1. Preface
Fibromyalgia is a syndrome characterized by pain, fatigue, depression, sleep disturbances, anxiety and many other problematic symptoms. According to statistics, it afflicts approximately 2-5 percent of the human population and is more common in women than men.
The Medical community seems to see the syndrome in a somewhat narrow way. They usually recognize that the syndrome often begins after a stressful moment in life (e.g. an infection), and after that, the body stays in a chronic state of pain and fatigue. Because of
the common idea that fibromyalgia has no clear physiological causes, no targeted treatments exist, and the patients are often treated by various drugs such as antidepressants and anticonvulsants. (Bellato et al. 2012)
However, it isn’t acknowledged that fibromyalgia has some important features that might be very helpful when trying to understand the disease. My main idea is that?most of the fibromyalgia symptoms are probably caused by disturbed energy metabolism – and therefore treatments that have positive effect on energy production might be very beneficial for fibromyalgia. The examples used in this article are thyroid hormones, CoQ10, and near-infrared.
2. Fibromyalgia and thyroid hormones
After becoming interested about the importance of thyroid function for health, I noticed that Dr. John C. Lowe had made important research showing that fibromyalgia and clinical hypothyroidism have dozens of biochemical and physiological similarities. Lowe and Yellin have written an excellent review article on this issue.(Lowe&Yellin 2008,?‘verbye 2007,?Garrison&Breeding 2003)
One of Lowe’s important findings is that fibromyalgia patients have 30% decreased basal metabolic rate on average. Similar extreme decreases in metabolic rate have also been noted in hypothyroidism and PCOS. ?(Lowe et al. 2006,?Ursini et al. 2011,?Georgopoulos et al. 2009)
In his clinical trials, Lowe has noticed that supraphysiological doses of active thyroid hormone (T3) can be a very effective treatment for fibromyalgia, even in?patients with normal’thyroid hormone levels. Some patients seem to improve so much that they don’t even meet the diagnostic criteria of fibromyalgia anymore. In my opinion, it’s logical that a lot of good things should happen if you raise the extremely low metabolism to the normal level. (Lowe et al. 1996a,?Lowe et al. 1996b,?Lowe et al. 1997,?Lowe et al. 1998,?Friedman et al. 2006)
Lowe’s findings remind me of?Broda Barnes, who thought that low thyroid function was a fundamental cause of many western diseases. In his popular 1976 book, he claimed that 40% of the American population suffered from thyroid insufficiency that is causing different diseases such as heart disease, migraine, acne, mental disturbances, menstrual irregularities, and fatigue. In my?heart disease article, there are some scientific references about these issues.
Even though?clinical hypothyroidism?often isn’t the main cause of fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), many of those patients do suffer from real thyroid problems. In a Swedish study, the researchers found that 40% of the CFS patients have inflammed thyroid glands, and many of these patients respond favorably to thyroxine treatment even if their TSH is within the reference range. Lowe has also noticed that 40% of the fibromyalgia patients have a central hypothyroidism – a thyroid inadequacy caused by pituitary malfunction. It seems that many of the doctors don’t seem to recognize these kinds of thyroid issues, so it’s usually important that the patient also looks carefully at his own blood tests. (Wikland et al. 2001,?Lowe et al. 2008,?Neeck&Riedel 1992,?Rettori et al. 1987)
I also have to mention that many of the fibromyalgia patients seem to have issues even with low doses of thyroid hormones (especially T3). Some of the patients also take?low-dose hydrocortisone‘to tolerate thyroid hormones better, but I haven’t seen any research papers on that. I think that the doctors should be cautious when considering T3 treatments on their patients, because they don’t work well in every patient.
It seems that the idea of treating fibromyalgia with T3 is getting some popularity, since the issue is currently under?research?in Stanford University.
3. Fibromyalgia?and CoQ10
During the last few years, a Spanish research group led by Mario D. Cordero has made important discoveries about the biochemical state of fibromyalgia patients. When they have investigated the patients’ white blood cells, they have noted dramatically decreased ATP levels, and extremely high levels of lipid peroxides (MDA).
Also, the intracellular levels of ubiquinone (coenzyme Q10 or CoQ10) were dramatically lower than in the healthy subjects. The interesting fact is that supplementation of CoQ10 reversed the above-mentioned biochemical abnormalities completely.
The supplement of CoQ10 (300mg/d) normalized the ATP and MDA levels, and decreased the fibromyalgia symptom scores very significantly from 59 to 30. The depression score has also been noted to decrease significantly from 22 to 6, while in the placebo group, the score increased to 24. (Cordero et al. 2012a,?Alcocer-G?mez et al. 2014)
?(source:?Cordero et al. 2012a)
The research group has also investigated the effect of CoQ10 on other markers, and noticed that the supplement can decrease the expression of NLRP3 inflammasome and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1?, TNF-?) and normalize the abnormal gene expression of fibromyalgia patients (IL-6, IL-8, AMPK, PGC-1a, SOD1, SOD2, NRF1). These same biomarkers are also importantly related to aging, so it could be said that fibromyalgia syndrome is functionally somewhat analogous to getting old. (Cordero et al. 2014a,?Cordero et al. 2013a,?Cordero et al. 2013b,?Cordero et al. 2012b,?Cordero et al. 2011,?Alcocer-G?mez et al. 2014)
Japanese researchers have been studying fibromyalgia of teenagers. They looked at plasma levels of CoQ10 and found that the levels were normal but the plasma levels of?ubiquinol, the?reduced form of CoQ10, were much lower than in healthy people. The researchers gave small amounts of supplemental?ubiquinol?(100mg/d) to the patients, and noted a slight reduction in the symptoms. (Miyamae et al. 2013)
The Spanish group of Mario Cordero has also noted that the plasma levels of CoQ10 aren’t decreased in fibromyalgia. Instead, they are often higher than in healthy subjects. I think this happens because of oxidative stress, which probably turns the reduced form?ubiquinol?compound into the oxidized form, CoQ10. But despite these increases in plasma levels, it seems that the CoQ10 levels inside the cells are generally decreased in fibromyalgia patients, and the CoQ10 supplementation seems to generally benefit the patients.(Cordero et al. 2009a,?Mohr et al. 1992,?Yamamoto&Yamashita 1997)
“Given that many cell pathologies overlap between ME/CFS and inborn errors of
mitochondrial metabolism, we suggest that an inherited or acquired?mitochondrial
dysfunction, which is perpetuated by exogenous or endogenous oxidative
stressors, is the driving force in the patients’ cell pathology. This results in
chronic fatiguing illness that may be alleviated by natural
mitochondrial enchancers such as CoQ10.”
