports of an illness accompanied by pain and exhaustion. It was called neurasthenia of nervous exhaustion.
Over the decades, it was given several other names until it was finally referred to as fibromyalgia or simply “pain disease” – and that’s exactly how fibromyalgia is translated: pain (-algia) of the muscle fibres (fibro-my).
It was once believed that only 1 to 2 percent of the population was affected by fibromyalgia syndrome. Many more people (3 – 4 percent) certainly have to live with this diffuse and often confusing disease.
That’s more people than those with rheumatoid arthritis and almost half as many people as diabetics – and diabetes is considered a widespread disease. Most fibromyalgia sufferers do not yet know what their disease is called and wander from doctor to doctor – always looking for the cause of their symptoms or at least for a diagnosis.
Women are almost always affected. But it can also affect men and children. However, men often receive a different diagnosis, e.g., because fibromyalgia is still considered a “woman’s disease” ( 1 ).
The so-called growing pains can be the first signs of fibromyalgia in children.
The symptoms of fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a real syndrome, which means that it is a whole collection of different symptoms:
Permanent pain
The main symptom of fibromyalgia is the permanent pain that has spread throughout the body. Those affected can rarely say where exactly it hurts. The pain seems to be felt everywhere like in the joints, in the muscles, even in the organs. It can also move from one place to another. Sometimes, it hurts there, then a few days later, there again.
Of course, there are also days when things go reasonably well. However, with any stress or overload, the burnout syndromes return due to cold or hot weather, too much work, too much stress, too much sport or an infection.
Sensitivity to cold and heat
Many people with fibromyalgia can also tolerate colds and especially draughts very badly. Yes, they often freeze even when others still find the temperature pleasant. However, if the temperatures rise in summer, the heat is annoying, and people with fibromyalgia quickly suffer from sweating and hot flashes.
Excessive sensitivity to stimuli
In the same way, progressive fibromyalgia can lead to increased sensitivity to stimuli. Noise and noises are perceived as highly unpleasant. You avoid situations in which people are talking simultaneously (eating in the canteen, parties, etc.) and are already bothered by the rattling of the fork on the other person’s plate.
Bright light is just as unpleasant. It’s best to leave the house with sunglasses. Smells often take on threatening proportions, which are usually difficult to avoid. But it’s not just the actual stench that bothers here. Even smells that others do not even perceive are perceived as extremely disturbing.
You want to ventilate constantly, and in rooms with several people (perfume, deodorant), you can hardly stand it. Touching is also experienced as unpleasant. Sometimes only firm touches (pressure, massages), but sometimes very light touches.
Sleep and digestive disorders
Falling asleep is usually not a problem with fibromyalgia, but sleeping through the night is. Often, you wake up after a few hours of sleep and can no longer fall asleep. In the morning, you feel correspondingly exhausted and could be more efficient. Think of melatonin, the sleep hormone. In the previous link, we presented measures that increase melatonin levels. Some studies show that healthy melatonin levels can relieve fibromyalgia (21).
It is not uncommon for fibromyalgia patients to first be diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome or irritable stomach because the corresponding symptoms occur: abdominal cramps, bloating, heartburn, diarrhoea, constipation or even alternating diarrhoea and constipation.
Food intolerances such as histamine intolerance, gluten intolerance (gluten intolerance) or fructose intolerance are also often present ( 2 ).
Depression and anxiety
Fibromyalgia can very often be accompanied by anxiety and depression – although it is not possible to say who is causing it. Sometimes, the depression was there before the pain. In other patients, it only develops during fibromyalgia, which is unsurprising since the disease is enormously stressful.
Blood sugar fluctuations
Many fibromyalgia patients suffer from problems with blood sugar levels. They seem to be far more sensitive to carbohydrates than other people. The resulting blood sugar fluctuations with paralysing periods of hypoglycaemia lead to dizziness, palpitations, difficulty concentrating, a head wrapped in cotton wool, night sweats, etc.
