Bowen Therapy for Fibro

I have been doing Bowen therapy (a specific type of massage) to reset my nervous system after being diagnosed with CFS/borderline fibro.  (See Dr. Edelberg's books The Triple Whammy Cure and Healing Fibromyalgia.)

After only one treatment my flu-like symptoms went away.  This in itself is huge.  Previously, for many years, when I got less than 9-10 hours of sleep I experienced all-over pain like the flu which was difficult.  Many days I needed 11-12 or more hours of sleep.  Now with Dr. Edelberg's help as well as getting Bowen Therapy, I need an average of 9, sometimes 10.  Over time the pain should be totally eliminated as well as the fatigue.

Bowen therapy resets the nervous system, and I go once a month, with no kind of massage in between due to the nervous system working on itself the whole month.

The day after Bowen therapy, my fascia barks at me, and I experience some heightened pain (only a pain scale of 7-8)--but then it subsides the next day.  The therapy has worked overall, and is reducing the pain in my upper back, lower back and legs that I have had for many years in the fascia (which then pinches the nerves.)

Yoga, stretching, and working out cause flair ups in pain, so although I work out and stretch some, I have to take it easy.  Right now, for me, walking articulates the muscles in the spine and gives a slight twist to the back, warming up the fascia and thereby loosening it.

The best way for me to eliminate pain is heat.  As much as I can comfortably take, and that loosens up the fascia in a specific area. 

I wish there were more dialogue on how to reduce pain, but since millions of women (according to Dr. Oz) currently have fibro but aren't diagnosed, there is still a lot of dialogue that hasn't taken place.  Not everybody wants to or needs to take pain killers, and some people are over medicated depending on the severity of their fibro.

I understand that the "day-after-effect" in Bowen may be too painful for some people who have severe fibro, but have also read that it has miraculously helped many.  For me, having borderline fibro, or as I was told by Dr. E, "being on the foothills of fibro," has not been easy.  For those with severe fibro, I wish you the absolute best, and hope you can find answers in Dr. Edelberg's books or with Bowen therapy.

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health), Alix

Big Troubles Associated with Antidepressants

I love Dr. Mercola's newsletter in part because he is so outspoken and unafraid of making waves.  (I also think he has good lawyers because he has been sued by pharma companies who like to keep a lid on this kind of perspective!)

This is a short excerpt from a Mercola article:

• Antidepressant-induced violence and homicide is an international problem, but it is particularly apparent in the US due to the widespread use (and misuse) of these drugs
• 31 commonly-prescribed drugs are disproportionately associated with cases of violent acts. Five of the top 10 most violence-inducing drugs are antidepressants. Commonly used ADHD drugs are also on the list
• Research has found that one in every 250 subjects taking Paxil or Prozac were involved in a violent episode. In a study group of 25,000 people, this included 31 assaults and one homicide

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/10/03/antidepressant-side-effects.aspx?e_cid=20131003Z1_DNL_art_1&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20131003Z1

....It is interesting to me that St. John's Wort is largely prescribed in Europe for depression and seems to be so uncommon here as far as prescriptions go.  Also the work of Daniel Amen breaks depression down into many types, some of them are not due to low serotonin.  Interestingly there is a simple urine test for a neurotransmitter profile ($90 without insurance)--but how many doctors don't give it to their patients before prescribing antidepressants.  

What if that patient is sleeping a lot and low energy becasue of adrenal fatigue or sub clinical low thyroid (low normal range, which some doctors think is too low) and not depression?  What if the neurotransmitter test is not given, and the patient has HIGH serotonin (see the work of Ray Peat)--if a patient is high in serotonin the absolute last thing they need (according to Ray) is to boost their serotonin.  This is why I am glad for people like Mercola who offer a cautionary perspective on antidepressants.

A Votre Sante, (Here's To Your Health,)  Alix

Segmented Sleep Normal?

I found this very interesting article about sleep online (here is a slightly abbreviated version.)

 

The myth of the eight-hour sleep

By Stephanie Hegarty BBC World Service

We often worry about lying awake in the middle of the night - but it could be good for you. A growing body of evidence from both science and history suggests that the eight-hour sleep may be unnatural.

In the early 1990s, psychiatrist Thomas Wehr conducted an experiment in which a group of people were plunged into darkness for 14 hours every day for a month.

It took some time for their sleep to regulate but by the fourth week the subjects had settled into a very distinct sleeping pattern. They slept first for four hours, then woke for one or two hours before falling into a second four-hour sleep.

