But, the Fibromyalgia weight gain is something you can fight.  And you can fight it by adopting some new habits and adopting a new Fibromyalgia diet.  In other posts we mentioned smarter eating and exercise, and we’ve talked about paying attention to your carbohydrate intake.  But what we’ve really been suggesting is that you develop new habits for a new life.  

Your disease may sometimes leave you feeling like you have no control.  But, you can take control of these important aspects of your life, and you can succeed!  Probably the most important tip regarding this success is that you have to be willing to create a new set of habits, and you need to be patient with yourself in developing these new habits.

These new habits will take some time to incorporate into your life.  Don’t feel that you have to be so strict that the development of the habit will cause you more stress!  Take these new behaviors and introduce them into your life with the intent that you will feel better as these habits become a part of you.  But be gentle with yourself.

Give yourself a break as these new habits are being formed.  Try to be “strict” with limiting your intake of carbos during the week, but allow yourself to splurge on the weekends.  Notice that I didn’t say binge!  But on the weekends feel like you can give yourself a treat.  If you have the urge, indulge yourself in a donut, or the ice cream cone you’ve been craving during the week.

Don’t go overboard with giving yourself permission to splurge, but don’t become so regimented that you won’t allow yourself a treat on a regular basis.   

You’re building a new habit.  To make this a habit you don’t want to become so regimented that you resent getting up every day to the battle of avoiding those carbs. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish by giving yourself the permission to splurge.  And, in a few weeks from now, you will look back at your new habits, and you’ll realize that you were successful.  You did succeed in gaining the control you thought you had lost.  You’ll have more energy, more confidence, and will feel like there is more that you can do to feel good every day, even with your disease.

Fibromyalgia weight gain is something to be aware of – but it is something you can control.  And weight loss with Fibromyalgia can happen for you as well.  A new Fibromyalgia diet that pays attention to carbohydrates, and developing new habits will leave you in a healthier, happier state.  You will feel that you ARE back in control.

We’ve given other tips on minimizing the weight gain in previous posts.  In this post we want to provide some additional simple tips that are things you can adopt today to keep your Fibromyalgia weight gain in check.

Nutritionists know that if you make a habit of eating with regularity you can minimize the impact of weight gain.  As we mentioned in another post, you need to eat the right foods, and eat with your attention towards mindful eating.  And to eat the right foods we suggest that you pay attention to the foods you buy with mindful shopping.  When you follow these two steps, you will see a change.

And, along with your attention to eating regularly, set a new habit, and eat more frequently.  Eat three small meals a day, with two snacks in between.  If you eat small amounts frequently your digestive system will do a much more thorough job of processing what you eat.  The efficiency of your digestion will help you to avoid gaining more.

While you are changing your eating habits, we’d like to suggest that you adopt one more new lifestyle habit to stem your weight gain.  Start to develop a habit of doing more exercise.  To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in.  So, I strongly urge you to do everything in your power to exercise more.  In my Fibromyalgia Transformation Program I’ve included a therapeutic module on movement that will help you get started moving.  I’ve offered a free sample of this module in this video as well.

My patients that have practiced the movements in this module of my program have found that they are able to increase their range of motion in their limbs.  And, they find that introducing walking into their daily routine allows the exercise they need to keep that weight down.

I know from working with so many Fibromyalgia sufferers over the years, that once they start an exercise routine, they feel better.  They are breaking one of the many chains that this disease has wrapped around them.  If you would just start to incorporate more exercise in your day, you will slowly come to see the results with weight loss.

Fibromyalgia weight gain is something that you can control.  With a good diet your Fibromyalgia can be addressed.  And, when you adopt new habits Fibromyalgia weight problems can be a thing of the past.

With carbohydrate consumption being one of the most prevalent cause of weight gain, the best tip one can take action on immediately is to eat better foods.  And to accomplish this, there is a simple habit that you should adopt – begin as soon as possible preparing your own meals from scratch.

