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"There is also some other research and anecdotal evidence that CFS and fibromyalgia seems to happen to people who have had major trauma such as childhood abuse. It is thought that this type of thing affects the pituitary/hypothalamus area of the brain interfering with proper function. Studies have found that these people have disturbed brain electrical function. Others have called it the "delayed stress effect" and say that trauma builds up in the brain as electrical disturbances and imbalances. Practicing meditation, prayer or some relaxation technique regularly is said to greatly help. Research is being done with EEG training to help these people. EEG trains the brain to balance itself electrically and to relax the body. Research with children raised in abusive situations has found that that they have up to double the output of adrenal stress hormones and tend to be in a heightened alert state all the time. When followed to adulthood, researches have found that in adulthood they often develop low energy problems or other metabolic disorders. These type of people also do not respond well to thyroid hormone (thyroid hormone resistance). They have suppressed  metabolisms, basically. Violent prison inmates from abusive childhood situations were found to have greatly reduced cortisol output. It can be speculated that some abused children later suffer adrenal burnout. Without sufficient adrenal hormones thyroid hormone can't work properly. Dr. David Derry found that traumatized people who develop hypothyroidism often need very high doses of thyroid medication to function normally."

Wick-ed Candles: They "Light up Your Life"
and Endanger You and Your Children

By Dr. Gloria Gilbère, ND, PhD

Chemical toxicity comes in many seemingly innocent disguises. One such toxic substance, not readily known by the general public, is the candle wick. In 1973 the EPA Administrator urged a mandatory ban on all candles with lead-containing wicks. As a result, a voluntary ban was approved and then not complied with or even monitored. An EPA study in 1974 determined "Burning only two candles three hours each day on a regular basis in the home could increase exposure to airborne lead by a factor of 5 or more. This exposure to lead from candles could equal or exceed the exposure to airborne lead associated with the busiest freeways in America." [This statement was made at the time when leaded gasoline was still fairly commonplace.] "Inhabitants of homes in which lead wick candles are burned could be exposed to substantial incremental quantities of lead which, if continued on a regular basis would pose a significantly high risk to health, especially among children." The EPA determined that burning candles with lead-containing wicks exceeded the current EPA air quality standard by over 10 times. Yet, today candles containing lead are still being manufactured and sold!  [NOTE FROM DOMINIE:  I was visiting in a home recently where a lot of fragrant candles were burning.  I think it was too much for my immune system to handle.  I felt distinctly unwell when I left, and the fatigue lasted a number of days.  Three years ago, I had a very severe allergic reaction in my eyes from a candle I received as a gift.  Those of us with FMS/CFIDS/MCS have to be careful about things in our environment--even something as simple as a candle.]

"It is great!  I take 3 spoon 3 times a day and I'm more relaxed, more alert or less tired. Also in a better mood.  Losing weight, good eh? I highly recommend it. It is getting the right fat in the system. Dr. Mercola is also another one that recommends it.  Try the small first and you will see the difference."

22. ARTICLE IN WOMAN'S DAY MAGAZINE

From a reader--

"There's a short but good article in the May 31st issue of Woman's Day magazine about chronic pain.  If we could get 'letters to the editor' going out whenever there's a good article about pain, we could help raise consciousness even more.  I'm sending a letter. Just thought I'd pass this on." 

23. MEMORY FOAM PILLOW

From a reader--

"I have a memory foam pillow and I love it. I agree with you that it does help keep my neck in proper alignment while sleeping. Now if I don't sleep on it I can really tell the difference. (My mattress has a pillow top so it does well also.)"

24. VAGUS NERVE & DEPRESSION

From a reader--

25. COUGH REMEDY MAY HELP FIBRO

Source: University of Florida; Date: 2005-05-19
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050519141247.htm

Fibromyalgia Patients May Benefit From Cough Remedy, UF Study Finds

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Dextromethorphan, an over-the-counter medication that silences coughs, may help fibromyalgia patients quiet over-reacting nerves that amplify ordinary touches into agony.