Though sleep scientists were impressed by the study, among the general public the idea that we must sleep for eight consecutive hours persists.

In 2001, historian Roger Ekirch of Virginia Tech published a seminal paper, drawn from 16 years of research, revealing a wealth of historical evidence that humans used to sleep in two distinct chunks.

His book At Day's Close: Night in Times Past, published four years later, unearths more than 500 references to a segmented sleeping pattern - in diaries, court records, medical books and literature, from Homer's Odyssey to an anthropological account of modern tribes in Nigeria.

Much like the experience of Wehr's subjects, these references describe a first sleep which began about two hours after dusk, followed by waking period of one or two hours and then a second sleep.

"It's not just the number of references - it is the way they refer to it, as if it was common knowledge," Ekirch says.

During this waking period people were quite active. They often got up, went to the toilet or smoked tobacco and some even visited neighbours. Most people stayed in bed, read, wrote and often prayed. Countless prayer manuals from the late 15th Century offered special prayers for the hours in between sleeps.

[The article gives examples of segmented sleep references from literature]

• "He knew this, even in the horror with which he started from his first sleep, and threw up the window to dispel it by the presence of some object, beyond the room, which had not been, as it were, the witness of his dream." Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge (1840)
• "Don Quixote followed nature, and being satisfied with his first sleep, did not solicit more. As for Sancho, he never wanted a second, for the first lasted him from night to morning." Miguel Cervantes, Don Quixote (1615)
• "And at the wakening of your first sleepe You shall have a hott drinke made, And at the wakening of your next sleepe Your sorrowes will have a slake." Early English ballad, Old Robin of Portingale
• The Tiv tribe in Nigeria employ the terms "first sleep" and "second sleep" to refer to specific periods of the night

And these hours weren't entirely solitary - people often chatted to bed-fellows or had sex.

A doctor's manual from 16th Century France even advised couples that the best time to conceive was not at the end of a long day's labour but "after the first sleep", when "they have more enjoyment" and "do it better".

Ekirch found that references to the first and second sleep started to disappear during the late 17th Century. This started among the urban upper classes in northern Europe and over the course of the next 200 years filtered down to the rest of Western society.

By the 1920s the idea of a first and second sleep had receded entirely from our social consciousness.

He attributes the initial shift to improvements in street lighting, domestic lighting and a surge in coffee houses - which were sometimes open all night. As the night became a place for legitimate activity and as that activity increased, the length of time people could dedicate to rest dwindled.

In his new book, Evening's Empire, historian Craig Koslofsky puts forward an account of how this happened.

"Associations with night before the 17th Century were not good," he says. The night was a place populated by people of disrepute - criminals, prostitutes and drunks.

"Even the wealthy, who could afford candlelight, had better things to spend their money on. There was no prestige or social value associated with staying up all night."

That changed in the wake of the Reformation and the counter-Reformation. Protestants and Catholics became accustomed to holding secret services at night, during periods of persecution. If earlier the night had belonged to reprobates, now respectable people became accustomed to exploiting the hours of darkness.

This trend migrated to the social sphere too, but only for those who could afford to live by candlelight. With the advent of street lighting, however, socialising at night began to filter down through the classes.

In 1667, Paris became the first city in the world to light its streets, using wax candles in glass lamps. It was followed by Lille in the same year and Amsterdam two years later, where a much more efficient oil-powered lamp was developed.

London didn't join their ranks until 1684 but by the end of the century, more than 50 of Europe's major towns and cities were lit at night.

Night became fashionable and spending hours lying in bed was considered a waste of time.

"People were becoming increasingly time-conscious and sensitive to efficiency, certainly before the 19th Century," says Roger Ekirch. "But the industrial revolution intensified that attitude by leaps and bounds."

Strong evidence of this shifting attitude is contained in a medical journal from 1829 which urged parents to force their children out of a pattern of first and second sleep.

A small city like Leipzig in central Germany employed 100 men to tend to 700 lamps.

"If no disease or accident there intervene, they will need no further repose than that obtained in their first sleep, which custom will have caused to terminate by itself just at the usual hour.

"And then, if they turn upon their ear to take a second nap, they will be taught to look upon it as an intemperance not at all redounding to their credit."

Today, most people seem to have adapted quite well to the eight-hour sleep, but Ekirch believes many sleeping problems may have roots in the human body's natural preference for segmented sleep as well as the ubiquity of artificial light.

