Fibromyalgia, Sleep Apnea, Chronic Fatigue, unrestorative sleep?
I have Fibromyalgia, Sleep Apnea (which is being corrected by using a C-Pap machine at night. I also have chronic fatigue due to the fact that I never get refreshing sleep. No matter how poorly or how well I feel that I sleep, I never feel rested. I have had 3 sleep studies and the results are always the same. I definitely have Sleep Apnea with Alpha Wave intrusions. I have been on several medications to no avail. Now my new sleep specialist wants me to to try either Xyrem at night (actually the date rape drug) or Provigil during the day, which is a stimulant. I’m at my wits end. Both drugs have awful side effects and really scare me. I have Cardiomyopathy and the Provigil would be dangerous to my heart problem. The side effects of Xyrem are very scarey. I hope there is someone out there that can share their experiences with me. I am soooooooooooooooo tired. I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired. Help please!!!!!!!
Tagged with: alpha wave • apnea • avail • c pap machine • cardiomyopathy • chronic fatigue • date rape drug • drugs • experiences • fibromyalgia • heart problem • intrusions • medications • provigil • sleep • sleep studies • stimulant • wits • xyrem
Filed under: Sleep Apnea Machine Questions
Hi Skat
You are at a breaking point I can tell. And that’s usually what it takes to break one’s daily pattern. Learning about the concepts below will change your health tremendously. Start making decisions for yourself by taking control of your health. It starts with water, organic food, exercise, and being thankful for all you have in your life.
What you think about, you get more of. THis simple concept is called "The Law of Attraction". If you focus on the negative’s then you get more of them. Same application applies to the positive. Feeling the positive energy in your life will change your world very quickly.
I would do either of the following for your pain: Reiki, Healing Touch, and Therapeutic Touch, all of which can significantly improve fibromyalgia pain symptoms, and which can be taught to patients as a form of self-care, as well as being provided by professional energy healers.
Causes of Fibromyalgia
There is not one specific cause for primary fibromyalgia. Certain common features among fibromyalgia patients provide a better idea as to the primary factors that are involved in its onset, however. These include dental amalgam fillings, hormone imbalances, infection, neurotransmitter imbalances, sleep problems, problems with the thalamus gland, and physical trauma. Other factors that can play a role include chemical and food allergies and sensitivities, chronic stress, and dysfunctions in system.muscle metabolism.
Conventional physicians treat fibromyalgia primarily through the use of painkiller medications. Such an approach fails to address the multiple causes of fibromyalgia, and also carries with it the risk of serious side effects. In addition, this symptom care approach is typical of conventional medicine`s failure to properly understand chronic health conditions such as fibromyalgia, which explains why it so often fails to successfully treat such conditions. Practitioners of alternative medicine, on the other hand, focus their treatment approaches on the multiple factors involved in fibromyalgia in order to eliminate them, while simultaneously stimulating the body`s ability to repair itself. What follows is an overview of some of the most common therapies they employ in order to achieve those goals
Quick Action Plan for Fibromyalgia
1. A healthy, whole foods diet is an important part of any fibromyaglia treatment program. Emphasize organic foods, especially fresh, organic vegetables, and drink plenty of pure, filtered water (I drink a gallon a day) throughout the day. For even more benefits, consider adopting a vegetarian diet, which has been shown to significantly reduce fibromyalgia symptoms.
2. Essential nutrients to help treat fibromyalgia include vitamin C, vitamin E, niacinimide (vitamin B3), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA-an essential fatty acid), magnesium, selenium, zinc, and the lipotrophic factors inositol, methionine, and phosphatidyl choline. The nutritional supplements cetyl myristoleate and SAMe are also highly beneficial, as it the Meyers Cocktail, which must be administered by a trained health care practitioner.
3. Herbal remedies for fibromyalgia include cayenne and chamomile. An herbal combination of tinctures of black cohosh, celery, dandelion, devil`s claw, Echinacea, and licorice in equal parts, can also be helpful.
4. Homeopathic remedies for fibromyalgia include Arnica, Bryonia, and Rhus. Tox.
5. Various bodywork therapies, such as Massage, Acupressure, Bowen Therapy, Feldenkrais, myotherapy, Rolfing, Shiatsu, Therapeutic Touch, and Trigger Point Therapy, can provide significant relief of fibromyalgia pain and speed healing.
6. Mind/body medicine therapies such as biofeedback, guided imagery and visualization, hypnotherapy, and meditation, can help relieve chronic stress, thereby soothing muscle tension and reducing pain
7. Be sure to do a colon and liver cleanse to clean out the toxins in the colon and the blood. Most important step is cleansing and detoxifying the body.
Best of health to you
Hi,
Sometimes, what we ate contribute to our pain.
For your fibro – please avoid acidic foods like soda, mushrooms, beef, pork chicken, any carbonated drink especially those that expensive bottled drinks.
Avoid food that has seeds in them like okra, cucumber, eggplant, green beans, brown beans, mexican foods because they have beans in them as well as animal oil, well, anything with seeds.
Avoid eating too much eggs and also drinking coffee.
Please don’t drink beer or any liquour because just like soda they are very high in acid. Please do not eat food that has vinegar contents in it.
Warm bath every day or if you could relax in a hut tub for 20 minutes is a bit help.
Try to sleep where you are elivated in your shoulder and have pillow underneath your legs and rolled up towel under your arms. I’ve seen this done and works well – but – of course please consider the intensity of the firbromyalgia. Sometimes what works with hillary does not work with bill. You know what I mean.
Once you reduce the pain in your fibro, you will start to fall sleep if not soundly at least better. When you sleep, please make aware that you need to move your arms and body so that it will not lock on you and the pressure will be attained in the morning which is not fun.
