I recall thinking, “FibromyWHATgia???”, I had never heard of such a thing! So you might imagine my surprise when the Rheumatologist told me I have ‘hallmark symptoms” of Fibromyalgia, after I had a borderline positive ANA Titer test done at my primary care physician’s office.  The Rheumatologist conducted more blood tests and based on those, concluded that I did NOT have an auto- immune disease but did have some inflammation going on based on my blood inflammatory markers. Fast forward almost 4 months later, I went back to my primary care physician because I had gotten even worse and based on the symptoms I was having (which were different and additional to just the Fibro symptoms) and the research I had done, I had them re-test my ANA Titer.  I’m sure glad I did because this time it came back 3 TIMES HIGHER!!! I think it’s important to note that I was under very stressful conditions with my husband prior to this diagnosis, at the time of all this testing and it was getting worse….

     My Doctor sent me to a different Rheumatologist this time, as a second opinion.  The new Rheumy (yes, that’s what we call our rheumatologists) did blood tests and the results of those came back as testing positive for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, (SLE)  which is a very serious and deadly auto-immune disease that affects women at about a ratio of 10:1 over men (I also have a theory on why women get struck down with these diseases so much more than men!)  I WAS FLOORED…to say the least! I think my life may have even briefly flashed before my eyes and I just remember thinking, “What does this mean for my future? The future of not just my physical body, but the future of my family, career, quality of life and, and, and… wow do these thoughts go on and on!  It is VERY SCARY being diagnosed with such a debilitating disease for which there is no cure. It rocks you to your very core. It changes everything. It was one nasty CURVEBALL!

Ok, now that you know a little bit about my diagnosis story, let’s get back to my theory…Here it is...I BELIEVE THAT FIBROMYALGIA,  CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME, THYROID, STOMACH AND GUT ISSUES, IBS,  etc… IS YOUR BODY BEING IN THE “PRE” AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASE (PRODROMAL) STATE, WHERE TRAUMA AND/OR TOXIC, OVERWHELMING AND/OR CHRONIC STRESS/ANGUISH, HAS BEGUN TO WREAK HAVOC IN THE BODY INCREASED INFLAMMATION BUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH ALONG TO DEVELOP INTO A FULL BLOWN AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASE AND THEREFORE DOES NOT SHOW  UP IN BLOOD MARKERS...yet. Simply put, I think Fibro and similar disorders are the beginning stages of an auto-immune disease percolating… a toxic inflammatory storm brewing within.  I believe that sometimes Fibromyalgia and the like, never progresses into a full blown auto-immune disease depending on variables of the stressor (specific type/ duration, etc.) and the specific individual (psychological make-up, coping ability, level of arousal and alexithymia during the trauma/abuse, genetic make-up, biological system vulnerabilities, their current environment, etc.)  I also believe that a major cause (of the vast majority) of Fibro, auto-immune diseases, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, gut and thyroid issues and the like, is NOT viruses, bacteria, toxins, vaccines, food additives, etc., but PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAUMA, and the chronic/toxic stress, torment and mental anguish (intense negative emotions) from adversity, abuse, abandonment, rejection, verbal, emotional, psychological, and neglect in childhood and/or as an adult, or anywhere in between.   The newer Sciences are starting to back this up,  especially when you look at these illnesses through the framework of Dr. Stephen Porges’ “Polyvagal Theory”, as well as, the exciting new abundance of findings in the fairly newer sciences of neuroscience, interpersonal neurobiology and developmental psychopathology that has not been entirely or easily accessible to the general public yet.  According to Dr. Bessel Van Der Kolk, at the forefront of this topic), in his book “The Body Keeps The Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma”- “Research from these new disciplines has revealed that trauma produces actual physiological changes, including a recalibration of the brain’s alarm system, an increase in stress hormone activity, and alterations in the system that filters relevant information from irrelevant.“  Dr. Van Der Kolk states that “being traumatized means continuing to organize your life as if the trauma were still going on-unchanged and immutable-as if every new encounter or event is contaminated by the past.  After trauma, the world is experienced with a different nervous system. Traumatized people have a tendency to superimpose their trauma on everything around them and have trouble deciphering whatever is going on around them.  Traumatized people look at the world in a fundamentally different way from other people. Trauma is not just an event that took place sometime in the past; it is also the imprint left by that experience on the brain, mind and body.  Trauma results in a fundamental reorganization of the way mind and brain manage perceptions. These attempts to maintain control over unbearable physiological reactions can result in a whole range of physical symptoms, including Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and other autoimmune diseases”,  Dr. Van Der Kolk, added.

I’m here to raise awareness and help educate because during my learning/healing journey, I immediately noticed a big disconnect between what science knows and what the general public knows, especially newer information and findings regarding how trauma, abuse and the like, are an immense cause of these terrible storms in our bodies. I remember vividly how I was once that person that was grasping for answers as to why I got sick, especially in the absence of the other risk factors or “possible causes.”  It is truly a terribly helpless feeling to be without these answers and up against such a formidable and invisible opponent that had taken over my body and turned my life upside down. My hope is that this information has enlightened you or maybe resonates with you the way it did for me. This knowledge has allowed me to make sense of my illness, it’s origin, risk factors and I think most importantly, this knowledge has given me the opportunity to play a very active role in my own healing journey. Instead of spending so much time in a medical doctor’s office, being a GUINEA PIG for heavy duty toxic drugs whose side effects rival the ailments they treat, and feeling that I had little to no control over the trajectory of my disease, I am now in control of my healing.  All this new information truly re-enforces what we’ve suspected all along- body and mind are intrinsically connected and that adversity, trauma, abuse and the like cause such a profound emotional reaction in it’s victims, it literally makes them sick.  The famed neurologist, Dr. Sigmund Freud and Dr. Josef Breuer, seemed to already “know” this way back in the late 18th Century, with their quote, “Psychical trauma-or more precisely-the memory of the trauma-acts like a foreign body long after its entry must continue to be regarded as an agent that is still at work.” Now if they knew it way back then, my question is how or why that message got lost somewhere along the way in our western medical system. Was it because BIG PHARMA began to control, dictate and reward systemically throughout the ‘medical industry’ and made sure that treatments mainly include medication, which funnels everything back to them??? Hmmm………

Please check out my article on “Taking A Look At These Illnesses From An Entirely Different Perspective,” to see how the big picture could change how we should perhaps be treating these illnesses entirely!  It’s time we start becoming our own health advocates so we can find the truths amidst the lies, propaganda, and greed that dominate the health and medical industry, otherwise we will never heal!!! Thank you for reading!