This could be the root of a condition called sleep maintenance insomnia, where people wake during the night and have trouble getting back to sleep, he suggests.

The condition first appears in literature at the end of the 19th Century, at the same time as accounts of segmented sleep disappear.

"For most of evolution we slept a certain way," says sleep psychologist Gregg Jacobs. "Waking up during the night is part of normal human physiology."

The idea that we must sleep in a consolidated block could be damaging, he says, if it makes people who wake up at night anxious, as this anxiety can itself prohibit sleeps and is likely to seep into waking life too.

Every 60-100 minutes we go through a cycle of four stages of sleep

• Stage 1 is a drowsy, relaxed state between being awake and sleeping - breathing slows, muscles relax, heart rate drops
• Stage 2 is slightly deeper sleep - you may feel awake and this means that, on many nights, you may be asleep and not know it
• Stage 3 and Stage 4, or Deep Sleep - it is very hard to wake up from Deep Sleep because this is when there is the lowest amount of activity in your body
• After Deep Sleep, we go back to Stage 2 for a few minutes, and then enter Dream Sleep - also called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep - which, as its name suggests, is when you dream

In a full sleep cycle, a person goes through all the stages of sleep from one to four, then back down through stages three and two, before entering dream sleep

Russell Foster, a professor of circadian [body clock] neuroscience at Oxford, shares this point of view.

"Many people wake up at night and panic," he says. "I tell them that what they are experiencing is a throwback to the bi-modal sleep pattern."

But the majority of doctors still fail to acknowledge that a consolidated eight-hour sleep may be unnatural.

"Over 30% of the medical problems that doctors are faced with stem directly or indirectly from sleep. But sleep has been ignored in medical training and there are very few centres where sleep is studied," he says.

Jacobs suggests that the waking period between sleeps, when people were forced into periods of rest and relaxation, could have played an important part in the human capacity to regulate stress naturally.

In many historic accounts, Ekirch found that people used the time to meditate on their dreams.

"Today we spend less time doing those things," says Dr Jacobs. "It's not a coincidence that, in modern life, the number of people who report anxiety, stress, depression, alcoholism and drug abuse has gone up."

So the next time you wake up in the middle of the night, think of your pre-industrial ancestors and relax. Lying awake could be good for you.

 

......Very interesting article, I had never heard of segmented sleep until I read this.

 

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health,) Alix

 

Watch out for GM corn

Here is a summary of the latest Dr. Mercola newsletter about glycophospate/Roundup and GM foods.

The following excerpt is from Mercola.com:

• Research shows glyphosate is toxic to water fleas at extraordinarily low levels, well within the levels expected to be found in the environment. These findings throw serious doubt on glyphosate’s safety
• Previous research has shown that Roundup is toxic to human DNA even when diluted to concentrations 450-fold lower than used in agricultural applications
• “Inactive” ingredients such as solvents, preservatives, and surfactants contribute to toxicity in a synergistic manner, and ethoxylated adjuvants in glyphosate-based herbicides have been found to be “active principles of human cell toxicity”
• Cell damage and even cell death can occur at the residual levels found on Roundup-treated food crops, as well as lawns and gardens where Roundup is applied for weed control
• Liver, embryonic and placental cell lines are adversely affected by glyphosate at doses as low as 1 ppm. GM corn can contain as much as 13 ppm of glyphosate, and Americans eat an average of 193 lbs of GM foods annually

Dr. Mercola is great at speaking out against GM foods and compiling research to keep the public updated. Check out his free newsletter at Mercola.com.

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health,) Alix

Millions of women have fibromyalgia and don't know it!

Check out this link to a great episode of Dr. Oz about fibromyalgia.  I have written several posts about my experience with borderline fibromyalgia as well as chronic fatigue:  feeling like I have the flu, exhaustion, and having constant pain in the thoracic region of my back.  This episode will really wake up everyone who sees it and hopefully help a lot of women who have this condition--according to Dr. Oz, millions of women have it because many doctors are unaware of how to diagnose it.  I lived with feeling like I had the flu and exhaustion for 25 years until it was finally diagnosed as chronic fatigue and borderline fibromyalgia (which is no picnic.)

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/disease-your-doctor-may-miss-fibromyalgia-pt-1

I like my doctor's protocol better than what was discussed on the show.  I have discussed Dr. Edelberg's protocol in previous blogs.  He offers very specific natural treatments and cautions on the use/overuse of pain killers. (He authored the fabulous book Healing Fibromyalgia.)

