I came across your site whilst looking for help for fibromyalgia.

Hi Catherine,

I have corresponded with you a couple of times and just really need your help at the moment.

I firstly came across your site whilst looking for help for fibromyalgia. I basically have had RSI from a computer job for over 18 months, I now have chronic pain syndrome which is either fibromyalgia / neuralgia, depends on which specialist you see.

When I read your story and researched further into progesterone, I realise I have had premenopause since I was about 35 yrs old, I am now 42. I started on the pro-feme about a week ago of 1cm daily, my doctor and specialist have convinced me to take also 10mgs antidepressant at night and panadol 4 hrly.

At the moment I am so teary and sad and feel awful, lightheaded and not with it. Could the cream be causing these side effects???

All I want is control of this pain and really don’t want to take medication, but feel bullied into it by my GP as we have tried everything. Hope you can help.

Thanks muchly,

Di

Dear Di,

From one fibromyalgia sufferer to another, my heart goes out to you. So let’s see if I can shed some light on the issues you raise here, at least in terms of your options and possible outcomes.

Fibromyalgia is a label for two symptoms: pain and tenderness. These symptoms are caused largely by impaired metabolism of cells in the spinal cord and brain stem that normally keep humans pain free.

Patients with other symptoms and diagnosis, such as chronic fatigure syndrome, also have impaired metabolism. The factors slowing their metabolism are the same as those affecting fibromyalgia patients. The other patients have different symptoms because the metabolism-slowing factors mainly affect different tissues than in fibromyalgia patients. These other patients benefit from metabolic rehab just as do most fibromyalgia patients.

Factors that can impede the metabolism of the tissues from which fibromyalgia symptoms and signs arise include:

• poor diet (usually one that causes irregular blood sugar levels and energy abnormalities in cells)
• nutritional deficiencies
• low physical fitness
• adrenal and sex hormone imbalances
• the use of drugs that impair metabolism

The fibromyalgia symptoms of most patients are caused by a combination of such factors above combined with inadequate thyroid hormone regulation of their tissues.

At least that’s the prevailing theory.

Doctors are, understandably, reluctant to prescribe thyroid medication when it isn’t medically indicated. But there are collaborative clinicians out there experienced at guiding patients to metabolic health. If you’re a FMS patient and your thyroid hormone profile (TSH, fT3 & fT4) appears perfectly “normal”, there may still be grounds to argue a case for thyroid treatment.

Dr Stowell pointed out last week, you can help your GP determine hypothyroidism by taking your oral temperature using an electronic thermometer every morning for 10 days or so the moment you wake up and before you actually get up. You then take the readings with you to your GP. If they are erratic and consistently below 36.6 degrees celsius or 97.88 degrees fahrenheit (as the average reading) then you may have hypothyroidism.

I kept a journal of my temperature reading every morning over one full menstrual cycle while also tracking my hormone levels using salivary assays. This made all the difference when it came time for my GP and I to make sense of what was going on with my body.

Can I say here, Di, that I was personally insulted when my GP prescribed antidepressants. If I was in any way ‘depressed’ it was a direct result of living with perpectual pain. Antidepressants didn’t solve any of my health problems. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it added a new dimension - grogginess - to my health concerns and the need to sleep off the drugs!

Yes, I did find considerable relief once I stumbled on hormone balancing with progesterone supplementation. This made a world of difference to how I felt, and how I then interacted with those around me.

The ’side effects’ you mention may actually indicate progesterone is going to work in the body, waking up estrogen receptor sites. Consequently, life may get pretty rough there for a while as you progress through this stage. ‘A Woman’s Guide to Using Natural Progesterone‘ will support you as you embark on your progesterone journey with tried and test cream dosage & usage guidelines.

As I grow a little older, and perhaps a little wiser, I come to acknowledge the significant role mind/body medicine plays in my progression towards optimal health and wellbeing.

That which drains my spirit drains my body.

On that note, I highly recommend Anatomy of the Spirit: The Seven Stages of Power and Healing by Caroline Myss, Ph.D., an exploration of emotional and psychological patterns than can precipitate health problems in a woman’s body.

Deepak Chopra, M.D., a respected New England endocrinologist writes in his book Quantum Healing: Exploring the frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine, “Attention exerts far more control than people ordinarily realize. A person in pain is aware of the pain but not that she can make it increase, diminish, appear, or disappear. Yet all this is true. In Ayerveda, each and every symptom of disease, from a minor neck pain to a full-blown cancer, is under the control of attention. Any pain or disease you have is like an island of discomfort surrounded by an ocean of comfort, for in comparison to any one disease, your healthy awareness is as big as an ocean.”

Our challenge, Di, is to ‘listen’ to our pain, understand its origins, and gently, through meditation and a greater love of the ’self’, begin to heal.