Fibromyalgia: A Likely Cause and Some Possible Actions
 

What Causes Fibromyalgia?

No one knows for sure what causes fibromyalgia. Here are some theories:

Illness or extreme physical or emotional stress causes fibboromyalgia
Minor repeated trauma to the muscles causes fibromyalgia
The sleep disturbance that is associated with fibromyalgia causes fibromyalgia
An abnormality in the central nervous system causes fibromyalgia
A misalignment of the spinal column, particularly the upper neck causes fibromyalgia
A vitamin D deficiency causes fibromyalgia
Insufficient, properly digested protein causes fibromyalgia
Multiple hormone deficiencies cause fibromyalgia
Problems with the immune system cause fibromyalgia
An increase in free radicals causes fibromyalgia
Mecury poisoning causes fibromyalgia
Aluminum poisoning causes fibromyalgia

There are many things to account for in trying to determine the cause of this syndrome called fibromyalgia. Consider the following list of symptoms:

Chronic fatigue not relieved by extra sleep or rest
Headaches
Dryness of the throat and excessive water consumption
Urinary tract irritation
Aches and stiffness in muscles/bones (arthritic-like pain)

• In lower back
• In neck area
• In jaws
• In arms, shoulders, legs

Muscular weakness
Muscle spasms (involuntary twitching)
Tingling sensations in fingers (especially) and feet
Gastrointestinal disturbances

• Abdominal pains
• Blood in stools
• Diarrhea
• Bloated feeling (gas)
• Constipation
• Tenderness in stomach area

Feeling of nausea (flu-like symptoms)
Pinkish-red or bluish-red spots (like bruises, but round or oval) on
the skin that fade and clear up in 7-10 days.
Skin rash or itching, especially after showers or bathing.
Mouth sores (also from fluoridated toothpaste)
Loss of mental acuity and ability to concentrate
Depression
Excessive Nervousness
Dizziness
Tendency to lose balance
Visual disturbances

• Temporary blind spots in field of vision
• Diminished ability to focus (possible retinal damage)

This list of symptoms is taken from page 393 of a book by George Waldbott titled, "Fluoridation: The Great Dilemma," published in 1978. These are symptoms of fluoride poisoning. Jason A. Uttley makes a very good case for arguing that the cause of Fibromyalgia is fluoride poisoning:

http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/fibromyalgia.html

I believe that a major cause of fibromyalgia is an accumulation in the body of excessive amounts of fluoride, aluminum, mercury and likely iron as well. I believe that fibromyalgia is made worse by less than optimal intake of vitamin D, magnesium, boron and iodine.

What Can We Do About Fibromyalgia?

To address the aspect of excessive amounts of fluoride, aluminum, mercury and iron in the body, there are five things to do:

First, reduce your fibromyalgia symptoms by reducing your intake of flourides. Drink fluoride free spring water, distilled water, reverse osmosis water, or water treated to remove fluoride (usually with some aluminum compound as a catalyst and then further filtered to remove any aluminum from the treated water). Use fluoride free toothpaste. Don't cook in teflon cookware. Don't take fluorinated medications or supplements. Don't drink teas or other beverages with a high fluoride content. A number of people have reduced their fibromyalgia symptoms simply by reducing their intake of fluorides.

Second, reduce your fibromyalagia symptoms by reducing your intake of mercury, aluminum and unneeded levels of iron. Don't use salt containing aluminum. Don't us baking powder containing aluminum. Don't use atiperspirants containing aluminum.

Third, reduce your fibromyalgia symptoms by reducing the fluoride in your body. This is easier said than done. The only substance that I know of that might possibly do this safely is boron, which the body needs in small amounts, but it is toxic in large amounts - one could say the same thing about iron, or idodine or even table salt. I take a multivitamin (SuperNutrition Opti-Pack Iron-Free) that contains 3mg of boron per daily dose. (Boron is essential for bone building) I assume this is a safe dose, but it may not be therapeutic for fluoride removal. There just isn't much on this subject.

Fourth, reduce your fibromalgia symptoms by reducing the mercury, aluminum, and unnecessary iron in your body. Consider taking oral chelation therapy, IP6, boron.

Fifth, reduce your fibromyalgia symptoms by treating the symptoms of fluoride poisoning. This is basically what people have been trying to do to help fibromyalgia sufferers. One hopeful course of action mentioned in the article by Jason A. Uttley (the EarthClinic link) is to support the kidneys.

Hi Wasabi!
 

I think this is all very interesting, and really applaud the fact that you would care enough to go to the trouble to help others with a condition you do not have.

