Home » Health & Wellness » Fibromyalgia » Critical Thinking; Research

Critical Thinking; Research

© Cynthia Webber (Jausten)

I seriously doubt if any of us who are living with fibromyalgia really enjoy having a chronic condition. While it is true that some people like to whine and complain about their aches and pains, it seems to me that most of us with fibromyalgia eventually learn to accept our chronic condition.

What does continue to amaze me is the number of people who will spend enormous amounts of money, time, and energy searching for the magic cure. With the media beginning to take an interest in fibromyalgia, it isn't surprising that people will flock to try the latest treatment that is being presented as a cure. However, it boggles my mind that people are willing to spend thousands of dollars for treatments that haven't been tested in a double blind experiment. Testimonials mean little if nothing, and since I have a background in scientific research, I look for scientific facts before I consider trying a new treatment.

I did see a naturopath several months ago, and the change in my diet did help me at first, but being given suppliments to try at a great cost to myself, and with no scientific background as to why they would help left me feeling that this approach was a hit or miss approach to fibromyalgia. Instead of wasting my money, I'd rather have given it to a naturopath to do actual scientific research, but it seems that those who approach fibromyalgia from a totally alternative method still haven't done sound research.

From multi-level marketing of vitamins and suppliments, magnets, and now surgery, there is little if any scientific research on these treatments. With all the money that people involved in multi-level marketing seem to make, it makes sense to me to actually do double blind experiments to show that these products really do make a difference for those of us with fibromyalgia. Magnets are another concern, and I've yet to see a scientific experiment for their effectiveness. I've read testimonials, but again, they mean little without a firm background in research.

The recent surgery of a decompression operation on either the base of the brain or the neck spine is being used for people with Chiari I Malformation and Cervical Spinal Stenosis. Dr. Robert Bennett has stated on his website, "It is not for fibromyalgia by itself. If you happen to have fibromyalgia and one of these other two diagnoses you may be a candidate for surgery. It costs about $30,000. You should only consider this surgery if a specially trained physician can demonstrate that you have abnormal neurological findings on physical examination and that these findings can be correlated with certain abnormalities on MRI of the base of the skull and/or neck."

The copyright of the article Critical Thinking; Research in Fibromyalgia is owned by Cynthia Webber (Jausten). Permission to republish Critical Thinking; Research in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.