I too have wanted to know what causes Fybromyalgia. In another post someone mentioned about the Epstein Virus link to FM. I remember coming across this same idea myself. In my crusade to figure out why I was so tired and achy everywhere I started reading extensively on any illness or disease that might cause these types of symptoms. My symptoms were chronic fatigue, brain fog, low body temp, joint pain, moody, etc. I did end up getting diagnosed with Hashimoto Thyroiditis which caused me to be hypothyroid thus explaining a great deal of my symptoms as well as having FM. What really caught my attention was that many diseases, especially autoimmune diseases, all seem to in one way or another have commonalties such as the Epstein Virus. I think it's possible that FM is caused by a bacteria or virus...one so small that it invades our cells, meaning it resides within the cells rather than among our cells. Our immune system detects that these cells are infected or abnormal and starts the process of trying rid the body of the defective cells, much like how cancer cells are eliminated. Since the bacteria or virus is inside the cells our immune system must creates antibodies against our own organs or tissues with the infected cells just as it does for rheumatoid arthritis and Hashimoto Thyroiditis. In essence, that is what an autoimmune disease is...If this theory is correct it would make sense that our body would create an antibody against a part of our body that the enemy resides in order to eradicate it. To my understanding, antibodies can only destroy entire whole cells. Maybe this bacteria or virus that is invading our cells will spread to another region of the body thus triggering another autoimmune disease. Anyone who has an autoimmune disease has been told that they are at an increased risk of developing other autoimmune diseases. In my humble opinion I believe everyone's Fybromyalgia symptoms varies so drastically is because the extent to which each person has been infected by the bacteria or virus is different. Maybe in a person who eats well and has a great immune system is able to hold off these attacks more effectively then a person who smokes or has a poor diet. Mine may have started in my thyroid while yours might have started in your joints. I also believe that we can in many ways heal our own bodies if we allow it and we stop poisoning it with chemicals, pollution, preservatives, etc. I think there is a reason why we feel so good after fasting for 5 days. The body is going ..."YEAH....finally I can breath"...give yourself a chance to unload some toxins. The biggest problem with this is most of us are just not self disciplined enough to follow this good advice. Not even me. I know I shouldn't be eating a huge bowl of ice cream no matter much calcium it claims to have. And if this theory about FM being caused by a bacteria or virus is true then there is a plethora of things we can do to help our bodies combat this. Garlic is the first thing that pops in my mind. It's one of the most potent anti-bacterial & anti-virus things we can put in our bodies. Our medical experts have not been able to develop a drug that is effective against virus' yet. Garlic is also a natural chelater, helps remove heavy metals from the body. I know I'm snagging this and that from the tons of literature I've read and jamming it all into one post but I'm just trying to share the best of the best of what I've read because I do want everyone out there to look deeper into their illnesses and look in places that maybe they overlooked before. Two books I do recommend is "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" & "Get Healthy Now" by Gary Null. I actually keep a yellow highlighter with my books and when I read about anything in them I Highlight it in the index and parts on the pages that are important. It really helps when later on I go back to reread about something and I can jump right to the spot that I need because it's been highlighted. I mainly highlight foods, vitamins, minerals, and herbs that are essential for what ever problem I happen to be reading about. I hope this information will be of some use to someone out there. Please feel free to comment. Take Care Everyone!

Webspinner, I think your input is very helpful and insightful and true. But why don't the doctors know this stuff? I haven't been officially diagnosed with fibro yet, but I am close. After this weeks MRI of my lumbar spine and the EMG, I think that's what they will say. Mine all started with what I think was lyme disease in September. I took a prolonged antiobiotic routine and ended up with these symptoms that mirror fibromyalgia. It would prove that your theory is correct, but none of the eight doctors I have seen seem to understand or know anything about this.

Hmmmm,
Thanks for such interesting food for thought!
Grins,
GentleGranny

There has been some speculation about a bad batch of polio vaccine given to us "oldies" in grade school. I had the vaccine on a sugar cube and that seems to be one of the things being considered. Also, how our brain perceives pain is different from the non-fibromyalgic population. And on and on.....not enough growth hormone in our systems, (5HTP) etc. Hereditary? (My sister is now being ruled out for other diseases and it looks like she might have fibro now also.) Food allergies? Viruses? Bacterial? Hypoglycemia? Hypothyroidism? Cellular dysfunction? Lack of a protein for cellular synthisization? Build up of lactic acid in the muscles, not enough ATP (cellular energy being made by our cells)?


