Fibromyalgia – Cathy Harrison’s Story

Hi my name is Cathy Harrison.

The doctors say there is very little to no hope but the good news is that’s not true. Here’s a “little” story…

Nearly ten years ago now I was a young mum with three kids. I was very fit, active and strong but gradually a sense of ill ease crept over me, I didn’t know what it was and thought it was that I was working and not spending enough time with the kids so I cut my hours and changed them so I was able to be home before they got home from school but this uneasy feeling didn’t change.

One day at work the whites of my eyes filled with blood I looked like a horror freak. They sent me home. The next day at work, my arms stopped working, they felt like they were filled with lead. The next day at work I collapsed momentarily paralysed, but with assistance managed to get to an office space where I manifested a huge seizure while wide awake. All a bit scary.

I went home that day and never went back to work. I was bed ridden for about two years and then in and out of bed for the next 5.

SOME of the symptoms:

  • Constant chronic headaches
  • Extreme debilitating muscle pain in every place imaginable, internal and external
  • Especially lower back, neck, shoulders and the back of the head, upper chest, thighs
  • Sometimes it felt as though if I moved the wrong way my body would shatter.
  • Hot dry eyes
  • The weirdest sensitivity to bright lights and loud noises (made me want to hide?)
  • Foul metal taste in my mouth
  • Major memory problems, ie. having to get my kids to school and not being able to remember what breakfast was, when I asked my daughter she replied “toast mum, we need toast” “Oh yeah” I thought, only to find myself then wondering what on earth was toast!
  • My body would lock up and Greg, my husband, had to pry me open to carry me to bed
  • Anxiety and panic attacks that sometimes left me momentarily paralysed or I would vomit
  • Extreme sensitivity to cold
  • Shifting and moving pain and cramp sensations all over my body
  • My ankles felt as if at times they were dislocated and it hurt to walk
  • Burning soles of my feet
  • Swelling and tenderness in the joints of my fingers and thumbs
  • TMJ or trans mandibular joint pain (Extreme tension and pain in the pivotal part of the jaw)
  • Constipation
  • Proctalgia fugax (severe and sudden cramping of the rectal muscle)
  • Chronic premenstrual syndrome with incessant crying and PAIN
  • High abdominal pain around the bottom of my rib cage
  • Permanent, extreme nausea with frequent dry retching but only occasional vomiting
  • Fainting fits
  • Very dry itchy flaky skin especially on my legs, tummy and back
  • Neuralgia (nerve pain, like burn recovery, from 2nd or 3rd degree burns) from the top of my head (on either side of my body but never both at the same time), into my face, deep in my ears, down my neck and right down to my fingers. Very painful and other strange sensations in my skin. They call it chronic myofascial pain
  • My gums would split as if I had brushed my teeth with a wire brush
  • Chronic insomnia, days upon days with NO sleep and oh the list goes on and on…

I won’t bore you with more, but just to let you know, you are not imagining it and I do understand.

So here’s what I found out. Fibromyalgia can be triggered or made worse by things like over exertion, stress, lack of exercise, anxiety, depression, lack of sleep, grief, trauma, extremes in temperature and or humidity and infectious illness. A disturbance in brain chemistry MAY also be involved.

It appears to be viral and genetic and also points to a problem with the immune system, certain immunologic abnormalities are common. It appears you have to have a certain little part of the DNA that a virus likes, this virus attaches. It usually starts with infection like Epstein Barr virus EBV, glandular fever (most people don’t even know they have had glandular fever, I didn’t know but there it was in my blood tests), the virus that causes infectious mononucleosis, or the fungus candida albicans, chronic mercury poisoning from amalgam dental fillings, anaemia, parasites, hypoglycaemia, and hypothyroidism). This then chips away at the immune system until the time bomb explodes.

IF YOU HAVE BEEN DIAGNOSED WITH ANY OF THESE PLEASE LET US KNOW. IT WILL HELP IN FINE TUNING YOUR RECOVERY PROGRAMME.

