Does insulin resistance cause fibromyalgia?

Medical XPress ^ | May 7, 2019 | University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

[ConservativeMind]

Researchers led by a team from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston were able to dramatically reduce the pain of fibromyalgia patients with medication that targeted insulin resistance.

This discovery could dramatically alter the way that chronic pain can be identified and managed.

The UTMB team of researchers, along with collaborators from across the U.S., including the National Institutes of Health, were able for the first time, to separate patients with fibromyalgia from normal individuals using a common blood test for insulin resistance, or pre-diabetes. They then treated the fibromyalgia patients with a medication targeting insulin resistance, which dramatically reduced their pain levels.

"Earlier studies discovered that insulin resistance causes dysfunction within the brain's small blood vessels. Since this issue is also present in fibromyalgia, we investigated whether insulin resistance is the missing link in this disorder," Pappolla said. "We showed that most—if not all—patients with fibromyalgia can be identified by their A1c levels..."

Pre-diabetics with slightly elevated A1c values carry a higher risk of developing central (brain) pain, a hallmark of fibromyalgia and other chronic pain disorders."

When compared with age-matched controls, the A1c levels of the fibromyalgia patients were significantly higher.

"Considering the extensive research on fibromyalgia, we were puzzled that prior studies had overlooked this simple connection," said Pappolla. "The main reason for this oversight is that about half of fibromyalgia patients have A1c values currently considered within the normal range. However, this is the first study to analyze these levels normalized for the person's age, as optimal A1c levels do vary throughout life. Adjustment for the patients' age was critical in highlighting the differences between patients and control subjects."

For the fibromyalgia patients, metformin, a drug developed to combat insulin resistance was added to their medications. They showed dramatic reductions in their pain levels.

[ConservativeMind]

You are the first person I’ve heard this from, but I found some research that describes an occasion in which what you described can happen:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5797060/

[YogicCowboy]

I opine:

Fibrotic neural strangulation due to auto-immune chronic systemic inflammation, restricting blood flow and nutrients, especially magnesium.

I suggest:

Highly fibrinolytic enzymes (e.g., serratiopeptidase), coupled with magnesium (e.g., magnesium glycinate).

There is a reason it is called FIBROmyalgia!

[catnipman]

“Metformin is the one diabetes-related drug I would gladly take. It functions a lot like an antioxidant. People have longer lifespans if they take it—as if it were a vitamin.”

yeah, a “vitamin” with a laundry list of negative side-effects:

physical weakness (asthenia)
diarrhea
gas (flatulence)
symptoms of weakness, muscle pain (myalgia)
upper respiratory tract infection
low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
abdominal pain (GI complaints), lactic acidosis (rare)
low blood levels of vitamin B-12
nausea
vomiting
chest discomfort
chills, dizziness
bloating/abdominal distention
constipation
heartburn

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur.

[Chickensoup]

Although my doctor was on the metformin bandwagon a while ago, I noticed at the hosptial that the metformin perspcriptions were plummeting.

One thing about healthcare: they dont say much when prescribing standards change.

For example, when the recommendations for ibuprofen dropped from 2 pills a does to one and none when bone healing needs to occur, that didnt receive a lot of press.

[Chickensoup]

same thing happened to the statins about 6 years ago

[ConservativeMind]

Some studies on lifespan increase from Metformin:

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02432287
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5943638/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5709209/

Studies interpreted:
https://www.endocrineweb.com/news/diabetes/18692-metformin-protection-against-alzheimers-cancer-heart-disease
https://onedrop.today/blogs/blog/metformin-key-longer-life
https://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2017/4/Metformin-Slashes-Cancer-Risks/Page-01
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/article-could-your-diabetes-medication-be-the-next-anti-aging-pill/

Water has side effects, as well. Too much, and you die.

[Michael44.]

What would be the best daily dosage for this use of alpha-lipoic acid? How about the optimum usage for the Magnesium Glycinate/Serratiopeptidase Combo?

[Michael44.]

I guess it might help to know that the patient is a lady weighing 140+-, aged 62, not on insulin. Thanks.