?– S?es?et al.?Coenzyme Q10 As a Modulator of Mitochondrial Dysfunction and
Maladaptive Stress Responses in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (2015)
Low levels of CoQ10 in plasma has been noted in chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, migraine, and sepsis. Low levels of CoQ10 in cells has been noted in fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and periodontitis. Even though plasma level of CoQ10 isn’t a very good marker of CoQ10 status, it seems that in the diseases with low plasma CoQ10, the supplementation might be beneficial. There indeed is some evidence showing alleviation of migraine, periodontitis, and depression with a CoQ10 supplement. (Maes et al. 2009a,?Maes et al. 2009b,?Hershey et al. 2007,?Donnino et al. 2011,?Castro-Marrero et al. 2013,?Bullon et al. 2011?&?S?ndor et al. 2005,?Wilkinson et al. 1975,?Prakash et al. 2010)
I don’t know what might be the main cause of CoQ10 deficiency and impaired energy metabolism in fibromyalgia patients.?However, there are many studies showing that pathogens, alcohol, lipid peroxidation, nitric oxide, and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-?, IL-1) can inhibit the cellular energy metabolism by many different mechanisms. Some of these factors have also been shown to deplete CoQ10. (Bullon et al. 2011,?Vidyashankar et al. 2012,?Donnino et al. 2011,?Forsmark-Andr?e et al. 1997?&?Morris&Maes 2014)
4. Fibromyalgia and near-infrared light
In my previous article, I argued that?red light and near-infrared radiation?increases cellular energy metabolism and ATP levels. This effect seems to be beneficial for many diseases.
So far it has been demonstrated that near-infrared might be one of the most potent medical treatments for some chronic diseases.
In two Brazilian studies, low level laser treatment (LLLT) with near-infrared was associated with a huge improvement in hypothyroid patients. Almost half of the patients (47%) could stop taking thyroxine during the follow-up period after the treatment. Good results have been noted for chronic?diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, labial herpes, oral mucositis, and osteoarthritis. (H?fling et al. 2010,?H?fling et al. 2013)
In a couple of studies, LLLT treatment with near-infrared has been successfully used for fibromyalgia. (G?r et al. 2002a,?G?r et al. 2002b,?Armagan et al. 2006,?Fern?ndez Garc?a et al. 2011,?Ruaro et al. 2014)
It would be nice to know whether “low level laser” devices are needed at all. Sunlight, incandescent lamps, halogen lamps, and heat lamps also provide near-infrared, and theoretically they should have similar biological effects. In many animal trials, LED lamps have been as useful as lasers. There are also some trials showing large biological effects with halogen-based Bioptron lamps. (Zhevago&Samoilova 2006)
John Harvey Kellogg, in his 1910 book?Light Therapeutics, argued that incandescent and arc lamps could be beneficially used for chronic fatigue (neurasthenia) and many other diseases such as diabetes, obesity, insomnia, and hair loss. Kellogg’s claims might sound big, but so are many of the recent study findings. The improvement of sleep was also recently demonstrated in a Chinese study in which they shone red light on the subjects’ skin. (Zhao et al. 2012)
5. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, intestines and bacteria
Mark Pimentel’s research group demonstrated that about 100% of the fibromyalgia patients have small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which probably makes them susceptible to endotoxemia and many health problems related to inflammation and metabolic syndrome. In?my previous article, I argued that endotoxemia and inflammation are fundamental factors causing metabolic syndrome.(Pimentel 2004)
In Michael Maes’ study, a diet designed to treat “leaky gut” seemingly decreased the endotoxemia of the patients, and it also decreased the symptom scores significantly. Some of the patients also received CoQ10, which probably accounts for some of the benefits, but I think that the improved intestinal function and decreased inflammation and oxidation must have been important factors as well. Antibiotics have also been shown to alleviate some of the fibromyalgia symptoms. (Maes&Leunis 2008,?Wallace&Hallegua 2004)
One research group reported that a gluten-free diet was very beneficial for a fraction of the fibromyalgia patients. None of these patients had celiac disease, but many of them had other symptoms of digestive system (heartburn, constipation, irritable bowel). I think that a gluten-free diet might be beneficial for some of the fibromyalgia patients, but I also think that there is a reason to suspect that the problems aren’t caused by gluten itself, but instead by some of the types of carbohydrates?in grain products (FODMAPs). (Isasi et al. 2014,?Biesiekierski et al. 2013)
6. Additional?ideas
Mitochondria: Disturbed energy-metabolism has also been noted in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), but some of the markers seem to be worse in fibromyalgia. (Myhill et al. 2009,?Castro-Marrero et al. 2013)
Mitochondrial biogenesis, AMPK and PGC-1?: Patients with fibromyalgia and CFS seem to have some disturbances with AMPK phosphorylation in various cell types (connective tissue, muscle cells, white blood cells). AMPK is quite important for cellular energy metabolism, so these problems might be importantly related to the metabolic problems of these diseases.