But one thing bothers me. What about people like myself who suffer from secondary fibromyalgia? I never had a symptom a day in my life until I developed a chronic pain condition in my abdomen. A year after that the fibromyalgia set in, with all the symptoms, all the tender points and everything.

At that time I did a lot of research myself, and spoke to or e-mailed a number of well-know rheumatologists to try to find a way to treat or cure the fibro despite my chronic pain. The most common answer I got then was that fibromyalgia, at least like mine, is most likely caused by a disruption in the normal cycle of living caused by my chronic pain. I couldn't sleep, eat, work or exercise in any normal pattern, and this caused a huge upset in how my body functioned, leading to FMS.

Do you think there could be more than one cause, or more than one condition that mimics fibromyalgia? From what I've read, it's the tender points more than anything else that confirms the diagnosis, and I have them all. But mine have never been as terribly severe as those of others I've read about here. Any thoughts on that?

Fluoride? maybe...
 

Has anyone ever put the connection to their fibro. to the fact that they took an antibiotic in the fluoroquinolone class? I ask this because the symtoms can be almost identical. These antibiotics have fluoride in them also. These antibiotics are: cipro, levaquin, avelox, floxacin, and a few others that all have the same long lasting (years) side effects. If you have taken an antibiotic in the last few years before you started to get fibro. then it is possible that you had a reaction. Just google in the anti. you took and look at the side effects. It might be what is causing you problems.These Fluoroquinolones are very hard on the muscles and tendons amongst other things.

Idealist
 

If your fibromyalgia symptoms are not related to fluoride poisoning, then it is possible they are a kind of connective tissue problem. Try checking out the following website:

http://www.ctds.info/index.html

Cipain
 

The answer to your question is yes, someone has made the connection between their fibro and taking an antibiotic in the fluoroquinolone class. The first link in my first post is authored by a person who got fibromyalgia after two months of being treated with Cipro.



The second link is specifically about problems with Cipro. It is authored by three people who belong to "Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children (PFPC)." People can decide for themselves what they think about the similarities between the Cipro side effects listed and their fibro symptoms. Be sure to read the long list of additional side effects that are not expanded on in the main part of the article.

Prozac (fluoxetine) antidepressant SSRI class----
 

Has also been linked to fluorosis, as well as some OTC green algae products.

Oh jeeze. Very interesting. (Hi, btw I was Erebear on the other BT before the crash and just got diagnosed with fibro this year. Got a bi-polar diagnosis first.)

I had to take floride at school every week and it messed up my teeth (I know-weird). Then I had post-partum after my first child and was on Prozac.

My pain showed up after some odd neurological event that we could never track down or name almost 4 years ago. Then the pain came a year after.

Interesting as all get out.

I have heard a few pain managment docs say they believe fibro is started with neck injuries. Quite a few say this, actually. And I have had a few mild neck injuries.

Wouldn't it be nice to KNOW how this disease / disorder starts? Maybe, then we could treat it more effectively.

mrsd
 

Thank you for your comments. I didn't know about fluoride contamination of green algae products.



Please note that fluoride aids in the uptake of aluminum by the brain - could this be a significant factor in fibro fog, hypersensitivity to pain?

The mention of Cipro is very surprising to me. I was treated with several rounds of Cipro as a precaution in case my abdomimal pain was caused by some type of infection. They decided on this because I have had a high white blood cell count for the whole duration of my condition. So maybe it was the Cipro that led to secondary fibro setting in. Hmmmm, very, very interesting.

Mrs. Bear
 

You asked: "Wouldn't it be nice to KNOW how this disease / disorder starts? Maybe, then we could treat it more effectively."

I agree. I think the likely cause is fluoride poisoning. But not everyone who ingests significant amounts of fluoride gets fibromyalgia. Here are some further conjectures on my part.

Assume that fibromyalgia is caused by fluoride poisoning.

Then fluoride poisoning will bind to and therefore lower available magnesium and calcium. Fluoride may also facilitate the transport of aluminum to the brain.

Many people in the US, but not all are magnesium deficient. It seems to me that if a person is already deficient in magnesium then they will manifest symptoms of fluoride poisoning sooner than someone who is not magnesium deficient. For many processes in the body, even if a person is not calcium deficient, if they are magnesium deficient, the available calcium cannot be used without sufficient magnesium.

People who suffer from fluoride poisoning may manifest different severities of certain symptoms depending on how much aluminum they take in. The more people use baking powder, drink from aluminum cans, use aluminum foil (have you ever seen pin holes in foil you have taken off of some stored foods? Guess what, that food now has some dissolved aluminum in it), use alum or other aluminum containing deoderants, use aluminum cookware - the more aluminum could be transported to their brains by some mechanism involving the fluoride in their bodies.

