I am so sorry I have been not reading and updating you guys. Life got in the way, which made me too tired at night to read.
Well, I’m back to now. I really want to have this book read by March 25th because my support group meets and the topic is on books about Fibromyalgia.
Enough chit chat. Here we go!
Part 3: Your Path to Healing – Chapter 6: Why Conventional Medicine Alone Can’t Beat Your Illness
(portions of this blog came from Dr. Rodger Murphree’s book)
This chapter is very long so I will list some of the key points:
- Conventional medical treatments of FMS and CFS focus on controlling various symptoms. Physicians generally rely on pain medications of various sorts, muscle relaxants and tranquilizers, antidepressants, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines. Unfortunately, as you already know, these drugs rarely yield lasting results.
- But conventional medicine has its limits, and our quick-fix society has gotten out of hand. So much of modern medicine is about covering up our symptoms with drugs, rather than treating the causes that are to blame for the symptoms. This is like trying to mop the wet kitchen floor while ignoring the leaky roof.
- Many drugs are associated with side effects, and the majority don’t actually cure anything. Treating symptoms doesn’t translate to better health. We’ve got to stop thinking “just stop the pain” and start thinking “let’s fix the problem”.
- Short-term use of drugs to mask unwanted symptoms is certainly appreciated by both patient and doctor. But FMS and CFS are not short-term illnesses. And drugs used to treat these symptoms can lead to dependence and further complications. One drug’s side effects can initiate new symptoms, which must then be treated by more drugs.
- With so many different symptoms, it’s no surprise that fibromyalgia and CFS patients are typically taking 6-12 different prescription drugs.
- Many of the most commonly prescribed drugs for fibromyalgia have side effects that are similar or identical to the symptoms of FMS or CFS. These similarities can cause a lot of confusion when doctors are trying to determine the effectiveness of treatment.
- It’s important to realize that your drug or drugs can be causing or contributing to some or all of your symptoms.
- Drugs deplete essential nutrients that the body needs to properly function, but it can take weeks, months or even years for the drug to fully deplete the nutrient and for you to see the side effects surface.
One question and point made by Dr. Murphree was “How many folks with fibromyalgia get well under the care of a traditional rheumatologist? I speak to fibromyalgia support groups across North America, and I can tell you what the answer is: very few. The three-month wait for a new patient appointment typically ends in a two-hour interview and exam followed by a 10 minute visit to discuss test results, and then several prescription drugs and a follow-up appointment every 3-6 months”.
The next part of the chapter lists some drugs commonly used to treat fibromyalgia. Along with information on the drugs, possible side effects are listed. Your experiences may be different from what’s described, but be sure to read about the drugs you are taking. See if they might be causing some of your symptoms. If you suspect they are, work with your doctor to slowly wean off of them.
(unfortunately, this part was very long so you are going to have to read the book for information and side effects)
- NSAIDS (Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs)
- Narcotic Analgesics
- Sleep Aids
- Antidepressants
- Tranquilizers
- Benzodiazepines
- Anticonvulsant Drugs
- Beta-Blockers
- Stimulants
- Statin Drugs
The last part of the chapter is about Treating with Natural Medicine.
- Natural medicine uses naturally occurring foods, vitamines, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, and herbal supplements to augment the nutritional status, and therefore the health of the body.
- Herbs have always been integral to the practice of medicine.
- In general, herbal medicines work in much the same way as do conventional pharmaceutical drugs, via their chemical makeup. Herbs contain a large number of naturally occurring chemicals and those chemicals have biological activity.
- Herbal medicines should be prescribed by a professional who is familiar with the actions and interactions of herbals and prescription medications.
I really liked this statement from Dr. Murphree: “Prescription medications can, in some cases, be helpful, but they can never take the place of our own self-regulating, God-given healing mechanisms”.
More and more doctors are turning to nutritional medicine. The tide is turning and conventional medicine is beginning to lose some of its luster.
The next chapter is: Chapter 7: Treating with Orthomolecular Medicine
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