In the cells of healthy people, hydrogen peroxide exposure increases AMPK, PGC-1? and SOD activity, which can be seen as a marker of mitochondrial biogenesis and adaptation to oxidative stress. In fibromyalgia patients, this activation doesn’t seem to happen, and more cells die via apoptosis. However,?Cordero’s group has noticed that ubiquinone (CoQ10) can normalize the AMPK/PGC-1? activity of?fibromyalgia patients.
In animal experiments, endotoxin (LPS) has been shown to cause these problems related to mitochondrial biogenesis.(Brown et al. 2015,?Cordero et al. 2013a,?Bull?n et al. 2015a,?Alcocer-G?mez et al. 2015)?
Metformin, AMPK, pain sensitivity and fibromyalgia:?In an animal study, the inhibition of AMPK phosphorylation alone increased the sensitivity to?pain, but metformin prevented this harmful effect. In a recent case series, the use of low-dose metformin?(200mg/d) was associated with significant improvement in biomarkers and symptoms of fibromyalgia patients. (Bullon et al. 2015b)
Metabolic rate and pain:?Mark Starr, the author of Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic,?has written that his pain patients’ basal metabolic rate averaged 15% below normal and natural thyroid hormone treatment often increased the metabolic rate and cured the pain. Thus, it seems likely that besides fibromyalgia, there are many other painful conditions that involve disturbed energy-metabolism.
Free fatty acids and energy metabolism: Young fibromyalgia patients in Japan seem to have extremely high levels of free fatty acids (NEFA), and it would be interesting to see if this applies to most of the adult patients as well. Because NEFAs seem to be able to inhibit some aspects of metabolism (Randle cycle, thyroid hormone receptors, insulin signalling), they might be one factor contributing to the syndrome. (Miyamae et al. 2013,?Fava et al. 2013)
A drug that lowers NEFA levels (acipimox) has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and cellular ATP production, though some effects might be direct.
CFS patients don’t seem to generally have increased NEFA levels.(Miyamae et al. 2013,?Fava et al. 2013,?Gao et al. 2010,?Daniele et al. 2014,?Goodpaster&Coen 2014, van de Weijer T et al. 2015,?Stump et al. 2003,?Georgiades et al. 2003)
Insulin resistance and energy metabolism:?Insulin resistance seems to be a potential factor causing disturbances of metabolism in cells. Even the descendants of diabetic patients have decreased muscle ATP production, even if there are no signs of inflammation. Diabetic patients have low hepatic ATP production. (Petersen et al. 2004, Schmid et al. 2011,?Szendroedi et al. 2007, Stump et al. 2003)
Glycine, histidine, taurine, cysteine:?Amino acids glycine and histidine seem to have various beneficial health effects, at least in animal studies. They can improve NEFA oxidation and insulin resistance. Their consumption seems to decrease NEFA levels, inflammation, lipid peroxidation and other harms related to junk food and endotoxemia.
The combination of glycine and cysteine has led to remarkable improvements in the metabolism of elderly human subjects. (Nguyen et al. 2013,?El Hafidi et al. 2004, Feng et al. 2013, Nguyen et al. 2014,?Sekhar et al. 2011)
Since disturbed energy metabolism seems to be a crucial element in fibromyalgia, and it could be caused by factors such as NEFA and inflammation, it is tempting to speculate whether some anti-inflammatory amino acids could prove beneficial for this disease.(Morris&Maes 2014, Tastesen et al. 2014)
“[Glycine] users have anecdotally reported complete or almost complete resolution of fibromyalgia, asthma, psoriasis, arthritis, RSD and other manifestations of old, healed injuries which had caused chronic pain, as well as pain due to soreness after exercise or injury or gout flare-up.” – Joel Brind
Another interesting nutrient is taurine. Taurine levels seem to be decreased (by ~50%) in the blood of fibromyalgia patients. In animal studies, it has many protective effects on mitochondria, and in human studies, it has shown to be beneficial for patients suffering from chemotherapy, diabetes and heart failure. ?(Bazzichi et al. 2009, Larson et al. 2007,?Moloney et al. 2010,?Hu et al. 2008, Franconi et al. 1995, Islambulchilar et al. 2015, Xiao et al. 2008)
Cholesterol levels: In some studies, the cholesterol levels of fibromyalgia patients have been higher than normal, but this association hasn’t been noted in other studies. Quite often, the level of basal metabolism is strongly correlated with the cholesterol levels (low metabolic rate -> high cholesterol). In adolescent Japanese fibromyalgia patients ubiquinol (reduced form of CoQ10) lowered their cholesterol levels significantly. Also, thyroid hormones and near-infrared have been shown to decrease cholesterol levels. (Cordero et al. 2014b, Miyamae et al. 2013, Ozgocmen&Ardicoglu 2000)
Oxidative stress: Fibromyalgia and CFS patients have higher levels of oxidative stress when compared to healthy controls. Oxidative stress is a common marker of eg. inflammatory diseases and major depression. (Ozgocmen et al. 2006, Manuel y Keenoy et al. 2001, Vecchiet et al. 2003, Shungu et al. 2012, Kennedy et al. 2005, Cell fatigue blog)
Leptin levels: Women with fibromyalgia have over two-fold leptin levels compared to the healthy controls. Even though leptin is mostly known as the ‘satiety hormone?, it also works as an inflammatory cytokine. Chronic inflammation can increase leptin levels. (Homann et al. 2014, Otero et al. 2005, Landman et al. 2003)