Maybe we all suffer from some mild form of Mad Cow Disease since our animals have been fed Rumin (SP?) plus other animal parts at the feedlots. I heard it can take up to 15 years to show up but if it did we are suppose to get very ill.....(silly thought??)

I have read so much and printed out pages of speculative causes. Eventually one ends up just getting more confused and angry because the answer hasn't been found yet. The cause will lead to the cure, but when?? Probably not in my lifetime, what is left of it, lol.

We are all wanting the cause and the cure because this is now becoming an epidemic since the guidelines for diagnosing Fibromyalgia in 1999 became active and more doctors are using that to confirm the syndrome. MistyMisty

I also have my own theory on why doctors supposedly don't know seem to know about this and many others things. This is controversial and may offend some professionals in the medical industry and I apologize up front but what I'm about to say has a great deal of merit. Ok..here goes...

The medical industry is a business. A very profitable business. Now this statement is not going to directly answer the question of why doctors don't seem to know what causes fibromyalgia but rather give a generalized idea of why they wouldn't disclose or pursue a cure. I'm going to use an example that seems to have nothing to do with FM but you will see at the end how it does.

The example:
A recent study found that babies fed soy-based formula had 13,000 to 22,000 times more isoflavones in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula. It is estimated that an infant exclusively fed soy formula receives the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day. What are the effects of soy products on the hormonal development of boys? Male infants will naturally undergo a “testosterone surge” during the first few months of life, when testosterone levels may be as high as those of an adult male. During this period, the infant is programmed to express male characteristics after puberty, not only in the development of his sexual organs and other masculine physical traits, but also in setting patterns in the brain characteristic of male behavior. Deficiency of male hormones impairs learning and the ability to perform visual discrimination tasks...such as would be required for reading...and retards the development of spatial perception, which is normally more acute in men than in women. Learning disabilities, especially in male children, have reached epidemic proportions. Soy infant feeding floods the bloodstream with female hormones that could inhibit the effects of male hormones. In the US, one percent of all girls now show signs of puberty, such as breast development or pubic hair, before the age of three; by age eight, almost 15 percent of white girls and just under half of African-American girls have one or both of these characteristics. Other problems that have been anecdotally associated with children of both sexes who were fed soy-based formula include extreme emotional behavior, depression, asthma, immune system problems, pituitary insufficiency, thyroid disorders and irritable bowel syndrome. Why have parents not been alerted to the potential dangers of soy formula? The formula industry is large and powerful, able to influence the outcome of scientific research and wage successful publicity campaigns. A good example is a recent University of Iowa study, funded by the formula industry and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, comparing the reproductive health of adults who had been fed soy- or milk-based formula as infants. The survey found that the soy group had higher levels or reproductive disorders, asthma and allergies. Females of the soy group were more likely to be sedentary and to have taken weight loss medications. YET THE AUTHORS OMITTED THESE FINDINGS AND CONCLUDED THAT“. . . the findings of the current study are reassuring about the safety of soy infant formula.” The University of Iowa study was widely reported in the press as a vindication of soy formula.
end of example.

Now you can see why the doctors may not have an interest in knowing what cures FM. There's a lot of money to be made on a patient with FM. It's plain and simple. You are worth more money in pain then not in pain. This is not just about FM. This is all diseases and cancers and illnesses.

The next time you go to your doctor’s office and you're sitting in the examining room waiting for the doctor to come go ahead and take a peak inside of some of the cabinets. Most doctors have stock piles of samples of formulas, allergy medicines, etc. Where do you think these samples come from? They are donated by these huge corporations to millions of doctors as a means of marketing their product. As an incentive for the doctors to promote their products the corporations may (or may not ) make monetary donations or donate equipment the doctor might need in his or her office. Most of us will not think twice about using a product the doctor recommends. Now ask yourself, why is the doctor recommending a particular product. Is he or she recommending it based on what is best for me or is there some other means of influence that has nothing to do with my health?

This is why I have taken it upon myself to search for my own answers. There are so many great websites out there dedicated to natural healing. The cure zone is one of the best I have found. I implore everyone to take charge of their health and educate themselves to maintain the best health they can. Take care.

Oh, I agree that illness is a business for the medical field. And note this:

<The fibromyalgia syndrome has been documented and noted since 1816.>

It was first described by a surgeon, William Balfour at the University of Edinburgh.
I think that in an autopsy done on a fibromyalgic cadaver, the surgeon found abnormal tendons and as well as in tissues and muscles. (I think there were nodules on tendons.)