Cabbage, cole slaw, leafy green vegetables are best for your joint pain.
Try to moderately move all your joints at least 10 minutes 2 times a day everyday for your exercise. Do not over do it because you will have muscle ache as well as joint pain, this will aggravate your fibro – so just moderately but not to stay in one position everyday.
If you are smoking – say goodbye to that because it is one of the culprit of your pains.
And most important of all – relax. Stop worrying about being sick. Forget that you are sick. Live with it but make it your part of your being – your just have to forgive and then forget. Say your thanks each day to Jesus – no matter how much sufferings you have everday and everynight – he will take it from you one day, you’ll see. Just talk to him and please him more and more each day.
I used to be in pain also – but the doctors make me worse (I felt) so one day, with my rusty locking knees, I just went out the door and start walking and didn’t come back for 2 hours (because I can’t, I just have to drag myself back from my walk – it was really painful). But I sang through it – with tears.
Then next day, I did it again – I said I am being alive because of the medication – I didn’t feel it is right. Until I am so use to walking and I get better after hard walks – I hope that I could continue – no more pain – no more modication – I have a lot of faith though. What I’m trying to say is I went the other way.
Good luck to you.
I am not sure what I can say.
I have a problem that is possibly sleep related.
I haven’t had the help you have had.
My understanding is that sleep that doesn’t work is usually because the sleep is interupted or because the chemical processes are not working.
The cronic fatigue could be related to the sleep disorder,
You might have an imune sytsem problem or depression related chemical inballance (treatable by anti-depresants), Cronic fatigue may from from stuff like MS or be Ross River virus. Most likely you are just tired from lack of sleep.
Hi,I also suffer from fibro and sleep apnea.I am taking a combo of thing MS Contin 120mg Viacodin this is for my fibro pain.At night I take Melatonin 3mg it does help alot with restorative.the combo of these drugs help alot as does watching what Eat and exercise.Ambiem CR is really good too.There are options and you are not alone..Also Melatonin is natural and you do not need a prescription for it.You can get it at any store.God Bless
You should try DRibose. It works on the cellular level to correct the ATP connections that have gone wrong in those of us who have fibromyalgia. DRibose is also used to improve heart function . I have been taking it for a couple of years and my health has improved measurably .
I have several articles about it on my 360 profile. I have made many changes in my life since my diagnosis , but DRibose has been one of the better things to happen in my life.
http://360.yahoo.com/profile-u92l7DQ6crVz0iK_V6UhmESvJZsU
I have FMS/CFS. The first & I feel most important thing to change is diet. Avoid sugar, white flour, white potatoes, & white rice. Eat lots of fresh vegs & fruits. Drink lots of pure water. Avoid caffeine & sodas. Avoid processed foods & preservatives. When you have both fibro & CFS you are in a Catch-22 as far as exercise. It improves the fibro & makes the CFS worse. Gentle stretching, adaptive yoga, & short walks are best. As far as sleep, you need to practice good sleep hygiene. Don’t read in bed. Don’t watch TV in bed. When you go to bed, go to sleep. Try to go to bed at the same time every night. For pain, there are lots of non-medicating tools, my favorites are distraction & self guided imagery. Personally, I am very leary of herbal supplements. I have allergies & take medications. Every time I have taken herbs I have experienced either an allergic reaction or they made me feel worse. Also with herbs you need to make sure that they don’t interact with any medications you are on. Supplements are replace naturally occurring substance in the body. I take magnesium(muscle spasms), cherry extract(anti-inflammatory), Omega-3(healthy heart), taurine(for heart), probiotics(to replace good bacteria in gut), CoEnzyme Q10(for heart), & flax seed oil(my favorite & good for everything). These are just a few supplements available. I am not recommending them. Each person needs to research what is best for them. Everyone is an individual & has different additional diagnoses. I am going for a full cardiac work-up soon & I have a seizure disorder so I have had to make sure the supplements I take do not make either worse. Also, some supplements that are recommended with fibro interfer with meds that are recommended for fibro. One example is SamE. It can be dangerous to take SamE with a SSRI antidepressant. Most of the antidepressant being used with fibro are either tricyclic or SSRIs. Whatever you decide to do, research before you try it. I did not start sleeping until I started taking Lyrica for pain & Zanaflex for muscle spasms. I take this combo every night & most nights sleep better than I have slept since I was a teenager. I still have FMS/CFS but I am more functional & have more good days. Last, but certainly not least, accept that you have this disease & that you can have a good life even with it. Reach out to others. Think about others first. It will make a difference in your life that is incredible.
Amazing but true. I have suffered with all of your ailments since 1987. I spent many of my waking hours researching medical journals to see what could have happened to me almost overnight. One day, I came across an article that listed all the symptoms I had including sleep apnea as a later stage development of the "disease" Which one you say? Thyroid dysfunction or thyroid resistance disorder. I pleaded with the doctor to refer me to an endocrinologist but none even wanted to talk to me because my blood work according to Canadian Lab Standards was perfectly normal. Finally ,I read about one in Toronto who supposedly listened to her patients so I drove there after. In Europe, many doctors treat their fibro patients with thyroid hormone in the earlier stages of fibro and the disease never takes hold. I now take thyroid and it has helped immensely with the pain and weakness etc. Still have sleep apnea but I use Cpap and I actually wake up feeling more energetic than I have felt for years. In the U.S., endocrinoligist treat people with symptoms with a TSH of3.00 or more but here most want to see a TSH greater than 5.50 and some will not treat until 15 or 20. I found a lot of insight at Fibrohugs.com.
Good luck to you.