Gene expression: A recent study investigated the associations between the expression of some genes and fatigue diseases. The gene groups that were investigated, were associated with 1) purinergic signaling & cell signaling, 2) nerve growth & inflammation, 3) nociception & stress and 4) mitochondria & energy metabolism. Fibromyalgia wasn’t associated with altered gene expression, but CFS patients had altered expression of genes belonging to the groups 1 and 3. (Iacob et al. 2015)
Brain (in fibromyalgia): In fibromyalgia patients, decreased blood flow has been noted in some parts of brain, compared to healthy subjects (thalamus, nucleus caudatus, cerebral cortex). (Mountz et al. 1995)
Brain (in CFS): In CFS patients, decreased blood perfusion has been noted in their brainstem compared to healthy subjects. In one study, metabolism was also lower in brainstem and right mediofrontal cortex when compared to healthy subjects. (Costa et al. 1995, Tirelli et al. 1998)
Also, some studies have shown some evidence of decreased amount of white matter and atrophy of arcuate fasciculus. Some proof of neuroinflammation has also been noted in limbic system, brainstem and thalamus. (Zeineh et al. 2015, Nakatomi et al. 2014)
Nerves (fibromyalgia): According to one study, women suffering from fibromyalgia have some evidence of neuropathy in their eyes. (Ramirez et al. 2015)
Adrenal glands (CFS): In some studies, patients with CFS have had altered adrenal gland size and concentrations of some hormones (DHEA?, DHEA-S?, urinary cortisol?). (Scott et al. 1999a,?Scott et al. 1999b, Scott&Dinan 1998, Scott et al. 2000)
Mold exposure: According to one study, most of the CFS patients (93%) had mycotoxins in their urine. The researchers discussed that mycotoxins might be able to cause mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to disease. (Brewer et al. 2013a)
In their later article, the same researchers also speculated that chronically sick people might have mycotoxin-producing biofilms in their maxillary sinuses. (Brewer et al. 2013b)
Infections (mycoplasma): According to one study, most of the patients with fibromyalgia or CFS have mycoplasma infection (84%), but the existence of the infection wasn’t associated with the severity of the disease. Therefore, it might be irrelevant. (Nasralla et al. 1999)
Polyunsaturated fat, mitochondria and CoQ10: A Spanish research group has noticed that a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) can damage the mitochondrial DNA of rats, but low-dose CoQ10 supplementation can prevent the damage, increasing the lifespan of the animals by 12% (maximum lifespan by 25%). Other research groups haven’t noted similar lifespan increase, which might be related to lack of excessive PUFA or extremely high doses of CoQ10. (Ochoa et al. 2007,?Ochoa et al. 2005,?Quiles et al. 2010,?Quiles et al. 2006,?Quiles et al. 2005,?Quiles et al. 2004,?Huertas et al. 1999?&?Sohal et al. 2006,?L?nnrot et al. 1998)
Amitriptyline: This drug?(Triptyl) is a very popular antidepressant prescribed to fibromyalgia patients. Even though it has many beneficial effects, which might be related to the powerful inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome, it also seems to have some harmful effects on energy metabolism. While CoQ10 doesn’t inhibit NLRP3 to the same extent, it doesn’t have the same harmful effects as amitriptyline, and it actually even protects from some harms caused by amitriptyline. (Cordero et al. 2014a,?Alcocer-G?mez et al. 2014,?Moreno-Fern?ndez et al. 2012,?Bautista-Ferrufino et al. 2011,?Cordero et al. 2009b)
LDN: Low-dose naltrexone is another popular drug for fibromyalgia and CFS. I have heard some good anecdotes about it, but have no more information. (Younger&Mackey 2009,?Younger et al. 2013)
7. Conclusions
Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue disease are both characterized by impaired energy-metabolism, which can be witnessed?by measuring basal metabolic rate, ATP,?or other mitochondrial markers. Sometimes a?malfunction or inflammation of the thyroid or pituitary gland is involved in the pathology of the syndrome, but in most cases a clear hormonal cause cannot be found.
Treatments such as CoQ10, near-infrared and T3 have shown remarkable preliminary effects in the treatment of?fibromyalgia, and the mechanism seems to be related to improvements in?energy-metabolism. Treating endotoxemia and inflammation with an anti-inflammatory diet and supplements (glycine, taurine) might also be very important, because inflammation might be an important factor causing the energy-metabolism disturbances in these patients. (Morris&Maes 2014)
I hope that this article would bring some optimism to the miserable discussions regarding these difficult syndromes. There are so many people having huge difficulties in their lives because they are sick and fatigued, yet they are mostly offered painkillers or antidepressants because their problems aren’t understood in a logical light. Personally, I find it very fascinating that there actually is all’this new evidence showing that maybe we can conquer these illnesses at some point – or maybe even today.
Further reading
180DegreeHealth – Thyroid, Inflammation, and Metabolic Syndrome: The Surprising Power of Context
Valtsu’s ? Health Benefits of Glycine
Valtsu’s ? The Therapeutic Effects of Red and Near-Infrared Light (long version)
Valtsu’s ? Thyroid Hormones: The Ultimate Weapon Against Heart Disease?
Chris Kresser – Is Fibromyalgia Caused By SIBO and Leaky Gut?