This new adventure should start with your shopping experience.  An earlier post mentioned mindful eating.  In preparation for mindful eating, we suggest you practice mindful shopping. 

Fibromyalgia weight gain is something that you are concerned about every day.  Controlling your diet with Fibromyalgia is essential to help you to achieve weight loss.  So, the next trip to your grocery store stop as you walk in and look around before you wheel the cart into the store.  Notice how the store is laid out.  You’ll see that the center aisles of your store are those where all the prepared food is found, while the perimeter of the store is where you get all the fruits, vegetables, dairy, proteins, and freshly baked, whole grain breads.

As you plan your meals, think about this physical layout, and pick up only the foods that are in the perimeter of your store.  Begin to make your meals using fresh vegetables and fruits.  Pick up protein sources that will appeal to you, and will mix well with these fresh produce choices.

If you find that you are wandering into the center of the aisles in the grocery store begin a new habit today of reading every label of every item you place in that shopping cart.  Understanding exactly what goes into the food you buy will begin to change your life.  As you begin to read those labels and learn what all the additives are that are included in each package of prepared food, you’ll start to question the reason for choosing that for your next meal.

Mindful eating will make a huge difference for you in how you eat, how much you eat, and how you will begin to appreciate the food you’ve prepared.  You’ll experience a change in the way you appreciate food, and you will come to enjoy preparing your meals from scratch because each meal will just plain taste better.

A healthy diet with Fibromyalgia is essential.  Fibromyalgia weight gain is something that can be limited with new habits.  And your new habit of mindful eating will go hand-in-hand with this new habit of mindful shopping.  You will be eating better, and eating foods that will be less likely to contribute to the weight gain that plagues you as one of the Fibromyalgia symptoms you thought you couldn’t control.  As you gain more energy from eating better, you will feel that you actually are in control of your disease.  And this newly found control will make you feel better!

Fibromyalgia weight gain is a problem that haunts people with this disease, and can lead to other physical complications, and mental anguish.  Learning about how to control the craving for carbohydrates is a big step to help in this battle. And stepping up to build new habits will help even more in the battle with carbohydrates. But there are even more new habits that the Fibromyalgia sufferer should consider developing that will help them win their battle with weight gain and actually help achieve weight loss with Fibromyalgia.

One of the most important new habits to develop is to learn to be mindful when eating.  You’ll find that in being mindful about eating you will they tend to consume less food, and thus fewer calories. 

So just what is “being mindful while eating”?  We should all eat until we’re full.  You’ll note that I said “full” but not “stuffed.”  This requires that you eat slowly, and chew your food well.  Pay attention to what you feel about being full.  Note how the next few bites change your feeling of fullness.  When you’ve reached the point where you feel full – then stop eating.  By paying attention to the way you feel – by being mindful – that will result in you’re eating less. 

And there’s a wonderful side benefit with being mindful while eating.  You’ll begin to experience food in a new way.  I’ve suggested to you that you start to prepare your own meals from scratch.  You’ll eat better and your food will taste better.  The new habit of mindfulness will change the way you taste your meals.  You’ll start to notice the subtle ways that the herbs and spices you use in cooking make a difference in your meals.  You’ll taste the natural sweetness of the vegetables and savor the flavor of the fruit along with the nuttiness of the whole grains. 

In short, you will start to experience your food in an entirely new way.  Your meals won’t be just something that you do to “stoke the furnace” and get you going.  They will become an experience that you will savor.

And while we’re talking about a change in your approach to eating, there is one more little change that you can make that will make a huge difference in controlling weight gain with Fibromyalgia.  Eat with regularity – three small meals and two snacks each day.  If you eat small amounts frequently your digestive system will do a much more thorough job of processing what you eat.  The efficiency of your digestion will help you to avoid gaining more.