Me too, & here's why, IMO
 

Hello All,

I've suffered from fibro for close to 3 yrs. I'm not cured yet, but I am much improved. My definition being, going from using a walker & frequent days in bed, to only occasional use of cane, & no days in bed.

I wish I could attribute my problem to simply a cal/mag deficiency. But I've taken cal/mag citrate chewable supplements faithfully for over a decade. The fibro showed up WHILE on the supplements. I suffered a trauma (root cause:stupidity) that didn't heal, and in time the localized pain spread & fibro was dxd.

My road to healing started with a couple of observations. #1 -- That my 4x/yr periodontal treatments were putting me to bed each time, for several days, with pain. #2 -- That every time I drank a cup of tea (lipton /black /pekoe /green /oolong types) I'd have a mini-flare within an hour. A little googling revealed that one possible common denominator was fluoride. The perio used topical fluoride to decrease sensitivity. And the tea plant has a tendency to concentrate fluoride in its leaves -- tea is quite high in fluoride.

I continue to have my perio work done, without the Fl solution, and without the high-fluoride "polish" at the end. No more days-in-bed following the procedures. Yeah!

I switched to nonfluoridated toothpaste & use only RO water for cooking & drinking. But I haul it, haven't been able to afford whole-house RO, so I still do use tap water for bathing. And this is another source of fluoride, since Fl is absorbed through the skin.

My hypothesis is that fluoridated compounds, as well as chlorinated & brominated compounds (another biggie for me) -- trigger my fibro pain in part by their action on the thyroid gland. Like many fibro sufferers, I've found that keeping my free thyroid hormone levels in mid reference range is critical to doing well.

Halogens like fluroide, chlorine, & bromine, are kissing cousins of iodine, another halogen. It has been shown that Fl, Cl & Br "fit" & bind to iodine receptors in the body -- and indeed, being more reactive, are quicker to do so than the clunkier iodine. This screws up both the thyroid gland, as well as the peripheral thyroid hormone receptors.

Bromine (as brominated ...)in used in bleached grains, and is also found in a number of food additives. Bromine is also used to bleach refined oils ... which I'd found cause me to flare when consumed in excess.

Unfortunately, it's hard to find a swimming pool that does not use a combination of chlorine & bromine for sanitation. Aquacize is so helpful for fibro ... but doing it a halogenated pool may not be beneficial for some, in the long run. An ozonated pool may be a better option.

But back to fluoride. For decades, docs used fluoride to suppress thyroid in seriously hyperthyroid people. Fluoride is one of the most highly reactive elements known ... think back to that high school chemistry. Fluoride, in even minute quantities will deactivate enzymes ... thyroid enzymes, muscle enzymes, digestive enzymes. Many respected scientists believe that fluoride does more harm than good. However, there are sociopolitcal powers in place ... and inertia among the general public, to improve the situation.

One natural remedy pioneered in India for fluorosis, and also used by vets for fluorsis in animals, is using tamarind. Tamarind has been shown to bind fluoride out, even from the long bones. When tamarind is consumed, fluoride is excreted in the urine. Tamarind is most easily found in Asian/Oriental stores, IME. There is also a Mexican tamarind, however most of the research I've seen has been done w/Asian tamarind. One could do worse than taking a little tamarind every day. It's a fruit with a date-like texture, but with a tart-sweet taste. Emphasis on the tart.

IMO, every fibro sufferer should look into whether fluoride & other halogenated compounds are increasing their pain. However, there is a lotta research to suggest that there are fibro sub-groups ... some with one kinda gene, some with another. Some with methylation defects, others not. Some with bacterial/viral triggers that when treated, resolve the fibro. Some with metabolic syndrome that, when treated, improves the fibro. Some with immunological & neurological findings, others not.

Now, it is possible that some day in the future, one common thread will draw all the fibro subgroups together ... and maybe that common thread will be fluoride. But the fact that not every person America has fibro, while most Americans have fluoride exposure, argues for a certain specialness in fibro sufferers ... whether they have increased levels of exposure to FL, or decreased ability to deal with it.

Fluoride & the halogens have been a part of my fibro healing, but not the whole story. Gluten was a culprit in my IBS, now GONE with GF diet. And, nightshade-free diet, which I've been on for only one month, has been very helpful for residual muscle & joint pain.

Best wishes.

SnooZQ
 

Thank you for a very informative post.

FYI, there is an excellent alternative to chlorine/bromine for sanitizing pools - hydrogen peroxide. I think it is more expensive though, and not many people use it.