?About the author
Vladimir Heiskanen of Finland has been researching and writing about health for several years. Currently a dental’student at the University of Helsinki and a blogger since 2010, he has a keen interest in human biology, and has studied scores of books, reports and cutting-edge health websites, especially the work of Chris Masterjohn, Paul Jaminet, Ray Peat and Matt Stone. You can read all of his fascinating articles published at 180D HERE.
Excellent article, Vladimir! Well done!
Thanks Ari!
Great article, thanks! For Matt or anyone else in the US, do you know of any store-bought snack foods (crackers, chips, etc.) that are free of PUFAs? It would be great to be able to get some snack foods that are made with butter or coconut oil instead of PUFAs. Also, is palm oil okay or not? I’ve heard conflicting things and that there might be even be a type of palm oil that’s saturated and another that’s not. Thanks everyone…
I’ve struggled to find those snack foods as well. Here’s what I found: Jackson’s Honest Potato chips, Bugles, Butter cookies, homemade popcorn (we use an air popper and then pour on butter or popcorn oil from Wilderness Family Naturals). Pretzels are a good salty snack low in oil (usually soybean oil). It’s hard to believe more snack makers haven’t come out with any snacks made with coconut oil yet. At least Jackson’s is growing and is available more widely now. Now we just need someone to make tortilla chips!
The Pretzel Crisps brand of pretzels(original flavor) doesn’t contain any oil. They’re flat pretzels too…great for dipping and great for melting cheese on top like nachos.
Also, I sometimes make my own oil-free tortilla chips with Trader Joe’s corn tortillas (I’m pretty sure they’re oil-free). I cut each one into 8 pieces, lay out a bunch on a cooking sheet, spray them lightly with water and then add salt (finely ground salt would work best with this, I think). You could cook them at 350-400 F for about 8-10 minutes (or longer), until crispy. You could also use nonstick coconut oil spray to get salt or seasonings to stick (I think seasoning salt would be yummy on tortilla chips!)
Jackson’s honest potato chips are made using coconut oil. Matt in the past mentioned that buggles original are made with coconut oil.. though you might be eating GMO corn with those, so if that’s an issue, it would be best to inquire, or avoid.
Interesting info as always! I’m so happy that you and the other open minded thinkers of our generation are fighting the good fight. Thank you Mr.Stone!
As a sidenote I’d like to chip in some further information regarding a highly overlooked cause and this is from my own experience.
If TMJ/TMD is present I’d really, really, really look into cranial anomalies and dental/bite misalignments. Problems in these areas can produce similar symptoms because of increased stress due to blocked nasal pathways and postural misalignment (postural issues make your muscles work full time to support the faulty posture).
For anyone interested I’d check out “dental distress syndrome”, “neurocranial restructuring” and functional orthodontics (ALF – advanced lightwire functionals, bioblock). Dr. Mike Mew explains most of it really well in his lectures.
I’m 1 year into functional orthodontic treatment and am starting to focus on nutrition and lifestyle now since I’m back to “ok”. I hope it’s the missing link left for me and the last tweak needed.
I’m not affiliated with any practitioner or anything and I’m not being treated with a bioblock. I’m just a seeker with an open mind who happened to find a large chunck of my own healthpuzzle.
Peace!
Thank you for this information. I’m suffering quite a bit from tmj.
Andreas. I’m hoping to do some orthodontic/cranial adjustment using ALF and Osteopathic adjustment. I haven’t started yet, but am excited to once I figure out some other stuff and get the funds together. I have thought about whether a high arched palate and narrow facial structure like mine could affect the hypothalmus/pituitary. Weston Price has a case study in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration concerning a young man with mongoloidism, as they called it then, who had severe facial malformation, poor mental and emotional development and had failed to go through puberty. With surgery and whatever other orthodontic stuff, the kid went through puberty and started to develop more normally. Prices claim was that the structural malformation had caused some type of major endocrine disruption. I can see for sure how it is chronically stressful in general to have malformed oral cavity and narrow air passages. I didn’t really think about it when I was a mouth breather, but once I learned to breathe nasally, I realized just how small my mouth is and how easily my airway is restricted. Also, there is never a comfortable and natural place for my tongue, since there simply isn’t room in there for it.
I’d certainly be interested to hear more of your experience with functional orthodontics. I started a thread in the forum last year, that you could chime in on. http://180degreehealth.com/180forums/topic/adult-palate-expansion/
For posture stuff, check out Gohkale method (pronounced Go Clay). It’s already helped me even doing it half assed, and I’ve been hearing pretty much 100% positive feedback about it. A friend who “tried everything” was about to go have spinal surgery and is now functional and improving after practicing Gohkale. Some familiar stuff, but a unique take on it and geared toward constructive habits, where work and rest can be contributing to good posture. I guess simply put, the main “exercise” is how you live rather than something you do after you screw yourself up. Other things may not be so familiar and perhaps opposite of what we are sometimes told. This talk is a good introduction. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtQ1VqGGU74
Fantastic article Vlad. I also suspect that fecal microbiota transplantation would be a key strategy in curing fibromyalgia. There is at least one famous anecdote of a patient who was treated with FMT for a digestive complaint and was inadvertently cured of another condition – fibromyalgia – by the treatment.