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health,) Alix

How Important Is Vitamin D?

"To give you an idea of the numbers involved, it’s estimated that 60,000 Americans die prematurely of cancer every year because of vitamin D deficiency. Add to this premature autoimmune disease (such as multiple sclerosis), heart disease, allergies (like asthma), diabetes, and Alzheimer’s and the numbers become mind-boggling."

This is a quote from the Whole Health Chicago newsletter which also talks about D3 supplements.  To read the whole article copy and paste this link into your browser:

 http://www.wholehealthchicago.com/5768/mayo-clinics-stunning-vitamin-d-research/

A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health,) Alix

Are you vitamin deficient?

Here is an excerpt from Norm Shealy's newsletter. (www.normshealy.com)  He is the "grandfather" of holistic health, and he also trained Carolyn Myss to develop her intuitive medical diagnostic ability.

Everything affects Everything

Deficiencies of ANY essential nutrient can cause multiple problems. In fact at least 85% of ALL illnesses are the result of deficiencies in essential nutrients, exercise and/or stress management!

Most common nutritional deficiencies, and there are many others:

• Magnesium
• Vitamin D 3
• B 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and/or 12
• Folate or folic acid
• Biotin-B 7
• Omega 3's
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin K 2
• Vitamin E, especially tocotrienols
• MSM
• Iodine
• Boron
• Quality protein, especially in vegetarians
• Zinc
• Carotenoids
• Calcium
• Iron

Everything from Alzheimer's to cancer and heart disease can be partially or significantly related to deficiencies. In general, it is far better to take a GOOD multivitamin/mineral plus essential Omega-3's than to depend upon commercial food, unless you raise your own food organically. 

A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health,) Alix

March Against Monsanto

Last weekend was the worldwide March Against Monsanto with peaceful protests in cities all over the globe.  I talked to a holistic health advisor and personal trainer who attended the March against Monsanto in Chicago.  He said it was very family friendly and that there were up to 3000 people who attended and that the protest had a really positive energy.  He told me that the media reported that 700 people attended, which is very common for the media to under-report numbers on events like this, since the media aren't on the anti-Monsanto bandwagon (that would would be detrimental for their advertising revenue!)

I've written a lot about GM foods, and  now a former researcher--and once supporter--of GM plants is now speaking out about their dangers.  It's important to remember that the Bt corn and soya plants are actually registered as insecticides. Much of the research that touts the long term safety to GM crops has been done by industry-insiders (such as Monsanto) as opposed to external groups.  The longest animal study done by industry-researchers was only 90 days long!

To read more go to:  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/28/gmo-dangers.aspx?e_cid=20130528_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20130528

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health), Alix

Calcium supplements for men--increased risk for cardiovascular disease

Here is an excerpt from the Whole Health Chicago Newsletter.  This is written by Dr. David Edelberg who is the doctor that helped me recover from chronic fatigue (hypothyroid, estrogen dominance, adrenal fatigue and being at "the foothills of fibromyalgia.")



"The issue of calcium supplements and heart disease risk, for example, has been bandied about ever since two reports emerged from Europe last year showing increased cardiovascular risk among women taking calcium supplements. The best guess was that this occurred because the calcium threw off the delicate balance between calcium and magnesium. It was suggested that a combination product would be safer and, in fact, we’ve been encouraging our patients to make this switch.

Nevertheless, women were really nervous about their calcium. An online report (later published in JAMA Internal Medicine) released a National Institutes of Health study that dwarfed the two from Europe. Epidemiologists tracked (ready for this?) 388,229 men and women for 12 years, starting in 1995, to determine if calcium supplements had any effect, positive or negative, with regard to cardiovascular disease. The answer was this: calcium supplements in men increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, but the increased risk does not occur in women.

For all my readers and patients who have emailed me this year about whether or not to take a calcium supplement, the answer now depends on several factors:

• Keep in mind that dietary sources of calcium are best (click here for a list) and eat them regularly.
• Next, consider your risks. Did your mother, aunt, or grandmother shrink with age due to osteoporosis (a gradual loss of bone density)? Are you a thin Caucasian of Northern European extraction (at high risk) or a stocky African American (at low risk) or somewhere in between?
• Finally, check (or recheck) your gender. If you’re an at-risk woman, I suggest this supplement formulated by Alan Gaby, MD, author of Preventing and Reversing Osteoporosis."

A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix

GMO Alert!