Trying to tie fluoride poisoning in to fibromyalgia is much more complicated than I had supposed. I still think fluoride poisoning is likely the direct cause or a necessary contributing factor to the development of most cases of fibromyalgia.

Here is an excellent site that discusses many aspects of fluoride poisoning. The first url discusses the symptoms of chronic fluoride poisoning. The second url is an interesting story about one person's experience with fluoride poisoning:

http://www.rvi.net/~fluoride/symptoms.htm
http://www.rvi.net/~fluoride/000017.htm

As you suffer from gluten intolerance, I would draw your attention to the following statement from the link on fluoride poisoning symptoms:

"Fluoride is known to combine with HCl of the stomach and is converted to hydrofluoric acid. Hydrofluoric acid is highly corrosive. The stomach and intestinal lining (Mucosa) is destroyed with loss of microvilli (the structure which is responsible for absorbing the nutrients from food), drying up and cracking of the cell surface and mucus (the slimy substance required for comfortable bowl movements) production is hampered."

Could it be hydrofluoric acid which causes the gastrointestinal distress when for instance, children consume too much fluoridated toothpaste?

Could hydrofluoric acid be involved in gluten intolerance - in triggering gluten intolerance; in perpetuating gluten intolerance?

Could hydrofluoric acid be involved in acid reflux? If hydrogen fluoride (a gas) is also being produced, this could account for esophageal burning and larynx/vocal cord irritation even without liquid reflux. It is conceivable that if hydrogen fluoride is being produced, it could even affect the lungs (there is a significant correlation between acid reflux and asthma).

SnooZQ - about tea
 

You're right about tea. According to this article, tea can be very high in fluoride:

http://www.westonaprice.org/envtoxins/fluoride.html

"Fluoride content in tea has risen dramatically over the last 20 years due to industry contamination. Recent analyses have revealed a fluoride content of 17.25 mg per teabag or cup in black tea, and a whopping 22 mg of soluble fluoride ions per teabag or cup in green tea. Aluminum content was also high--over 8 mg. Normal steeping time is five minutes. The longer a tea bag steeped, the more fluoride and aluminum were released. After ten minutes, the measurable amounts of fluoride and aluminum almost doubled." (Analyses conducted by Parents of Fluoride Poisoned Children (PFPC) at Gov't -approved labs. Contact: pfpc@istar.ca)


At 1 part per million, it would take 22 liters of water to get as much fluoride as in one cup of green tea; and if you forget to take your tea bag out (I do that pretty often) you would have the equivalent of nearly 40 liters of fluoridated water in one cup of strong green tea...yikes!

Also rooibos (Masai) tea is high in fluorides.

Thank you for the links, Wasabi. The thought of hydrofluoric acid inside the human body ... yikes! I did take a little chem & biochem in college.

There are cases of villi destruction in the absence of celiac antibodies. Sometimes this is known to be attributable to an infection, or to use of NSAIDs. But sometimes, the cause just isn't known. I wouldn't be surprised at all if fluoride might contribute.

Best wishes.

Some Links of Interest
 

The following statement by Dr. Phyllis Mullenix, Ph.D. is significant because sleep disturbances are a major problem with fibromyalgia sufferers.

"The new data showing fluoride's impact on melatonin biosynthesis, and the high concentrations in the human pineal gland, should be a real eye opener for many. I am ill at ease with this enzyme poison (fluoride) being that close to the hypothalamic-pituitary-axis functions in the body."

http://fluoridealert.org/pmullenix.htm


Fluoride exposed children have been found to have kidney and liver damage. The body's inability to filter out or detoxify certain chemicals could be a part of the fibromyalgia syndrome:

http://www.fluoridealert.org/health/news/30.html

Another Link
 

I would like to suggest a reason why fluoride poisoning could cause fibromyalgia especially in the case of muscle injury caused by severe overexertion or severe muscle trauma.

Suppose someone is ingesting an amount of fluoride that the body is barely able to deal with. Then the person suffers a severe muscle injury. How could this cause fibromyalgia? If the muscle injury caused a significant decline in kidney function, it would allow for a greater buildup of fluoride in the body, because the kidneys are the main way that the body (slowly) rids itself of fluoride. Check out this link which has to do with exertional rhabdomyolysis in horses. I would like to point out that rhabdomyolysis (would it be fair to call it muscle disintegration?) and kidney damage are both known side effects of fluorine containing statin drugs. Maybe fibromyalgia sufferers wake up feeling so beat up, because they have been - only on a wide-spread but micro scale:

http://shady-acres.com/susan/tying-up.shtml

Great info, Wasabi, thanks for posting.