These simple changes in eating habits – making eating a mindful experience; and eating smaller, more frequent meals – along with a Fibromyalgia diet that low in carbohydrates is will slowly help you to stave off putting on more weight, while allowing you to begin the process of losing the weight you have already gained.  You will find that you will feel better about yourself.  Your self-image will improve, and your stress will begin to melt away.  With that reduction in stress you will see over time a lessening of the other painful symptoms of Fibromyalgia.
 

In short, the best tip is to try to limit your overall consumption as much as possible.  You won’t find this to be an easy tip to follow, but I encourage you to do your best.  Focus on taking proteins you’ll find in lean meats, poultry, eggs, dairy products, even tofu.  And it is extremely important to try to limit your sugar intake.  If you need sweetener, I encourage you to use a natural sweetener like Xylitol or Stevia.

The list of things to avoid is where it gets to be a challenge.  Avoid breads and pastas – essentially most things made from enriched white wheat flour…this means you’ll need to leave the cookies, donuts, cakes and pastries behind. 

In addition, stay away from rice, especially white rice, and avoid potatoes.  And avoid carbonated soft drinks and alcohol.

You’ll note that this is sounding pretty rigorous!  In some respects it is…I’m asking you to develop new habits to help with weight loss with Fibromyalgia.   And as you know, developing a new habit takes discipline.  So be clear as to what this new habit entails, and then do your utmost to stick to it.

But one thing that I want to encourage you to do is to give yourself a treat every once in a while.  If you make this program too rigorous, you’ll feel better, but you’ll also feel deprived.  Plan your meals so you get your taste of the carbos you desire…just be smart about it.
 
So, if you want to have rice with dinner, make it brown rice (you’ll notice that a lot of Asian restaurants are now offering brown rice as an alternative).  If you must consume bread, stay away from the simple white bread, and learn to enjoy whole grain breads. If you want to make pasta, then use whole wheat pasta.

These are all little changes, but they can add up.  Whole grains taste similar to the highly processed foods you may be used to, but they are less likely to contribute to your weight gain.  But a word of caution here – while these whole grains are better than the processed grains, they are still carbohydrates.  So go easy on the breads and pasta and be sure to stick with those made from whole grains.

While we’re talking about what specifically to eat and not to eat to minimize Fibromyalgia weight gain, I can’t stress enough that you can make huge strides if you just avoid processed foods altogether.  So my top take-home tip is to make your meals from scratch.  Then you’ll have total control of the carbs that you’ll consume.

I urge everyone listening today to become an educated consumer.  Read those labels on the food you buy – read them before you buy.  You’ll soon be amazed at how much sugar goes into the foods you see on the shelves.  The modern palette seems to have a strong taste for sugars, so once you start reading those labels you’ll see that it finds its way into almost everything.  This is why making your meals from scratch is so important.

The first area to tackle is carbohydrate consumption and the metabolism of carbohydrates that you consume.  As has been mentioned elsewhere in this blog, carbohydrates are craved by Fibromyalgia sufferers and the consumption of those carbos is one of the primary causes of weight gain.  So the first tip is to limit the consumption of carbohydrates as much as possible.

Carbohydrates come to us in a variety of ways in our food supply.  I strongly encourage Fibromyalgia sufferers to learn as much about which foods contain carbos so they can be better able to know which foods they should avoid.  In general, carbohydrates come in the form of sugar, starch, or some dietary fibers.

Most people understand what foods contain sugar, but I will let you know that many are surprised to learn that often fruit is high is carbohydrate content because of the sugar found in the fruit.  So avoid foods with high sugar content.  That excess sugar will do nothing for you…I’m sure you’ve heard of the term “empty calories.”

Starch is something that is perhaps a little more subtle, but just as bothersome for the Fibro-sufferer.  Chemically speaking starch is a carbohydrate that is a little more robust in its structure, thus making it more difficult to metabolize.  The starches are found in foods from plants and consist of cereals, pasta, bread, potatoes, beans and rice.  It is best to eat these only in moderation.