At the same time diminishing a thing called substance P in the blood stream. Substance P is responsible for creating normal bodily response to pain, as this diminishes the body feels pain it was never expected to EVER feel. Many mistake this pain for inflammation BUT the good news is there is no evidence of inflammation existing in fibromyalgia. At the same time the immune system becomes compromised and the body’s reaction is to protect the cellular health. This invader is so invasive that it starts by stripping the body of vital and fundamental minerals at a cellular level and quite rapidly. By the time the body responds a massive amount of depletion has occurred and it hastily responds by protecting the cell from further depletion through hardening the cell membrane, basically saying there’s no way I’m letting anything else out of here and this virus is so confusing I’m not even sure what I can let in so I’m just going to say no “in” and no “out”. Now the body will start to starve at a cellular level due to malabsorption problems. The only way to combat this problem is by higher than normal doses of supplemental nutrients. Because the immune system is typically compromised viral and bacterial infections can be common. This is where the problem becomes chronic and all the advice is to correct your diet, get adequate sleep, deal with stress and do the best you can.

FIRSTLY you now could not possibly eat enough nutrition to replace the nutrition lost, SECONDLY you may now have an associated sleep disorder known as the alpha-EEG anomaly where the deep sleep patterns are interrupted by bouts of waking – type brain activity resulting in very poor sleep. Or one of the other sleep disorders fibromyalgia sufferers are plagued with such as sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, bruxism and sleep myoclonus (sudden rapid contraction of a muscle or muscle group during sleep or as one is falling to sleep). So with all these sleep disorders often if you have fibromyalgia you will also likely suffer from chronic fatigue. The chemical that activates serotonin activity (the thing that lets you go to sleep) no longer is released by the body so you don’t sleep and taking serotonin doesn’t help because as I said it’s the chemical that activates it that doesn’t work and you can’t take anything that replaces it as it is only made in the body. This chemical is reliant upon adequate nutrition, hormonal balance and immune function so THIRDLY stress is physical… because of a rampant invader in your body undetected for too long and has upset your hormones and now your endocrine system has imbalances, your immune system is compromised and you are starting to feel emotionally overwhelmed, not just because you don’t have the quality of life you used to have but you ARE in pain and your body is in a chronic state of disrepair, heading to disease. Stress may also trigger the development of problems similar to those associated with cardiovascular disease and adrenal gland disorders.

So the doctors suggest anti depressants. I have not found a case where these work. There is research. Very recent biotechnological break-through, which explains physical stress at an internal biophysical level. Extremely interesting. You can view it on the internet. Just search under “the cortisol connection” or go to www.pharmanex.com.au and check out clinical tests regarding CORTITROL.

Depressed yet???

Don’t be there is hope and lots of it.

For years I spent thousands and thousands of dollars with herbalists, nutritionists, naturopaths, doctors, dieticians, osteopaths, etc and very little to no help. In the end with my husband not being able to work as he became mum, dad and chief of everything, we had to sell our home to be able to afford help. We couldn’t afford a mortgage as well!

They would offer me the very best they had, practitioner only this and practitioner only that to no avail. What a horrible and ugly roller coaster of hope deferred. Until one day, 7 years later, a new friend, Pauline, told me about Pharmanex nutritional supplements. I tried them, ONLY AFTER around 70 hours of research. We had no money left for the proverbial pie in the sky! But what I found was science that made sense. No gimicky stuff that cured everything from tennis elbow to cancer but solid-makes sense stuff.

The first little while after starting to take LifePak I would feel so sick, so I wasn’t consistent with it but because the research made sense I was determined to find out why I was so sick, when I took it. It would literally put me to bed for three to four hours after I took it. I would be totally out. Probably the best sleep I ever had but wanted more life NOT LESS. I asked a wellness consultant to help me. She said the potency and efficacy of this product was so great and my body so starved and depleted that I would not be able to cope with the healing process and stay awake at the same time. She said it was called “transitory adaptation”, which basically means the period of time it takes my body to be able to adjust to this high level of nutrition, that would restore my life back to health. Also I was EXTREMELY nauseous when I took the supplements and she helped me get the taking of LifePak down to a fine art so I could start to get well. If it was breakfast, I had to have half the food, take the supplements with water or juice then eat the rest of my breakfast. The same for dinner time. It was that easy. It took three weeks to be able to take the full daily dose and then another four weeks till I had a nostalgic memory. I remember thinking “I remember this feeling, this is well”. I really started to feel well. After seven years I didn’t think I would recognise it but praise God I did. It was eight more months before I could honestly say OH YEAH I’M DOING WELL. That was a year ago now. I still have to pace my life a bit but people cannot believe what I accomplish these days. Most people sigh and say “I can’t keep up with you”. Well praise God. He reassured me of healing and keeps me in check when I start thinking I am supernatural and tells me to take a rest, but I’m doing really well. I am not able to exercise as much as I would like to, as that seriously overtaxes me. I have to go very gently. Doctors say to keep up the exercise. I disagree, until you feel well enough to, do not do it. You will know when your body is ready and when it is, be very gentle. Simple stretching exercises are more beneficial than anything else.

