Fibromyalgia
15 Years of Clinical Work Reveals that Fibromyalgia is Linked to Infectious Causes
Patients all too often are prescribed harmful painkillers, psychiatric drugs, anti-anxiety, steroids, and biologic drugs like Humira and Enbrel in hopes of stopping chronic inflammation, pain, and mood shifts. Inflammatory blockers and painkillers have become the quick fix for many chronic and complex diseases like Fibromyalgia, MS, ALS, Parkinson’s, Chronic Fatigue, and Chronic Lyme Disease Complex. In 2013, an estimated 30 million Americans were put on antidepressants in the U.S. alone and doctors wrote more than 250 million prescriptions for painkillers. Currently we have over a 650-billion-dollar industry aimed at stopping inflammatory processes associated with inflammation. The key question that has eluded many doctors for years is what are the cause(s) behind so many of these chronic diseases that express inflammation, chronic pain, and brain chemistry imbalances?
For the last 15 years our clinical team at Envita has found that infectious diseases are often at the “root cause” of the many diseases patients are dealing with. Infectious diseases release substances called endotoxins and neurotoxins, these toxins wreak havoc on the body and cause a multitude of problems, from disrupting and destroying nerve and muscle fibers, to creating brain chemistry imbalances, and even causing hormonal disruption. Chronic infectious diseases, whether they are bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic infections, are now the overwhelming link to these neurological, rheumatological, autoimmune, and chronic disease states.
Over a decade ago when we began researching the causes of these chronic diseases we were surprised to find that often times tick-borne infections such as Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete responsible for Lyme disease, and its many co-infections were present in the patient’s body. Our findings led us to publish about this infection in the Open Journal of Medical Microbiology in 2014 titled, “Borrelia burgdorferi: Cell Biology and Clinical Manifestations in Latent Chronic Lyme.” We discovered that Borrelia was one of the most complex and advanced bacteria in the world. Borrelia has the ability to shift its antigens and has multiple genetic variations which make it hard for the immune system to locate and attack the bacteria. Resistant to antibiotics and many other treatments, Borrelia causes massive inflammation to the joints, muscles, and brain cells to induce multiple neurological and psychiatric problems. The source of Borrelia’s destructive power is linked to its production of endotoxins and neurotoxins which destroy muscle and nerve fibers throughout the body.
Borrelia bacteria releasing endotoxins
Endotoxins and neurotoxins disrupt the body’s immune system which includes the macrophage, cytokines, IL-2, and IL-6, simulating antigen mimicking infections. This disruption causes the immune system to become hyperactive and attack healthy tissue with massive inflammation, pain, fatigue, and much more. In addition, the Endotoxin molecules block hormone and nerve receptors causing “competition for those sites” these block receptors leave patients expressing a long list of symptoms confusing even the best of doctors.
These infections and endotoxins are super bugs meaning they are very resistant and hard to treat with most common treatment options
We would assume that these are infections can be simply killed with antibiotics, medications, and supplement support. However, these infections and endotoxins are super bugs meaning they are very resistant and hard to treat with most common treatment options. Here is what (in our 15 years of clinical experience) we have found necessary to help patients improve from these symptoms, and improve greatly.
- It is common for chronic infections to have MDR (multi-drug resistance), these resistances render standard treatments ineffective. These infections often have special pumps called P-gp (p-glycoprotein), that basically pump out medication and supplements as a survival method for the infectious agent while all the time shifting their genetics to survive and elude treatments. In response to these survival mechanisms, our group had to develop specialized treatments to circumvent their capabilities. Multi-drug resistance has become a very serious problem. Groups like WHO (world health organization) and the CDC (Centers for Disease and Control) have spoken and published on this problem extensively.
- When neurological symptoms are present, often times infections are located in the central nervous system and brain causing inflammation and all kinds of neurological problems such as tremors, seizures, brain fog, chronic headaches, and pain. Therefore, medications have to be delivered and passed through the Blood-Brain Barrier safely to treat these infections where they hide. Our team has developed treatments to effectively and safely develop target the brain and brain chemistry.
- These infections tend to collect and protect themselves in Biofilm Communities, biofilm works to prohibit the immune system and medications like antibiotics from reaching their target. Biofilm is protective sludge that surrounds the infections and allows the infectious organisms to release chemicals and endotoxins to destroy nerve and muscle tissue and overtime shut down the nervous system. Fortunately, Envita has developed powerful tools to strip biofilm which allows treatment to effectively penetrate the infections that were hiding in it.
- Flushing endotoxins that are released form infections is also a difficult task because it involves liver metabolism. Many patients with methylation issues, also known as, Inborn Errors of Metabolism have a hard time eliminating this waste. This impacts the cytochrome pathways and we have to combine genetic tests with personalized treatments that work to flush out endotoxins effectively.
- Patients on pain medication and other narcotics have complicated their ability to heal because many of the drugs (pain killers, psychiatric, anti-anxiety) are suppressive in nature and compete with the body’s normal physiology and immune function for healing. Properly adjusting treatments and medications can help patients safely respond to therapy.
- Finally reestablishing the immune system is important as patients with these infections have depressed immune states and become opportunistic to so many other infections. We started testing and targeting natural killer cells, cytokines, and other essential parts of the immune system so patient could rebuild their own immune defense to maintain long term health.
It becomes clear that temporarily halting the damage effects brought on by chronic inflammation with multiple medications does little to stop the destruction of the body and the patient’s overall health. But the question that has eluded many clinicians for years is what is really causing the Inflammation behind these diseases. We have proven in our clinical experience and outcomes with our patients that with a proper diagnosis and highly personalized treatment plan there is a much better way forward. If you have any questions about your condition or anything in this article, contact us. We are here to help and have developed many specialized treatments and educational tools to help patients improve their health.