To minimize Fibromyalgia weight gain, one of the best tips I can give Fibromyalgia sufferers is that when you consume carbos, don’t take them without first having consumed some protein.  Change your approach to a Fibromyalgia diet and give your body the “fighting chance” in your war with carbohydrates by first ingesting a protein which will get your digestive enzymes working.  With a little bit of protein consumption, your body produces Glucagon, a hormone which helps to keep insulin in check.  And, because proteins take a little longer to digest than carbohydrates take, you’ll feel full longer and tend to consume fewer calories with more carbohydrates. 

You can experience weight loss with Fibromyalgia if you just pay attention to how you eat, and develop some new habits that we’ll talk about in other posts.

1. Stay mentally alert, mentally involved.  Read a book, do crossword puzzles or Sudoku puzzles regularly.  Play a musical instrument.  See a play or a movie. Fibromyalgia fog can be conquered with mental activity – think of it as a light workout for your brain.
    
2. Don’t fall into the habit of doing the same thing every day…that couch potato syndrome.  Mental alertness and agility will help you keep your focus. 
    
3. Get in the habit of repeating important things to yourself over and over.  This repetition will help you to keep your thoughts fresh and will reinforce the memories you are building. 
    
4. Write down things you need to remember.  Write them in a calendar, in your own “Anti-Fog Notebook” or even on those 3-M sticky notes and attach them to the refrigerator or your mirror.
    
5. Increase your physical activity.  Walking is one that I highly recommend – just don’t overdo it.  Pace yourself, and you will be rewarded. 
    
6. Look for ways to help you focus.  You’ll know what works for you, but try to break down tasks into smaller chunks.  Attacking tasks in smaller chunks will help you to not become overwhelmed by all that needs to be done.  You’ll feel better having accomplished your task and moving to the next.
    
7. Minimize external stimulation.  If you are experiencing Fibro Fog and trying to remember something, the added distraction of noise can be stressful.  Work in a quiet place so you can focus on your tasks.
    
8. You probably already have identified your “best time of the day” – the time where your symptoms seem to bother you the least and you are the most productive.  If you have to engage in something that requires a lot of your attention, do it in this “best time of the day” time slot. 
    
9. Learning to meditate is one of the best ways I know to minimize stress.  Stress is one of the leading contributors to Fibro Fog.  Practice meditation daily to relieve the stress, and thus minimize this Fibromyalgia symptom.

Recent studies have shown that Fibromyalgia sufferers experience an acid/alkaline imbalance in their bodies which relates to all of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia; and, Fibro Fog is no exception. 

With the subject of acid/alkaline balance in Fibromyalgia, in some ways we get into the old riddle of which comes first, the chicken or the egg:  does the acidosis (the imbalance which leads to a highly acidic environment) cause these symptoms, or is it the result of them?  In short…to be a little cute, the answer is yes.  Acidosis causes these symptoms and is caused by them.

This is one of the things that create the complexity of Fibro Fog and the other symptoms of Fibromyalgia.  There are so many issues that inter-relate to one another.  And this cause and effect cycle is one of the reasons that Fibro Fog can come and go.  The body’s complex biochemical machinery is designed to be well-oiled feedback loop.  Our bodies will always attempt to attain the homeostasis that we were born with.  So when anything falls “out of the norm” as a result of stress, or trauma, the body fights back.

In previous posts I mentioned how stress is a leading contributor to Fibro Fog, while at the same time, the experience of Fibro Fog leads to an enormous amount of stress.  Well, stress is a huge contributor to acidosis.  It is extremely important for the Fibro Fog sufferer to invest as much attention as possible to relieve their stress.  This will relieve the Fibro Fog.

Here’s one simple tip that could help in the battle with Fibro Fog.  Drink lots of water, but before drinking the water make sure that you put a few drops of lemon juice in the glass.  Invest in lemons, because they could be one of the easiest tools you can employ in your fighting Fibro Fog.  This tip seems too easy to be true, but it is related to the link between acidosis and Fibromyalgia.  Try it, and watch for the changes to happen.