I'd just assumed that the F directly interfered with the muscle enzymes, as well as with the hormones that facilitate anabolic processes. But your analysis of the fibro/exertional injury/fluoride connection is unequal to anything I've seen in past, and I think, deserving of merit & investigation.

Do you have any additional suggestions for "the way out" of this, other than avoidance of F & supplementation w/mag & boron? Do you have experience with animals & rhabdo -- & if so, what else is recommended.

I'm not sure how to handle the F in shower/bath water, other than brief showers, tepid water. Sponge baths with hauled R/O water? -- doesn't really appeal.

Best wishes.

Ischemia - A Key Factor in Fibromyalgia
 

I thought I would share with you a hypothesis I have concerning fibromyalgia. It goes like this:

Fluoride poisoning causes varied and widespread ischemia. Varied and widespread ischemia cause many of the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

From Answers.com:

Ischemia - A decrease in the blood supply to a bodily organ, tissue, or part caused by constriction or obstruction of the blood vessels.

What would the result of ischemia be? Basically, there would be two main effects. Certain substances would not be supplied to a certain group of cells at a rate that they require. Other substances would not be removed from a group of cells at a rate they require. The group of cells would suffocate for lack of oxygen. They would starve for lack of food supplies. They be ill-repaired for lack of proper building supplies. They would be intoxicated because of a buildup of waste products and abnormal levels of substances produced by cells in distress.

If brain cells were intoxicated, suffocating, starving, and ill-repaired - a person might very well experience fibro fog, even permanent memory loss (a side effect of statins)

If muscle cells were intoxicated, suffocating, starving, and ill-repaired they might very well be fatigued, cramped (a sign of ischemia), and painful even at rest. If forced to work hard under ischemic conditions, they would even fare worse. (heart problems, rhabdomyolysis are a side effects of statins)

If liver cells were intoxicated, suffocating, starving, and ill-repaired one might very well expect damage to the liver's ability to detoxify chemicals in the blood.


If nerve cells were intoxicated, suffocating, starving, and ill repaired they might very well function poorly and be hypersensitive to pain.

This is just a hypothesis at this point, but I hope to be able to build a case for it over time.

SnooZQ - More to do
 

I wish I had any kind of expertise in the area of health sciences, but I don't - just one college course in chemistry and one in biology many years ago. I am posting stuff about fibromyalgia almost as soon as I come across it on the internet. But here are a couple of things that you might consider.

Even though I do not have fibromyalgia, I am not as energetic as I would like to be. One thing that helps me a lot - both for helping me take fewer naps and also for helping to make my thinking clearer - is chia seeds. This is the article that got me interested in consuming chia seeds:

http://www.thechiaco.com.au/history.htm

If you want to try out smaller amounts, you might be able to get it from your health food store. But this is where I order mine from - 10 lbs. at a time. For my wife and I, we use about 1 oz. per day for the two of us:

I put a little less than 16 oz. of water in a shaker, add 1 oz. of chia seeds and shake thoroughly. I drink 4 oz. of the mixture twice per day. Chia seeds are a source of omega 3 fats.

It is possible to get a whole house fluoride filter. The filter contains some kind of aluminum compound which grabs onto the fluoride. If you want to drink your tap water, you will need to further filter the water to eliminate any aluminum that escapes from the fluoride filter. It's not cheap though.

SnooZQ - More to think about
 

Here is an article that describes well the idea that fibromyalgia is connected with muscle cells going anabolic. It is just that the author attributes the cause to viral infection rather than ischemia caused by fluoride poisoning:

http://www.krysalis.net/chronicfatigue.htm

I realize that my hypothesis that fluoride poisoning causes ischemia which in turn causes many fibromyalgia symptoms is rather simplistic. But I hold to it as a useful starting point for understanding fibromyalgia. I can't quite get my head around what the following article is saying, but I believe that it has something important to say about one key biochemical process I would also attribute to fluoride poisoning since I believe that fluoride poisoning and fibromyalgia are one and the same thing:

http://www.mcs-america.org/review.pdf

One could say that this idea of a haywire NO/ONOO cycle as a result of fluoride poisoning is hinted at by the following research results:

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/conten...00003/art00002 (This is a reference to just the title of a research paper)

http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/veter...20-0302-24.pdf

To All
 

I want to thank people for reading this thread. I want to especially thank people who have posted to it. As I said, I really don't have much in the way of qualifications to research fibromyalgia stuff on the internet. I just feel that this is something God wants me to do. You are a great encouragement to me. God bless you all.

