Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Gulf War Syndrome are from a very closely related family of processes involving toxic overload to the system. Such a severe toxic load is apparently interpreted by the immune system as not only possibly-life threatening, but species threatening, which is responsible for many of the health issues that result. The process for this attempted adaptation involves the decreased production of certain neurotransmitters in the brain which serve as a protective sheath around the D.N.A. of the body. With this decreased presence of the neurotransmitters, the genetic code is able to unravel and re-shuffle into an adaptive pattern. Individuals who have been exposed to the same toxin will re-shuffle their codons into exactly the same sequence, with only 1 % adapting in a different pattern. This seems to confirm that the "new and improved" genetic code structure is highly expected to be successful in developing new immune strategies for living with that specific toxin in the environment. The remaining adaptive response is apparently Nature's protection by seeking totally wild, almost random adaptive responses some of the time.

A condition known as "brain fog" is a common effect well known by those suffering from these conditions, and is the result of this decreased neurotransmitter production in the brain. Interestingly, drugs that help inhibit the production of those neurotransmitters often results in a decrease in other symptoms from these conditions, while those which stimulate their production exacerbate them. This is because the body, in its wisdom, has created an "allergic" type reaction to these essential brain chemicals in order to allow for this decreased production and the re-shuffling of the genetic codons. In a similar way, the body has adopted an "allergic" type response to the original toxin that overloaded the system.

The ideal first step in the treatment of these conditions would be to identify the offending toxin, but this is often a very ubiquitous factor which eludes detection. Rarely does the patient present themselves for diagnosis and treatment with a detailed history of their toxic exposures. Most people are quite unaware of their own history of how much toxicity they have been exposed to, and by which toxin(s). In Gulf War Syndrome many have attributed the major offending toxic chemical overload to formaldehyde - which is formed when certain artificial sweeteners are exposed to temperatures over 108 degrees. The diet sodas that were supplied to the desert floor for storage certainly reached those temperatures. Other offending toxins include, but are not limited to: MERCURY (largely from amalgam dental fillings); HERBACIDES (like agent orange which is commonly used to defoliate forested war zones), PESTACIDES (which is not only used to prevent bugs from eating our crops, but also to kill termites and other bugs around the house), MEDICINES (like anesthetics or other drugs which may be very toxic to a particular person who has a "allergic" type sensitivity to that particular drug), SILICONE (which often has leaked into a woman's body from defective breast implants), INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS (which often are given an alias by the industry to help keep their employees unaware of the risks of exposure to toxins like toluline), RADIATION (e.g. from radioactive waste spills), and the list goes on and on. Sometimes the actual offending toxin is never identified with absolute certainty, which complicates the effective treatment process somewhat.

No matter what the toxin, detoxification is essential. Some foods and herbs (like miso and horsetail) have natural chelating qualities, and could be included in a detoxification regime, but are insufficient alone. Skin brushing (using a natural bristle brush) stimulates the release of toxins thru the sweat and skin, but also is of only limited effectiveness. Enemas or colon therapy also stimulates the increased release of toxins, and should be included in a thorough treatment protocol for these conditions. Detoxifying electrical devices like the lon-Cleanse or Bio-Cleanse units have been instrumental in the recovery of patients with these conditions, and should always be a part of the treatment regime. Chelation therapy (preferably one of the highly specific, totally safe oral chelating agents like "Porphyrazyme" from Biotics Research) is also an excellent component in this protocol.

It must be clarified at this point that the body is often very reluctant to release toxic substances to roam free throughout the body, and has developed an "allergic" type response to them. Allergy elimination techniques like NAET or BIO-Set for the toxic agents helps the body to allow for their elimination by any of these methods. These techniques should also be used to correct intrinsic sensitivities (which are always present with any auto-immune disease) to the person's own blood, organs, glands, systems, immune system specifically, digestive enzymes, hormones, and neuro-transmitters. The complete description of the "allergy model of disease" is beyond the scope of this paper, yet it is a vital component in any effective protocol for these serious health problems. After the intrinsic allergenic factors have been resolved, external factors must be desensitized in order for the recovery to be complete. It is interesting to note that most people suffering from Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or Gulf War Syndrome are usually allergic to the very things that are necessary in their treatment, such as Fatty Acids, Echinacea, and other foods, nutrients, or herbs. This treatment protocol includes ANYTHING to which the person is allergic or sensitive including (but not limited to) vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, phytonutrients, fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, dairy, eggs, nuts, seeds, grains, gluten, corn, soy, fiber, molds, fungus, yeast, virus, bacteria, pollens, animal dander, cigarette smoke, exhaust fumes, petro-chemicals, perfumes, carpet, dust, and whatever. Genetically altered foods (like 60% of the soybeans on the current market) are an issue unto them, and should be strictly avoided.

Once these sensitivities have been eliminated, the body is ready to begin a regenerative phase and should be provided with sufficient vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, amino acids, fatty acids, phytonutrients, trace elements, sunshine, and exercise to assist in the rehabilitation phase. There are many different companies providing excellent products that will be of assistance in this regard, including Standard Process, Medi-Herb, Juice Plus, Mannatech, and Nature's Sunshine (to name but a few).