[logi_cal869]

“Metformin is the one diabetes-related drug I would gladly take. “

---

Yeah, you do that. And while you’re at it, disclose your biased interest, if any.

https://journals.lww.com/euro-emergencymed/Citation/2009/12000/Metformin_toxicity.18.aspx

Until then, cease cheerleading toxic workarounds to health complications about which you know absolutely nothing. You sound like an abortion cheerleader, imo. I don’t intend to be harsh, but you’re pushing a narrative which drives a bias and promotes impaired health. I combat this nonsensical approach every damned time health matters come up here and everywhere else. It’s rather tiring.

To be clear, this article exposes the insane level of ignorance exhibited by medical researchers, driven by biased interests to promote drugs to ‘treat’ epidemic-level health problems in the population while doing absolutely NOTHING to address how the condition was expressed in the first place.

It shouldn’t be so goddamned hard to grasp that we’re all being lied to by government, medicine & industry about the fact that poor choices today snowball into severe conditions later with little opportunity for a ‘cure’ once you’ve crossed the Rubicon. Headline: The same media complained about here promotes as ‘healthy’ many of the poor choices made which lead directly into diseased states. Why is it such a mystery?

One of my favorite health metaphors is that when addressing the reason why a herd of Wildebeest died is not to resolve the cause of or minimize trauma from a fall after running off a 100 foot cliff, nor to address overcoming gravity.

It’s a curiosity why no consideration is given to simply avoiding the cliff in the first place which everyone knows is there (I know why).

[logi_cal869]

Congrats on your recovery. You are among the .00001% I write about.

Someday there may be a watershed moment in medicine. I hope my (still-unpublished) books will contribute.

Until then, I would encourage you to do a vanity post about your experience if you’re not planning on publishing it elsewhere to show other FReepers that a solution to even Fibromyalgia is within reach of most people (I just pinged someone I know who has it and stubbornly believes that it is incurable despite my feedback).

[right way right]

What was your allergy?
I suffer from pain and with diabetes, it’s everywhere in my body.
Neuropathy...but something else is also going on too.

Metformin and glimipiride and damn gabapentin, is what I take at this point.

Oh and that supplement, ipoid somethin.

Doctors are shackled by common practice when it comes to diabetes.

Control it until they die.
That’s what they do.

[trebb]

Just a spoon full of opium helps the medicine go down.....
If there’s anything worse than constipation, it’s frequent bouts of the runs...the wife and I take daily fiber to ‘keep things moving” and some nurse friends say that it can also help settle things down if one goes in the other direction and comes out too easily.

[right way right]

Talkin about yer potties.

Yeah, we’re old.

Metformin and gabapentin are terrible in the bowels.

(Old man sound)

[TheWriterTX]

I cannot eat anything with high fructose corn syrup, no artificial sweeteners, or high concentrations of sugar. Also, processed food or fast food will make me very sick within an hour or two of eating it.

I have hypoglycemia, the evil step-sister of diabetes, where I am insulin intolerant. I never drank, not even a beer or wine cooler. It always smelled putrid to me.

I had to cut all sugar and yeast from my diet for 3 months. I ate fairly healthy to begin with (lots of salads, vegetables, fruits, not a lot of sweets) but some of the fruits were high in natural sugars. Also, I would grab a quick sandwich and soda during the day not knowing that both were hurting me. Cheese, which I was not fond of as a child, was something my Italian husband introduced to my diet. That was hurting me too.

Soda is toxic. Now I drink a lot of water and occassionally add a tiny bit of sweetened tea just for the flavor.

I did the candida diet and system cleanse and all my symptoms went away in just a few days. The joint pain, tingling/shooting pain in my limbs, migraines, sinus infections, digestive issues, brain fog, insomnia and chronic fatigue, all gone. As an added bonus, I dropped down to my cheerleader weight of 122 lbs.

No more Lyrica or Cymbalta. No more meds of any kind. I pay attention to my food, only go off diet for special occasions, bake and cook at lot more at home, and am pain and fatigue free.

I just wish I had taken control of my health sooner, instead of wasting years in pain. Doctors dont always have all the answers. My cure came from a homeopathic doctor who was was trying to treat my fibro naturally without the nasty side effects.

It worked.

Diet has so much to do with your health, far more than I thought possible. Try the candida diet (it is all food that you buy at your local grocery store, nothing expensive or exotic) and the system cleanse is available at health stores for about $16 a bottle. Try non-GMO products, they are lower in artificial preservatives and hormones. If the food item contains more than 3 ingredients, put in back on the shelf. No peanuts, bread, cheese, sugar, carrots, artificial sweeteners for 3 months.

I hope it works for you, too!