Naturopathic doctor claims to know what causes fibro

[1sweed]

Siderea,
Thank you for sharing all this great information. And you can share the doctor's name and name of his clinic, but no links. That way people who are interested can do a web search to find him. I agree with you that sugar plays a big role in Fibro, as when I avoid eating it I feel better and when I eat it I get oh so tired and the pain is worse.

Please tell us a bit more about the vitamins your taking and the supplements. I am so glad you found something that is working for you. Please share when you have the time.

 

[1sweed]

Kaliopea,
I found your info very interesting as well. I think another factor in fibro is toxins as you mentioned. There is so much research being done, but so few answers it is hard at times to know what to believe, but we get hopeful everytime new info is spoken about on the forum. Please don't feel that your input was not taken with interest, as most every post on this site is read by many people. Often we like to sit back and read new posts and ponder them a bit before replying. And so welcome to the forum. It is good to have you here.

 

[Siderea]

Hi everyone. I'm new here but not to Fibro.

I also traveled to see a naturopath. He is also a medical doctor who specializes in thyroid medicine. I drove ( heh, was driven) 5 hrs. into another state to see him. It was a huge deal for me because of pain and fatigue I don't travel very well.

Anyway, Sideria, he told me the same thing about toxins. He did not even utter the word "Fibro". He said three things are causing my condition:
hypothyroid, in spite of normalish tests, candida and the resultant extreme food allergies I have developed and worst all the mercury, other metals and old root canals from a lifetime of dental work due to genetics.

I believe him. After 18 long years of researching everyday for hours myself, I decided earlier this year that Fibro is a name for a group of symptoms, and in that sense it is a symptom, itself. In my case, it a symptom of extreme toxicity As I aged my body was less able to rid itself
of toxins and at some point, the poison overload crashed the endocrine system e. g. hypothalamus and thyroid.
I had been wondering about it for a long time. Wondering why so many neurotransmitters were affected and causing so much havoc in so many areas. So it makes sense to me.
I'm rooting for everyone to look deeply into their genetic history as well as all aspects of their lifestyle and diet to get closer to the roots of this condition. I say this because I am quite upset that when I got the diagnosis and also subsequent 'treatments' from various medical practitioners, I was consistently sent home with a poor prognosis and some band aids. I have spent many years being housebound and fairly hopeless as things got worse.

"You're going to be in pain for the rest of your life. Here's some Lyrica. Be a good girl and take it."

This should not be enough for any one of us. Never give up. Keep searching. Stay proactive.
Big hugs to everyone.

Kaliopea,

First and foremost, welcome! I would have welcomed you right away if I had returned to this forum sooner, so I apologize for that. As you may have learned by this point in time, people here are very kind and more than willing to help. It's a great support forum!

Good for you that you took the risk of traveling to see a naturopathic doctor! I almost didn't survive my first flight to New Hampshire to see my doctor, because I was alone and had 2 layovers. It was a terribly long and exhausting trip. A car trip would just as bad!

Based on what you're saying here, I sense that you're definitely older than I am. I'm 26! Did you figure out what caused the extreme toxicity in your body, or is it just the heavy metals and food allergies? Were you doing a good job avoiding those foods before you saw this doctor, or did you even know you were allergic? My doctor found quite a bit of toxicity in me too, even at my age. I was really surprised by this because I've eaten so cleanly my whole life due to my food allergies (allergic to wheat and corn, and have avoided all dairy and soy for the past 2 years.) I've been eating organically since I was about 14, was fairly athletic during my teen years (but always had jobs that kept my on my feet and moving a lot until last year,) and I've avoided drugs most of my life. One thing he could say for certain is that I wasn't absorbing nutrients in my food well, which can definitely cause a toxin build up. I have antibiotic damage to my gut (when I was a baby I had an ear infection that lasted a full year, and they kept my on antibiotics the entire time,) and he thinks that definitely is contributing to absorption issues.

I agree - I wasted a year and $5,000 (after insurance) on local medical doctors at the "highly rated" hospital here. Their best efforts involved prescribing me Cymbalta that was supposed to "suppress" the nerves in my brain in order to make me feel the pain in my body less. Well, I took it for 13 days, and every day I was on it I was a complete and total zombie with suicidal thoughts. Anyone who knows me knows that I would never even contemplate suicide - I'm not that type of person and I love life. I couldn't even get out of bed. Going to the bathroom took too much effort, and my husband had to bring me food to bed. I got instantly much better after getting off that drug, and shortly after I saw the naturopath.

So what is your doctor having you do to stay healthy?

 

[Siderea]

Hi... This is interesting and I do hope you'll come and tell us what you learned and what kind of relief you were given. I see you wrote this in November, so I can assume that you already had that appointment and know if that doctor's methods have offered relief or not.

I would truly be careful with anything that claims "nearly total relief" though. If there would be such a miracle cure, it would be all over the medical journals and someone would be very rich... I haven't seen it in the journals yet.

Another concern would be whether or not this doctor's "strict diet" has proper nutrients for good health, so I'd like to hear more specifics about that, too.

That said, here's hoping that it was successful for you... tell us, tell us! :lol:

Mariposa,

I didn't go to someone who has a miracle cure that fixes everyone - I don't think I would have believed it. My doctor understands how to heal the body as a whole instead of just addressing symptoms like medical doctors do. He has helped tons of people with fibromyalgia pain through a holistic approach by finding everything that is causing any health problem in their body and helping the body to heal itself of those issues. I definitely believe that fibromyalgia is a symptom, not itself a root issue. He never even talks about how I have fibromyalgia. He knew it would take care of itself once my other root issues started to heal, and sure enough, it did! I rarely experience fibromyalgia anymore (I often forget I ever even had it because I'm getting used to not feeling it anymore,) and when I do it's because I had sugar in any form (even honey) or because I did something to release a lot of toxins all at once (I just had a massage for a massive knot on my back, and I've had mild fibro pain in my legs for a few days since the massage.)

