my wife's experiences with fibromyalgia

[julianpenrod]

In February, 1994, my wife slipped down a wooden stairway covered with dry snow, sustaining a left distal comminuted fracture of the left wrist. When she landed at the bottom of the stairs, she also hit her chin against the stairs.
The major symptoms she suffered following this were leg weakness, lower back pain, general aches and pains among the muscles of the body, headache, eye twitching, sleep disturbance, chronic fatigue, GI symptoms.
She had been to many doctors who conducted examinations and x-rays of her lower back, although when she initially went to the ER, she also had her neck x-rayed.
It was in 1998 that she was diagnosed with “fibromyalgia” by a “board certified rheumatologist”. This was at the recommendation of her attorney who informed her that he “had other clients who had fibromyalgia from accidents” and that “no one knows what causes it”. Evidently, that was the system in New Jersey at the time, misinforming people on the origin of their collection of symptoms and sending them to “rheumatologists”.
For approximately ten years, while my wife's symptoms were getting progressively worse, she was put on antidepressants and painkillers and mostly resigned to her bed, only working part-time. It wasn't until 2005 that she saw an ad in a newspaper from a chiropractor that said, “Fibromyalgia?”, and offered a free consultation. It was at this point that the whole spine was x-rayed at once and she was diagnosed with a “cervical disk compression” at C5-6. Many years prior to that, my wife had fired her attorney and refused the “settlement” since she believed that she was being lied to about her health condition. She allowed the case to be dismissed rather than accommodate being robbed of what was due her.
When my wife discovered what was truly wrong with her, no attorney would take the case and file a new complaint for her, so, to this day, my wife has not been compensated for her injury at the apartment.
My wife began treatment of decompression therapy on her disk in the neck and, within three months, 70 percent of her symptoms disappeared. She has continued with her chiropractic treatment for the last eight years or so and she remains on maintenance as needed. It is only the past year that my wife finally got rid of her last symptom, which was the leg pains at night. My wife had to massage her legs every night before going to sleep, because of the severe pain in her legs. Within three months of treatment, my wife's blood pressure went from 180 down to about normal.
Many people are not aware they have herniated disks causing these symptoms. We are not claiming that fibromyalgia does not stem from other illnesses or diseases, but it seems inordinately many cases are misdiagnosed. If you didn't have x-rays of every part of your spine simultaneously, by a reputable chiropractor who does decompression therapy, then that is a major gap in your medical investigation and the cause of your fibromyalgia may be a herniated disk.
Fibromyalgia is not a disease, it's a collection of twenty or so symptoms, that can stem from an accident, illness or medication.
Today, my wife takes no medication, she is up all day and works full-time. She does home traction on her neck at night for 8 minutes, to keep her disks decompressed. Any rheumatologist who takes a patient and makes a diagnosis of fibromyalgia without clearance from a reputable chiropractor is knowingly committing malpractice. Chiropractors have the least to gain, compared to expensive back surgery and medication, and so have the least vested interest in making the wrong diagnosis. Too many “experts” are too trusted by too many people. There are many bad chiropractors, so you have to screen them very carefully. If you walk into a chiropractor and they just start throwing you around on a table, walk out. You should have a chiropractor who takes x-rays, who shows them to you and explains their treatment plan.
A herniated disk is not a death sentence, but it does take maintenance treatment for the rest of your life. Bulges can be cleared up fairly easily through decompression, also.

 

[julianpenrod]

some symptoms you can experience with a disk herniation

This is a more complete list of symptoms you can get from a herniated disk.
Pain behind the eye.
Eye twitching.
Tingling above the upper lip, the type that moves very rapidly and lasts for a second.
Frequent choking on saliva or food, tightness of the throat.
Muscle spasms and stiffness throughout the body, such a charley horses in the legs and feet upon stretching in bed.
Numbness in the face, low back and extremities.
Neuralgia, shooting pains in the head, ears or forehead.
Chronic migraine headaches.
Numbness from the waist down after sitting for a short period.
Pins and needles in feet and hands.
Sensation of pieces of glass in your feet and your extremities.
Sensation of bee stings on legs and feet.
Sciatica, pain down the back of the legs.
Carpal tunnel symptoms.
Overall aches and pains throughout the body, what is called “fibromyalgia”.
GI symptoms, irritable bowel, gas, bloating, diarrhea, nausea, severe stomach cramping, gerd which is also known as “acid reflux”. These came mostly from the Motrin, Advil and Aleve my wife was taking.
Severe urgency to get to the bathroom, frequent urination sensation.
Low back pain, especially while sleeping or turning over in bed, reclining on your back or bending such as leaning over a kitchen sink, pulling wet laundry out of a washing machine or cooking. If you sew, leaning over to cut fabric .
Severe knee pain, especially sitting in a chair for any length of time, bending, climbing stairs or walking up an incline.
Ankle, leg, knee and joint pain, including swelling and tightness, pressure on your feet if you have your shoes on for long periods.
Chronic fatigue.
Leg weakness, one of the most serious conditions, causing limitation on the amount of time you can stand up or walk around, as well as severe leg pain while reclining in bed at night.
High blood pressure.
Lethargy, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness.
Sensitivity to light, noise, temperature changes in extremes, nerve sensitivity.
Very tight knots in the trapezius muscles, the upper back and shoulder blades.
Pain causing stiff neck and shoulder.
Limitation of motion in neck and shoulder, an inability to look sideways and up and down.
Diminishment of eyesight, as in reading. It can affect the optic nerve if it is a cervical disk problem.
Hand/eye coordination is diminished, resulting in dropping things, balance and coordination problems, dizziness, diminishment of cognitive abilities, including ability to focus and concentrate.
Weakness of the voice after extreme fatigue.
Tightness of scalp, a sensation of the scalp being stretched over the skull.
Leg shortening.
These are some of the problems that my wife experienced because her condition was undiagnosed and left untreated by a chiropractor for disk decompression and cranial adjustment. This is why it is so critical that you get early treatment, so you don't progress to all these symptoms. It only takes a few short years to accumulate most of these symptoms which will completely incapacitate you.
We'll explain why it is the body reacts this way to a disk herniation and what you can do to work on your condition.

