Lost in the World of Drugs

I recently received some statistics from a study by Mayo clinic reporting that 70% of Americans are on at least one prescription medication.  They went on to say that 50% are on at least 2 drugs and further more, 20% are on five or more medications.  This should be a shocking statistic but unfortunately it is not all that surprising to me.  It is a rare new patient that I do a consultation with that is not on at least one drug and many find it easier to just hand me a sheet of paper with all their medications on it.

These numbers speak to my heart and remind me of a patient that I had a few years back.  This patient's chief complaint was chronic pain and fatigue.  She was only 27 years old but she had spent most of those years struggling with pain and the depression that often goes along with chronic disease.  During our initial consultation, she handed me a sheet of paper, hand-written with the names of about twenty medications on it.  She reported that these were the drugs that she had been prescribed. 

To many times the response to chronic pain is to attempt to cover up the symptoms with drugs.  When that doesn't work more drugs are given or you are told that it is all in your head.  There is a cause to the pain that you are feeling.  The answer lies within your individual biochemistry and physiology.  Don't give up, keep seeking the answers.  Find a holistic, functional medicine doctor willing to search for the true cause, so that you can restore your health, naturally.

The Inflammatory Side of Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is very complex in presentation and in causes, but one study demonstrates that there is a link between fibromyalgia and the inflammatory process.

Lucas et al. found that hormones and other biological markers associated with inflammation were found to be present where they normally were not, or higher than normal in the cerebro-spinal fluid, blood and skin of fibromyalgia sufferers.  They do not say that fibromyalgia is an inflammatory disorder, but that inflammation plays a critical role in its onset and progression.

So what does that mean to patients with fibromyalgia?  It means that keeping your body's pro- and anti-inflammatory processes balanced, may help limit flare-ups and prevent some of the fibromyalgia related inflammatory disorders, such as migraines, cystitis and irritable bowel syndrome.   

A huge part of this is proper nutrition, supplementation and exercise.  If you suffer with fibromyalgia and have not found someone to help guide you through this process, find a functional medicine provider that can find out what your specific needs are and start the journey to restoring your health.

Thiamine and Fibromyalgia

A quick search of fibromyalgia support websites reveals that for the great majority of sufferers there is no quick and easy fix.  There has been a plethora of treatments both medical and natural, some offering help and other a waste of time and money.  In reality, as with most chronic conditions, there are many causes for the symptoms collectively known as fibromyalgia and therefor many ways to correct those underlying causes.

For example, in an article put out by the British Medical Journal in May 2013, three women suffering with fibromyalgia symptoms were all found to be deficient in the B-Vitamin, Thiamine.  When they supplemented with doses of Thiamine ranging from 600-1800 mg per day they were all found to have a reduction in fatigue and pain levels.  You can see the percent of reduction for each patient below:

• Patient 1:  71.3% reduction in fatigue; 80% reduction in pain.
  
• Patient 2:  37% reduction in fatigue; 50% reduction in pain.
  
• Patient 3:  60.7% reduction in fatigue; 60% reduction in pain

 Now this was a very small sample size and more studies are definitely needed to support these results, but the results are very promising. 

*Note that it is not recommended to take high doses of Thiamine or any vitamin without knowing what your levels are.  Side effects like insomnia and rapid heart rate can be associated with high thiamine doses.  Thiamine need is one of the many vitamins that we can test for to determine your specific need.  If you are one of the millions of Americans that suffers from fibromyalgia, contact us to start on the road to Restore your Health.

Are Your Hormones Causing Your Hair Loss?

Thinning hair and hair loss can be a major concern for men and women alike.  It can affect confidence and self-image.  One very common but often ignored cause can be the balance of your body's hormones.

When your hormones are in their optimal balance and you have proper nutrition healthy hair growth is promoted.  Women tend to be more susceptible to hormonal imbalances than men due to the many different stages that their bodies go through such as the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and menopause.

As you can see from the picture, the pituitary gland controls all of the other hormone producing parts of your body, including the thyroid, the adrenal glands, and sex hormone producers.  This is important to know because each of these areas can influence the quality of your hair.

Both over-active and under-active thyroid can lead to hair loss.  Hyperthyroidism is often also associated with weight loss, increased anxiety, sweating, sensitivity to heat, and difficulty sleeping.  Hypothyroidism symptoms include fatigue, sensitivity to cold, dry skin, depression, and puffiness around the face. 

It has long been known that stress can lead to hair loss.  If the adrenal glands are overworked, due to excessive stress, the increase in cortisol can lead to hair loss, but also increased facial hair in women.  The parathyroid hormones are associated with your ability to manage stress and can lead to thinning hair, muscle cramps and alterations in skin pigmentation.  

Testosterone is often associated with balding in men, so it stands to reason that if a woman's balance between estrogen/progesterone and testosterone is off it could lead to similar symptoms.  One common such cause for this imbalance is use of birth control pills.

For further investigation of what your cause might be do not hesitate to contact us.

What You Need to Know About Magnesium Deficiency

The more that magnesium is studied the more of its many roles that are discovered.  Low levels of magnesium have been associated with muscle weakness, chronic fatigue, muscle cramps, heart problems, elevated blood pressure, hypersensitivity of the nerves, mental disturbances, and depression. Why does magnesium effect so many different areas of your body?  Magnesium's role is to help your enzymes work correctly and in turn enzymes work in every cell of your body to make them function correctly.

The causes of low magnesium can be varied.  In our world of processed and modified foods many Americans are not getting the quality of food that they need.  The best foods for magnesium are green leafy vegetables, fish, meats, and fruits.  Magnesium is depleted by alcohol consumption and very high fat diets.  So, if you are concerned that you are low in magnesium, increase you fruits and vegetables and reduce your alcohol and fat, never a bad idea anyway.

Of course there are causes that are not as easily helped.  Inflammatory conditions of the small and large intestines such as irritable bowel syndrome or gluten sensitivity can lead to an inability to absorb magnesium.  Or on the other side certain conditions can cause the kidneys to excrete magnesium at a rate greater than is absorbed.  Similarly heart medications, stomach acid blockers, and antibiotics can all decrease magnesium levels.  If you suspect that this maybe the case, I can use Functional Medicine testing to determine what the real cause is.