Fibromyalgia

During my medical career, I have seen many desperate women and men do everything they could to treat themselves. Vitamins, sleep aids, exercise programs, herbal teas, yoga, exotic juices, meditation and a multitude of other attempts to try to feel normal again, if only for a few hours at a time.

I am a well trained integrative medicine physician. I combine the best of conventional medicine with finding and treating underlying causes not just symptoms.  It is very clear to me, that Fibromyalgia is real and has real causes, not just symptoms.

Conventional doctors and specialists rarely have more than 15 to 20 minute visits to spend with each patient. Doctors are constantly pressed for quick fix solutions. Unfortunately, that usually means another medication, often with negative possible side effects. In 2007, along with pain and anti-depression medications,  Lyrica® was added as a new medication for Fibromyalgia treatment.

This new drug was originally developed for diabetic nerve pain. It too, has many possible side effects like weight gain.  At least some doctors were finally beginning to recognize fibromyalgia as a real medical problem. Unfortunately, conventional solutions are often at great expense in possible side effects to the patient from the anti-depressants, pain medications and now Lyrica. None of these medications tries to solve underlying causes of Fibromyalgia. They simply attempt to cover over symptoms of Fibromyalgia.

The Road Back to a Normal Life.

While it is impossible for me to guarantee that we can get you back to a completely normal life, working together, there is a very high probability that we will you get you back to normal or a near normal life once again.

Examples of conditions that can mimic fibromyalgia include:

• Lupus,
• Lyme disease,
• Rheumatoid arthritis, and
• Chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia’s evil twin.

Not a one size fits all medical facility.

Only after a thorough initial assessment, is it possible for me to determine which lab tests are important for you.  You are unique. And what labs we need to look at for you may vary from another patient.

Once your lab tests are all back—usually in 3 weeks—they are carefully reviewed before you sit down with Dr. Alyse.

From your intake information and the information you shared during your first visit plus your lab test results, your unique profile is created.

Your lab results are viewed as a reference point. Because a lab test result claims you are in a “normal range” does not always mean that for you, it is normal.

Step 1: Boost. The overwhelming odds are that if you are suffering from fibromyalgia, your energy reserves may be extremely low or early non-existent. Your cellular energy factories (mitochondria) may in fact be damaged.

To “Boost” your energy, there are several immediate and long term steps we can take. If your energy is very low, we can start this process during your first visit.

Step 2: Balance. If you do have Fibromyalgia, the probability is very high that your hormones are out of balance. This includes your adrenals, and thyroid. If this is the case, when we rebalance your hormones, we use only safer, effective bio-identical hormones. These hormones are considered to be molecularly identical your own. They are not manufactured by a drug company. These may include combinations and dosing specifically for you. There is no one size or dose that fits all.

Step 3: Eliminate. The third step, although not necessarily in that order, is to eliminate what may actually be an underlying cause of your fibromyalgia. Many believe that fibromyalgia begins with a traumatic event such as a car accident, injury or a psychological trauma such as a job loss or divorce.

While that may be a cause for the negative effects of fibromyalgia to begin, it is more likely that a drop in your body’s defenses, your immune system, may have allowed naturally occurring bacteria, viruses, fungi and accumulated toxins to overrun your immune system and other organic systems. Eliminating chronic infections and toxins is important to restoring your health.

It’s a Process. For you to achieve success in reclaiming your health, it is important to understand that this is a process. That can be frustrating for you if you have been fighting for months or even years, but this process has proved successful for numerous other patients. Some results may begin to appear fairly quickly in the first few months or even weeks. Others will happen over time, most likely in the first 6 – 10 months. We will carefully track all of your advances, great and small, so you can see the changes happening.