The following is an excerpt from the newsletter at Mercola.com:


Argentina’s population is being sickened by massive spraying of herbicides on its genetically engineered soya fields. Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, is blamed for the dramatic increase in devastating birth defects as well as cancer. Sterility and miscarriages are also increasing.

A 2012 nutritional analysis of GMO versus non-GMO corn shows shocking differences in nutritional content. Non-GMO corn contains 437 times more calcium, 56 times more magnesium, and 7 times more manganese than GMO corn

GMO corn was also found to contain 13 ppm of glyphosate, compared to zero in non-GMO corn. The EPA standard for glyphosate in American water supplies is 0.7 ppm, and organ damage in animals has occurred at levels as low as 0.1 ppm

GMO corn contains extremely high levels of formaldehyde—about 200 times the amount found toxic to animals

Unfortunately, President Obama recently signed into law a spending bill that included a devastating provision that puts Monsanto above the law. The provision limits the ability of judges to stop Monsanto and/or farmers from growing or harvesting genetically engineered crops, even if courts find evidence of potential health risks

What does fibromyalgia feel like?

Here is the link to a video on YouTube called "Fibromyalgia: What Does it Feel like." I was only "on the foothills of fibromyalgia," according to my doctor (Dr. Edelberg, author of Healing Fibromyalgia.) I would imagine that people with severe fibro must have the patience of a saint and the strength of a titan. Just from the symptoms I had, I can see that this video really accurate and that the dramatic music is really "on the mark":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME06rbUqDPk&feature=player_detailpage


Dr. Edelberg's protocol has reversed my fatigue and I no longer feel like I have the flu or feel "beat up all over." Fibro and chronic fatigue are often overlooked by medical testing, misdiagnosed, and over-medicated. Fibro is a reversible condition and there is a very specific protocol--see Healing Fibromyalgia; parts of this book can be read for free at www.amazon.com.

The things I identified with directly from the video are as follows:

I felt like I had an "invisible illness," feeling like I had the flu, like every inch of my body ached at times, having brain fog as if I walked into a room and forgot why I was there--all the time. Having a sensitivity to smells and chemical sensitivities, constant pain in my upper back (this is commonly where fibro can start), giving up things I enjoyed (for example, hearty exercise used to always be a part of my life but I hadn't been able to do it in years); feeling like the exhaustion altered the course of my life in that I was so tired I was limited in the amount I could do, thinking no end was in sight, and this is just the way life would be for me, going through the acceptance process that I could not be like others who had normal energy--I felt different that other people, had a hard time making advanced plans, especially on lack of sleep when I felt like I had the flu. I felt repeatedly punched in the morning, like I was "beat up" or "hung over," occasionally having tender skin like bruising, feeling completely drained so I could not drag myself out of bed, and feeling exhausted if I slept under 10-12 hours. On top of that I identified with the part of the video saying that many don't believe it exists, I have been called lazy, said to be depressed when I was actually very tired, and I have been told by folks "it's all in your head," and of course, for years, was told there was "nothing wrong with me" by doctors who were ill-informed.

And I was only borderline fibro--think what people must go through if they have it severely!!! If you know anyone who has fibro, please refer them to Dr. Edelberg's book.  I am not affiliated with him in any way, except that I went in as a patient and no longer am exhausted!  For years I felt like I had severe, constant jet lag as well as the flu at times, and that was my norm--but not anymore!!!

The video says there is not a cure or treatment and that fibro but this is incorrect! Also although fibro is stress related, I am not sure if it is actually a disease of the central nervous system. It is a condition that can be fully reversed or almost completely reversed!

The person who made this video had debilitating fibromyalgia, so I did not experience the following symptoms myself, but I thought the video was very specific and telling about what it is like to have it: I did not experience the debilitation or pain like tin foil hitting a filling, and I did not have any sensations of bad arthritis, full-body spasms; I did not experience constant debilitating full body pain where is hard to stand or walk across the room at a snail's pace. I also did not experience being overwhelmed by sounds.

My formal diagnosis is now hypothyroid--but this went for years and years undiagnosed, and I was eventually told I had chronic fatigue. Because my thyroid is in the low-normal range, it was overlooked as hypothyroid. Furthermore, as I've said in earlier blogs, I was being treated in the holistic health community for adrenal fatigue and also estrogen dominance (a very common hormonal imbalance even in younger women.)