There has been over 100 years of patients suffering with this syndrome, plenty of time to find the cause and the cure.

Here are some symptoms of hypothyroidism:

Fatigue, depression, modest weight gain, cold intolerance, excessive sleepiness, dry, course hair, dry skin, muscle cramps, increased cholesterol levels, constipation, decreased concentration--(brain-fog) vague aches and pains, sometimes swelling in the legs, and occasional irregular heatbeat. (A lot like fibro and chronic fatigue syndrome!)

As it becomes more severe, there is puffiness around the eyes, slowed heartbeat, (bradycardia) and a drop in body temperature.

Untreated it can lead to an enlarged heart, (cardiomypathy); a build up of fluid around the lungs, (pleural effusion) and eventually heart failure.

A simple medication such as Synthroid can be used to treat hypothyroidism unless there is a goiter that keep growing. Then surgery is preferred. In this case thyroid meds are needed for the rest of your life in appropriate amount and type.

So, medication and doctors are necessary for some problems.

Our environment and food supply is not as safe as it may have been fifty years ago. Even then the crops were being sprayed with pesticides.

We can do everything possible to stay healthy and do all the natural things necessary for good health but if our environment is not natural and healthy, no matter what we do it will be hard to get and stay in normal health, (homestasis of the body.)

Also, our wonderful vitamins and supplements are now being questioned as for the safety of them as well because of the souce of what is being used to make them.

It is hard on the days when we hurt so bad we feel like vomiting. Some of us have resorted to using pain meds although we know it isn't good for our bodies.

I wish I was very very rich. I would find people like you (WebSpinner) to help me build the perfect health/clinic/spa with the perfect foods and the perfect environment so we could all live in the best health and never have a sick day again!! Good money is being thrown away on other activities rather than finding cures or cleaning up our food and environment!! (In my opinion.)

So we float along really really looking and trying to live the best we know how in an imperfect world with imperfect doctors and unscrupulous pharmaceduical companies. MistyMisty

Oh, I have'nt been here for a very long while, and the one nite I check in is the time I get to hear misty, Misty share all her research. Thank you. I regret to say I have had a winter that has taken a toll on me. I don't do well in the cold temps, when it hit, I suffered.
I do enjoy listening to you Misty, misty and thank you for your research in a nutshell tonite. I also agree about the garlic, as today was thinking, why have I backed away from the garlic regimen? I let it slide,..... it is powerful and I'm ashamed of myself knowing its curative benefits. This will kick the garlic back into gear!! How nice to be offf the board so long, check in and get this extensive posting of yours. I hope everyone reading it knows how much help you truly are to all of us. Have an ear infection, so will let the drops do their job and check back again. Thank you, Misty
Soleil

Nice to see you checking in Soleil. I wondered where you were. This is like meeting an old friend again!

The cold weather is not kind to most of us, so I can certainly relate to how it is at this time for you. I have had more flares this winter season too. Hope your ear drops work!

We have some very good researchers here. And with less messing up than I do. I have made some mistakes in my translations but I always try to admit it if someone catches my mistakes before I do! Thank you for the kind words!

I hope to see you here again. Take care as best you can. I am sending you the softest hug possible! MistyMisty

This is a very interesting thread. Hi, I am Mere. I have had FMS for over 13 years and I know that it started from a case of mycoplasmic (?) pneumonia.

When it all started, I was taken to the hospital with tachycardia. A chest x-ray revealed the pneumonia. Since that day, it was like a 'switch' had been turned on. I was first diagnosed with disautonomia (after the million $$ workup to rule-out everything else) and then started having the body pain and severe fatigue. Slowly, over the years it has progressed from wrist and back -- to wrist, back, shoulders, hip, neck, feet, hands and jaw.

So, in my case, I definitely can associate it to an illness starting with disautonomia and progressing of FMS.

I write about this from time to time. I'm cured of my fibromyalgia symptoms (for the most part), after having my mercury fillings removed. When I first started writing about it, I think people might have been more skeptical. But there's increasing more data about this all the time, that points to this dangerous condition that millions of people have - created by a lot of dental associations and their members.

Note that there is a bill before the U.S. congress to ban mercury fillings by the year 2008. It's called HR 1680.

Toxins and poor diet etc. I think will be what we should review for fibromyalgia. Afterall, isn't this what most doctors are not looking at? Are they just looking for the magic pill or the expensive treatment? Maybe it's just as simple as natural healing...giving the body the best set of conditions to heal itself.