However, these symptoms can have completely different causes, such as simply “just” the gluten intolerance already mentioned. Many people diagnosed with fibromyalgia ate a gluten-free diet on a trial basis and were suddenly symptom-free.
Many more symptoms
Some sufferers also suffer from breathing difficulties, irritable bladder, headache and facial pain, tinnitus, numbness or tingling in the limbs, dry mucous membranes, dry eye, forgetfulness, feelings of stiffness, swelling due to water retention, itching, neurodermatitis, restless legs, heavy night sweating with completely soaked bed linen, etc.
What does it mean if someone suffers from some of the symptoms mentioned?
He can no longer cope with everyday life, can often no longer go to work, and even relatively simple household tasks hardly seem feasible. Dizziness, exhaustion, forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating lead to an increased risk of accidents and the fact that even simple – even mental – tasks can no longer be mastered.
Fibromyalgia is, therefore, a disease that cannot be ignored and that massively affects life.
Fibromyalgia diagnosis – anything but easy
To make matters worse, visits to the doctor and specialist usually need findings. No matter what you do – blood tests, X-rays, MRI, CT, endoscopies and much more – the doctor won’t find anything.
Therefore, nowadays, the following definition applies to fibromyalgia:
If pain occurs everywhere, if you feel tired or suffer from many other physical ailments, then fibromyalgia syndrome is present IF the symptoms cannot be explained otherwise and if they have existed for several months.
In reality, each person suffers differently. For some, psychological suffering predominates; for others, physical pain; for others, high sensitivity to external stimuli; and for another group, swelling is associated with obesity. Some withdraw completely, others can conceal the disease well.
Suppose you are not afraid of the effort and costs (health insurance often does not cover corresponding analyses). In that case, you can examine the following values, which often, but not always, deviate from those of healthy people with fibromyalgia.
Depending on the result, you already know what to look out for in the subsequent therapy:
- Serotonin: In fibromyalgia, serotonin levels are often too low. – Therapy: Measures to increase serotonin levels (build up intestinal flora, eat the right fats, take saffron, ashwagandha or Rhodiola rosea, etc.). Detailed information on this topic can be found here: How to increase serotonin levels naturally
- Histamine: Histamine levels, on the other hand, are often too high in fibromyalgia. – Therapy: Measures to lower histamine levels can be found here: Histamine intolerance
- Hypoglycaemia: The tendency to hypoglycemia is reflected in low fasting blood sugar and long-term sugar levels. The first thing to do here is to search for the cause. Adrenocortical insufficiency could be involved (cortisol deficiency) or hypothyroidism. Cortisol is a stress hormone, and fibromyalgia is a stress disease. Understandably, chronic stress may cause cortisol secretion to decrease over time. – Therapy: Depending on the cause, take the appropriate hormone preparations and design the diet with many small meals without isolated carbohydrates so that blood sugar fluctuations are not additionally promoted.
- Insulin: Insulin levels may be elevated. – Therapy: A healthy diet and lifestyle helps to regulate this. You can learn how to implement a healthy diet under “Healthy eating is helpful”.
- Intestinal flora: The intestinal flora is disturbed, which can be confirmed with the help of intestinal flora status tests. At the same time, it also shows whether there is a candida load, which can also promote digestive problems and even depression. – Therapy: Rehabilitation of the intestinal flora, if necessary. Measures against Candida.
- Food intolerances (e.g. fructose intolerance, gluten intolerance, histamine intolerance, lactose intolerance, etc.) may be present so that appropriate tests (sometimes possible in a home test) can bring clarity here. – Therapy: Avoid incompatible foods and combine your diet with healthy, compatible foods, not losing sight of the supply of vital substances. Please also follow the links above and implement the measures listed there in the event of the corresponding intolerances. A gluten-free or low-gluten diet would be a good idea if you are gluten intolerant. For more information on gluten-free diets, see below.
