What is Fibromyalgia?
As a chronic condition within the body, fibromyalgia causes the sufferer great pain, tenderness, and stiffness within the tendons, joints, and muscles. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know how the condition develops but, despite what people might say, it is a real condition and it isn’t just ‘in the mind’. For sufferers, they often feel depressed and this only worsens the symptoms due to increased stressed levels; however, this isn’t the main problem behind the condition.
Typically, sufferers don’t just have fibromyalgia alone because it normally comes with other conditions whether this is thyroid problems, arthritis, or even Lyme disease. Sometimes, injuries can progress the condition and bring it to the fore.
Types of Fibromyalgia – In total, there are two different types of fibromyalgia so it’s important to distinguish between the two.
- Primary Fibromyalgia – Firstly, this is the most well-known and accepted form of the condition and it’s diagnosed when it’s the main concern (i.e. no other rheumatologic diseases exist). After visiting the doctor, they need to confirm 11 of 18 tender points before giving the diagnosis. Under this bracket, we also have concomitant fibromyalgia which occurs with conditions that aren’t necessarily related such as scoliosis or osteoarthritis.
- Secondary Fibromyalgia – With this second type of fibromyalgia, we have a condition brought on by something else and this could be cancer, arthritis, lupus, HIV, or hypothyroidism. As opposed to spreading around the body, doctors believe this ‘post-traumatic fibromyalgia’ is normally restricted to just one area. As a regional form of the condition, patients don’t often reach the eleven tender points for diagnosis.
Symptoms of Fibromyalgia – Since doctors look for the tender points in the body, this suggests the main symptom is pain and it would be right. As opposed to tissue inflammation, the pain actually stems from a sensitivity to sensory stimuli (while also offering a much lower pain threshold than most). For most, minor sensory stimuli aren’t even worth noting but they become sites of pain and discomfort for those with fibromyalgia; this pain could come from emotional stress, noise, weather change, or perhaps even something else.
Generally speaking, the pain experienced is found all over the body including the upper back, shoulders, neck, buttocks, chest, and arms. For the aforementioned ‘tender points’, these are sensitive areas of the body that can lead to pain elsewhere when pressured; muscle spasms can also occur. For doctors, they tend to use the back of the head, sides of the breast bone, knees, shoulders, hips, and elbows.
Nine in ten sufferers have fatigue; this is normally caused by a disrupted sleeping pattern. As you may know, there are different levels to our sleep and we need to go through the cycles efficiently in order to feel relaxed and refreshed in the morning. For this reason, high-quality sleep is often more valuable than volume. For sufferers of fibromyalgia, they can’t access the non-REM (rapid-eye movement) part of the sleeping cycle which leaves them feeling tired in the morning. Despite sleeping for several hours, they can wake up with aching muscles as if they’d been running constantly all night.
Although less common, emotional/mental disturbances are found within around half of all fibromyalgia patients. Whether this is depression, changes in mood, forgetfulness, anxiety, lack of concentration, or irritability, it can gravely affect one’s career and personal life. Even today, there are no lab tests that can confirm fibromyalgia which means the condition is normally misdiagnosed as depression and treated as such.
Elsewhere, symptoms can include numb/tingling sensations around the body, migraines/headaches, an irritable bladder, and irritable bowel syndrome (leading to abdominal pain). Whenever abdominal pain occurs, inflammation is extremely difficult to detect in the bowel and this makes diagnosis incredibly tough.
With so many symptoms for fibromyalgia, you can see that each case is unique; sufferers can experience a combination of these symptoms over time.
Can N.A.E.T Help with Fibromyalgia?
Nambudripad’s Allergy Technique, N.A.E.T, was developed over twenty years ago by Dr Devi Nambudripad. With experience spanning numerous fields including an M.D. degree, a PhD in acupuncture, and hands-on work with within chiropractic, she now runs a chiropractic facility in California. After visiting many times over the years, we’ve seen just how busy the facility can get with hundreds of people visiting on a daily basis.
How does this link with fibromyalgia? Well, there’s a certain connection between the health condition and various allergies and sensitivities. Whether the allergies are food-related or environment-led, we believe that the symptoms of fibromyalgia can reduce after dealing with said allergies.
For many years, I, Dr David Popkin, have been helping parents and their children to overcome the symptoms of fibromyalgia by dealing with the problems causing them such as allergies and sensitivities. If you want to learn more about this technique and how it works, keep reading and then feel free to get in contact with any questions you may have!
History of N.A.E.T – Around thirty years ago, Dr Nambudripad started to develop this technique and it has now been used in practice for more than two decades. Since launching the idea, the doctor has trained over 4,500 specialists (including ourselves). However, the reason you may not have heard of this technique is because we’re all small independent facilities with no real marketing budget to speak of. Compared to the pharmaceutical industry, our resources are limited and so we can’t quite get the message out as quickly as we would all like. In recent years, N.A.E.T has started to receive some attention in the form of allergy reference materials and research journals which is a positive start.
N.A.E.T Theory – Essentially, the theory of N.A.E.T revolves around electromagnetic energy (EME) and that the body is full of electrical currents known as energy channels or meridians. If you were to experience an allergic reaction, a blockage would also occur in the meridians and the different meridians cause varying symptoms.
With N.A.E.T, the aim is to stimulate different alarm points around the spine to alter the electromagnetic energy within the body. While holding an allergen vial, the patient should see their allergic response reduce. To interrupt the antigen-antibody reaction and neutralize the immune mediators, a physiologic change combines with a chemical known as enzymatic. Ultimately, the energy blockage is cleared and the brain is notified of the desensitized allergen.
Typical N.A.E.T Help – Once the consultation phase is over and you’re happy to go ahead with the help plan, it’ll start with preparation and this requires you to wash your hands while also removing all electrical and battery-operated devices. As you feel comfortable, your socks and shoes will also be removed before the doctor begins the muscle response testing (MRT) procedure. If you haven’t heard of this previously, it’s a simple procedure used to find the substances to which you have sensitivities or allergies. Although completely painless, a surrogate will be used for any young children or babies and this responsibility normally falls to a parent.
After the procedure is over, the doctor will record their findings before then setting up for the first session. To start, you’ll be asked to hold a small vial containing the allergen while the doctor stimulates important acupressure points using a simple instrument. Before this phase begins, you will have had a conversation regarding acupressure, laser acupuncture, needle acupuncture, and electro-acupuncture as to which you prefer.
Next, there’s a twenty-minute relaxation period and this is important to the whole process because it allows the body some time to desensitize to the allergen. For children, we recommend strapping the vial to their body since this keeps it easier for all; hypoallergenic tape makes this task simple. Once the twenty minutes are up, the doctor will perform another MRT procedure and you can wash your hands for the second time (but without water now). Before you’re free to go, the doctor will hand over some written instructions explaining how to proceed over the next few days.
Avoiding the Allergen – In normal cases, we recommend avoiding the substance or allergen for at least 25 hours because your body will be hypersensitive against the allergen in question for the first period of recovery. If your case requires and the doctor thinks it necessary, this time could be extended but it depends on your circumstances.
Side Effects to N.A.E.T – With no needles, shots, or medication, there are also no side effects and this has been the case ever since its first development. With this in mind, the technique can be used for everybody including pregnant women, children, adults, the elderly, infants, and even newborns.
While on this note, we should say that adverse reactions can be experienced if you don’t follow the instructions given by the doctor. Currently, N.A.E.T has a fantastic success rate and this has been created by solid communication between doctor and patient from the consultation to the last meeting. If you commit to your help plan and understand why the instructions need to be followed, you won’t have a reaction during the recovery phase. Not only will you be free from the allergy, you can also expect an improved immune system, health, symptoms of allergies, and overall well-being.
Following the Allergen Secret – Rather than dealing with allergens randomly, there is a set list and it begins with food items. Of course, our bodies need food to survive so clearing your food allergies before anything else allows you to bolster your diet and receive all the essential nutrients. While chemicals and environmental allergens are easier to avoid, we need food every day so these need to be dealt with immediately using the following order;
- Egg mix, calcium, vitamin C, B-complex, sugar, vitamin A, iron, salt, chlorides, mineral mix, corn, yeast, and wheat.
Over the years, this order has been optimized so that each food group leads positively onto the next. By clearing the first allergen, there’s potential for it automatically clearing the next without requiring sessions so it’s the quickest and most efficient method of dealing with food allergies.
Number of Sessions – Following all the information we’ve provided so far, we can almost guess the next question; ‘how many sessions will I need?’. Unfortunately, you’re looking for an answer we can’t provide because we’re all unique and we all have different needs, genetic makeup, personalities, body types, and histories. When dealing with allergens, all these things come into play.
This being said, we can provide you with one main consideration. With patients, we normally deal with one allergen per session. Rather than putting too much stress on the body and dealing with multiple allergens at once, we stick to one per session. Not only does this allow for better results, it also means we aren’t forced into restricting your diet. If we were to deal with five different allergens all in one session, that’s five food groups you need to avoid for a minimum of 25 hours and your nutritional intake is essential. By dealing with one at a time, you can eat a nutritional diet while desensitizing against the allergen.
Allergy Shots – Before we show you a few testimonials from our customers, we have one more issue to address and it’s about allergy shots. Whenever people get in touch with our facility, we always look out for those who are also considering allergy shots because we like to keep people informed; we don’t recommend this solution at all.
At first, you might think we’re saying this just to edge you closer to N.A.E.T but this isn’t the case at all. Instead, there are several negatives to choosing allergy shots including the fact you need to have two injections each week with the average help plan lasting for six years. Every single week, you’ll have to visit the doctor’s office twice and have a small amount of the allergen injected into the skin. As you can imagine, this also causes pain and this is the second disadvantage. During the appointments and in between, you’ll feel pain and discomfort.
Meanwhile, N.A.E.T uses no needles, shots, or medication which means there are no side effects as we saw previously. With better results in the long run, you also don’t have to live with pain. Depending on your allergies, the length of the help plan will vary somewhat but you’ll know you’re working towards a proper resolution. For the majority of our patients, they find a resolution in under three months.
Getting the Process Started – If you have any questions, concerns, or just want more information, you can get the ball rolling by contacting your chiropractor in Plantation FL today. With a simple phone call, you’ll reach one of our experts and you can discuss the issue while we explain how to help!
Customer Testimonials
Jessie – ‘For around ten years, I struggled with fibromyalgia and it consumed my life. Over the years, I worked with several ‘specialists’ and tried old and new medication only to see little impact (other than the change in my bank balance!). Every week, I used to visit church but it was becoming a torrid experience because the kneeling hurt my knees while the incense bothered my breathing.
In truth, I’d almost resigned myself to the fact that I would have to live with the problem for the rest of my life. However, I then got into a conversation with a colleague about fibromyalgia and he suggested N.A.E.T with Dr Popkin. At first, I didn’t want to get my hopes up because the recommendations of others had failed me before. Having said that, I was willing to give it a try…and so I did.
Once the sessions had started, I couldn’t believe the impact it had in a short space of time. Initially, the changes were small but clearly noticeable for me since I’d been living with fibromyalgia for a decade. Then, I was helped for dried bean mix, nightshade veg, caffeine, and lactic acid and we saw the biggest improvement yet. All through the process, Dr Popkin was just as pleased with the results as myself and this made me so appreciative. These days, people say the words ‘changed my life’ so frequently it almost feels like an overstatement but there’s no other way to put it with Dr Popkin’.
Darren – ‘First and foremost, I would like to start by saying a huge ‘thank you’ to not only Dr Popkin but the entire brilliant team at Quantum Wellness Center. Over the last twenty years (I’m now in my fifties), I’ve been suffering with fibromyalgia; this led me to various medications, herbal remedies, detoxification processes, massages, and plenty of other solutions. As they failed one after one, I began to lose hope and assumed there was nothing I could do to help myself.
After attending a Nutrition Smart lecture, I learned all about N.A.E.T and met Dr Popkin. Despite the skepticism that seemed to raise in my mind immediately, there was also a sense of intrigue so I decided to approach Dr Dave privately. After assuring he could help, I set up the appointment and learned, to my surprise, that I was sensitive to numerous foods including sugar, calcium, nuts, yeast, and vitamin C. Therefore, we started to treat each one and my overall condition improved after every session. Eventually, we got to nightshade vegetables and I couldn’t believe the difference. The next day, I felt very little pain and today, not long after, I feel a sense of freedom in my life for the first time in almost forever.
So, again, thank you all for the fantastic facility you have and thank you Dr Popkin for offering your superb services to the area!’.
*Results may vary from person to person