Here are basic tips to consider:

1. Avoid eating right before bedtime.  I know everyone has heard that before regarding weight gain, but for Fibro sufferers it is doubly important.  Eating signals the body to start digestion and that changes the emphasis of the blood supply slightly away from the brain, and toward the digestive system.  But to get a quality night’s sleep we want our brains to have the highest chance at good blood supply so the brain cells have the oxygen they need.
    
2. Avoid the consumption of caffeinated beverages near bedtime as well.  And that means no diet sodas!
    
3. Keep a regular sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at roughly the same time each day.  Your body will rely on this schedule in managing its sleep cycles.
    
4. Create a relaxing environment in which to sleep.  Get a mattress that is comfortable – and get pillows that can help you cushion any sore spots you may have that can distract your relaxation.  
    
5. Do everything that you can to reduce your stress before sleep.  There are several stress-relieving techniques that I teach my patients that they have found to be extremely useful in helping them get a good night sleep.  Find your own stress relieving strategies:  meditate right before sleep; take a warm bath; do some soothing stretching exercises. All of these can reduce your stress.
    
6. Practice diaphragmatic breathing right before bedtime to get more oxygen into your bloodstream.  You can learn diaphragmatic breathing by entering your email address in the form to the right of this article.  This breathing technique is one of the most effective ways to feel better with Fibromyalgia.

If you follow these simple tips and develop a pattern of behaviors prior to getting to sleep, you will have a better sleep even with your Fibromyalgia symptoms.  You will minimize your brain fog symptoms; and have less pain and less stress with Fibromyalgia.  The Fibro Fog should slowly diminish as you return to routinely better night sleep.  But remember, these are new behaviors to develop – but you will find them to be well worth “making them your own.”

A high-level overview is that science has learned that in people who experience a lack of sleep there is an overall reduction in metabolism, and an increase in appetite.  We have referred to a double whammy for the fibromyalgia sufferer with the increased sensitivity to insulin, there’s a similar double whammy here…the increase in appetite from sleep deprived people seems to be accompanied by a craving for sugar-rich and high-carb foods.   This is a recipe for rapid weight gain.

But pain can be a compounding consideration.  When the pain comes in, Fibromyalgia sufferers hurt – sometimes they hurt all over.  A bi-product of this pain is often a lack of exercise…the pain just takes over, and it hurts too much to exercise.  And this results in their inability to increase their own metabolism rates that will burn the calories they need to prevent weight gain.

Part of the insidious nature of a disease like this is something that reminds me of Newton’s 1st Law of Motion:  Objects in motion tend to stay in motion; objects at rest tend to stay at rest. While I’m sure that Newton didn’t have Fibromyalgia sufferers in mind when he created this law, it does apply.

The pain that Fibromyalgia sufferers experience is something that keeps them away from moving, away from even mild exercise that will increase their metabolism so they can burn those calories.  While not moving doesn’t really relieve the pain, it tends to not cause more pain in the short term.  And, over time, it creates a habit in many Fibromyalgia sufferers…a habit of inactivity.  And that habit results in an overall reduction of metabolism that results in weight gain. And, that inactivity is also reflected in a feeling of fatigue.

What is worse, as the weight gain increases, it becomes increasingly more painful to move.  The excess weight is causing additional stress on the body’s joints, and that additional stress causes more pain. 

And, as was mentioned in earlier posts on weight gain, the additional weight causes stress for two reasons.  The Fibromyalgia sufferer experiences the stress of their physical pain.  And that stress is amplified by the additional pain they experience because of their weight.  However, there is additional stress that is the result of the psychological effects of the weight gain itself.  The two areas of stress that are experienced tend to amplify one another, resulting in an ever increased state of overall stress.  And unfortunately, this high state of stress amplifies many of the symptoms of Fibromyalgia – like the pain they experience.

