Case

 My name is Valerie Lumley, a recovered fibromyalgic, and I have cured chronic Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS).  Over a 10-year period, I used myself as a case study to determine exactly what worked, and in the right combination. Prior to this period, I had been bedridden from pain for two years, and housebound for ten. I relied solely on the medical profession and their “Management drugs” to no avail toward improvement. It was not until I left care of the medical profession and turned to alternative medicine that I was able to isolate the proper therapies and develop a protocol that worked to exact a cure over time. I always knew what triggered FMS in me, but no medical doctor would listen due to their ignorance and/or out-dated, baseless assumptions and preconceptions on the nature of FMS as a condition with an unknown etiology, and no hope for a cure.

 I wrote this book to help FMS sufferers regain their health while creating a paradigm shift in the way FMS is currently being viewed. Contrary to popular belief, FMS is in fact curable, and there is a cause. Curing this condition led me to discover that FMS is a syndrome caused by a chronic brainstem injury, which distorts the signals from and to the brain that regulate all biological functions, causing the entire central nervous system to become hyperactive and hypersensitive at the same time. This state leads to all symptoms of FMS, both common and uncommon.  All stress, mild or overwhelming, positive or negative, exacerbates this condition.

 Brainstem injury occurs as a result of a major trauma, or several compounding minor traumas over time to the neck and spine. Anyone with FMS should be able to search their past to recall one or more possible traumas of this nature. The most common source of brainstem injury is the Atlas (C-1) subluxation caused by whiplash from a car accident. Other cases of the Atlas subluxation can be a blow to the head, a jarring fall, a lifting accident, and simple things like chronic poor posture, propping up one’s head during sleep with too many pillows, carrying heavy babies, or a poor golf swing. 

 Note: A Chiari malformation (someone born with too small an opening in the foramen magnum-the opening at the base of the skull) also causes chronic brainstem injury, but this is another disorder entirely. Both disorders can occur at the same time, and present overlapping symptoms. Someone with Chiari malformation who is functional and relatively asymptomatic is especially susceptible to even a slight Atlas subluxation triggering full-blown FMS.

 The protocol I have developed for curing FMS is relatively simple yet may seem difficult to some, but it only requires a commitment of time and the willingness to take charge of the condition and make the hard, necessary life changes. A patient with a personality type that is predisposed to seeking a secondary gain from an illness, too weak-willed to make productive life-choices, or significantly codependent with an unhealthy partner, might be less likely to benefit from a curing protocol that requires the personal integrity to honestly and realistically assess themselves and their life choices in order to make the necessary changes to liberate themselves from FMS.

 My protocol begins with the chiropractic alignment of the Atlas by an experienced upper cervical chiropractor, and the alignment of the inevitable spinal subluxations this misalignment causes over time. The Atlas subluxation is also referred to as the “Kink subluxation” due the fact it causes a “Kink” in the brainstem as it travels down from the brain through the foramen magnum through the Atlas where it becomes the spinal cord.

 It goes on to include classical constitutional homeopathy for energetic healing, warm water pool therapy for muscle rehabilitation, specific nutritional therapy and supplements to provide the body with essential needs, psychotherapy to learn healthy boundary for stress reduction necessary for healing, a firm grasp of reality, and the courage to take charge of one’s life.  Healing this condition means the holistic rehabilitation of the body and mind.

 My protocol for a lasting cure outside the care of the medical profession may seem foreign to FMS sufferers who have relied solely upon pharmaceuticals, however as the prevalence in the use of legitimate alternative medicine modalities widens, my protocol will become more accepted as a whole.  My approach is on the cutting edge of futuristic modalities in medical care that will one day become first choice, and ahead of its time in the treatment of FMS. This is exactly why this book will remain relevant for many years to come.

 My Story:  Thirty some years prior to the triggering of full-blown FMS in me, I sustained a head injury and whiplash in an auto accident that displaced my Atlas slightly to the left. I had multiple unexplained symptoms throughout the years, but none were disabling. There were strange back spasms on the right side of my spine, difficulty lifting my right arm over my head, my right leg was shorter than the left, right hip pain, delicate digestion, etc.  Then I sustained what I now call a “Last straw” injury to the top of my neck in an exercising accident which forced my Atlas farther out to the left nearly half a thumb.  Almost instantly, I was on the ground with pain and back spasm on the right side of my neck and spine.