- Heavy metal exposure: Heavy metal and toxin exposure (lead, palladium, arsenic, mercury) could be present, which is known to lead to severe nerve damage, high susceptibility to stress and many other symptoms typical of fibromyalgia. With the help of DMPS tests, a corresponding load can be determined. – Therapy: Elimination of toxins/heavy metals. Dr. Klinghardt — a physician and psychokinesiologist known for developing methods to treat chronic diseases — says he has helped hundreds of fibromyalgia patients by eliminating heavy metals alone. The best way to do this is to consult a doctor specialising in environmental medicine.
- Glandular fever and Lyme disease: Glandular fever and Lyme disease can lead to symptoms reminiscent of fibromyalgia or occur together. Therefore, both diseases should be checked or ruled out.
- Antioxidants: The levels of the body’s antioxidants are low. – Therapy: Intake of antioxidants (astaxanthin, OPC, saffron, aronia juice, etc.) and consumption of antioxidant-rich diets.
- Vital substances: The levels of minerals, trace elements, vitamins and fatty acids (omega-3 fatty acids) show possible deficiencies (it is best to have them analysed in whole blood, as deficiencies are often less detectable in serum). – Therapy: Optimise the supply of vital substances, both through nutrition and with the help of dietary supplements.
- Hormone levels: An analysis of hormone levels usually also shows imbalances. In women, for example, estrogen dominance may be present. Cortisol should also be checked, and, of course, the thyroid levels (see point “Hypoglycaemia” above). – Therapy: In case of estrogen dominance, supplement or compensate with nature-identical hormones.
- Hyaluronic acid: 20 years ago, an Israeli research group found that fibromyalgia patients have serum hyaluronic acid levels that are more than eight times higher than those in healthy people and are still almost four times as high hyaluronic acid levels as rheumatism patients. Hyaluronic acid is an important component of connective tissue, so the body produces it. It is unknown why the level of fibromyalgia rises, and, as is so often the case, there are different causes and possibilities. – Therapy: Apparently, higher doses of vitamin C are said to be able to lower hyaluronic acid levels, but this should be discussed with a therapist. Because it is conceivable that the hyaluronic acid level will drop again on its own if all the other measures are carried out, and the organism finds its balance again in this way.
The possible causes of fibromyalgia
Conventional medicine is usually completely overwhelmed regarding possible causes of fibromyalgia. And so, for the time being, one speaks of a “disorder of pain processing”. Yes, this is supposed to be “disturbed” on several levels – but why and why is again unclear.
Based on the above possible diagnostic criteria, the causes are obvious: the low serotonin level is the cause, the increased histamine level, the hypoglycaemia, the intestinal flora disorder, etc. In some cases, this may be the case, e.g. with regard to heavy metal contamination (e.g. amalgam fillings).
However, it may also be that many of these altered values and conditions are not causes but simply symptoms of fibromyalgia and, thus, consequences of a completely different problem.
In reality, fibromyalgia seems to be a natural consequence of the person’s previous life experience. If the damaging influences predominate during life, while the protective ones are rarely experienced, then fibromyalgia can develop – with the appropriate inclination.
Dr. med. Thomas Weiss explains exactly these connections very plausibly in his book ” Kursbuch “. He shows how the diverse and often inexplicable symptoms can occur – so well that fibromyalgia patients can stop wondering about their disease or becoming frightened.
Finally, you understand yourself and your own body again, which alone is an enormous relief and relaxation and thus also brings a first relief.
Inactive in fibromyalgia – The anti-stress gene
There is the so-called anti-stress gene. It is only equally active in some people. The anti-stress gene becomes active if the baby feels well after birth and feels safe and protected—a relaxed person who feels comfortable in the world and copes well with many adversities in later life.
However, the anti-stress gene is not activated if the necessary security is not experienced in childhood. This is the case with traumatised people, although trauma does not necessarily mean terrible abuse.
For a baby, the “separation” of the child practised by some parents is reason enough for trauma. “Separation” means that if the newborn has to sleep alone in the nursery, if you let him cry to teach him a certain schedule in time if you do not give him the love and physical closeness that the baby so desperately needs, then this means only one thing for the baby again and again: danger of death.
A baby does not know he is lying in a safe room in the modern world. It believes (instinctively) that – as in ancient times – wild animals and other dangers can lurk everywhere.
