Me and my fibromyalgia
The clinical definition of chronic fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) when broken down is:
chronic means on-going; fibro means connective tissues, myo means muscles, algia means a painful condition, and syndrome means a group of symptoms. Its many symptoms are not shared by every sufferer, or in the same combination, however some are: body-wide pain, muscle spasms, fatigue and depression.
Modern medicine offers no hope, saying FMS is a lifelong, degenerative disease with no known cause or cure and can only be managed with drugs with lousy side effects making you worse over time.
My book creates a paradigm shift in understanding FMS by showing it is a curable, symptom itself: the natural effects of the atlas subluxation, and the subsequent brain-stem injury, cervical myopathy and spinal misalignments this subluxation causes.
These effects are hyper-activation and hyper-sensitization of the central nervous system, distortion of regulatory signals from the hypothalamus to and from the body, and the cascade of system-wide malfunctions of FMS.
The atlas subluxation is caused by trauma, most commonly whiplash from motor vehicle accidents. Other traumas are: a jarring fall; a bump on the head; a twisting-lifting accident; lifting something heavy; poor head posture; a poor golf swing; carrying heavy babies; neck strain from a psychological trauma; general anesthesia causing neck muscles to go limp, allowing the atlas to shift, and more.
Traumas can compounded over years, often triggering FMS with a minor “last-straw injury.” FMS can also be triggered by major trauma. Compounding traumas to my head and neck beginning with a blow to the head and whiplash from an auto accident 35 years prior, finally exacerbated by a minor exercising accident further displacing my atlas, triggered full-blown FMS, taking three years to completely disable me.
I became bed-ridden from pain for nearly two years, and housebound for ten. Knowing what caused it, I saw over a dozen doctors before I received a near-correct diagnosis. I brought my diagram of cause and list of questions to each doctor, and was dismissed.
After leaving the care of the medical profession, I saw several chiropractors before finding one that could adjust my atlas. This was the turning point where I began taking my life back from this horrific disorder. I then developed my protocol for a lasting cure that is maintainable and real in alternative medicine and naturopathic therapies.
FMS sufferers must seek the care of an upper cervical chiropractor to get their atlas, neck and spine x-rayed and aligned. My protocol begins here and includes therapies that support healing and rehabilitating a degenerated body from the ravages of FMS. These include classical constitutional homeopathy, nutrition therapy, gentle physical therapies, psychotherapy and stress reduction, an optional dual-neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitor for rebalancing two key neurotransmitters involved in pain and depression: serotonin and norepinephrine.
In four years my body became FMS free. It may not take this long for others, I was an extreme case, my atlas being severely misaligned for 13 years, the worst my chiropractor had ever seen.
The medical profession and scientific community remain at a loss about a cause or cure for FMS because they know little about the science of chiropractic or how to read spinal x-rays for subluxations, and are therefore suspicious. Also, scientists who must quantify and measure every thing cannot quantify and measure common sense.
For example, both professions ascertained 90% of reported FMS patients are women, and 10% men, theorizing it may be that FMS is carried on female chromosomes, and triggered by female hormones and emotions. However, common sense dictates only 10% are men because they have stronger necks, shoulders and backs, being less vulnerable for head and neck trauma resulting in atlas subluxations. This is missing the scientific boat.
Another example is psychologists’ view of FMS almost exclusively attributing it to psychological stress, somatoform pain disorders, and clinical depression whose criteria do not fully match or account for all possible FMS symptoms.
The pitfall of specialties is viewing a condition through the lens of the specialty. The fact is, stress exacerbates any condition, even the common cold, however it cannot be concluded stress caused it. Stress exacerbates all FMS symptoms because it lives in the central nervous system.
My book discusses chronic pain biochemistry, shows specific nutrition helps reverse energy deficit, completely clarifies FMS symptoms, debunks modern myths and theories of physical and psychological causes, and tells my story navigating the labyrinth of regular and alternative medicine to isolate the cause, and develop a protocol for a lasting cure.
I have been FMS free for over three years. I spent ten years exhaustively researching and writing this book while healing this condition. It now enjoys endorsements from the International Chiropractic Association, the National Upper Cervical Chiropractors Association, the National Massage Association, the Oregon Health and Science University’s Fibromyalgia Information Foundation, and a five star review on Amazon.
FMS is a dark tunnel where its sufferers get lost in despair. I want to stand at the end of this tunnel with bells and whistles, and shine a light bright enough for all to see, and show the millions of FMS sufferers how to guide themselves back out into life again. This is my mission.
My personal life motto is: “Life belongs to the tenacious.” Singer Lena Horne said, “It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.” Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Do not go where the path might lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” George Elliott proclaimed, “It’s never too late to be what you could have been.”
I am a living proof that this condition can be cured, and you do not have to wait for modern medicine or science, whose treatments are based on trends likely considered obsolete tomorrow, to figure it out for you. Educate yourself, take charge, seek an upper cervical chiropractor, and begin now taking back your life!
From “Curing Chronic Fibromyalgia-Choosing What Works”
by Valerie Lumley,
28 Montsalas Drive
Monterey, California 93940 (USA)
The book is available at www.thefibrocure.com
