Most people with Fibromyalgia and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome suffer with at least some degree of pain... all the way to immense, intractable pain.
Since September is National Pain Awareness Month, check out http://curetogether.com/blog/2008/09/21/power-over-pain/ to read all about it.
If you want to learn more about what you can do about personal pain and the whole global issue of pain, take to time to read about the subject at Cure Together.
(I believe this is so important that I link to them on Technorati and I have put a comment on their website. I will do more as time permits.)
This is important.
Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Host of the Health Matters Show
Comments (3)
Cinda,
People that have pain with CFIDS and Fibromyalgia may actually have more than one type of pain, so therapy may be multifaceted. Actually CFIDS and Fibromyalgia are both "Energy Crisis Disorders". That said, it is easy for one to understand how Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is an energy crisis issue. But how is the Fibromyalgia an energy crisis issue?
When your muscles lack energy, they shorten. Think about when you get "writer's cramp", they cramp up. And if you straightened one finger out really quickly, it would really hurt! Well, what if all your muscles went into this state. You would hurt with any movement. Eventually, the "writer's cramp" goes away as you let it rest, because it is not a total body lack of energy, but just a localized phenomena. In Fibromyalgia, it "is" a total body lack of energy. All of you who have done something exertional can attest to the fact that the next day you pay a terrible price for that activity.
The way to treat Fibromyalgia pain is to return energy back to the muscles. Of course, this sounds easier than it really is, so there are multiple things that would need to be done to accomplish this task. One of the easiest and fastest ways to treat that "ache all over like the flu" pain is to take a combination of Magnesium and Malic Acid. Magnesium helps relax your muscles (out of the "cramp"). Malic Acid is from apples and it does 2 things probably. One, it helps remove lactic acid build up in the muscles which can directly cause pain. And two, it may actually help bring energy directly to the muscles.
For long term relief however, you will need a long term program that addresses the core of your energy issues so that you can rid yourself of the "Energy Crisis Disorder". Lyrica helps with neuropathic pain or pain that comes from nerve injury. It is a great product, but it doesn't help everyone. It also doesn't go to the root cause of pain, it just helps mask the pain. So my advice is to use Lyrica, if it helps you, while you are repairing your underlying problems.
Hope this information helps,
Marc Spurlock, MD
Posted by Marc Spurlock, MD | September 27, 2008 11:02 AM
Posted on September 27, 2008 11:02
Dr. Spurlock,
Thank you for your very informative reply. I am sure your insight will help many people. Often no one explains "why" we hurt -or- any logical scenario of what to do to stop the pain. I know I feel better when I move, stretch and get a bit of exercise. In the beginning months when my muscles were so crampy and painful, I found that magnesium and malic acid really helped. No functionality returned at all until I began taking those two together in a pretty hefty dose. So that brings to mind this question... do you have a recommended amount of magnesium and malic acid that you suggest?
Posted by Cinda Crawford
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September 27, 2008 12:12 PM
Posted on September 27, 2008 12:12
Hi Cinda,
Thank you so much for mentioning CureTogether and National Pain Awareness Month. Your show is helpful, informative, and a wonderful support for so many in pain. I will be posting it to the Fibromyalgia and CFS sections of CureTogether as a recommended resource for our members.
Keep up the great work!
Alexandra Carmichael
Co-Founder, CureTogether
Posted by Alexandra Carmichael | September 30, 2008 10:09 PM
Posted on September 30, 2008 22:09