If it is alone, there is a risk of being eaten – or starving. In the Stone Age, loneliness only happened when something terrible had happened to the parents. The trauma is there. Suppose there is also a certain genetic predisposition to increased sensitivity. In that case, these children develop into highly sensitive people who sense threats everywhere in their environment – even if they are harmless sounds, smells, voices or temperatures.
In fibromyalgia – The nervous system becomes highly sensitive.
The nervous system is in a state of high alert in fibromyalgia. The nervous system has become so sensitive that there is an increased sensory perception, and everyday signals and stimuli are interpreted as danger.
The nervous system behaves as if you were alone on a night hike through the Papua New Guinean jungle. Behind every bush, a hungry jaguar or cannibal could jump out any moment. Every crack in the undergrowth, no matter how tiny, every tiny molecule of smoke in the air (cannibal cooking fire), every hiss of predators, no matter how distant – everything is picked up and evaluated as a possible danger. Because in the wilderness, even overlooking a trifle can be fatal.
In the wilderness, this increased sensory perception and permanent alertness is essential for survival and, therefore, good. However, it is optional in the everyday life of a sheltered civilised society. Therefore, there is usually a filter in every person.
It simply filters out many external stimuli, as it correctly assesses them as harmless and ignores them, e.g. the play noises of the neighbour’s children, the conversation of colleagues, the refrigerator’s hum, traffic noises, etc. In fibromyalgia, however, this filter often no longer works reliably.
The nervous system behaves like the person in question has moved permanently into the Papua New Guinean jungle and is almost permanently in mortal danger. It can no longer distinguish which stimuli are important and which are negligible.
As a result, he sees danger everywhere – whether it is warm, cold, damp, dry or loud, whether there are smells or tiny noises. At the same time, the pain threshold decreases, and fibromyalgia pain appears. Then, the sufferer turns his attention to the pain and takes it easy. This, however, increases his susceptibility to pain even further – which, of course, does not happen overnight but over many months and years.
If someone now experiences a childhood in which he missed security and understanding, but then over time, for example, with his grandmother, friends, in everyday working life, in partnership, in deep faith or wherever he finds the security that he once so painfully lacked, then the anti-stress gene can be activated at any time. The person is doing quite well again – despite an unfavourable childhood.
However, the anti-stress gene can also be (re)activated later in life, namely when serious life crises shake existence, e.g. loss or illness of the partner or child, loss of work, material security or several of these strokes of fate even at once. Experiences like these are often accompanied by extreme mental and physical overload, which can lead to the described permanent alertness and high sensitivity of the nervous system.
In fibromyalgia – not all pain is the same.
Even the way a person feels pain is different. Great attention can be paid to the same pain, or it can be almost completely ignored. It always depends on the corresponding experiences and thoughts of the person in question and the context in which the pain occurs.
Some people hardly pay attention to a sore throat. It’s just a cold. It passes and is, therefore, part of winter once or twice. But the father once told another person: When I had a heart attack, I had a sore throat. Consequently, whenever a cold approaches, this person first thinks of a heart attack and suffers much more from the sore throat. The father’s sentence had frightened the daughter or son enormously, so a sore throat is a threat from now on.
Many fibromyalgia patients, therefore, go through terrible fears when they feel various pains, as they suspect acute and life-threatening diseases behind them. As a result, it is not uncommon for them to spend many hours in a wide variety of specialist clinics in the expectation of finding out that they only have 4 weeks left to live – but this does not happen, as it is well known that nothing is found. But the fear remains and accompanies you day after day, night after night.
When pain is associated with love
Especially in the case of highly sensitive people, there is another aspect. If, as described above, they generally received little affection in childhood. Still, the mother cared for the child with particular affection when the child was sick, and then, over time, the child learned that there is love only in sickness and pain.
This does not mean that fibromyalgia people want the pain to secure increased affection and attention from their partner or other loved ones. It simply means that people with such experiences naturally react much more sensitively to pain and perceive it very early and more intensely than others.