So that’s the story.

Now here’s the answers!

ESSENTIALS:

If you suffer from Candida Albicans you must take a PRO BIOTIC to replace friendly bacteria lost through candida. You MUST keep your bowel healthy.

Lecithin promotes energy, enhances immunity, aids in brain function and improves circulation. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Magnesium for energy production in many of the cells including muscle cells, needed for sugar metabolism. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Manganese influences the metabolic rate by its involvement in the pituitary- hypothalamic-thyroid axis. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Nicotinamide increases energy levels. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Vitamin A with mixed carotenoids and Vitamin E, powerful free radical scavengers that protect the body’s cells and enhance immune function. Found in LIFEPAK. For fibromyalgia you need an extra Vitamin E, 400 IU daily for one month.

Vitamin C with bioflavanoids has a powerful antiviral effect and increases the body’s energy levels. Found in LIFEPAK. However for fibromyalgia sufferers you need more of this and need to use a buffered form, Ester C is great and need to take an extra 5,000mg per day.

Glycine max enhances oxygen utilisation by the muscles and destroys free radicals that can damage cells. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Grape seed extract or pycnogenol powerful antioxidants that protect the muscles from free radical damage and enhance immunity. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Free form amino acid complex supplies protein essential for repair and rebuilding of muscle tissue and for proper brain function. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Vitamin B complex essential for increased energy and normal brain function. Found in LIFEPAK. For fibromyalgia you need 2cc injections twice weekly for one month.

Vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 (you need extra amounts of these). More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Calcium, Vitamin D3, potassium, selenium, zinc and copper for proper functioning of all muscles, including the heart, relieves muscle spasms and pain, antioxidants and proper functioning of the immune system. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Chromium to help balance blood sugar levels and aid in preventing night sweats. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Alpha Lipoic acid a powerful antioxidant to prevent free radical damage to cells. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

Camellia sinensis powerful antioxidant that protects against abnormal cell growth. More than enough found in LIFEPAK.

There is still a whole lot more that is found in LIFEPAK. This surely is the world’s most comprehensive multi-vitamin, multi-mineral and antioxidant nutritional supplement available!!!

So for a start instead of dozens of bottles to get these supplements you just need LIFEPAK. What a relief!

But what more do you need??

You must have the essential fatty acids, Omega 3. Optimum Omega by Pharmanex is a high quality Omega 3 for protecting against cell damage and helps reduce pain and fatigue.

Coenzyme Q10. 75 mg daily. Improves oxygenation of tissues, enhances the effectiveness of the immune system and protects the heart. This is only available through USA from Pharmanex but your health shop should be able to help.

5-Hydroxy L-Tryptophan 50 mg daily for 1 week then increase to 100mg daily. Enhances synthesis of serotonin in the brain, excellent for pain relief. Do not take if you use a MAO inhibitor, commonly prescribed for depression. In my experience nothing has worked to help sleep except the very addictive type drugs and Valium. I tried everything the health shops could offer and even mild anti-depressants, some sleeping pills worked but only for about four weeks at a time, gradually getting stronger and stronger in strength. But this stuff really does work and it is a natural amino acid. I have heard you can get it from Thorne pharmaceuticals? In NZ.

Cortitrol from Pharmanex if you suffer stress or anxiety. You will not need to take this for long as it really does arrest the symptoms of anxiety and mild depression .

Don’t forget to look this up on the internet.