FMT is also at the top of my list of things to try, and ahead of functional orthodontics (see comment above). Of course proponents think it will cure everything, (a common phenomenon in the world of health pursuits like which disease that causes everything should you have! Intestinal dysbiosis, Yeast, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, depression, parasites, vegetarianism, meat eating, magnesium depletion, stress, dental arch malformation, I know I’m forgetting lots of them… But, the idea that digestive dysbiosis may be a central player in a lot of illness doesn’t seem far fetched to me at this point, and I feel that, for me, it’s a major issue that needs resolution. Results of FMT with conditions other than C. Dif. infection seem somewhat spotty, but certainly some experiences are excellent. The guys in Australia that pioneered the technique reported 3 clinical cases of MS improved or remissed (is that a word?) with FMT. Just try to find a healthy donor though, so few people out there with good digestion and no significant health problems. Once I get my mouth and face stretched out with ALF, and squirt someones healthy poop up my ass I’m going to be like superman ‘n’ shit.
I have fit a lot of the criteria for FM/CFS at various points. Raising body temps via rest and re-feeding helped with a lot of stuff, but while my temps remain pretty high, almost everything else has slowly eroded back to previous levels, and few of the gains remain at this point. I’m waiting on thyroid/adrenal and other hormone test results now, but I’m guessing thyroid is not my major problem given normal to high normal body temps and not too bad average daily temps as tracked using Dr. Rinds chart. Adrenals, testosterone, or a more broad HPA dysfunction seem more likely, but it seems to me that adrenal insufficiency, thyroid issues and endocrine disruption in general are more likely symptoms than causes, even if other symptoms are largely resolved with treatment. Aside from some overt thyroid gland failure, or I guess that would be primary hypothyroidism, what is the reason for an epidemic of down regulated thyroid function that may be causing these clusters of symptoms assigned various names? I think we should be cautious of viewing hypothyroidism as a disease, or for that matter, even viewing these clusters of symptoms that we call diseases as causes of dysfunction, and keep looking upstream for real solutions. I recently was told I might have Ankylosing Spondylitis. I fit a lot of the criteria, with no bone changes shown on x-ray. Diagnosis of autoimmune disease seems pretty silly sometimes. The lines between them are often very blurry and people sometimes fit multiple diagnoses. Once you have a diagnosis, it’s not clear that there is any known cause of any of them aside from “the body as gone haywire” and many of the treatments, immune suppression, are the same. I’m digressing, but the people I found online who had positive outcomes with AS were mostly treating gut issues. One promising treatment is unfortunately a starch free diet, hardly a solution but could be a good clue. Clearly some hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency is caused by dieting and other stressors, but stressors come in many forms, including infections and the kind of autoimmune inflammation I seem to have. It’s obviously of great utility to identify things that are disordered and improve quality of life, but finding root causes is still the holy grail. I’ve alway been wary of the modern life is very stressful argument, claiming that cavemen or whoever had only short stressors and were otherwise chillin’ all the time.
CoQ10 never seemed to do anything for me, nor has any other supplement or herb that I can recall. I did regular heat lamp saunas (near infrared, 4 250 watt lamps pointed right at my bare skin, and close too.) for quite a long time. I liked them and they are a nice way to sauna, but they never did much for my health as far as I could tell. If anything, all that sweating while guzzling plain water was probably disrupting my electrolyte levels even more.
Anyway, I second FMT as worth a look. Maybe not the first line of attack, but worth considering, at least for chronic digestive issues not resolved by other means. The only thing that ever seemed to positively affect my digestion was GAPs, diet, but with far too much collateral damage and only temporarily. My recent SIBO test was negative, but Calprotectin is elevated. FMT seems like it might be the most promising thing out there for chronic gut issues, and not radical at all for someone like me who has little to lose by trying it. BTW, all of my current health practitioners are quite supportive of my trying home FMT and my doctor even brought it up before I did, just as an FYI and not as a recommendation of course.
Vladimir Heiskanen, We are still waiting for you to try T3 or dessicated thyroid on your own body, before you make ludicrous recommendations.
Yes,I don’t have any personal experience with thyroid hormones. But I don’t believe that my n=1 experience would give much information about the effectiveness of the treatment.
I’ve read a lot on the subject and I know doctors who have prescribed T3 to many fibromyalgia patients.
I agree that there are many people who feel worse when they are using the hormones (even low doses), so everybody should be somewhat cautious when considering that type of medication. But there are also many people who benefit a lot from the treatment.
In most countries, it’s not possible to get these hormones without a prescription, so usually the treatment is based on careful co-operation between patient and doctor. I think it should reduce the risks.
In my country, it’s actually almost impossible to do the T3 megadose thing recommended by Dr. Lowe, because the government also monitors the work of doctors and some of popular pro-thyroid doctors have run into problems after prescribing T3 too freely.
My article is not all about recommendations. I’m mainly interested in thinking about the associations and mechanisms. The associations between inflammation, energy-metabolism, nutrients, hormones etc…
Nick, why you think a single anecdote would be more robust than controlled clinical studies is beyond me. Especially considering that vladamir neither has fibromyalgia nor is he hypothyroid, so even if he did take dessicated thyroid and experienced no benefit what do you think that would prove? If anyone is making ridiculous recommendations here it’s you.
Another intriguing thought is autoimmunity. Several other problems discussed (thyroid troubles, celiac, IBS are some) are thought to have an auto-immune origin.
In my experience, one is more prone to autoimmune conditions when in an impaired metabolic state rather than the other way around–although certainly many systems are two-way operational in that regard.
I was so sad when I was reading this story. I am really happy that you can run a little bit still. Is there anything that you could do to allow yourself to grallaudy increase your distance? I am currently injured from a marathon and it is killing me to not run right now!
