The Fibro Follies

This post at a blog called “koo talks” bothers me, and I need to say something about it.

The author, attributed as Groshan Fabiola, writes:

Due to the fact that most medical treatments are unable to overcome fibromyalgia, the disorder is considered to be incurable. However, this belief is far from the truth. Although fibromyalgia is a serious disorder with a pronounced chronic character, there are actually effective means of treating it. Acupuncture has proved to be a very reliable form of therapy for fibromyalgia, providing symptomatic relief and preventing the recurrence of the disorder.

Then Fabiola goes on to discuss the particulars on acupuncture.

First point of contention: “incurable” and “effective means of treat[ment]” are not - repeat, NOT - opposites! These are two completely different concepts. I don’t know if this is a linguistic difference that results from a translation into English, or a confusion as to what the two concepts really mean. But here’s the fact: incurable means incapable of curing - of removing from the physical body completely. Treatment, on the other hand, means managing symptoms. The illness or syndrome of fibro doesn’t go away - it isn’t cured! - but it is managed.

The other difference? Cure isn’t here - yet! (though I believe wholeheartedly it will be one day) But there are many effective means of treating the symptoms.

The first step, I’d advocate, is to get to know those symptoms really, really well. And this is the hard part because - how do you do that, without treating them at the same time? And if you treat them, how do you “learn” the symptoms? They’d be masked by the treatment. If you can bear a week unmedicated, that will be best as far as figuring out where, when, and how much your symptoms flair up.

Another option is to treat one symptom at a time. Only when you have achieved a moderate level of wellbeing should you move on to holistic remedies. Remember, too, that sometimes what works for one symptom might be contraindicated for another. Do your research! Make sure you look up each and every potential treatment and its possible side effects and contraindications. Even herbal supplements can interfere with some medications.

As for acupuncture - well, I’ll share my thoughts on that in a separate post.

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