Wasabi

Wasabi,

I looked at the article on F poisoning in guinea pigs. I guess I wonder why the common lab findings like hematocrit, Ca level wouldn't be screwed up in humans (me) like they were in those piggies. I'm guessing I have a lower level contam, or more of a chronic prob rather than an acute toxicity.

I wonder whether some kind of "challenge" test could be done for F as they do for heavy metals, like mercury.

I appreciate the advice on the water filters. Hadn't heard about the Al one, only the reverse osmosis. Also, I am familiar with chia seeds, and use them on occasion. Haven't been extremely impressed with what they do for me, however I appreciate their historic value & know they are extremely nutritious.

Although I know that for myself, F is definitely one of my fibro triggers, I am troubled that in several yrs. of talking up the fluoride hypothesis among fellow sufferers, virtually none of them has found F to be a trigger. A few (not all) have done F elimination, without observable change. So, I gotta wonder.

There is quite a lot of research showing a significant subset of fibro sufferers having low-grade viral infections, and companion research showing good improvement in fibro symptoms when this subgroup is given antivirals. Not generally recognized in clinical med yet, though. Whether there is an effect immunologically from the F -- quite possible, given its widerangeing nasty effects.

I am very concerned at the impact of fluoride on all people & the entire environment. I've even panned moving to one locale where an aluminum smelter was located. Al smelters put out TONS or airborne F, and a lot of it settles into the soil, gets into the groundwater.

There is so much groupthink in the clinical communities, dental & med, that sometimes I despair. One of my periodontal hygienists has MS & is married to a physician. She noted my refusal for topical F & inquired why ... "educating" me of how safe the fluoride really was ... to which I respectfully requested she search Medline or Google Scholar ...

Keep up the good work, Wasabi.

A Fibromyalgia/Fluoride Connection to Surgery
 

I don't know how many anesthetics contain fluoride, but there is at least one:

http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb...fier=AD0751430

And at least one sedative (Isoflurane):

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

Two Alternate Theories about Fibromyalgia
 

Although I am focused on making the connection between fibromyalgia and fluoride poisoning, I realize that fluoride poisoning may be only one of several causes or perhaps a supporting cause of fibromyalgia. So, I would like to digress a bit and share a couple of alternate theories about fibromyalgia. One theory is proposed by a chiropractor who believes that fibromyalgia is caused by a misaligment of the base of the skull and the uppermost neck vertebra. (you need to login to Dr. Whitcomb's website to see the info - starting with What is Fibromyalgia)

http://www.stopfibro.com

Another theory proposes that fibromyalgia is caused by scar tissue, or fibrosis which in turn causes ischemia. This article makes a good point: "Pain meds have no effect on relieving the pain of ischemia!" If this is true, it would explain why many fibromyalgia sufferers suffer severe pain, even while taking larges doses of powerful pain meds.

http://www.systemicenzymetherapy.com...bromyalgia.htm

To test out the second theory, one could try taking Neprinol. Be sure your doc approves of taking Neprinol. Since it gets rid of excess fibrin, it can have an impact on your blood's clotting ability - especially if you are already taking anticoagulants. Also, Neprinol is not cheap:



Also try doing suitable moderate low repetition resistance exercises, again with your doctor's approval.

Now, some people believe there is a viral component to fibromyalgia. Therefore, you might also consider taking coconut oil at the same time. The following article discusses research documenting reduced viral loads from taking coconut oil (for HIV):

http://www.doh.gov.ph/SARS/coconut_oil.htm

wasabi

there is coconut derived anti-microbial available called MONOLAURIN (made by Ecological Formulas) which is lauric acid supplement

re Fluoride....when my son (who has Tourette Syndrome) had his first and last ever fluoride treatment at the dentist years ago, it made him jittery and nauseous for days thereafter

we avoid all fluorided products wherever possible

Chemar - Thanks and More Fluoride Sources
 

Thanks for the info about Monolauren. I happen to really like coconut oil, but there may be others who prefer getting this ingredient by itself.

Here are some other potential sources of fluoride that you might want to avoid:

Insecticides

Refrigerants and propellants. The aerosol propellant, 1,1,1,2-Tetrafluoroethane is not supposed to cause any symptoms at low concentrations. Yet... (see section titled "Ringing in Ears"):

http://fluoridealert.org/pesticides/...-pesticide.htm

By the way, before 2001 when PFOS chemicals were supposed to be phased out, you could have been exposed to fluoride from insecticides like Raid, and even from Scotch Guard:

http://fluoridealert.org/pesticides/....sulf.page.htm

Preventing Fluoride Induced Kidney Damage
 

As I mentioned at the very beginning of this thread, I believe that supporting the kidneys is very important in cases of fluoride poisoning/fibromyalgia. Here is something that can help:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/p...ycnogenol.html

My wife and I use a product called Moducare.