Incidentally, a study by Dr. Weiss found that fibromyalgia patients were best off when they could share household chores with their partner. You didn’t feel good when your partners didn’t do anything or even help them with difficult tasks, such as cleaning the windows. However, they were just as badly off when their partners did everything, jumping at every beep and caring for every little work.
Fibromyalgia is, therefore, not an expression of the hidden desire to soon have to do nothing at all, but rather the longing for respect, understanding, support and real partnership.
When high sensitivity is exhausted
Those who now live constantly on high alert but at the same time hardly get any sleep sooner or later fall into a state of great exhaustion. But then everything gets on your nerves: noises, the babble of other people’s voices, honking on the street, not to mention festivals. The susceptibility to stress increases, and the pain threshold falls even lower. Performance decreases, and concentration is out of the question. After all, you only have to commute between bed and sofa.
The high sensitivity now jumps from one place to the next in the body. Understandably, when a highly sensitive intestine reacts with irritable bowel symptoms, a highly sensitive bladder suddenly becomes irritable or anxiety and depression form in the highly sensitive brain.
So, what would be an actual causal therapy for fibromyalgia? Correct! The stimulus threshold, which is far too low, would have to be raised again. The highly sensitive nervous system can be calmed down again. And that is exactly the goal of holistic therapy. Here, several methods (especially self-help) are linked together, whereby conventional medical medication can also be used as an accompaniment – if necessary – and temporarily. But what does conventional medicine do?
Fibromyalgia – conventional medicine
There is hardly any need to say anything about conventional medical therapy for fibromyalgia – it is so unsatisfactory in most cases. Purely symptomatic medications are prescribed, i.e. painkillers (often several at the same time), antidepressants (which are considered first-line remedies but only work for one in three patients) and, in the USA, additionally, pregabalin (trade name Lyrica).
The latter remedies severe neuropathic pain ( polyneuropathy ), anxiety disorders and epileptic seizures. To help with all these problems, it must have a strong sedative (calming) effect – and that’s exactly what the remedy has.
Consequently, the side effects are not particularly surprising. The most common are dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness to the point of drunkenness, blurred vision (blurred or double vision), oedema, erectile dysfunction, nausea, weight gain, and, to top it off, a strong potential for dependence, so severe withdrawal symptoms may occur when discontinued.
However, in recent times, so-called multimodal therapy has been advised, which means that the doctor gives his fibromyalgia patient – possibly in addition to medication:
- At least one physically activating procedure (endurance training such as walking, dancing or cycling or meditative movement therapies such as tai chi or yoga – 2 to 3 times a week for 30 minutes each). ( 4 ) ( 5 )
- At least 1 psychotherapeutic procedure.
This concept could sound more promising, so independent further research on the part of those affected is highly recommended.
Fibromyalgia and guaifenesin
An interesting hypothesis is that of Professor St. Amand – now professor emeritus of endocrinology at the University of California (UCLA). He believes that fibromyalgia is a metabolic disorder. It is caused by a genetic defect that prevents excess phosphate from being excreted. These would now be deposited in the tissue, leading to typical fibromyalgia pain.
Guaifenesin – actually a cough medication – can regulate phosphate metabolism and is said to be able to eliminate fibromyalgia in a manageable period.
Guaifenesin helps many sufferers, but not all. For some, the symptoms are only alleviated but do not disappear completely with guaifenesin. For others, nothing changes despite guaifenesin intake. Now, it could be a matter of different diseases with similar symptoms. In one case, St. Amand’s genetic defect is present. On the other, it is more the connection discussed by Dr. Weiss.
Too much is still unknown, so each affected person must find the most personal way to improve through self-observation, experiments and research. Those affected can take a guaifenesin trial in consultation with their doctor and observe what happens. We have reported about it here: Fibromyalgia – Is guaifenesin the solution?
Fibromyalgia – think holistically
Holistic therapy for fibromyalgia has various goals. If we assume that the high sensitivity of the nervous system is the main cause, then one goal is to calm this high sensitivity, increase the pain threshold and reduce the perception of pain.