The health of the microbiome, including dybiosis, gut permeability and exposure to infections is likely a prime factor in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases as well –
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15158604
http://journals.lww.com/co-rheumatology/Abstract/2000/07000/Reactive_arthritis.12.aspx
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19538307
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24296462
http://www.direct-ms.org/pdf/LeakyGutMS/Fasano%20intestinal%20barrier%20autoimmunity.pdf
http://www.nleducation.co.uk/resources/reviews/gut-flora-probiotics-and-vitamins-ad-%E2%80%93-do-they-influence-allergy-and-autoimmunity/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1774411/
This article’s fascinating referenced research coupled with the the reported research on the NFA website make for some interesting conclusions. However, we are still left with which came first, “the chicken or the egg”. I think research will eventually find that the cause of Fibromyalgia is too complicated and diffuse to be identified. They are getting closer and closer to a medical model for diagnosing Fibromyalgia. There is hope for a cure!
This article is very well thought out and pragmatic, so thanks. As someone who has actually healed (for the most part) from fibromyalgia, I can speak from my own experience. What’s amazing to note, is that when the body is given half a chance, it has the profound capacity to heal. When I started to support myself nutritionally, other health improvements fell into place.
I’ve used supplements here and there throughout my recovery including CoQ10. I haven’t used any thyroid supplements – specifically – but know that’s an important piece of the puzzle. I’m also very aware of the benefits of infrared saunas and agree with your assessments.
One thing I’d like to add (which, I realize was not intended as part of the scope of this article) is the power of mindset and emotional wellness. It’s amazing how our own thoughts, anxieties, worries, and stresses can impact our health and our ability to heal. It takes intentional action in all areas (nutrition, body movement, and stress-management) to start the ball rolling. But when it does, watch out! Wellness may be right around the corner.
Thanks again for this great overview.
Does anyone have any concrete, simple to follow steps on how to get started? I’m so sick of “fibromyalgia”, I’m ready to give up on everything.
In those Mario Cordero’s studies, the patients saw beneficial changes when they ate 300mg of CoQ10 (softgels) every day, divided into three doses. That might be the easiest thing to try – and it’s also quite cheap to try.
http://www.vitasearch.com/CP/experts/CorderoMDAT2011-04-29.pdf
Personally, I’m eating 4g glycine, 1g histidine and 300mg CoQ10 daily and my well-being has significantly improved lately. I don’t have a fibromyalgia, but I’ve been quite prone to stress since I suffered a “burnout” during high school (4 years ago). That’s one reason why I read so much health literature.
Other things:
– I shine some bright light on my skin (from 250W heat lamp) on cloudy days, because the near-infrared might be useful for improving metabolism
– I think it’s important to achieve high-quality human relationships, because good friends and human touch (massage, hugging) can relieve stress quite effectively
– It might be wise to do some thyroid lab tests, and especially watch if you have signs of central hypothyroidism (pituitary hypothyroidism)
Another excellent article, Vladimir!
I note that you cite Swedish research showing 40% of fibromyalgia patients have inflamed thyroids, suggesting glycine deficiency may be the primary problem, not endocrine disruption, (and you and I both take daily glycine supplements). I also now know of fibromyalgia patients who have been helped by glycine supplementation. It is of course tempting to view thyroid function–so universally critical in all tissues and organs–a primal. So, for example, congenital hypothyroidism results in cretinism–a form of dwarfism–because growth hormone secretion is inadequate, all because the cells that make growth hormone do no receive adequate thyroid hormone. But glycine’s function is so fundmental, and glycine deficiency so universal, that we need to consider that almost everything we have learned about health and disease is based on the functioning of glycine-deficient bodies. So if we correct the glycine deficiency first, then we can be in a position to see what else is out of whack–or not.
I think that’s the problem with 99% of health research. All it takes is one unforeseen variable to make any and all research on a subject obsolete/irrelevant. It’s important not to lean too heavily on conclusions from various studies when context has such a powerful influence on the results.
Indeed. The mark of real knowledge is that it makes different and apparently unrelated pieces of the puzzle fall into place, not only in terms of clinical efficacy, but also in terms of molecular and cellular details garnered from different avenues of approach.
Excellent article. I believe that one day, fibromyalgia will be regarded as a symptom, just like a fever is a symptom, and the causes may be many. I developed fibromyalgia after a serious bout with Lyme disease that was misdiagnosed for 10 months. Not to mention that looking back, my diet was pretty bad, being very low in nutrient density, and very high in high glycemic foods that were probably feeding the wrong gut bacteria. During my 40’s, I used to have these bouts where the sides of my neck (I now understand this is where the thyroid is) would swell and feel hot. Removing casein and gluten helped a great deal but alone were not enough. I eventually gained total control over the symptoms by following a nutrient dense Paleo diet (eating 6+ cups of vegetables a day) and adding bone broth 3 or 4 times per week. CoQ10 seems helpful, especially if I am physically very active. I am now almost symptom free for the first time in 17 years. Keep up the good work.
I would wager it was the bone broth more than anything else, as it must have at least partially corrected an underlying glycine deficiency.
I have been using the FibroMapp app for a year now and it has made a huge difference in my life and in gaining control back. By being able to track pain, sleep, meds, other symptoms, flare ups and much more, it creates reports so I can see (as can my doctor) what is REALLY going on. I have found from using this app things like tinned tomatoes and aubergines give me a flare up within 2 hours of eating. And activities can take up to 72 hours before a flare hits. I feel like I am finally on track in using this simple little app and highly recommend it. http://www.fibromapp.com
If you look up oxalate content of foods you will find that aubergine and tinned tomatoes are high in oxalic acid. If you are like me and cannot metabolise the oxalate you may want to have a look at the low oxalate diets and try avoiding specific foods. I forgot to say you also need to take calcium supplement especially when you start to exclude (to as far as I understood it, help the body break down the accumulated oxalic acid that the body is trying to clear out).