A University of Florida study documents, for the first time, that dextromethorphan temporarily reduces the intensity of fibromyalgia "wind-up," a snowballing pain response to minor, repetitive physical contact. The discovery, described in the May issue of The Journal of Pain, also enables researchers to rule out one suspected cause of the phenomenon.

Fibromyalgia is an incurable illness that causes widespread muscle aches, stiffness, fatigue and sleep disturbances, according to the National Fibromyalgia Association. An estimated 10 million Americans suffer from the condition, most of them women. Current treatment strategies include pain medication, exercise, stretching, sleep management and psychological support.

Though the UF study did not establish guidelines for using dextromethorphan clinically, it suggests the drug may eventually be an option for treating fibromyalgia and other conditions involving heightened pain sensitivity, said rheumatology expert Roland Staud, M.D., a UF associate professor of medicine and the study's principal author.

"I think it's one piece of the mosaic," Staud said. "We currently have no single therapy in chronic pain that has a big effect. So what this really means for chronic pain patients is that they need to use a whole host of different interventions to decrease the pain they have. And in this, dextromethorphan may have a role in the future."

Dextromethorphan is popular in cold remedies because it elevates the threshold for the coughing reflex but does not cause physical addiction, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

But fibromyalgia patients should not resort to self-medicating by taking cough syrups for pain, Staud cautioned.

"Like every medication, dextromethorphan has side effects," he said. "At high doses, patients can have problems related to memory and confusion."

The underlying cause of fibromyalgia remains unknown, but in the past 25 years substantial progress has been made toward understanding the mechanisms behind specific features of fibromyalgia, Staud said. One is central sensitization, a feature of many chronic pain conditions in which the central nervous system - the brain and spinal cord - somehow magnifies pain signals to abnormally high levels, said Staud, who is affiliated with UF's McKnight Brain Institute.

Central sensitization is associated with wind-up, a phenomenon in which repeated touches - even handshakes or pats on the back - geenerate lingering pain that increases with each new contact, he said. A normal form of achy, lingering pain known as secondary pain affects anyone who suffers an injury.

The UF researchers - Staud, neuroscientist Charles Vierck, Phh.D., psychologist Michael Robinson, Ph.D., and Donald Price, Ph.D. - were surprised to learn that dextromethorphan eased fibromyalgia patients' wind-up pain to the same degree it soothed secondary pain induced in healthy volunteers, Staud said. The results indicate a long-suspected cause of wind-up may not exist.

Previous studies at other institutions had shown that dextromethorphan blocks the action of a chemical messenger called N-methyl-D-aspartate, or NMDA, which relays pain impulses in the spinal cord. Many fibromyalgia researchers have theorized that wind-up is caused by abnormalities in the spinal-cord structures that process NMDA.

The UF results suggest those structures function normally but that pain impulses are more amplified in fibromyalgia than in healthy participants, Staud said.

"This has refocused much of our research now," he said. Future UF studies will attempt to pinpoint where the pain impulses are originating.

In the current study, researchers worked with 14 women with fibromyalgia and 10 women who did not have the disease, using mechanical devices that tapped the participants' hands repeatedly. One part of the study involved contact with a heated probe, the other used a small rubber-tipped peg. The intensity of the heat or pressure of the stimulation was individually adjusted so that all participants reported feeling the same degree of pain.

Researchers then gave each participant a capsule containing 60 milligrams of dextromethorphan, 90 milligrams of dextromethorphan or a placebo containing none of the drug, and asked them to rate the amount of pain they experienced when the stimulation was repeated.

With the heat stimulus, 90 milligrams of dextromethorphan reduced wind-up pain, but 60 milligrams was no more effective than the placebo. With the pressure stimulus, 90 milligram and 60 milligram doses were equally effective, reducing wind-up pain.

The UF study indicates the need for further research on dextromethorphan, said fibromyalgia expert Laurence Bradley, Ph.D., a professor of medicine with the University of Alabama at Birmingham's division of clinical rheumatology and immunology.

"This is a topic that's actually received very little attention so far in the literature," Bradley said. "It would be a disservice to start to recommend that either patients or physicians begin experimenting right away with dextromethorphan, because I think there's some important questions about how to minimize the side effects with this agent."

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