However, this does not happen overnight. Therefore, the symptoms of fibromyalgia are also addressed from a holistic point of view, and attempts are made to alleviate them. It should also be taken into account that many of the so-called symptoms are not symptoms at all but independent diseases or complaints that could develop simply because the fibromyalgia patient became so sensitive and his immune system was in an increasingly weaker position due to chronic stress.
This may also be the reason why each person shows different symptoms. After all, every person has different vulnerabilities and, therefore, a tendency to other diseases. So, holistic therapy for fibromyalgia aims to:
- Strengthen the body to become less susceptible to (further) ailments.
- Alleviate or eliminate the existing individual complaints (information on measures for irritable bowel syndrome, intolerances, sleep disorders, depression, etc., can be found under the respective search terms on our site) and calm the high sensitivity of the nervous system in the long term.
All three objectives can be achieved slowly but surely with the following measures ( 7 ) ( 8 ) ( 9 ):
1. Vitamin D
First and foremost, the general supply of nutrients and vital substances should be checked to correct possible deficiencies. Nutrient and vital substance deficiencies weaken the organism, and more symptoms and complaints can develop.
It is not uncommon for deficiencies to promote the development of fibromyalgia in the first place – as has been proven to be the case with vitamin D. Studies have shown that fibromyalgia patients have a much lower vitamin D level – not only as healthy people but also as arthritis sufferers, who usually also have too low a level ( 10 ).
Vitamin D supplementation, on the other hand, was able to noticeably improve fibromyalgia pain and fibromyalgia-related fatigue in a Viennese study. A Turkish study showed that fibromyalgia patients had more intense pain the more pronounced their vitamin D deficiency was.
2. Magnesium malate
Magnesium is also a mineral that is often urgently needed in fibromyalgia, all the more so if there is even a concrete magnesium deficiency. Since fibromyalgia is also a clear lack of energy, it is often recommended to take magnesium in the form of magnesium malate (11).
3. Calcium, iron and Co.
Other minerals such as calcium, iron and manganese are also often not said to be present in sufficiently high levels in people with fibromyalgia, so the current supply of these minerals should also be thoroughly checked ( 12 ).
If you suspect a deficiency or if it turns out to be a deficiency in a blood analysis, you can either change your diet accordingly or take the missing mineral via dietary supplements.
4. Vitamin B12
The B vitamins, especially vitamin B12, also deserve increased attention in fibromyalgia. The B vitamins are responsible, among other things, for proper nerve function, so it is not surprising that a vitamin B deficiency often manifests itself in the fact that one does not tolerate stress well, gets upset easily, seems extremely delicate and also tends to depression, which is all quite reminiscent of fibromyalgia.
Taking a vitamin B complex is, therefore, a good idea for fibromyalgia – especially since it is not uncommon for a very specific B12 deficiency to be detected. In a 2015 Swedish study, vitamin B12 (and folic acid) brought people with fibromyalgia a greater symptom improvement. The longer and more regularly they took the vitamin, the higher the doses, the better their thyroid was controlled, and the less painkillers or pregabalin they took ( 13 ).
5. Healthy eating is helpful.
The previous points already show that a healthy diet for fibromyalgia automatically leads to an optimal supply of vital substances, is indispensable and can bring enormous improvements in fibromyalgia symptoms ( 14 ).
A healthy diet is also sugar-free, often leading to worsening fibromyalgia. However, what can lead to an improvement in one person and an aggravation in another? Everyone has to find out for themselves through experiments with their diet. Every fibromyalgia patient is different here. For some, dairy products don’t work at all. For others, they do. One experiences massive improvements when he finally leaves out the coffee (even decaffeinated ones!), and the other can easily drink one or two cups daily.
One person feels better if he consumes as little fructose as possible, another if he reduces whole grain products and the third if he avoids wheat. Of course, the basic guidelines of a healthy diet should be followed, such as avoiding convenience foods, alcohol and sugar, drinking plenty of water every day and choosing high-quality foods (cold-pressed oils and fats, fresh vegetables instead of canned foods, steaming instead of boiling, etc.).