Medics agree that high oxalic acid is proven to cause kidney stones and gallstones (both of which I also had) but I would not be at all surprised if at some point someone discovers it also affects soft tissues causing the pain etc.
You might want to check out lowoxalate.info or the low oxalate yahoo group. There are in fact many whose fibro has gone away on a low oxalate diet.
The key though is reestablishing the right bacteria in the gut that can break down oxalates, like b. infantis.
I read your comments about the antibiotics and amitriptyline with interest as I have found I always felt better for a little while after having taken antibiotics for unrelated illness, and I had come off the amitriptyline twice and refused to take it altogether as it made me feel much worse.
After few years of getting nowhere in terms of any real help but finally getting a fibro diagnosis I limited my diet to strictly very low or completely non-oxalate foods and drinks and I take a daily capsule of CQ10 with L carnitine/acetyl-carnitine/prpionyl l-carnitine and 5mg D-ribose to deal with the energy issues. My symptoms improved dramatically within weeks of starting the regime and two years on I sometimes have an occasional flare up if I slip on the diet but I am largely free of fibro symptoms (pain, tingling/buzzing in limbs and mouth, horrible brain fog and feeling deathly tired all of the time). It seems to me that what works for some people does not work for others even though we all have metabolism issues in common. I have stopped following any articles on fibro for some time now as have no need to keep up but a friend has forwarded this one to me and I thought someone else may want to look up the low oxalate connection and the carnitine angle if they are still on the lookout for treatment.
Hi Bartek,
Have you heard about this interesting blog? http://autoimmunethyroid.wordpress.com/
The author had fibromyalgia, various food intolerances and many other symptoms that ended when she started thyroid medication. I think she wasn’t intolerant to oxalates, but she had salicylate intolerance and she was writing about other intolerances (such as oxalates) as well.
How much carnitine you are taking daily?
I think that they often take grams of D-ribose, not milligrams. Are you taking 5mg or possibly 5g (5000mg)?
Thanks for the comment.
Hi Vladimir,
Thanks for your message – I’ll check out the link (I tried thyroid supplements in the past but these did nothing for me). Yes you are right it is 5g D-ribose a day (not mg – apologies). I take 500mg carnitine every morning (167mg of each type plus 60mg cq10 combination) although in the first year I took double that.
Best wishes
Bartek
Hello again,
I flicked through the website you linked and the related info on failsafe diet/salicylates etc but from my experience the conclusion that people feel better on low oxalates diet because what they are really excluding are salicylates, does not stand.
For example aubergine and potato, both with low salicylate and high oxalate content, invariably set my symptoms off. It is of course entirely possible that each time I have a flare up the culprit is different: eg glycoalkaloids in the nightshade family (potato, aubergine, tomato) interfered with the acetyl cholinesterase enzyme (a vital part of the neuromuscular function) or that at other times the psychoactive amines like caffeine affected the function and level of my neurotransmitters (strangely enough I don’t tolerate tea or coffee but can drink any amount of coke with no ill effects whatsoever). The trouble is that the more one tries to find some answers the more variables there are. Unfortunately as most of the symptoms which cannot be explained by stress, physical trauma or a proven organ dysfunction are lumped together under a label like fibromyalgia it then kind of implies that we share the underlying causes as well as the symptoms (in days gone by it was beacuse we were all hypochondriacs..).And by extension, that we may be “cured” by the same “thing”. In the meantime we are left with trial and error approach which takes time, and committment to really give something a chance to work, not to mention money or the fact that there is no guaranteed result at the end of whatever regime we try, which can be pretty depressing. But, for each bit of misinformation and quackery present on the internet, there is, luckily, a vast amount of really useful information and clues that can help us identify what we need to do, to tweak the workings of our unique bodies. Which is why your orginal article that started this thread is brilliant as it looks at various possibilities !
(By the way, the blog link you posted also mentions DrMyhill website which I too found very useful and which reminded me I also took liquid vitB in the first year and still use calcium citrate which supposedly binds oxalates as a precaution).
Thanks again
Bartek
This is a really interesting article. I recovered completely from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (and depression, obesity, etc.) over 6 years ago now. I had tried all of the things you mention in this article but they did not help me. Finally I did a detox with the mineral zeolites combined with a therapeutic, colonizing probiotic and I was able to get out of bed all day for the first time in years. Then I went on to get off all the prescription drugs, lose 100 pounds and I even was able to get pregnant.
Thank you for bringing awareness to how complicated this disease is! I love it that you are helping people find a natural way out of this hell hole!
Yours in joyful health,
Leah E. McCullough
Author Freedom from Fibromyalgia: 7 Steps to Complete
Recovery, read a free chapter at http://www.TheFibroLady.com
Leah, my I ask you what probiotic you took? And did you have your bowel bacteria tested to know which one to take?
I can personally testify that thyroid hormones work! I recovered half with much of the the Dr Lowe protocol 12 years ago. I had severe physical en mental problems resembling hypothyroidism before that but always normal bloodvalues. According to Dr Low 1/3 of the fibromyalgia patients has a normal thyroid disorder or pituary hypothyroidism but no diagnose, 1/3 of the patients has partial cellulair resistance against T3 (the active form of t4, both are thyroid hormones). And 1/3 of patients has no thyroid related fibromyalgia.
T3 Thyroid hormones made me so much better, but I needed a high dose of them. When I read years later online that the partial cellulair resistance could get less taking iron, I tried that and it worked. I never took iron before, because it upset my bowel a lot. Since then I have switched to taking colloidial iron which made me need a much lower dose of thyroid hormones and made me feel lot better.