My husband found this article "Fibromyalgia is Linked to Childhood Stress and Unprocessed Negative Emotions" at http://drjeanetteraymond.com and passed it to me, because I had chronic stress from abuse as a child and have had a new upheaval with them that's brought back symptoms of PTSD. In this discussion I'm most curious about this snidbit from the article.
Chronic childhood stress deregulates Vera’s neuroendocrine system making her more prone to fibromyalgia
Long term stress that is continuous and chronic affects the neuroendocrine system making it less effective over time. Vera’s childhood trauma created a permanent sense of uncertainty and unpredictability that impaired her ability to develop and use healthy stress management strategies. So with each new stress her neuroendocrine system got weaker and began functioning in an abnormal way. She lived in a constant state of stress such that her levels of stress hormone such as cortisol were elevated years after the stress of living with her parents was removed. Despite the struggle of living with a man who was argumentative and unsupportive, it was nothing compared to her previous stressful experiences. The early chronic experience of stress appears to exert a much larger influence in contributing to the pain of fibromyalgia than any current stressful life event, as a 2006 study reported in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinolgy.
I took a number of psychology classes in college, and though I don't remember what the exact physiological effects of prolonged anxiety in children are, I've always wondered if it pre-deposed or actually played a roll in the cause of my developing FM. I'm not talking about that psychosomatic BS that they've dismissed us with over the years (my MIL still thinks if I'd just "forgive" my father I'd be cured. *roll eyes* forgiveness frees me, but doesn't take away the stress of dealing with him). But the actual biological effects of chronic anxiety/stress. This bit in the article is the first I've come across anything that gives any link to that idea.
I watched a documentary about FM (I don't have the link) and it said a certain part of our brains are shaped differently and that our brains also process pain differently. It made me wonder if the chronic stress in childhood could have even a partial cause in these abnormalities.
Does anyone know anything else about this? What are your thoughts?
If it's connected, it's probably just a partial causality. There are plenty of people with our backgrounds that don't have FM either or any other chronic diseases for that matter. My actual on set was after a car accident. I can see various symptoms as I grew up that were almost like shadows of what I have now. So, I wonder if I had a "stronger" pre-disposition to it or if the way I was physiological developing was bent this direction because of the environment I grew up in. I don't know. We're interconnected our emotions/stress affects us physically and bio to emotional/mental. I was curious if anyone else knew anything. Just not that psychosomatic stuff. =)
I went to therapy due to childhood abuse issues. My therapist very enthusiastically said over and over again that the prolonged stress of the abuse and dealing with its after affects is a major contributor to chronic illness such as FM. Sometimes we become so "immune" to stress in our lives, we don't believe it actually destroys our body a little at a time. Until of course we come face to face with a monster like FM :(
There were some pain management techniques my therapist taught me. They don't require more pills, and they do help to manage some of the pain. If you're able to, maybe a therapist who deals with some pain management or EMDR (google it. I've done this therapy...BIG help) may help you in some way.
My husband and I were looking into the EMDR. All the logistics of getting it pose problematic, hopefully things will work out sooner than later. Thanks rosie!
I'm new to this group, but might be able to add some information to this in particular. When you experience trauma, whether it's physical or emotional, and especially as a child it has an impact on your brain chemistry, which of course is how the brain functions. There are neurotransmitters (chemical) responsible for just about every job the brain does. So the impact of the trauma is essentially an impact on this system of transmitters and their levels and the response on the structures. Take the condition of depression (just an example) those folks with that have lower levels of serotonin (transmitter) which has an effect on mood. Up the serotonin levels and mood elevates. They are just now getting to the point in neuro-psych where they can identify structures in the brain that are responsible for behaviors - positive and negative. Long-term stress is worse in that the levels of the stress hormones can be damaging to tissue - muscle, brain, cardiac, gut, u name it. So, for those of us that have the fibro - it's deemed a neurologicallly-based condition- the trauma and the physiological effects are increased. This is a very simple explanation, but we've heard from docs for years that it's all in our heads. Well, in this case it probably starts there.
They don't know enough about fibro to know the hows and whys yet - that's why groups like this are so great. We learn and put things together and take questions and symptoms back to our docs who will hopefully put it together and come up with a solution.
I had a stressful childhood, but I always felt that it also had to do with my parents own genetics. My dad has anxiety, and I got it from him. My mom's mother had schizophrenia.
FM sounds really autoimmune to me. Just because they heaven't found it yet, and they've found antibodies for other autoimmune diseases, doesn't mean that it's not there. Maybe it's not in the blood. I don't know.
Speaking of schizophrenia. They can test a nerve in the top of the nose, and find nerve changes that relate to brain nerve changes. Schizophrenia is another disease that tends to show up around 25 years old, but they haven't found the direct cause. They know that there are chemical changes, and nerve changes. My older half brother, from my mother has Type 1 diabetes which his was from autoimmune. There is research that Type 1 diabetes and Schizophrenia appear in the same families. My understanding is before they found antibodies for Type 1 diabetes, they found when they tried to replace cells in a pancreas and the cells would work for awhile. Then the body would kill them off in about three months. My thinking is that schizophrenia is also autoimmune.
The whole thought that FM has flares, brain fog, is affected by stress, starts at a similar time of life; really makes me think it's autoimmune.
Oh and to add, there isn't an antibody blood test for MS. They know it's auto immune but don't know the exact mechanism. They know there are nerve changes in the brain with schizophrenia, which has mostly been found after death. Basically I'm saying they haven't found the mechinism for autoimmunity against nerves. Just my thoughts.