Active Low-Carber Forums - Could insulin resistance be the cause of fibromyalgia?

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- Fibromyalgia, CFS, S.A.D. (http://forum.lowcarber.org/forumdisplay.php?f=47)

- - Could insulin resistance be the cause of fibromyalgia? (http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=482502)

Could insulin resistance be the cause of fibromyalgia?

https://www.dietdoctor.com/could-in...of-fibromyalgia

Could insulin resistance be the cause of fibromyalgia?

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It almost seems as if there is no limit to the benefits of low-carb diets. Of course, we need to be cautious about over-interpreting the data and anecdotal reports, and we need to remain objective. But the reports keep coming.

We recently posted about reports that low-carb diets may benefit COPD and osteoarthritis. Although the evidence is mostly anecdotal, the reports suggest there may be a link. Hopefully we will have a series of anecdotes and eventually a controlled trial to confirm if that is the case. Now, thanks to a recent publication in PLOS One, it looks like we might be able add improvements in fibromyalgia to list of possible benefits.

As the authors mention in the study, fibromyalgia is a common generalized pain disorder without a clear cause and without very good treatment options. It can be a disabling condition causing sufferers to remain mostly sedentary and is frequently associated with severe depression and feelings of hopelessness. To be fair, the study did not show that low-carb diets improve fibromyalgia. But it did show a high association between fibromyalgia and co-existent insulin resistance (measured by HbA1c which is actually not a very sensitive measurement of insulin resistance). The study then went on to show those treated with metformin, a drug that can improve insulin sensitivity, had improved fibromyalgia symptoms.

Although this data is mostly associational and does not prove cause and effect, it has to make us wonder if fibromyalgia is driven by insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia. If that is proven to be true, then it would follow that a low-carb, high-fat diet may be an effective treatment. Since we currently do not have any good treatments for fibromyalgia, should we empirically try a low-carb, high-fat diet for those searching for an answer? Most of these individuals are desperate for a glimmer of hope. It would groundbreaking if we could provide them with that glimmer. Since side effects may include weight loss, improved energy, blood pressure control, improved lipid profiles, and so much more, what’s the downside?

Stay tuned for more. Here’s hoping…. Thanks for reading, Bret Scher, MD FACC

My acquaintance with fibromyalgia has T2D, so it fits. He also doesn't consume much magnesium and doesn't take any supplements. Maybe it's IR combined with nutrient deficiencies?

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Originally Posted by NewRuth

...Maybe it's IR combined with nutrient deficiencies?

I have wondered this, too. And perhaps there are inefficiencies such as poor glucose uptake, or pyruvate blocks, or who know how many undiscovered malfunctions....

And perhaps there are environmental factors that have caused damage, too, such as VOCs, ozone, EMFs.

I agree that LC and supplements help very much. :)

I have found Dr. Sarah Myhill of the UK. She has an entire wiki on treating chronic fatigue syndrome and all its many manifestations.

https://www.drmyhill.co.uk/wiki/Main_Page

DH is following her protocol which is predominantly a ketogenic diet and certain supplements. We have a doctor who is running various tests, but he doesn’t want to treat DH’s condition.

“I’m not that kind of specialist.”

“Dude! No one is!”

So it’s all the better we are following Dr. Myhill’s instructions.

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Originally Posted by WereBear

“I’m not that kind of specialist.”

“Dude! No one is!”

It's sad that the Standard Of Care has caused doctors to stop practicing medicine.

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So it’s all the better we are following Dr. Myhill’s instructions.

Holy information overload! Batman!

I'll probably spend most of my free time reading through the tabs that I have open. Thank you!

Sadly, fatigue is accepted as normal. My mom has been having unusual fatigue in the past few weeks. She had her well visit with her doctor and complained of unusual fatigue. The doctor's response was that most of her patients were tired and so's the doctor.

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Originally Posted by NewRuth

Sadly, fatigue is accepted as normal. My mom has been having unusual fatigue in the past few weeks. She had her well visit with her doctor and complained of unusual fatigue. The doctor's response was that most of her patients were tired and so's the doctor.

So much for the fine art of diagnosis.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle modeled Sherlock Holmes after the methods of his medical college professor, Dr. James Bell. This was a time when diagnosis was king, and there was relatively little they could do.

Now, we have the opposite problem!

There's two more stages after insulin resistance: cortisol resistance. Then, death.

I'm coming back from cortisol resistance.

WB, so glad your are fighting your way back!!

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It can be a disabling condition causing sufferers to remain mostly sedentary and is frequently associated with severe depression and feelings of hopelessness.

One of those diseases where due to a certain "character" traits people probably get a lot of "it's all in your head" and suck it up armchair (or even "professional") diagnoses...

Us schizoaffective bipolars just look at you like you're stupid (just exactly like it :lol: ) if you tell us it's all in our heads... that's just exactly the problem... and have to stand calmly by while people reassure each other that they're not crazy, because crazy people are awful.... :D

What was I talking about? The preamble is so I can point out possible neurological connections for fibromyalgia, without anybody daring to be insulted. :lol: Pain really is largely in our head, and people who think psychological means "not real" or non-biological are freaking nuts.

Low carb dealt with a lot of pain issues for me. Couldn't sleep on my side, starting in my mid-twenties. Often woke up to a frozen neck/shoulder, it'd start with stiffness in one area and then travel across my back, might take a week or more to resolve. This is around when my first big psychotic episode began, I sometimes had some slight auditory hallucinations before then, was always a bit socially anxious/paranoid but nothing anyone would bother to diagnose. I don't usually think about it this way, but the metabolic syndrome type stuff did show up around the same time that the psychotic symptoms really ramped up.

Psychosis usually shows up when people are just going out on their own, late teens, early twenties. Usually when they start mostly feeding themselves, too, probably worse than their parents fed them.

Going from Atkins to a stricter high fat keto seems better for the mental stuff--but also physically. Not a lot of pain issues with Atkins, but I did have a shoulder injury that was sort of nagging for more than ten years--going more ketogenic/near carnivore pretty much resolved it. If I overeat protein for a few days, I can just about tell which shoulder was bad, but mostly it feels just as good as the other shoulder.

To me there's no question that low carb in various forms resolves issues we might call sub-clinical, in that it never drove us to seek mental help, but was a constant.

For me, it's anxiety, which has pretty much gone away due to the hyper-nutrition approach I have taken. Looking back, my autoimmune illness announced itself with a panic attack.

Mind and body are interwoven.