And, there are other very important jobs that insulin has that can impact weight gain.  Insulin controls salt and water retention.  And with increased salt and water retention can come rising blood pressure, increases in adrenalin, and an altered cholesterol make up.

The major issue with insulin sensitivity is the body’s reaction to excess glucose in the blood.  Fibromyalgia sufferers crave carbohydrates because they need more energy.  The consumption of carbohydrates stimulates insulin production which should move the blood sugar into our cells where it can be burned as fuel for energy.

However, with the increased insulin sensitivity that is compounded by consumption of excess carbohydrates, the body begins to remove excess glucose from the blood.  This glucose is then shuffled over to muscle tissues – but the problem there is that because muscle is not well suited to store glucose, so the excess glucose is converted into fat. 

The situation is further compounded because the insulin imbalance also inhibits the ability to actually use the carbohydrates that the Fibromyalgia sufferer craves because of their need for more energy.  So there is a craving for more carbohydrates due to low energy, an inability to metabolize the carbohydrates effectively, and the subsequent result of increased fat production.

And the painful conclusion to this story is that many Fibromyalgia sufferers crave more carbohydrates, gain more weight, but because of the excess carbohydrates are prevented from easily losing this excess fat.

And, once again there is another additive effect.  I’ve seen reference in the literature to a tendency for Fibromyalgia sufferers to have a craving for carbohydrates, although I’m not positive that this has been substantiated in well-controlled studies.  But, assuming this is the case, then our listeners have another double whammy.  This excess consumption of carbohydrates results in an excess production of glucose.  And, as I mentioned earlier, that excess glucose turns into fat.  So the double whammy is reflected in the Fibromyalgia sufferer who has an increased sensitivity to insulin and also has a craving for carbohydrates. 

That combination results in even greater weight gain.

With this reality, to achieve weight loss with Fibromyalgia one has to be very much aware of their own cravings.  When there is a craving for carbohydrates, one should be mindful of why the craving is there, and attempt to satisfy the cravings in other more productive ways.  This craving is because the body is low on energy, so it is important to take an alternative approach to this craving that does not involve an increase in carbohydrates.

What I can recommend is when that craving comes, try to engage in mild exercise or in diaphragmatic breathing.  Get your heart pumping a bit more, and increase the oxygen in your blood.  That will give you a little dose of an energy boost and will stave off the craving for carbohydrates.

When you do feel the need to indulge your craving for carbohydrates, include those that are low on the Glycemic Index.  And in addition, use “good” fats to help lower the glycemic level of the carbohydrates you take in.  You would actually be better off adding olive oil or butter to your bread or rolls than eating them alone. 

So, consider exercising when the craving comes, and learn a little about the Glycemic Index.  You can take control of your weight gain with Fibromyalgia.

Like the case with Lyrica, my patients reported mixed results with Cymbalta.  It seemed to help with the pain initially, but in many patients, their body became accustomed to the drug, and the positive effect wore off after a couple of months.  I noticed that many of my patients reported side effects like nausea, constipation, and dizziness that were intrusive enough to cause them to stop taking the drug. 

There was, however, one thing that Cymbalta seemed to be able to help with more than Lyrica, and that was the side effect of depression. Some of my patients, particularly those who had bouts of depression associated with their Fibromyalgia seemed to benefit from the use of Cymbalta.  But Cymbalta still isn’t the panacea that Fibromyalgia sufferers look for.

I look forward to other Fibromyalgia medications coming on the market to help to deal with the increasingly important demand for Fibromyalgia relief.  Other posts will discuss additional Fibromyalgia treatments, both conventional and alternative.

Other approaches to treatment are numerous, and would include:

• Trigger point injections with lidocaine
• Acupuncture and acupressure
• Biofeedback techniques to control the pain
• Electrical stimulation of targeted pain areas
• Guaifenesin Therapy
• Hyperbaric oxygen treatment
• Nerve blocks

You can see from this list that science is investing quite a bit of time and effort to address a wide variety of treatment approaches for Fibromyalgia symptoms.   One final note to add is there has been some promising research on the use of stem cells in the treatment of Fibromyalgia.  Stem cell research is something that carries a lot of baggage politically.  However, the work done in this field does suggest that it could hold some hope for another approach to treatment of Fibromyalgia in the future.
 