 

[1sweed]

While I find this interesting to a degree, I wonder what it has to do with fibro? While you recommend chiropractor's as the first line of treatment I would say that depends on your condition. As in a problem with ones spinal disks it might be a good second choice, after seeing a neurologist and having a full work-up. But as far as fibro goes the first doctor to see is a rheumatologist or a internal medicine doctor.

Please explain your reasoning for this topic? While it may have been your wife was miss-diagnosed most of us have been tested repeatedly for all manner of illnesses and fibro was the outcome of all the testing.

 

[julianpenrod]

This post has been edited to remove the name calling bad attitude of this writer. While some of this information is very interesting and a worthwhile read, being condescending and rude is not allowed.


The essence, the reason for the post, is to state baldly that in at least the extreme majority of cases, if not in every single last one, the cause of “fibromyalgia” is a herniated disk in the cervical spine and the crooks of the “medical” rackets won't reveal it, because they make too much money prescribing massive back surgery, pain management and physical therapy.
Consider from the basis of logic. “Fibromyalgia” is a condition which comprises many, many, many symptoms. In fact, there are more manifestations in “fibromyalgia” than any identified disease. How can anything affect everything from muscles to blood pressure to headaches to the GI tract? Yes, how can anything? What do they all have in common? One thing. They send nerves to the brain! And the nerves all go through the spine! And pressure on any nerve can cause the brain to think there is pain in an area, when there isn't! A phantom pain. “Painkillers” make you think there isn't a pain when there is, a herniated disk can make the brain think there is pain when there isn't! And, more than that, the brain is not passive, it can also be active! If the brain senses a problem, even if it's wrong, it will react! It can cause inflammation, spasms, it can cause fluid retention, any number of manifestations! You can experience symptoms as well as exagerated sensations, all from a herniated disk!
Nerves enter the spine at different spots. The lower extremities enter at the lumbar spine, the trunk and limb nerves enter also the thoracic, and all the remaining nerves enter in the cervical spine. A herniated disk in the cervical spine, then, can cause manifestations of phantom sensations everywhere in the body! Since “fibromyalgia” is a collection of sensations from everywhere in the body, not associated with any actual physical damage to those places, phantom pains, in other words, it must be associated with pressure on the nerves through the cervical spine!
Everyone should ask themselves, did their “doctors” willingly take x-rays of their cervical spines? Did they take x-rays of the whole spine? Forms of “fibromyalgia” might affect only those nerves that enter below the cervical area. You should be prepared to have your entire spine x-rayed. It will cost around $250 for the whole spine, which is a bargain compared to MRI's, surgry, and a lifetime of medication.
Did those afflicted with “fibromyalgia” even ask for them? Since there are no reports of damage to muscles, or blood vessels or the brain associated with “fibromyalgia”, that means that everywhere else was always x-rayed or MRI'd, but not the cervical spine! That is, if x-rays are taken at all! The “doctors” usually call such a schedule of tests “cost prohibitive”. Mostly, the some will just palpate one area and declare “you have 'fibvromyaliga'!” Then subject the individual to an endless round of expensive surgeries and medications!

You can't trust your “doctors”. You have to be your own advocate, these days. To know what to ask for, To know what to expect, To know what kind of judgments to make. The “doctors” have the vested interest. There's not a one of them that isn't linked with expensive regimens of treatment, tests, surgery, medication.

 

[Loftpat]

There are all manner of truths. I've had MRIs and CTs. No herniated discs. Chiropractic made my pain worse. Yes, being your own advocate is empowering and necessary. A condescending attitude is neither. I am glad your wife did not have fibro.