Frequently downplayed, commonly misunderstood and not always treatable, fibromyalgia is one of the medical world’s most intriguing riddles. It shows so many symptoms that it can really hide underneath a number of other conditions (arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, myofascial pain syndrome, lupus and so on) and it is so difficult to diagnose that insurance companies are reluctant over the credibility of the one blood test that has ever been developed for spotting this syndrome.
5 million. That is the number of people in the United States only who have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and who have to live through terrible pain and for whom daily activities can be a true hassle. For some, even getting out of the bed seems impossible. Others manage their condition as well as they can. But for all of them, this syndrome is more real than anything.
What We Know About It?
We know very little about fibromyalgia and it seems that with every year that passes by we know even less instead of advancing in our research. One very good example on how opinions related to fibromyalgia change over time is related to how it used to be diagnosed. When doctors analyzed the 18 tender points in the human body, they believed that fibromyalgia should be diagnosed only when at least 11 of these points are painful. However, these days this rule is not followed any longer, mainly because there are fibromyalgia patients with less painful tender points than that as well.
Symptoms of fibromyalgia can be extremely variable. Headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, irritable bladder, arthritis, joint pain, swelling, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, fibro fog (a series of cognitive problems such as short-term memory related issues) and many other symptoms can appear as well. All these symptoms can sometimes make doctors believe patients suffer from anything else other than fibromyalgia and they place wrong diagnoses, which means that patients don’t get the proper treatment.
Fibromyalgia is, indeed, not curable. However, it can be managed with the help of medication, alternative therapies and physical therapy too. Medication can be either of the kind that targets at particular symptoms or one of the three types of drugs that are FDA-approved for treating this syndrome. Lyrica, Cymbalta and Savella are these drugs and the first two were initially created to treat diabetes nerve pain, seizures, depression and anxiety. Although Savella was created for fibromyalgia from the very beginning, it too is an anti-depressant at its very core. This also means that it can come with adverse effects specific of anti-depressants too and the most dangerous one are suicidal thoughts.
What Causes Fibromyalgia?
While fibromyalgia can be diagnosed, this is not even by far the most enigmatic thing about it. The fact that we don’t know its causes is even more puzzling even for the world’s most important medical researchers.
There are some theories that have been elaborated over what may cause fibromyalgia. One of them is related to the idea that genetics may play a very important role in everything. A large number of people who are born in families with fibromyalgia develop it as well. Furthermore, it was found out that there are certain genes that may be responsible with perceiving pain more intensely than it is normal.
Furthermore, lack of sleep could also be an important factor in the development of this syndrome. There are people out there who believe that insomnia is a cause and not a symptom of fibromyalgia and that it can cause the body, again, to perceive pain more intensely than in the case of well-rested people.
Depression, as well as going through some stressful events, could also be important in the analysis of how fibromyalgia is developed. According to those going for this theory, depression causes a drop in the serotonin levels and stressful events (both at a physical level – such as an injury – and at an emotional level – such as going through the loss of someone you love) can trigger the onset of fibromyalgia.
What Do Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi Have to Do With Fibromyalgia?
Sodas are extremely unhealthy for your body. The acids in them can destroy the stomach, the additives can destroy your entire body and the sugars are very harmful too. However, when thinking of unhealthy sodas, most of the people believe that only those which contain sugar are bad for them.
This is completely wrong. According to more recent studies, diet sodas (diet Coke, diet Pepsi and so on) could actually be as dangerous as the normal sodas and, under certain circumstances, they could be even worse.
The main reason diet sodas should be avoided at all times is related to their main ingredient replacing sugar: aspartame (which may come under other names too, such as NutraSweet for example). When aspartame is used in soda, its processing temperature exceeds 85 degrees Fahrenheit and, at that point, it can transform into Formaldehyde and into formic acid as well. Formic acid is extremely dangerous for the human body and, just to get an idea on how harmful it can be, think of the fact that fire ants’ sting contains this poison.
When this poison gets in your body, methanol toxicity develops and it can cause certain symptoms to appear. Very frequently, people show symptoms similar to multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus and fibromyalgia and they are diagnosed with these conditions. However, they continue using aspartame and this causes them even more harm (to the point where their very lives could be endangered – such as in the case of those diagnosed with lupus and continuing to drink aspartame sodas).
While diet coke may not be able to explain the very cause of fibromyalgia or of other similar conditions, the truth is that it can indeed be very unhealthy for your entire body. If you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia symptoms, then you should make sure to remove sodas from your life as much as possible and to avoid anything containing aspartame at all costs. Have your 8 glasses of water daily and you will be much healthier and much happier about the way in which you feel!
Comments