A Possible Fibromyalgia/Fluoride Poisoning Asthma Connection
 

Any asthma sufferers who use fluorine containing propellants in their inhalers could also be getting fluoride in their bodies. (see section titled "Ringing in Ears"):

http://fluoridealert.org/pesticides/...-pesticide.htm

http://schoolasthmaallergy.com/html/inhaler/index.html

Fibromyalgia/Fluoride Poisoning - The Big Picture?
 

I am having a hard time deciding whether or not to post the following link. I believe the information on fluoride toxicity and its effects is excellent. On the other hand, the author has some material especially in other articles on his site that are religiously and politically objectionable. I do not endorse any of his religious or political views. I am reluctant to give extra exposure to this site by this link. On the other hand the material on fluoride is extremely important. And I really don't have the time to go through his articles and post relevant bits of information piecemeal. Please read this material critically. Remember, just because he's a smart guy doesn't mean you have to agree with all of his conclusions:


MODERATOR NOTE! sorry.........that link had to be removed.........the material on there may be highly offensive to many of our members.

I just want to add to that disclaimer!!:eek:

There may be some interesting fluoride stuff on those last three links but there is also a LOT of errrrrrr strange commentary so reader beware....you are entering a zone where you truly need to discern fact from fiction!!:Scratch-Head:

What Now?
 

I am satisfied with the strong connection between fibromyalgia and fluoride poisoning that I have documented. I need some time to digest the material I have presented. I also need some time to attend to personal matters I have neglected while researching this topic - I tend to be pretty obsessive about doing research on the web. After a few weeks or so, I hope to start a new thread on what things might be helpful for fibromyalgia/fluoride poisoning. Of course, if I come across anything helpful for establishing the connection between fibromyalgia and fluoride poisoning I will post it on this thread. But, from now on my focus will be on what might be helpful to sufferers of fibromyalgia/fluoride poisoning.

I would like to look into the following, among other things:

Avoiding:
fluorides, mercury, aluminum, and excess iron

Supplementing with:
aloe vera, alpha lipoic acid, apricot kernels, boron, raw cacao, chia seeds, coconut oil, vitamin D, glutathione (GSH Complex), colloidal gold, IP6, magnesium taurate, Neprinol, pine bark extract (eg. Moducare), sea buckthorn, SOD

Receiving:
massage, chiropractic care (particularly to areas that affect the base of the skull and uppermost vertebra)


Again, I wish to thank those who take the time to read what I have posted, and especially those who have posted responses. God bless you all.

wasabi

This all sounds so very interesting. I can't even begin to imagine what may have triggered my fibro as I've had so many of the 'symptoms' before ever having been diagnosed with the fibro.

I had ulcerative colitis rear it's ugly head 30 years ago and wasn't expected to live through the first bought. But, I had a lot of trauma to my body well before the onset of the UC and after. A LOT of body trauma from one thing or another from beatings in my early 20s to numerous car accidents and untold number of falls that hurt some part of my body.

This fluoride idea is very interesting. Thanks for all the info.

Can't Stop Looking into Fluoride Problems
 

Could fluoride in the gut cause Paneth cells to continually release bacteria killing substances unnecessarily, thus harming stem cells and/or other cells of the small intestine villi? This could explain why fibromyalgia is often preceded by or accompanied by digestive problems.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/r52xvv58wv62207m/

Idealist
 

I am beginning to think that fluoride poisoning is only one possible cause of fibromyalgia. I think that trying to tie ischemia and fluoride poisoning to fibromyalgia was a very good place for me to start. I am now starting to wrestle with the cause of fibromyalgia from a broader perspective - perhaps too broad. But it's a good way for me to continue my investigations and ruminations. I can always make another course correction later on.

What I am now thinking is this, fibromyalgia is the result of incomplete healing. Fluoride poisoning fits into this idea of incomplete healing in two ways. First, in high enough quantities, fluoride can cause serious wounding of the body. Second, even in relatively low quantities, fluoride can interfere with the body's messenger chemicals, keeping certain processes clogged in the on position. This could prevent the body from turning off certain responses to wounding such as the production of substance P. I don't have any hard evidence yet to back up my idea, but it just kind of makes sense to me at this point. There are many ways in which the body can be wounded, so yes, I now believe there are multiple causes of fibromyalgia.

