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Fibromyalgia in the News
Treat fibromyalgia with mind and spirit solutions
Doctor diverges from mainstream thinking with med-free approach
Times Colonist
Monday, May 14, 2007
Fibromyalgia -- the chronic condition of widespread musculo-skeletal pain and fatigue -- benefits more from mind, body and spirit approaches than from prescription medicine, Dr. Teresa Clarke says.
The approach of the Vancouver medical doctor diverges from mainstream medical thinking because she avoids writing prescriptions.
She says fibromyalgia suffers can get worse with many prescription medications "because they are so sensitive to side-effects.'
Doctors also feel frustrated because the symptoms of fibromyalgia don't show up on scans or blood tests, yet patients keep seeking solutions "within the health-care system that isn't able to offer them the solution."
She says the solution lies in patients looking after themselves to allow the healing process to take place.
She'll be teaching a $65 workshop called Fibromyalgia: Learn to Recover and Thrive -- on May 25 at the University of Victoria as part of the Body Heals Conference, which has already registered about 280 registrants interested in complementary medicine.
Clarke says that fibromyalgia is connected to the mindset of women -- the primary sufferers. Often they work in caring professions and extend their care-giving mentality to everyone in their lives except themselves.
"When something happens like a car accident or surgery that tips them over and they haven't learned how to give themselves time to look after themselves . . . they will fail to heal and recover and thrive."
The result can be chronic pain and fatigue. Their illness impedes their ability to help others.
Instead of taking care of themselves, "They feel guilty; they blame themselves that they are not able to accomplish what they used to accomplish when they were strong and well."
She teaches women to look after their bodies with exercise, nutrition, breathing, appropriate rest and possibly vitamins.
She helps them let go of lifelong self-sacrifice and embrace changes in thoughts, beliefs and attitudes to support recovery.
For spiritual healing, she speaks of finding ways to connect with one's purpose in life, passions and creative activities.
Medical science has not pinpointed the cause of fibromyalgia, but Clarke believes it's the result of a neuro-endocrine imbalance that weakens the system, impeding the brain and the nervous system.
But when patients begin looking after themselves and "helping their brain and the rest of their body to heal, they do better," she says.
Times Colonist (Victoria), Printed May 14, 2007