Minneapolis Fibromyalgia Doctor
5 Things You Should Consider...
1. Drugs cannot fix the cause of your fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
Your fibromyalgia is not caused by any drug deficiency; no amount of Lyrica, Cymbalta, Advil, Tylenol, ibuprofen, or DMARDs, biologic drugs will fix its underlying causes. Also all these drugs have damaging effects to your tissue over time, for example known effects to your liver and kidney. Drugs don't fix the problem, but cause more problems, even if it's free because of your insurance coverage it's still not a good deal, its insanity!
2. Your Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue is a warning signal!
Just like the "check engine" light on your dashboard warns you "something" is not right with your engine; the symptoms of fibromyalgia is a warning signal that "something" is not working properly in your tissues! You wouldn't cover up the "check engine" light with a piece of tape, your car is too valuable to you. Then why would you cover up the symptoms of fibromyalgia with drugs, it will only lead to more health problems in the future.
3. There is a metabolic reason for your fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue.
The primary cause of fibromyalgia is systemic inflammation and oxidative stress (free radical damage) in your tissues causing your pain receptors to fire. This pain causing neuro-immune imbalance is activated by multiple factors that must be addressed for you to conqueror your fibromyalgia. Simple symptom suppressing "anti-inflammatory" drugs (NSAIDs) won't cut it; by blocking the symptoms you leave the underlying destructive cause to continue the erosion of your health and well-being.
Because fibromyalgia and CFS are a body-wide disorder individuals report an extremely wide variety of symptoms. A full 100% of people with FMS have muscular pain, aching and/or stiffness and about half suffer severe headaches. Almost all suffer from fatigue, insomnia and depression. Up to 73% of FMS patients have Irritable Bowel Syndrome and digestive problems. Individuals with FMS/CFS very commonly suffer from brain health issues such as with difficulty with concentration and memory or ‘brain fog’, depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings, panic attacks, and sleep apnea. Individuals with FMS commonly report easy bruising, itchy skin, rashes, irritable bladder, mouth ulcers, restless leg syndrome, allergies and reoccurring viral infections.
This wide variety of symptoms gives witness to the fact that throughout the body and brain there is not enough energy to properly run and keep these tissues in good repair. This ‘gumming-up’ of your cell function (e.g. muscle, nerve, skin) primarily involves something called chronic inflammation and oxidative stress which always act in unison. Oxidative stress is when ‘free radicals’ from poor diet and chemical exposure buildup in tissues and cause damage to cells turning on inflammation. It is this oxidative stress and chronic inflammation that leads to the symptoms of aches and pains and fatigue by stimulating pain receptors in FMS/CFS. Through proper laboratory testing the source of the systemic inflammation and oxidative stress can be properly identified and treated to conquer this disorder and the pain and fatigue it causes once and for all.
This oxidative stress and the chronic inflammation it triggers not only cause disabling pain and fatigue but has been shown to lead to tissue damage and earlier mortality. A recent study showed that individuals with CFS/FMS syndromes develop heart failure at an average age of 59, whereas the average age of heart failure is 83. The study also found the median age of death from cancer for individuals with CFS/FMS syndromes is 48, while the national average is 87, is this what you want for yourself? Drugs prescribed for your fibromyalgia such as Lyrica, Cymbalta and Tramadol only cover up your symptoms and do nothing to treat the underlying metabolic problems causing the cell damage. They may help with the pain for awhile, but they leave you wide open for all kinds of serious health problems.
4. Your doctor probably does not have training in fibromyalgia.
Your doctor has little to no training in the complicated issues of fibromyalgia. A recent study found most doctors have less than 12 hours of training in chronic pain disorders. Therefore, they are not schooled in the proper laboratory testing needed to uncover the causes of your fibromyalgia. The usual basic metabolic blood profile and CBC will not provide the answers. There are some unique functional laboratory tests that I utilize to determine the underlying metabolic dysfunction in individuals with FMS/CFS. Many complex issues need to be accessed that your doctor may have no understanding of: Increased Intestinal Permeability (Leaky Gut), Dysbiosis (Bad Bugs in the gut) activating a systemic inflammatory response (70% of your immune system is in your GI tract) and hidden IgG food allergies all can play a huge role in causing your pain, fatigue and general lack of wellness.
5. Your doctor may have no answers for you beyond drugs and exercise.
Just because your knee surgeon was covered by your insurance you would not let him or her do brain surgery on you. Asking your drug trained doctor to perform intricate complex nutritional or Functional medicine on you is just as absurd. Your doctor is not trained in the utilization of functional laboratory testing, such as urinary organic acid profile, blood biomarkers of nutritional deficiencies, comprehensive digestive stool analysis, ELISA IgG food allergy testing, salivary hormonal testing and so much more. Therefore, you cannot expect him or her to run the tests or know how to interpret them. Then without the training he or she does not have the ability to address the underlying problems with natural nutraceuticals; needed vitamins, minerals, herbs, etc. Today the medical approach of drugs and surgery to chronic health problems is now a leading cause of bankruptcy and death.
Pain and Brain Healing Center's Dr. Fors is a Minneapolis Fibromyalgia doctor offering natural solutions for Minnesota residents suffering from pain. Feel free to stop by our Blaine office, contact us online or call us at 763-862-7100 to learn how we can help you. Consultations are free.