Saturday, February 27, 2010

Wiley Protocol is helping Women with Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia syndrome affects an estimated 10 million people in the U.S. Around 75 to 90 percent of the people who have fibromyalgia are women, who are affected physically, mentally and socially. It is not a disease, but a syndrome - a collection of signs, symptoms, and medical issues that usually occur together, but are not related to one identifiable cause. Severe fibromyalgia can be debilitating as it interferes with basic activities of everyday life.

Often women in menopause confuse the many symptoms of hormone imbalance with those of conditions like fibromyalgia or even chronic fatigue. But the good news is that women with fibromyalgia who are taking the Wiley Protocol bioidentical hormone replacement therapy are finding relief.

Fibromyalgia is often seen in families, among siblings, or mothers and their children. Diagnosis is usually made between the ages of 20 to 50 years, but the incidence rises with age so that by age 80, approximately 8 percent of adults meet the American College of Rheumatology classification of fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic widespread pain, abnormal pain processing, multiple tender points, fatigue, psychological distress and sleep disturbances. Whereas hormone imbalance symptoms are primarily caused by the incorrect relationship between progesterone and estrogen levels in the body, and can have a dramatic effect on health, resulting in a number of the symptoms of hormone imbalance that are similar to those of fibromyalgia.

The primary symptom of fibromyalgia is chronic widespread body pain, and most people with fibromyalgia also experience sleep disturbances, moderate to extreme fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and sensitivity to touch, light, or sound. Many individuals also experience a number of other symptoms and overlapping conditions, such as lupus, arthritis and irritable bowel syndrome. Symptoms also include poor stamina and profound exhaustion. However it is important to note that fibromyalgia symptoms may vary widely from one person to the next.

T.S. Wiley says, “It’s actually diminishing hormones that are the cause of the classic lower back pain common in middle-age people. The backache of old age is really just a case of threadbare sciatic nerves. Scientists found that natural progesterone increased in the expression of the gene that remyelinates the nerves in the rats lower back. At the main nerve junctions of communication, like the heart and brain stem, wires start to fray when hormones levels fall off. Without estrogen to peak and cause ovulation, there’s no progesterone. Without progesterone to remyelinate nerves, peripheral nerve bundles that are farthest from the brain fray first. The biggest ones, farthest down, after the one in the base of your neck, is at your tail bone area in the lower back.”

Interestingly many of the women on bioidentical hormones have experienced relief from symptoms like insomnia, muscle aches and pains, chronic fatigue, depression, and many other typical fibromyalgia symptoms.

Once such example is from Linda, talking about her sister Kathryn, who takes the Wiley Protocol bioidentical hormones. She said, “She has recently run out and has been suffering the consequences of not having the hormones in her system. (Her fibromyalgia is acting up; she has osteopenia in all her joints – her pain levels are highly escalated when she’s not on the Wiley Protocol).”

Alternative therapies, such as massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, herbal supplements, myofasical release and even yoga, can also be effective tools in managing fibromyalgia symptoms and helping improve quality of life. But even more recently, the doctors of women taking bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, the Wiley Protcol, see relief among patients. Dr. Delmi Behr, a general surgeon in Pottstown, PA, explains how the Wiley Protocol is different from other hormone replacement therapies and how it helps even uncommon menopausal symptoms and fibromyalgia.

Sources: National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) and the American College of Rheumatology (ACR); Sex, Lies, and Menopause




Call my office in Wilmington (815) 476-5210 or Lombard (630) 627-3700 to set up an appointment or email me at jones.gretchen@gmail.com

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Thanks for joining my revolution to educate women about their hormones! Let's work together.