Studies have long since confirmed that diet enormously influences fibromyalgia, such as the low carb (low carbohydrate) or the gluten-free diet. ( 15 ).
6. Gluten-free diet for fibromyalgia
Gluten can trigger symptoms reminiscent of fibromyalgia in some people. Therefore, living gluten-free for 1 to 3 months can be worthwhile. This often leads to an improvement – if only because gluten can put an enormous strain on the intestines, and the intestine is also usually severely affected by fibromyalgia ( 15 ).
7. Avoid glutamate and aspartame
Although repeatedly dismissed as harmless, the two food additives, glutamate and aspartame, are by no means harmless in fibromyalgia. Studies have shown that the flavour enhancer glutamate (monosodium glutamate) can enhance taste and increase fibromyalgia symptoms (15).
In a 2012 study by Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, 65 fibromyalgia patients with irritable bowel symptoms simultaneously participated. They avoided glutamate and aspartame for four weeks. Only 37 consistently adhered to this diet.
Of these, however, 84 percent reported that more than 30 percent of their symptoms had disappeared. These participants were divided into two groups: One group received glutamate in the food for the next two weeks, and the other a placebo.
The symptoms that had previously improved so well in the glutamate group returned with full force. In the placebo group, on the other hand, everything remained fine ( 16 ). Another study is available from 2001. Scientists from Florida examined four fibromyalgia patients, all of whom had already undergone a wide range of therapies without particular success ( 17 ).
However, when these patients eliminated glutamate and aspartame from their diet, they experienced complete or almost complete elimination of their symptoms within a few months. However, as soon as glutamate was eaten again, the symptoms returned ( 17 ). Glutamate is added to many ready meals. You can recognise flavour enhancers in the declaration by an E number with a 6, e.g. 621 for monosodium glutamate.
However, keep in mind that flavour enhancers can also be found in high concentrations in products considered healthy, such as yeast flakes, yeast-based seasonings, plant-based spreads made from nutritional yeast, etc.
8. Vibration training for fibromyalgia
Of course, exercise is also part of the holistic program for fibromyalgia. For some fibromyalgia patients, vibration training would be a good thing. In any case, a pilot study from Indiana University in 2014 showed that vibration training involving the entire body reduced fibromyalgia pain and improved the quality of life of those affected ( 18 ).
In general, however, the matter with the tip could be improved after a lot of exercise. Most of those affected have reduced their amount of exercise more and more due to the pain. However, the less you move, the faster your physical performance decreases. But if you get up to the gym or buy an exercise bike, a rowing machine or whatever, you will quickly be overwhelmed. The pain threshold is known to be very low, and the nervous system is highly sensitive.
If you start training with high motivation, this is often too much of a good thing and severe pain sets in. This leads to massive overstimulation and thus to an aggravation of the problem – which, by the way, does not subside if you hold out for weeks in the hope that all this is just sore muscles. Often, the person concerned then decides at some point for the complete opposite and takes it easy from now on by preferring to sit or lie down on the sofa. And indeed, it can be done much better.
However, rest and avoidance of stimuli now ensure that the stimulus and pain threshold drop even further over time. It is also not uncommon for obesity to occur, which is also a risk factor for worsening symptoms. Neither activity nor conservation seems to be a solution.
Therefore, now is the time to dedicate ourselves to the main goal of holistic therapy: increasing the stimulus threshold and relieving high nervous sensitivity.
9. Lower the stimulus threshold.
To achieve this goal, the fibromyalgia patient must experience as often as possible that stimuli he previously perceived as dangerous are useful and good for him. With some of the stimuli, this can be done easily, e.g. warmth (warm baths) or touch (gentle massages). With other stimuli, you can work on a kind of desensitisation, i.e. try to endure more and more of the corresponding stimulus and get used to it without the stimulus disturbing. If you train this consciously, relaxation can slowly set in, and alertness can decrease.