Dr. Edelberg agreed with my prior diagnoses and put me on a tiny dose of natural cortisol (it has to be a small dose to be safe), a small dose of natural thyroid medicine, and also DHEA and progesterone cream, as well as St. John's Wort and magnesium for the muscle aching.

The book Dr. Edelberg pointed me to was his other book, The Tripple Whammy Cure, which is a great book for any woman to read who is experiencing exhaustion. And yes, if you have the conditions listed in the book [the adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance and sluggish thyroid I have been talking about in this blog,] there is a cure!

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health,) Alix

Exhaustion Mystery finally solved!

Welcome to Elan Vital Wellness.  This forum cites holistic health studies and trends as well as chronicles my experience with adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance, and exhaustion.  Never attempt to treat yourself for any condition--always get help from a qualified practitioner.  This post mentions my new doctor who is both a western medicine doctor and alternative health practitioner, so it is possible to be treated by someone who is qualified in both natural and conventional modalities.

I invite you to read this blog as you may possibly read parts of your own story:

After three years of investigating, the exhaustion mystery has finally been solved!!!  This week I went to see Dr. David Edelberg in Chicago.  He is a board certified western medical doctor as well as an alternative medicine practitioner.  A leading expert in women's health, he has written the books Healing Fibromyalgia and The Tripple Whammy Cure. 

This blog has explored holistic health and discussed adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance and borderline/sluggish thyroid levels.  Estrogen dominance is common amongst women (causing exhaustion and bad PMS) and, over the past couple of years, I have been treated naturally with bio identical hormones, and an eating plan high in protein to balance blood sugar and stimulate the thyroid. (The natural hormonal protocol I was using is called the Kalish Method.)  My functional nutritionist, Kristie Yaakoby was helping me with my an extensive protocol.  In this blog, I've also talked about the environmental causes of estrogen dominance, as well as adrenal fatigue in prior posts of this blog.  (Men with so called man-boobs are estrogen dominant, so this is a pretty relevant issue for men as well.)

The eating plan I have been using to regulate blood sugar--low blood sugar spikes cortisol, and exhausts the adrenals and thyroid--is a diet high in protein, and I have also been eating a fruit with the meal to keep up my blood sugar to stimulate the thyroid according to the research of biologist Ray Peat.  I've also taken the MRT food sensitivity test and done acupuncture, but after 2 1/2 years of holistic eating and treatment, I was still exhausted and needed something more. 

Now, thanks to Dr. Edelberg, I have a new protocol and a diagnostic name to explain why I was so exhausted all these years and why felt like I was "beat-up" when getting less than 10-12 hours of sleep.

My formal diagnosis is hypothyroid (sub clinical.)  Many women who are in the so called "normal-low" range of thyroid hormone tests actually need to be treated as hypothyroid.  In fact, this situation is an epidemic that is making women (and men, too) think they are crazy because they are exhausted and their test results are coming back "normal."  (See the book The Tripple Whammy Cure because hypothyroid often goes hand-in-hand other conditions like adrenal fatigue or hormonal imbalance and low serotonin.***)

I like to call my experience with adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance, and hypo-thyroid the Three-Headed-Dragon, because any one condition can be exhausting, but this is exhaustion that begins to build exponentially.

I was told also that I was "on the foothills of fibromyalgia," but not diagnosed with, it since Dr. Edelberg said my symptoms are totally reversible.  This explains the muscle pain in my upper back and neck all the time, as well as feeling like I have the flu when tired.  Not a good thing. I have cut back on my activities radically over the years, and not been able to have a full schedule--only doing one small activity on the weekends, and then sleeping.  This kind of exhaustion is not easily understood by someone who hasn't experienced it.

It has been hard to talk about the chronic fatigue, because most people have not experienced it--responses I've heard are," "you're lazy," "you're imagining it," "you sleep too long," "if you sleep less, you'll feel better," and the ever popular, generic "Yeah, I'm tired too."  And it is also very hard to talk about it considering that I know people who are dealing with much more serious health issues.  In addition,  several people in my family have had much more severe chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.  So in light of these more serious conditions, it seems better not to bring it up.  For me, this kind of moderate chronic fatigue is truly "an invisible condition," and can go undiagnosed for years.

I never would have considered myself "on the foothills of fibromyalgia" because, as I said, the people I know who have fibro are in severe pain and on pain meds.  Fibro often begins as pain in the upper back/neck, and my pain scale in that area is only about a 4, no big deal.  Feeling like I had the flu when tired was worse for me. 