Your abdominal pain is an important part of your health condition. Not knowing the cause makes it difficult to even try to answer your last question. Fluoride poisoning can cause digestive problems. If something caused your sympathetic nervous system to work overtime - heart rate up, blood pressure up, muscles ready for fight or flight - that could affect your digestive system even possibly leading to leaky gut (by keeping blood flowing to your muscles instead of your digestive system). I am still trying to make a connection between fluoride poisoning and ischemia in muscles. Regardless of cause, some sort of ischemia could account for your painful tender points. Whether or not an overabundance of some sort of chemical messengers produced when one part of the body is seriously wounded can cause ischemia in other parts of the body (when the wound fails to heal for a long time) - I just don't know.

One more thought, mental stress and chronic pain can lead to magnesium depletion. Magnesium is required for muscles to relax. Magnesium deficiency can cause muscles to be chronically tensed which can lead to ischemia, which can lead to pain. I use magnesium taurate as my magnesium supplement. If the pain in your tender points is not severe, massage could also be very helpful.

Idealist - About the Tender Points
 

As you say, the tender points are a diagnostic tool. What they signify to me is a persistent, pervasive (all over the body) overcontraction of muscles. I am not familiar with using the tender points to diagnose fibromyalgia, so I can't say for sure, but it seems to me that these tender points are points near where various muscle groups attach to bone. If this is the case, then pain at these points can be caused by tight muscles with restricted range of motion such that normal activity causes stress at the attachment points. Fibromyalgia is not about the tender points, it is about tight muscles that will not lengthen to accomodate normal range of motion.

The million dollar question is what causes the tightening of these muscles? As I mentioned earlier in my thread, I am pursuing the idea that ischemia is involved in the involuntary tightening of muscles. So, I ask myself this question - is there something that can cause the tightening of arteries which causes ischemia which causes voluntary muscles to tighten and also causes pain. Apparently, fluoride can cause artery tissue to tighten:

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/co...tract/258/1/66

One person, Walt Stoll, believes that fibromyalgia has to do with being in a state of sympathetic nervous system dominance (severe chronic "bracing" he calls it), which causes the muscles to be chronically stressed. I don't believe that this is the cause of fibromyalgia, but sympathetic nervous system dominance for whatever reason, could be a part of the problem of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia and Mycoplasma
 

If you are one of those people who believe that Fibromyalgia and Mycoplasma are connected then here is a link that you might be interested in:

http://www.newtreatments.org/doc.php/Mycoplasma/29

CFS and Ciguatera Fish Poisoning
 

Has anyone investigated the relationship of CFS and ciguatera fish poisoning?
A 96% correlation is pretty high! Here is a place to start:

http://www.ncf-net.org/forum/CiguateraEpitope.htm

Tea tree oil and mycoplasma pneumoniae:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...&dopt=Abstract

Connection Between Lyme Disease & Fibromyalgia? ALS? PD?
 

Is there a connection between Lyme Disease and Fibromyalgia? Lyme Disease and ALS? Lyme Disease and Parkinson's? Here's some good information:

http://www.springboard4health.com/no...l#breakthrough

If there is, then cat's claw (especially TOA free cat's claw) could be helpful. Note that it could take up to a year to restore health because:

"Considering the life-span of intracellular forms of Bb equivalent to the life-span of the cells invaded by these forms, they are constantly released into the surrounding environment upon natural cell death and destruction. The release of intracellular forms of Bb is gradual over time due to the various life-spans of various invaded cells. Since about 90% of these forms reside in various cells (including all blood cells) which have a life-span of 2-3 weeks to 6-8 months, it may be assumed that within a 6-8 month period, a significant majority of all intracellular forms of Bb will be released into the environment where they can be successfully attacked by a properly functioning immune system and a natural powerful antibiotic."

"Bb" refers to Borrelia burgdorferi, a mycoplasma bacteria that causes Lyme disease. There may be other bacteria involved as well.

that is a very interesting article re the Lyme Disease info wasabi

would you mind also posting this on the Lyme Disease board here at NeuroTalk
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=33

Idealist - About the Abdominal Pain
 

Here is what one person suspects about her abdominal pain and what helped her:

"Two weeks ago my Doctor prescribed Wel-Chol(I don’t have high cholesterol-it’s actually VERY low), and my abdominal pain [of 17 years duration] is virtually gone along w/ several other bothersome sysmptoms! I believe that most, if not all, of the chronic conditions I developed manifested because my gallbladder harboured biotoxins very early on."

http://fattyacids.wordpress.com/2006...toxins/#more-5

Wel-Chol works by binding to cholesterol in the intestines so that the liver can't keep recyling it (and presumably the toxins that adhere to that cholesterol). Interesting idea - as long as you don't have any bowel obstructions.