Relaxation of the muscles
Before that, however, there should already be a certain basic relaxation because the more relaxed a body is, the less it is possible to become anxious, nervous or depressed. Therefore, it is extremely important to learn a relaxation technique, especially Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation, which starts exactly where there are problems with fibromyalgia. The muscles of the entire body are deeply relaxed during the exercises.
This calms the limbs and internal organs, such as an irritated intestine or bladder. At the same time, sleep difficulties are becoming smaller and less frequent. Subsequently, one proceeds to the stimulus threshold raising or desensitisation training.
Desensitisation training
For example, if you suffer from a sensitivity to noise, you will often love absolute silence. But the more he stays in absolute silence, the more the slightest noise disturbs him. Therefore, it is better to consciously expose yourself to noises again and again, to choose beautiful music or to provide some other background noise (splashing water, birdsong, etc.) and then regularly go to regions where the unloved noises predominate (train stations, city centre, restaurants, etc.).
If you suffer from heat and cold sensitivity, try contrast showers, sauna followed by cold showers or go out from time to time in winter for a few minutes only lightly dressed, move properly and return to the warm house.
Therapists also offer alternation between infrared and cold chambers for hot-cold training. The temperature difference here is 160 degrees – plus 80 degrees in one chamber, minus 80 degrees in the other.
The procedure for other hypersensitivities is very similar. Some therapists offer desensitisation in the practice rooms as part of multimodal fibromyalgia therapy so that you can even train your sensitivity to smells without having to “aromatise” your home accordingly.
The accompaniment of a therapist is, of course, very pleasant for other reasons, as it motivates and helps to persevere.
10. D-ribose energises and relieves pain.
In a small study, the simple sugar D-ribose was shown to be helpful in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, so a trial with ribose could be worthwhile. Energy is stored in our cells as ATP (adenosine triphosphate). Ribose is a building block of ATP to accelerate ATP formation and thus remedy energy deficiency. Chronic pain, in particular, is often associated with a lack of energy at the cellular level, which could explain the positive effect of D-ribose on chronic pain diseases such as fibromyalgia.
Is fibromyalgia perhaps actually a mast cell activation syndrome?
It is now suspected that fibromyalgia in some patients is not fibromyalgia but the so-called mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), which has very similar symptoms. Mast cell activation syndrome can be diagnosed relatively easily, of course, only if you know it exists and are looking for it specifically.
If the diagnosis is positive, mast cell activation syndrome can be treated with relatively simple measures so that symptoms can quickly subside. Therefore, have it checked whether you may have mast cell activation syndrome.
Is fibromyalgia an autoimmune disease?
Meanwhile (2022), it is also suspected that fibromyalgia could be an autoimmune disease. Of course, autoimmune processes do not arise just like that but also have their causes. We present the holistic therapy for autoimmune diseases under the previous link. There, you can see that the measures presented here for fibromyalgia are very similar to the measures that are also used for autoimmune diseases – which is simply because, from a holistic point of view, it is always the same factors that need to be clarified to enable the organism to regain its healthy balance on its own.
Fibromyalgia as a possible consequence of vaccination
A 2014 Israeli study found that chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia could also be the consequences of hepatitis B vaccination — triggered by the vaccine adjuvants and additives in the vaccines, such as aluminium hydroxide. This would make fibromyalgia one of the so-called ASIA, autoimmune diseases caused by vaccines.
ASIA stands for Autoimmune (auto-inflammatory) Syndromes Induced by Adjuvants ( 19 ).
Fibromyalgia – Holistic and natural alleviation
Of course, in addition to the holistic and natural measures presented for fibromyalgia, many other therapies and possibilities can be exhausted; even very simple things are welcome. The main thing is that they do well, calm and relieve the pain, such as funny films that cheer up the mind, warm showers, self-massage, breathing exercises, meditation, etc. ( 20 ).
Important Notice
This article was written based on (at the time of publication) current studies and reviewed by medical professionals. However, it may not be used for self-diagnosis or self-treatment, so it does not replace visiting your doctor. Therefore, always discuss any measure (whether from this or any other of our articles) with your doctor first.