More women have fibromyalgia than diabetes, and it is commonly not diagnosed, mis-diagnosed, sometimes diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis, or they are told they are imagining it--there are also aggressive and abusive treatments that are totally inappropriate that are being done by physicians who are ignorant about fibromyalgia. 

Dr. Edelberg offers healthy, progressive solutions in order to completely reverse fibromyalgia and the triple whammy exhaustion of adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance, possible low serotonin, and/or hypothyroid.  The triple whammy can lead to fibro, and fibro patients often have low serotonin.  Normal levels of serotonin are needed as a stress buffer.  Men generally have higher serotonin than women and are therefore more protected from stress.

My protocol, as prescribed by Dr. Edelberg, now includes small doses of natural medicines:  A very small dose of natural thyroid hormone, a tiny dose of natural cortisol [this must be given in very small doses], and St. John's Wort to boost serotonin.

The boost in serotonin will help with the flu-like symptoms, and the PMS.  My low serotonin levels were not low enough to be diagnosed as depression [I am, in fact, not depressed, but tired, which is very different, and aderenal fatigue/hyopthyroid may possibly misdiagnosed as depression.]  Dr. Edelberg will have me continue with natural progesterone and natural DHEA for the PMS also.

The magnesium supplements he gave me will possibly stop the muscle aching/cramping.  This and the flu-like feeling is why he said I am "on the foothills of fibromyalgia."  He said not to worry about these symptoms because I will feel better in a month.

Today is day 3 of his protocol, and I no longer feel the flu-like feeling when tired, and the muscle pain in my neck/back has been reduced by at least 50% so far!

A month's time for recovery is an extremely short time considering I have dealt with fatigue and exhaustion that has increased progressively since I was in high school!  (At one point I was diagnosed as a healthy "long sleeper" at a sleep disorder clinic, so I gave up trying to look for relief, since I thought my life would always be like this.)

And considering that I have been actively searching and continuously experimenting for 3 years with holistic treatments that weren't working for me--although I was doing the right things, but Dr. Edelberg added a couple of crucial things to them--a month's time for feeling better is miraculous!  Dr. Edelberg has been working for many years with women with exhaustion, having incredible success at it.  For people with "mystery fatigue" who's test results are coming back normal, I highly recommend his books, and if you can, get to Chicago to see him if you think these books might apply to you.

Again, my diagnosis is hypothyroid (at the sub clinical level) caused by low blood sugar, not fibromyalgia (only the "foothills" of fibromyalgia, meaning some muscle pain and also aching as if I had the flu, which is caused by somewhat low serotonin resulting in bad PMS but not depression.)  I will write another post with an update in 6 weeks at my followup appointment.  I hope to say then that I am totally better.  Dr. Edelberg says I probably will be better then but one exception might be the brain fog--which is another thing I don't like talking about, since it is very hard for people to relate to if they haven't experienced it to the same extent.  But not to worry, he has another protocol for that as well. 

If you liked this article and have friends with "mystery fatigue," please pass this along!


A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health), Alix

***As a side note, Ray Peat has done work on serotonin dominance, which he says also causes aggression/depression (as does low serotonin), so people who think they are depressed [adrenal fatigue/thyroid are often misdiagnosed as depression] should not necessarily run out and get on St. John's Wort without getting a neurotransmitter profile from a qualified doctor--hopefully one who will offers natural treatments as an alternative to conventional, and who understands balanced serotonin levels--Dr. Joseph Mercola sites studies that antidepressant medication is no more effective than a placebo. Ray Peat cites an research indicating that Prozac is responsible for 50,000 suicides. (Check out www.Mercola.com and google Ray Peat's articles for more information.) 

Fibromyalgia?

In the 2 1/2 year quest to heal from adrenal fatigue and estrogen dominance, I have encountered a twist in the road.  In three weeks I have an appointment with the renowned Dr. Edelberg, a specialist in fibromyalgia.

Basically fibromyalgia is chronic fatigue plus flu-like aches and pains.  In severe cases, the pain can be debilitating and pain medication is needed.

In my case, I have chronic exhaustion and pain when I get under 9-10 hours of sleep.  Often fibro patients also have adrenal fatigue, estrogen dominance and sub-clinical low levels of thyroid hormone.  (I tested as being in stage 3 of adrenal fatigue--exhaustion--2 1/2 years ago plus estrogen dominance.  I also have the low basal temperature indicator of low thyroid levels.)

