Fibromyalgia
Treatments for Fibromyalgia
Conventional medicine usually offers people with fibromyalgia a combination
of antidepressants and graded exercises. There is some evidence that
managing your day through the sorts of techniques taught by “cognitive
behavioural therapists”
may be of help. On the whole, however, fibromyalgia is a very difficult
illness to treat. There are several approaches that we use in complementary
medicine that may be of help to people with fibromyalgia.
There are two positive clinical trials showing that homeopathy can help
fibromyalgia, one uses a single remedy (Rhus Tox) and the other uses
individualised homeopathy. Inevitably both have been criticised
by people who find homeopathy "implausible". The perfect
clinical trial has yet to be published and no doubt both these positive
studies do have faults, and in themselves are not definitive "proof" of
homeopathy. However, they do suggest that homeopathy may be a reasonable
approach to use in this condition.
Patients with fibromyalgia may have a variety of nutritional deficiencies,
in particular low magnesium. Measuring an individual’s nutritional
status and then correcting it, either with oral supplementation or sometimes
by injection, can be a real help.
There are several clinical trials showing that acupuncture in the tender
points of the muscles can be helpful, although it can be quite uncomfortable.
We sometimes find that patients with fibromyalgia suffer from food intolerance,
and trying to identify the foods that inflame the muscles can sometimes
be of real help.
Our treatment plan is to try and build a range of very individualised
treatments in order to try and help someone with this very difficult
and debilitating condition. Interestingly, there is more evidence that
various complementary medical approaches are helpful for this condition
than for conventional medicine.
