I’m not a hysteric, I have fibromyalgia!

Chronic pain that has no apparent cause – this is the main manifestation of fibromyalgia. The feminine gender in the title is not a coincidence, because women suffer from this problem twice as often as men. And because they “keep going to the doctors without finding anything”, they often earn the label “hysteric”. So why does fibromyalgia occur and how can we help ourselves naturally?

“Chronic pain that lasts for three months without an obvious organic lesion” – if this characteristic applies to you, it is possible that you also suffer from fibromyalgia. But it’s not just about the pain, there are also other typical symptoms of this disease, again without an obvious organic cause: fatigue, joint stiffness, paresthesias (tingling, tingling or itching), sleep disturbances, impaired mental performance (especially impaired thinking and memory) and possibly depressive symptoms.

Fibromyalgia can occur at any time during life, but it is more common in middle and older age. Women are affected twice as often as men and their symptoms are more severe. Overall, it affects 1-5% of the population.

It hurts me more!

When I mentioned in the introduction the fact that doctors usually “find nothing” in people with fibromyalgia, it is not that there are no objective diagnostic criteria, or even that there is nothing going on in the body that can be recorded or measured in any way.

For example, people with fibromyalgia react differently to painful stimuli. First, they are much more sensitive to pain than the rest of the population, and it’s not just a sensation or indulgence. In fact, they experience measurably greater activation of the relevant brain centres when pain is evoked. And that’s not the only difference.

For example, when we inflict intense pain on a healthy person, the person will cease to perceive the lesser painful stimuli at that moment. For example, if we break our leg and prick our finger at the same time, we don’t notice the prick at all. However, this does not happen in people with fibromyalgia, who will also perceive the sting. This finding leads us to believe that the production of neurotransmitters, substances that transmit nerve impulses between two nerve cells, is disturbed in these people.

Tender points – 11 points on different parts of the body that are significantly sensitive to pressure – are considered an important diagnostic criterion for fibromyalgia. However, accurate diagnosis is very difficult because the occurrence and degree of symptoms is very individual.

Searching for the causes

Fibromyalgia is largely genetic – hereditary changes in pain-related genes contribute to approximately 50% of the development of chronic pain. And if, for example, a parent or sibling suffers from fibromyalgia, this increases the likelihood of an outbreak of the problem by more than 13 times.

One of the risk genes is the so-called serotonin transporter gene, which may also be related to depression or anxiety – fibromyalgia and depression even show similar structural changes in the brain, such as a different proportion of grey and white matter. Increased pain sensitivity may also be related to genetically determined lower dopamine availability.

In addition, however, numerous epigenetic associations of fibromyalgia have been demonstrated, i.e. characteristic changes in the activity of certain genes. Differences were observed for all three major epigenetic responses: gene methylation, histone modification and microRNA regulation.

For example, 91 differently methylated sites were found in the genome of women with fibromyalgia, often genes closely related to pain sensitivity or stress tolerance. Similarly, researchers found eight different concentrations of substances called microRNAs in women with fibromyalgia, each of which can affect the activity of hundreds of genes.

Both stress and lack of love can be to blame

Differences in epigenetic responses are usually caused by negative environmental factors. For example, exposure to some negative factors from early childhood, such as physical or psychological trauma, i.e. abuse, lack of love, physical and emotional abuse, but also premature birth, have been shown to cause some epigenetic changes that are associated with the development of fibromyalgia in later life. Basically, any event associated with significant or prolonged stress can disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal hormonal axis, which in later life results in reduced resistance to stress and pain.

However, various traumas and stress factors can also trigger epigenetic changes related to fibromyalgia in adulthood – typically in abused women. In addition, excessive physical stress can be a stressor in adulthood.

Connection with digestion and thyroid

Interesting is the fact that in people with fibromyalgia, there is usually a disturbed balance of the intestinal microbiome – typical is a reduced representation of bacterial strains Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Eubacterium and Bifidobacterium, which leads to insufficient production of short-chain fatty acids, such as butyrate. This leads, among other things, to an increase in the permeability of the intestinal wall, which results in an increased inflammatory process. Inflammation is another factor that is also typical of fibromyalgia. Moreover, the balance of the gut microbiome has been shown to be related to pain sensitivity.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is also often found, which causes a particular tissue (such as the brain) to suffer from a lack of energy, resulting in impaired function. It is in the mitochondria that nutrients are converted into energy, and if this process does not occur properly, cells and tissues do not have enough energy to function.

Fibromyalgia has also been shown to be linked to another problem whose carriers are often labelled as hysterics or hypochondriacs: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is estimated to affect 4-10% of the population (and again, more often women). These are various digestive disorders, such as pain, cramps, gas, diarrhoea and constipation, for which no obvious cause is usually found (only about 10% of cases are preceded by a digestive tract infection). Meanwhile, according to a large US study, people with IBS are 5 times more likely to suffer from fibromyalgia.

Some studies in people with fibromyalgia have also shown an increase in oxidative stress, which is caused, among other things, by reduced production of internal oxidative enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD). Another possible contributory cause may be thyroid hypofunction or resistance to thyroid hormones – when thyroid hormones were given to volunteers in studies, they also experienced a reduction in fibromyalgia symptoms.