 The medical profession put me through a battery of tests, prescribed nearly a dozen drugs, some to handle the side effects of the pain killer, anti-inflammatory and muscle relaxers (their usual drug trio for FMS), and something for depression and sleep deprivation. I continued to get worse quickly over time until I became completely disabled from body-wide pain and system wide dysfunctions, and became bed-ridden for two years, barely able to make it to the bathroom and back. I had to be helped eating, showering, brushing my hair and teeth, and was alone most of time while my husband met the demands of his long hours as a UPS driver.  He kept my meds in the kitchen up high where I couldn’t reach them, so I wouldn’t commit suicide, a constant thought during those living nightmare days.

 I finally decided since I wasn’t passing out from the pain, I wasn’t yet dying from my body shutting down completely, and all the drugs I was taking were not improving things at all, I mustered the courage to leave the medical profession, go through the withdrawals from the pain killers I was addicted to, and delve into the world of alternative medicine, a choice I had to make. Since I knew what triggered my symptoms, I chose to trust and follow my own knowing, and sought out a chiropractor that could help me. I was led to an upper cervical specialist who said he’d never seen an Atlas as misaligned as mine was in his fifteen-year career.

 As soon as I got my Atlas adjusted into alignment and it began holding, I experienced an immediate relief from multiple symptoms: restless legs syndrome, chronic blinding migraines (7-8 per month), right side back spasms that had pulled my ribs out on a regular basis and my posture into a sideways “C” shape, left frozen shoulder, chronic sleep deprivation, chronic depression, and “Brain-fog” all gone! 

 Other symptoms began to fall away also: chronic gastritis and inability to keep food down, difficulty urinating and defecating, skin rashes, dry-eye syndrome, metallic taste in my mouth, chronic electrical worms under my skin, skin buzzing, body-wide shooting pains and burning, bee-stings in my toes and ankles, chronic body-wide muscle tightness, and so many more miserable symptoms, all began quickly disappearing.  There was finally a light at the end of a very dark tunnel.

 I was so degenerated physically, when I entered into warm water pool therapy, I could not breath when I submerged my body into the water chest deep.  I simply could not inhale against the pressure of the water after being a classically trained soprano with an iron diaphragm when FMS hit. The nutrition therapy, the homeopathy, and eating food for energy helped me get stronger. The anti-depressant (a dual neuro-transmitter reuptake inhibiter) I was on helped pain and chronic depression, and I could not take myself off it since I had been on it for so long, and why rock the boat.  It is the only drug I continue to take. I have to see my holistic medical physician only once a year for refills.

 After three years of chosen therapies, I was strong enough to take Tai Chi and gentle restorative yoga classes. I had been housebound for ten years during this period while writing my book, doing exhaustive scientific research, and trying, rejecting, and eventually adopting the various alternative modalities that worked to include in my protocol for a lasting cure. It took me four years of vigilance and faith in myself to finally get well. I have been well for over six years. My advice to FMS sufferers is not to believe the hype, to take charge, and keep going! The alternatives of failed hope, resignation, and life-long FMS is far worse than making the necessary effort to get well.

 My book explains FMS in depth from the perspective of a recovered fibromyalgic, and outlines its psychological and physical components. It debunks the current myths, offers a comprehensive look at alternatives treatments and therapies, and providing a wide range of specific choices to help aid the healing process for the individual sufferer. It also thoroughly explains the cause and a cure that worked for me, and with enough time and commitment, can work for others as well. The last chapter tells my story of how I navigated the labyrinth of allopathic and alternative medicine to discover my right healing combination for me.  It fully explains my protocol for a lasting cure that is maintainable and real, and provides the necessary support and guidance to help others determine the right healing combination for them.

 Fibromyalgia is a dark and terrifying tunnel where its sufferers get lost in deep despair. My purpose in writing this book is to stand at the end of this tunnel and shine a light bright enough for all to see, and show them how to lead themselves back out into life again.  This is my mission: to spread the word of REAL HOPE.