You all can believe me or not, but I'm running almost 20 miles a week. I was told by a doctor to not run more than a hundred yards in 1978. It's a long story that took me years of experimentation to finally find a solution. That solution was outside medical mainstream science.

Meanwhile, I'm running and jumping around :bouncing: without pain.... I wish you all were too. :)

Rhody, I am happy for you.
What about us that never had Mercury fillings? I have only stainless steel, plastic and porcelin in my mouth. I don't eat fish products. Yet I still have fibromyalgia!! You were lucky to find the problem that caused fibro symptoms. Some of us are still looking for the reasons we have the syndrome. Many of your symptoms lessened after getting rid of the mercury toxcitity. God bless you! MistyMisty

Thank you Misty. God bless you too!!! :)

There are millions of people that do have mercury fillings, and obviously millions that do not. That's why I wonder if toxins (in general) and poor diet could be contributing factors. If doctors are not finding a cure within their known and proven science, then the cure must lie outside those boundaries. Yes, after many many years, I was able find something that only a few know also. Maybe we are on the leading edge of discoveries....

I truly wish you all well. I've been there, with the frustration and pain...to go to the doctor and see nothing but "dumb" looks from them...to be told that I was too old...when I was very young about 26 years ago. Some of you may still be cured; it's just a matter of researching and looking beyond the norm. I started with many things before I had my dental amalgams removed...with an improved diet and then herbs. To this day, my herbs provide for me relief that I can't explain. Herbs were to me another "outside the box" treatment that doctors would not apply. I refused to accept that I was sick....

And by the way, if you know me and my persistence, I'm way too stubborn too. :)

Also I should mention, that there was someone that used to write here about a nickel allergy that came from stainless steel. I believe that this is extremely rare. I also read about it, after this person mentioned it, because it seemed so strange...and I was curious. This individual would break out in a rash and developed other problems (I believe if I remember correctly), even if there was any contact with anything with nickel in it (even in very tiny amounts) as what might be found with some inexpensive jewelry or spoons etc. It was so frustrating for her, until she finally found a doctor that discovered this for her. She was also investigating the mercury issue. It's hard to say why some of us react differently to substances than others, but I suppose that we need to review all such things and try eliminating them.

If you have dental work with stainless steel, personally, if it were me, I wouldn't worry about it, unless you also notice allergies with other stainless steel or nickel products. I don't want anyone to worry...just keep a look on the horizon for other things that might affect you.

Also there are some reactions that others might have with white fillings. This is all so new, as technology advances. I had myself tested by a naturopath, and I believe for the most part that I had porcelain inlays and I haven't had any problems with these, as far as I know. I personally know at least one person that had a bad reaction to a white filling and had the mercury filling put back in. I was sad to hear that, that this individual didn't review other better white fillings. There's so much to learn...and so much we don't know about.

With what I have read, some composite white fillings have organic materials that may leak like the mercury leaks from mercury fillings and also be considered toxic. I don't remember a lot about this (and it is vague in my mind), but I can review it more, if you would like. For obvious reasons, I read a lot about dental material toxicity and allergic reactions.

See how stubborn I am. :)

I never give up thinking and trying to find things that may help.

I really don't know if I buy the poor diet, toxins and Mercury filling theory in causing FMS. It is possible that they may contribute. And for you Rhody, it may have been the cause.

Personally, I eat a very healthy diet with no preservatives, nitrates/nitrites, caffeine etc., I have to because I eat very little meat and have migraine triggers/sensitivities to foods. I am also very aware and cautious of 'toxins', etc. and I still suffer widespread FMS.

The things that cause the worse flares in me are illness - such as a viral infection. As I said earlier in the post, I attribute my FMS to contraction mycoplasmic pneumonia.

There seems to be strong evidence of a genetic key in FMS. Other members in my family suffer. It seems to me that perhaps FMS is a latent gene that is activated or 'turned on' by some trauma (viral, injury, etc.).

This is the same mechanism as in autoimmune disorders. And while I always have a negative ANA and rheumatoid factor, my sed rate and c reactive protein are sky high when I am in a flare. I also exhibit some symptoms of lupus (the rash, etc.). It has also been shown that people with autoimmune disorders also have a tendancy toward developing FMS. I definitely feel that there is some link.

Don't get me wrong, I am happy for you in that you have found some identifiable cause. But somehow, I just don't think it is as simple as a poor diet and Mercury fillings.