The diet he outlined for me is based on my blood type and is very restrictive, but I think it would be this restrictive no matter which blood type I had because I simply can't process any sugar, starch, or dairy, and I'm allergic to corn and wheat. He has me on loads of supplements. I can't eat any fruit at all because my organs are not healthy enough to process it, but need some nutrition that fruit offers, so that is where the supplements come in. He manufactures his own supplements and has complete control over the source of the supplement and what its combined with.

Thanks for your concern!

 

[Siderea]

I've heard doctor's claim they know what causes Fibromyalgia, and know also how to treat it. I suffer from this condition. I was told by my doctor that it was due to having whiplash, and multiple surgeries. All these thing play a part on how the body reacts to things. I've also found out ways to help myself live a healthier life. I use to suffer daily from chronic pain that felt like it was attacking my whole body.
The doctors I've talk with have told me that when the body has had more than a few traumas within the body this condition is likely to happen. There's no cure.however there's treatments available.

Jenny, so sorry to hear that yours is caused by trauma! It makes perfect sense that fibro can be caused by trauma like whiplash, though that certainly isn't what caused mine. What kind of surgeries did you get, and are the surgeries preventing you from being able to get some types of treatments? What kind of treatments do you get?

 

[Siderea]

I would do anything to get rid of the pain! Today I had to go on a gluten free diet, and if it doesn't work, I will cut out whatever I can to help the pain. I think there is a lot of sense in that doctor's thinking. It is so common and most people have such a horrible diet. It makes a lot of sense!

Let us know how the gluten-free diet works. One thing I can say from experience (I'm allergic to wheat, not gluten intolerant) is that gluten free versions of floury foods tend to be very starchy to make up for the lack of gluten. All this added starch makes the glycemic index value much higher than the wheat version of that product. For me personally, my organs are not operating well enough to process any starch, and I have the distinct feeling that the more gluten-free bread I ate the worse my general health got. The timing of the two did correlate. What's working great for me is just avoiding all grains. However, I would check with a nutritionist who understands the link between nutrition and blood type before you give up all grains. You might have a blood type that best absorbs nutrients from grain. My blood type, type O, can't process grains well at all.

 

[Siderea]

Siderea,
Thank you for sharing all this great information. And you can share the doctor's name and name of his clinic, but no links. That way people who are interested can do a web search to find him. I agree with you that sugar plays a big role in Fibro, as when I avoid eating it I feel better and when I eat it I get oh so tired and the pain is worse.

Please tell us a bit more about the vitamins your taking and the supplements. I am so glad you found something that is working for you. Please share when you have the time.

Ah, okay! My doctor is Dr. Ian Bier, and he runs Human Nature Natural Health in Portsmouth, NH.

The supplement list I'm taking is very very long - I'm taking close to 55 pills a day, although that's because I'm taking 4-9 of one type of pill throughout the day. But there are multiple herbs, minerals, supplements, and organ tissues in each one. So it's actually very difficult for me to explain what all I'm taking, as I don't even know myself what exactly is in everything. Also, the supplements are specific to my needs, most which have nothing to do with fibromyalgia.

He has me on a multivitamin designed for people with my blood type, as well as a B vitamin complex and vitamin D.

I'm taking pills with pancreas and adrenal glad tissue to help repair those organs.

There are several pills which help with inflammation, most notably one that is mostly turmeric. I'm not sure what is mixed in with the turmeric. I take 9 of these a day, and I can take more if I need extra help with pain management or inflammation. These have helped with the pain from my periods, and I take many extra of them a day just before my period starts.

He also has me take a pill before meals that helps me digest and absorb foods better, this is also designed for people with my blood type. (Blood type affects the type of stomach acid you have too.)

The herb pills are extensive, and I don't know specifically what they're for, but I know taking all of them is helping me feel a lot better!

As for the protein shakes, he has me mixing several powders. I always mix them in unsweetened organic almond milk (as pure as possible - no starches or carrageenan added to the almond milk.) One powder is for digestion, one for protein (he has me on whey protein that is isolated from the parts of dairy that bother me,) one is a fiber blend, one is a probiotic, one is a super long unpronounceable name (it's the only ingredient, some root powder or something,) and the other is a mineral blend of mostly magnesium and calcium.

He has been stressing my need for sleep, as I've had an issue where my overactive adrenal glands prevent me from getting quality sleep. He's got me on two different herb based pills and then melatonin. Some days I get heartburn from all the pills, and so he has me take a liquid version of the pills on those nights. He also has a tablet I can suck on that helps calm heartburn (it has licorice and other calming agents in it.)

As for my blood sugar and blood pressure levels being so low, it's very important that I take all these pills and eat on a regular schedule. I have to eat every two hours, and I take my pills at 8 am, noon, and right before dinner.

One thing I will say is that the pills are very filling. It was extremely difficult to take them all in the first couple months, but since going back for treatments with my doctor, taking them got easier. My stomach is handling them better now. I can't eat much in one sitting, but my energy levels have gone up and I have lost weight. Because of the rhythm of the routine I go through each day, I really don't miss foods I can't eat (like grains or dairy.) I'm totally fine with cooking small portions of grass-fed steak with kale for breakfast; turkey, walnut, and spinach salad with only raw organic apple cider vinegar as a dressing for lunch; almond butter on celery for a snack; and bison burger with asparagus and kale for dinner. There are other meals I make, obviously, but they're all very very simple and in small portions.