Fibromyalgia or FMS as it is so often now referred to is Chronic Pain that is widespread causing musculoskeletal pain, severe fatigue and troubled sleep. Fibromyalgia in essence means pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons which are the soft fibrous tissues in the body.
For most people with Fibromyalgia the most common things that one will tell you is that they ache all over and are tired almost all the time. To get a proper diagnoses of Fibromyalgia one must first of all have a doctor who even believes it exists. Believe me, I have been to numerous doctors and many of them old school firmly believe that it is all in ones head. In fact I had an encounter with just such a doctor and was left feeling worse when I was told that he did not believe in Fibromyalgia nor would he or his colleagues treat me as having it. Back to square one or so one would think, however I was determined that if someone labeled me as having Fibromyalgia then I would find someone or something that could give me some relief.
Approximately 75% of all those diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS meet the standard criteria for determining a Fibromyalgia diagnoses. To meet the criteria for proper diagnoses of Fibromyalgia a patient must have widespread pain in all 4 quadrants of their body for a period of 3 months or more and have 11 out of 18 tender points throughout their body. Many other disorders or problems so often go hand in hand with Fibroymalgia. Headaches are among the most common complaint made by FMS patients. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, insomnia, depression, Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD), and Gastrointestinal Esophageal Reflux Disease are also very common in almost all FMS patients that I have personally spoken with. All these different disorders, symptoms and complaints make it more difficult to get a proper diagnoses of FMS. There is much, much more to be said of FMS, it's causes, diagnoses, prognosis, etc, etc., but what I really want to share with you is the treatment that is working for me.
Almost two years ago I had a slip and fall accident which made my dormant or remissive FMS come back with a vengeance. I was knocked unconscious and injured my head, neck, back, hip and jaw. Due to severe jaw pain, headaches and sleepless nights my family dentist sent me to a TMJ specialist. Luck would have it my specialist knew of a colleague, a Rheumatologist that treats many chronic pain patients with injections of Botox A and Prolotherapy. Botox or Botulinum Toxin Type A is a neurotoxin protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It is one of the most poisonous naturally occurring substances in the world.
Though it is highly toxic, when used in small doses it can help alleviate and treat painful muscle spasms, widespread pain and headaches. Prolotherapy is a sugar-water solution that is injected into the ligament or tendon where it is attached to the bone. Although the injections are very painful and consist of upwards of 20 to 30 injections per visit(every 90 days for me) I highly recommend that if you are suffering from FMS or CFS that you talk to your doctor to see if this treatment is right for you. However, please note that just because a doctor can inject Botox that is specific for cosmetic purposes only, does not mean they are trained to inject them for the purpose of alleviating chronic pain. Always check a doctor's credentials especially when you are putting your life in their hands.
