HOLISTIC HEALTH - February 2016 - Kansas City

Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired?

By Nancy Russell, M.D.

Do you suffer from tiredness, aching all over and exhaustion? Do you have non-restful or interrupted sleep? Do you have decreased mental clarity, decreased sex drive and get more than your fair share of infections? If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have a condition know as fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia can cause a baffling array of symptoms and is frequently misdiagnosed or even dismissed by physicians.

Fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal and sleep disorder that cannot be diagnosed with any specific blood test or laboratory testing. It is diagnosed by criteria set forth by the American College of Rheumatology: 1. Widespread pain or achy ness, steady or intermittent, for at least 3 months, on both sides of the body and upper and lower body and 2. Pain on pressing at least 11 of 18 spots on the body known as tender points.

Other associated problems can be: irritable bowel syndrome, low sex drive, insomnia, nausea,memory problems, headaches, depression, nervousness, hair loss, numbness/tingling, post-exertion malaise and chronic sinus, bladder or prostate infections.

In my experience with diagnosing and treating people with fibromyalgia, I have utilized a researched protocol by Jacob Teitelbaum, M.D. A good resource for someone with fibromyalgia is Dr. Teitelbaum’s book, From Fatigued to Fantastic, 3rd edition. He discusses one of the theories why fibromyalgia may occur: hypothalamus dysfunction in the brain. Some known triggers for this to happen are: a major stressful event or a series of stressful events such as a viral infection, automobile accident, pregnancy, recurrent infections, death of a loved one, and toxic or chemical exposures.

The program to getting better is initiated with the S-H-I-N-E protocol. This 5 step protocol begins with Sleep! Getting a restful, uninterrupted 7-9 hours of sleep is the foundation of getting well. A combination of natural and prescription sleep aids may be necessary to achieve this goal. If this sleep goal is not met, and particularly if high blood pressure is also present, an overnight sleep study with a sleep specialist is a must.

H is for hormone balance and support. Due to the hypothalamus gland in the brain being affected, that is turn can produce problems with all the endocrine glands. The result can be low level functioning of the thyroid gland as well as the adrenal and sex glands. These glandular systems can be supported with natural or prescription support.

I is for infections and inflammation. Because of the immune system being less than optimal with this illness, it is not uncommon to see either recurrent or frequent infections. These are commonly sinus, bladder, prostate or gut infections. When treated with many rounds of antibiotics, this can lead to other infections like yeast or candida or super infections. Appropriate treatment is based on laboratory testing.

N is for Nutrition. Nutritional deficiencies are common due to poor diet and/or not absorbing food in the intestine efficiently. The most common deficiencies are vitamin D, vitamin B-12 and magnesium. High doses of these nutrients may be necessary and sometimes injectable nutrients are recommended.

E is for Exercise. Even though strenuous exercise generally can make symptoms worse, many of my patients report good results with stretching exercises, yoga, pilates, swimming or water aerobics. Start out with only 5 - 10 minutes a day and very gradually increase.

In your pursuit to improve your health, I highly recommend the organization, Fibromyalgia Coalition International and its local support groups. They are the nation’s most active organization dedicated to the belief that Fibromyalgia is reversible. For more information, go to their website: www.fibrocoalition.org.

Nancy Russell, M.D. has been a holistic Internal Medicine physician in the Kansas City northland for over 30 years at 5140 N. Antioch Road in Kansas City, MO.

Her phone number is 816-453-5545 and website is www.nancyrussellmd.com where you can get more information. Dr. Russell is board certified in holistic medicine and is a member of the American Holistic Medical Association and a prior board member.