Mere --

Mere,

I agree with you. :)

It just doesn't seem as simple as mercury (or any toxin) and poor diet. Before I had my mercury-silver dental amalgams replaced, I had read in a healthfood store about these mercury amalgams. The book described many people that were affected by these amalgams; they were people that suffered like me. I couldn't believe it. No way! :rolleyes:

I wasn't about to believe that these small gray-black things in my mouth caused me all those problems. I'd never believe it. It just didn't seem possible. But I cataloged this in my mind, always wondering how strange these stories correlated to my own fibromyalgia symptoms.

Over the years, I found that a better diet did help a little bit. Then I studied herbs, where you could find me in healthfoods stores, reading the books, and trying to find all sorts of herbal remedies that might help. Doctors were not helping me...and sometimes made me worse. But I was persistent. I must find a cure, I thought. I must if I have to travel all around the world....

Then one day my tooth broke (the back molar) and exposed one mercury-silver dental amalgam. I think it was one day later that my pains magnified (not the same day). I had horrible back and neck pains that I never had before at that level of intensity. I had headaches that my Dristan would not take away. I knew I was in trouble...for my herbs...diet...all those things including painkillers wouldn't help. Then I quickly remembered the book in the Healthfood store. I knew I had the link....

Since no dentist or doctor was willing to help me or accept the fact that these fillings were causing me these problems, I just decided to have these mercury fillings removed. Even if I didn't get better, at least as a very minimum I would have all-white teeth. But somehow I had to believe that these fillings were bad. I couldn't wait for the dentist to begin the transition from gray-black ugly fillings to white. I had, I believe, white colored inlay porcelain which is considered highly biocompatible to most people (rather than white colored organic composites).

While the dentist drilled and drilled, removing these toxic metal fillings, to help me endure all of this, I envisioned myself running and running...running like the wind. All these years, being crippled, half-running with my tall vegetable drinks and herbs...maybe I could change where I could be normal again.

Well, I took a chance and won. It was years later, that I definitely could say I was better - much better. I think the reason that I did so well, is that I took steps to detoxify myself after the removal of these amalgams. That's why maybe some people don't experience great positive changes as I did. It's because with removing the source of the poisons at first, they really haven't removed the rest of it from their bodies. Mercury not only accumulates in the body in places like the brain, kidneys and liver, but it is extremely hard to remove. And for some reason, some individuals have a more difficult time than others. They are still researching this. New discoveries are being made all the time....

So, in summary.... Yes, I don't expect you to believe...or a lot of you out there to believe. But, please do. Please recognize that some people suffer today because of the poisons they have inside of them. Some people suffer, because medical science (in general) has not embraced natural healing enough. That really don't know enough about what is better a diet (that's a nice debate in itself :) ), and they don't understand enough about how toxins affect our bodies and our immune system. What they know a lot about, is their expensive drugs and their surgery. Some doctors have been forerunners in natural health care and preventative medicine, but they are few and far between.

So I encourage everyone to keep searching. Don't take what I write as something that may apply to you (even though it might), but rather keep looking and questioning. The cure is outside the wall of those that don't believe there is a cure. It's outside their understanding and what they practice. But it is there.

"So I encourage everyone to keep searching. Don't take what I write as something that may apply to you (even though it might), but rather keep looking and questioning. The cure is outside the wall of those that don't believe there is a cure. It's outside their understanding and what they practice. But it is there."

(I am not sure how to use the 'quote' feature)

I agree with your attitude and perseverance. When it comes right down to it, we are responsible for our own health and well being. Whatever we can find or do that helps ourselves feel better is good, good, good!

I am glad that you have identified your sensitivities and have found a means to feel better.

Mere --

Getting back to mercury fillings, I do have an allergic reaction to metal. If I wear non-surgical steel earrings, my ear lobes become red and infected in about 4 to 6 hours. I can only wear white gold rings. Other metals cause my fingers where the metal touches my skin, to turn gray or green. Gold causes swelling and redness where it touches my skin. (Most gold jewelry has other metals in it too.) My father had the same skin allergy problem to metals. So I can imagine what toxins are created if taken internally.

Some foods may cause rashes on my skin. It is so hard to figure out what is causing what!! I do know I feel better when I stay away from known things that create symptoms. I didn't know there was nickel in stainless steel?? I think my partials have surgical steel braces. (I would hate to run around toothless!) LOL MistyMisty

For the most common stainless steels, there is about 8% nickel. Chromium and iron are included also. There's also other metals and elements too, but the composition is different, depending on the variety of stainless steel. There's so many different types.