Dr. Edleberg prescribes a mostly natural protocol for fibro.  I am hoping to get a natural thyroid hormone if I need to take one. 

Fibromyalgia affects 5-7% of women, and sometimes takes a long time to diagnose because most doctors are not educated or informed on the condition.

Dr. Edleberg has had great success healing his patents, and I will have to wait three weeks to see what the outcome is for me.

Check out his book  Healing Fibromyalgia.  He has a great reputation as both a western medical doctor and naturopath who helps many people with fatigue caused by a variety of conditions.

A Votre Sante,  (Here's To Your Health) Alix

More on Adrenal fatigue

Here are two links with information about adrenal fatigue.  I have been being treated for two years for severe adrenal fatigue with an eating plan (eating enough protein and fats, and keeping my blood sugar normalized.) I've also been taking bio identical hormones (the Kalish Method), since adrenal fatigue leads to female hormone imbalance.  After seeing an acupuncturist from time to time, I am still very tired, so I am always searching for new ideas.  My friend Claudia is a holistic health professional who is helping me with more ideas--check out her website at www.livingmindfully.net

She talked to some of her friends in the holistic health field and sent me the following link:

http://naturalanxietytherapy.com/category/adrenal-fatigue/

Also, I also found Norm Shealy's acupressure points that are helpful for adrenal fatigue:

https://www.normshealy.com/?page=118&title=The%20Sacred%20Rings

[Copy and paste web addresses that do not automatically link]



A Votre Sante, (Here's To Your Health,) Alix

Invest Organic

For those of you who want to invest in stores selling organic foods, check out Hain, Sun Opta, United Natural Foods, and Whole Foods Market.  Grocery stores usually do well in recessions, and data shows that more people will be buying organic foods in the future.

www.nasdaq.com/article/organic-food-stocks-health-trends-may-boost-these-stocks-cm87319
(copy and paste in browser)

A Votre Sante (Here's To Your Health), Alix

GMO Fact Check

The publication Natural Awakenings did a GMO fact check in their January 2013 issue.  The article talks about how the Union of Concerned Scientists are questioning the safety of GM foods.  The article also mentions that the Center for Food Safety has concerns about allergens and toxins from herbicides and pesticides that are used on and implanted into the GM foods. 

This article also speaks about research that tracks the 527 million pound increase in pesticide use on GM crops.  Also in this writeup according to Warren Porter, Ph. D., a biologist is concerned that glyphosate (in Roundup) is an endocrine disruptor.  This material also sites a Canadian study showing that Bt toxins from GMO corn (fed to animals, coming from meat, and now being put on the market for human consumption) is showing up in umbilical cord blood and the blood of pregnant women. 

I'm glad this national publication is covering the dangers of GMO foods.  And although the initiative to label GMs in California didn't pass, several other states are attempting to pass labeling legislation this year.  Check out Melinda Hemmelgarn's website--she wrote the article for Natural Awakenings--she is known as "the food sleuth."  kopn.org and enduring-image.blogspot.com.

By the way, "Hello," to my readers in Canada and Europe.  BPA is banned in the lining of tin cans in Canada (but not America), and of course, GMOs are banned in 25 countries--many of them in Europe.  I hope America can catch up to the rest of the the Western world soon!

A Votre Sante, (Here's To Your Health,)  Alix

Good News for Labeling GMOs in 2013

According to the Organic Consumers Association:  "We may have narrowly lost the GMO labeling fight in California this past November, but there’s good reason to believe we’ll win in at least two or three states in 2013.

Today, activists in Washington State will deliver approximately 350,000 signatures to the state legislature, guaranteeing that when voters show up at the polls in November, they’ll get the chance to pass I-522, a statewide GMO labeling initiative.

On the other side of the country, Vermont is picking up where it left off last year after the governor caved in to Monsanto’s threats to sue the state if it passed a GMO labeling law. Undaunted, and buoyed by stronger-than-ever support from consumers and lawmakers, Vermont legislators will reintroduce GMO labeling legislation in early January. Connecticut is moving forward, too, with plans to introduce a similarly popular GMO labeling bill early this year.

All signs point to an uphill battle for Monsanto and friends to defeat I-522 in Washington State. I-522 proponents have a full nine months to raise awareness and money, compared with the YES on 37 (California Right to Know Genetically GMO Labeling) Campaign which had only six months to reach voters and raise money. Plus we had to raise a lot more money in California, which has five times as many voters as Washington."

A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix