Fibromyalgia Support Group
You're not alone in your pain. Fibromyalgia is a condition that can be difficult to diagnose and manage. If you're trying to cope with pain throughout your body, sleep problems, general fatigue, or other common fibromyalgia symptoms, you're in the right place. The community is here for you to talk about therapies and share your challenges.
Most of us have poor levels of vitamin D and/or B12. The low levels are most likely because we have IBS which causes malabsorption. so, we probably also have low levels of other vitamins and or minerals. We should be trying to find out if we have other deficiencies. No? Who knows how much better we might feel if we correct any we might have.
Are there tests for other deficiencies? Has anyone been found to have other deficiencies?
Are there tests for other deficiencies? Has anyone been found to have other deficiencies?
I am always going on and off High Dose Vitamin D Therapy, and in need of B vitamin shots...the only other thing my Dr checks for is Anemia-that's an iron deficiency, right?
I'm pretty sure I'm OK on Vitamin C and Potassium, but I often wonder about calcium, Vitamin E, and A...don't think I hold many foods with those vitamins in them down.
I actually have to take a med to slow my intestinal tract down so food takes longer to travel through my whole GI system, so hopefully I retain more nutrients.
Vitamin supplements like Centrum make me nautious...I can take Flinstone's vitamins, but I don't know if they help
A, B, C, iron, D, magnesium, selenium, glutathione, and a whole bunch of others..
http://www.anylabtestnow.com/test-finder/?test=spectracell
But BENTYL is great for my IBS, no more diarrhea!! no more being stuck at home in the bathroom for 3 hours every morning, and no more avoiding lunches with friends due to the automatic IBS diarrhea that happens as soon as I eat. That was NO FUN at all!! I used to skip breakfast and lunch during days I worked to avoid the IBS. So I only ate after work and dinner. i was literally starving myself even though it never showed because I'm overweight. My body was in starvation mode!! Now that I eat regularly, I'm finally losing weight,, weird... but good!
Also for chronic Diarrhea, there is a med called Cholestramine..it is a powder (originally a cholesterol med) you mix with juice, water, apple sauce, and while an acquired taste, it will provide much relief. You have to drink lots of water with this med though or you could end up with the opposite problem of constipation.
White Dolphin, I am very interested in this vitamin test-I am going to see if my Primary will run it as I can not afford it...thanks for that info :)
my allergies were things I ate nearly daily: Turkey, trout, pineapple, pear, raspberry, citrus fruit, squash, green beans, green peppers, lettuce, tomato, soy, whole wheat, pecans, almonds. I think that's it.. I really would like a more extensive test because there so many foods out there, what else am I eating that I may be allergic to? if I'm allergic to green peppers am I allergic to red, yellow and orage peppers? ?? II'm allergic to green beans, am I allergic to wax beans? asparagus? How come I feel like crap when I eat corn or potatoes but I'm not allergic to those? How come I can't drink milk, but allergy test says not allergic? lactos free milk seems to be ok with me. What about eggplant? pumpkin? lima beans, asparagus? those weren't even on the test..as several foods aren't..how will I know if I'm allergic? Lettuce, tomato, whole wehat and soy allergies are the worst allergies to have because they are in EVERYTHING!
I am a HUGE fan of management through diet and exercise, but for those with malabsorption from GI issues, consider also finding supplements that are liquid if possible or can be dissolved in water---- a good friend with celiac always points out (rightly) that if you can't absorb from foods, you probalby won't get all the good from pills, either. (He's had that issue a lot). So throwing that thought out there.
Interestingly, I am a vegetarian---no B12 issues. My carnivore hubby? Yep. Has to take daily supplements. He has no GI issues iether. Or FM. Go figure.
Here are excerpts from Wikipedia.
Glutathione has multiple functions:
It is the major endogenous antioxidant produced by the cells, participating directly in the neutralization of free radicals and reactive oxygen compounds, as well as maintaining exogenous antioxidants such as vitamins C and E in their reduced (active) forms.[16]
Regulation of the nitric oxide cycle, which is critical for life but can be problematic if unregulated[17]
It is used in metabolic and biochemical reactions such as DNA synthesis and repair, protein synthesis, prostaglandin synthesis, amino acid transport, and enzyme activation. Thus, every system in the body can be affected by the state of the glutathione system, especially the immune system, the nervous system, the gastrointestinal system and the lungs.[18]
It has a vital function in iron metabolism. Yeast cells depleted of or containing toxic levels of GSH show an intense iron starvation-like response and impairment of the activity of extra-mitochondrial ISC enzymes, followed by death.[19]
Raising GSH levels through direct supplementation of glutathione is difficult. Research suggests that glutathione taken orally is not well absorbed across the gastrointestinal tract. In a study of acute oral administration of a very large dose (3 grams) of oral glutathione, Witschi and coworkers found "it is not possible to increase circulating glutathione to a clinically beneficial extent by the oral administration of a single dose of 3 g of glutathione."[26][27] However, it is possible to increase and maintain appropriate glutathione levels by increasing the daily consumption of cysteine-rich foods and/or supplements.[28]
Glutathione deficiency states include, but are not limited to, HIV/AIDS, chemical and infectious hepatitis, myalgic encephalomyelitis chronic fatigue syndrome ME / CFS,[45][46][47] prostate and other cancers, cataracts, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, radiation poisoning, malnutritive states, arduous physical stress, and aging, and has been associated with suboptimal immune response. Many clinical pathologies are associated with oxidative stress and are elaborated upon in numerous medical references.[18][48][49]