Many of my patients have used sleep aids such as Ambien, Lunesta, or others to help them with their sleep issues, and have had mixed results.  And some patients have found success taking muscle relaxants at bedtime to be effective in helping with getting a good night’s sleep.

Doctors have also had success in using anti-seizure drugs to reduce pain.  Gabapentin (Neurontin) has been successful with some patients, and I’ve already mentioned the use of Lyrica in some patients as well. 

While there has been varied results using these drugs, some of my patients have found temporary relief with one or more of these drugs.  And others have found better results with a combination of these drugs.  But these drugs are all addressing severe symptom patterns, and from what I’ve seen their success is temporary at best.  The reason success is temporary is that these drugs can carry potent side effects, potent enough that many of my patients are reluctant to continue with their therapy.

And, finally, many of these drugs just seem to, for want of a better description, wear out.  They become less and less effective for relief of the symptoms they’ve been prescribed over time.  I know that research is being done to understand why that effectiveness seems to wane over time, but for now, all I can report is that I look to the introduction of other solutions that may provide a better long-term profile of relief for my patients who chose to integrate pharmaceutical intervention with their therapy.
 

The major issue, however, is the risk the patient has in acquiring tolerance to the drug over time.  Like we have seen with Lyrica, Cymbalta, and Savella to a lesser extent, tolerance to opioids is a reality for many people taking them for pain.  What tolerance means, at a very basic level is the relief one got three weeks ago from one dose a day now requires more than one dose.  One’s system can acquire tolerance to the benefits these drugs provide, and that tolerance in turn creates a higher dosage to achieve the same effects. 

While tolerance is not the same thing as addiction, what many in the medical community fear is that the Fibromyalgia sufferer will need larger and larger dosages of this drug to obtain the relief they desire.  And this need for higher dosages can result in a psychological addiction.  While actual addiction rates are shown to be low for Fibromyalgia sufferers using opioids, the fear for addiction is high enough in the medical community that this form of treatment will continue to remain controversial.

Acetaminophen (such as found in Tylenol) seems to help my patients with stiffness and pain, although I would say that the results here are spotty as well.  What I can say is that in some of my patients, the use of Tylenol before sleep can help them get a better night sleep, so I always recommend that my patients experiment with it.

Several of my patients have found that use of the prescription pain reliever Ultram (the generic is called Tramadol) has been effective either alone, or in conjunction with acetaminophen.  And, I can tell our readers that I’ve read that Tramadol in combination with Vitamin B12 has proven to be more effective for long term results.  I would, however, like to mention that Tramadol is considered a controlled substance, and can be addictive, so one does use it with risks.

There is still a lot of work to do in learning how Fibromyalgia symptoms can be modified with the combination of Fibromyalgia medications and other pharmaceutical products that were not developed to solely address pain relief for Fibromyalgia.  Physicians will continue to explore more effective ways to address Fibromyalgia relief in the future.  We are on a new wave of better Fibromyalgia treatments, a wave that should give a lot of hope.

Like Cymbalta and Lyrica, many of my patients experience some disturbing side effects including headaches, dizziness, irregular heartbeat, and nausea taking Savella.  As this drug is newer to the market of Fibromyalgia treatments, I don’t have the extensive historical feedback from my patients like I can report from the other Fibromyalgia drugs.  What I have surmised is that my patients seem to like Savella better than the other two alternatives, but in general there seems to be difficulty in many of my patients in becoming accustomed to this medication.  The side effects early on seem to cause a lot of patients to decide that they’d be better off without taking this drug.