Nutrition: Helps eliminate both gluten and lactose

Given the proven epigenetic links of fibromyalgia, it is important to look at all the epigenetic factors that affect us.

A healthy, balanced diet should be the first priority. The direct positive and negative effects of certain specific foods have also been demonstrated:

• Symptoms improved with increased consumption of virgin olive oil, an omega-3, for example.
• Positive effects have also been shown when gluten intake is restricted and modern wheat varieties are replaced by ancient varieties.
• The elimination of certain food additives, especially glutamate and aspartame, is beneficial.
• The restriction of intake of certain carbohydrates, especially fructose, lactose, galactooligosaccharides, polyols and fructans, has a demonstrable positive effect.
• Vegetarian or Mediterranean diets have also been shown to be very beneficial in research. Given the link between fibromyalgia and the balance of the gut microbiome, increased fibre consumption should be a matter of course.

However, weight loss can also be positive, and it does not have to be tens of kilograms. In one study, for example, volunteers reduced their calorie intake for four months and as a result reduced their weight by an average of 4.4% (i.e. a 100 kg person lost 4.4 kg, for example). Even this relatively small weight loss was enough to significantly reduce the symptoms of fibromyalgia.

Regular physical activity should be a matter of course, as fibromyalgia has been shown to reduce physical and mental symptoms. In particular, aerobic activities, adequate weight training, as well as yoga, Pilates and other similar systems are suitable. It doesn’t have to be any great sporting feats, even just 5 minutes of exercise a day is enough to relieve pain and other symptoms! Conversely, a lot of overexertion during physical activities can worsen the symptoms.

Stress reduction and emphasis on sleep hygiene should be a matter of course.

Useful dietary supplements

Certain herbs and dietary supplements also have a proven positive effect. Let’s take a look at those whose effectiveness has been confirmed by scientific research.

Vitamin D3

A deficiency of this vitamin is very common in people with fibromyalgia and there are studies showing the benefits of taking it. For example, in one study, volunteers were given 50,000 units of cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) daily for eight weeks, after which time they experienced a significantly greater reduction in fibromyalgia symptoms compared to a control group.

Read more “

Some studies also suggest the benefits of taking vitamins with antioxidant properties, such as vitamins C and E, especially in combination with regular physical activity.

Magnesium

Several studies have shown that fibromyalgia is also associated with magnesium deficiency, which may be related to several typical symptoms of this problem: muscle weakness, paresthesia (tingling, itching or burning of the skin), inflammation and increased sensitivity to pain. In addition, some studies have directly shown a reduction in symptoms after taking magnesium.

Read more “

Some research also suggests a possible link to iron deficiency.

Indole-3-carbinol

Indole-3-carbinol is a substance that is formed from glucobrassicin, which is abundantly present especially in cruciferous vegetables. One study, for example, reported a reduction in fibromyalgia symptoms after taking 400 mg of broccoli powder high in indole-3-carbinol in combination with 100 mg of ascorbigen (a substance also derived from glucobrassicin). The women studied experienced a reduction in pain sensitivity and an overall increase in quality of life during the period of use.

Read more ”

Shrubby goatgrass

The herb, popular especially in traditional Chinese medicine, can help with fibromyalgia not only to relieve pain, but also to adjust the balance of the gut microbiome, relieve fatigue and other symptoms.

Read more “

Ginkgo biloba + coenzyme Q10

In one study, people with fibromyalgia were given a combination of 200 mg of coenzyme Q10 and an equal amount of ginkgo biloba extract for 84 days.Afterwards, 64% reported a significant improvement in symptoms and overall quality of life.

Read more “

Because of its powerful antioxidant effects and ability to relieve muscle soreness, taking coenzyme Q10 alone may also be appropriate.

Ginger

The substances contained in ginger root effectively reduce oxidative stress, inflammation and pain levels. Animal studies have also demonstrated their ability to raise pain thresholds and alleviate cognitive difficulties and depressive symptoms associated with fibromyalgia.

Read more “

Curcumin

The active ingredient from turmeric root affects some of the cellular mechanisms related to the origin and perception of pain and is also one of nature’s most powerful anti-inflammatory and epigenetic agents. The efficacy of curcumin has been demonstrated in animal models of fibromyalgia.

Read more ”

OPC

Grape seed proanthocyanidins complex can help reduce inflammation, pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances and cognitive problems in fibromyalgia. In research, a daily dose of 80 mg taken for three months was effective in people with moderate to severe fibromyalgia.

Read more ”

Butyrate

The short-chain fatty acid, whose deficiency is related to a disrupted gut microbiome, can also be taken as a dietary supplement. However, caution should be exercised here, as increased permeability of the intestinal barrier can be caused by both a deficiency and a significant excess of butyrate.

Read more ”

Efficacy has also been demonstrated in the case of other natural substances, e.g.:

• omega-3 unsaturated fatty acids,
• quercetin,
• genistein,
• luteolin,
• ginseng,
• bromelain,
• L-carnitine,
• melatonin.