John Myers
Not only can vitamin D relieve the pain of fibromyalgia, but it can also reduce morning fatigue that is often present. Fibromyalgia is considered incurable. Sufferers are often treated with a cocktail of powerful medications, including antidepressants and pain relievers. However, holistic measures and alternative methods can lead to great progress in fibromyalgia. In any case, vitamin D is one of many components in holistic therapy for fibromyalgia.
Fibromyalgia: non-specific symptoms
Those affected have often had a long period of suffering before they are diagnosed with fibromyalgia. The reason for this is the rather unspecific symptoms that can easily be confused with other diseases.
These can include chronic pain, fatigue, and memory problems, but also depression, and anxiety. Fibromyalgia is often confused with arthritis by doctors.
However, these two conditions differ in that arthritis sufferers tend to complain of painful joints, while fibromyalgia tends to be associated with muscle pain.
Conventional medicine often treats fibromyalgia patients with a combination of several different medications, such as antidepressants and painkillers.
Not only can these drugs have severe side effects, but they are also only intended to relieve symptoms.
Holistic methods, on the other hand, aim to heal the event or at least eliminate possible causes as comprehensively as possible.
Unhealthy stress
For example, stress as a result of constant mental strain can worsen the symptoms of fibromyalgia. Therefore, relaxation techniques or talk therapy, or cognitive behavioral therapy help some patients.
Many fibromyalgia patients also have low vitamin D levels, which apparently can have serious effects on the disease.
Fibromyalgia and vitamin D deficiency
In a study of more than 120 adults, Egyptian researchers found that arthritis patients who also had fibromyalgia had significantly lower vitamin D levels than participants who “only” had arthritis or those who were healthy.
The vitamin D level in the blood of arthritis/fibromyalgia patients was sometimes below 10 ng/ml. Values of around 30 ng/ml are desirable from a conventional medical point of view, and values of around 50 ng/ml from a holistic or orthomolecular medical point of view.
The patients were clearly suffering from vitamin D deficiency.
This led Dr. Florian Wepner and his colleagues from the Orthopedic Hospital Speising in Vienna to believe that vitamin D supplementation could alleviate the symptoms of fibromyalgia patients.
Vitamin D reduces muscle pain associated with fibromyalgia
The Viennese researchers organized a random study with thirty fibromyalgia patients, all of whom had low levels of calcifediol in their blood, i.e. suffered from a vitamin D deficiency.
The calcifediol value is the most reliable value for determining the vitamin D content in the blood, with calcifediol being a precursor of vitamin D, which is then further processed in the body to form active vitamin D (calcitriol).
In this study, one group of participants received a placebo and the other group received a vitamin D supplement.
The goal was to get the women to a vitamin D level of between 32 and 48 ng/ml within twenty weeks.
During the study, the researchers repeatedly took blood from the participants and adjusted the vitamin D dose if necessary.
Patients who received the supplement reported significant improvements in pain and morning tiredness.
In the present study, vitamin D supplementation had no effect on purely psychological symptoms such as anxiety and depression.
The greater the vitamin D deficiency, the worse the pain
Similar results could be observed in a 2013 Turkish study by the Ankara Training and Research Hospital.
There it was shown that fibromyalgia patients had more intense pain the more pronounced their vitamin D deficiency was.
In the case of fibromyalgia, the vitamin D level should therefore always be examined.
If the blood analysis indicates a deficiency or a borderline level, measures should always be taken to raise the vitamin D level back to a healthy level.