To summarize the three major pharmaceutical approaches to treating Fibromyalgia symptoms, it seems like they are effective for some patients, but are accompanied by a lot of risks of side effects that are unpleasant enough to cause patients to stop treatment.   And, at least for Lyrica and Cymbalta, the positive effects one has early on in their treatment can often wear off.  This results in a real feeling of helplessness in some people who had felt so much optimism with the early relief these Fibromyalgia drugs were giving, but as their symptoms returned slowly, they felt like the rug had been pulled out from under them.

And, it is important that I note here that while I don’t have substantial enough historical anecdotes to share about Savella, it is encouraging that it does seem to help some of my patients, at least the few that are able to get over that hump of being able to take the dosage that is high enough to help them.  It seems with Savella that there is a delicate balance between the dosage that is effective and the body’s ability to titrate up to that dosage before the side effects become overly oppressive.  Sadly, that balance appears to be difficult to attain.

But I can say that I am optimistic that pain relief for Fibromyalgia continues to be a major emphasis in research on Fibromyalgia treatments.  I expect to encounter new Fibromyalgia medications and expect that these innovations, and addition to the natural approaches to Fibromyalgia relief will serve my patients well in the future.

The Fibro Fog sufferer almost seems to feel that the symptoms kind of creep into their lives slowly, like the way the fog comes into a port city like San Francisco…the Fibro Fog just creeps in and envelops the sufferer.  And, the intensity of fog seems to be a little worse as the Fibromyalgia pain symptoms flare up.  In most of my patients the Fibro Fog will last just a few days; although when they experience the fog, it can vary in its intensity during what I call their “Fog-attack.”  And that Fog-attack is what many sufferers think of as their brain fog symptoms tend to manifest.

The Fog-attack creeps in slowly, and just as slowly will dissipate.  The Fibro Fog experience can be a feeling of a loss of control.  The Fog-attack comes to the Fibromyalgia sufferer subtly at first, and yet after many repetitions of this experience once one becomes aware of the confusion as the first signs that the Fibro-attack has begun, there is nothing that can be done to keep it in check.

So the Fog-attack represents itself as memory impairments that often accompany Fibro Fog.  Some additional memory issues with Fibro Fog can be manifested by problems remembering where you put things; remembering simple numbers, even your own phone number; remembering meetings or planned dates; having problems finding just the right word to use in a conversation.  And, like the feeling of confusion, this problem with memory is very stressful.  The Fog-attack has taken over, and the person familiar with the attack is left to wait until it passes.

Those women who do find themselves with Fibromyalgia early in their menopause are not only influenced by the hormonal imbalance that they experience with Fibromyalgia alone, but they also are experiencing reduced estrogen levels.  And, like the hormonal imbalance occurring with Fibromyalgia itself which tends to lower metabolism, lower estrogen levels arising from menopause results in a slowing of metabolism.  So for this group of Fibromyalgia sufferers there is the additive effect of lower metabolism from hormonal imbalance combined with lower metabolism as a bi-product of menopause. 

This can be double trouble…with weight being added because of Fibromyalgia itself and menopause.  This additive effect results in an even quicker weight gain, and often results in a psychological trauma.  The woman is struggling with the pain and other symptoms of Fibromyalgia which are hidden from others, and are also gaining weight very fast, and in some cases in great amounts.  Moreover, the weight gain is a symptom that can’t be hidden, and that extra weight is something that carries a societal burden that causes the Fibromyalgia sufferer to feel like a failure, or to feel inadequate. 

The double trouble of weight gain from both Fibromyalgia and menopause can leave these Fibromyalgia sufferers in a state of psychological devastation.  There is hope for these women because treatments like Fibromyalgia Transformation can break the cycle of Fibromyalgia symptoms and help her live better with her disease. And following the advice given in this program, women can experience weight loss with Fibromyalgia.  It is not easy, but with a determination to succeed and the adoption of a few new, and simple habits your problems with Fibromyalgia and weight can be a thing of the past.