------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fibromyalgia Community Newsletter # 1 Wednesday, 12/5/2001
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's News Summary
1) Article: Dr. Cheney -Effective Breathing Technique
2) Article: FM Patient Found Relief Through Diet
3) Article: Losing Sleep Over It
4) Research: Estimating Health Needs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Full Stories Are Available Via Web Links
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1)
Subject: Dr. Cheney -Effective Breathing Technique Author : Carol Sieverling
Source : ImmuneSupport.com
Editor's Note: Dr. Paul Cheney, M.D., discussed a "new" breathing technique with
patient Carol Sieverling =96 he presented it to her as no cost, easier, and more
effective at increasing oxygen transport than the "rebreather" protocol. The
following is a transcription from a conversation taped with Dr. Cheney by Carol
Sieverling, that took place in November 2000.
First, here are the benefits of increased oxygen:
1) more energy at the cellular level
2) suppresses growth of yeast (and other pathogens)
3) prevents swelling of the brain caused by decreased oxygen
Dr. Cheney said this was not uncommon in CFIDS and is the connection between
Chiari Malformation and CFIDS. Dr. Cheney said that Chiari is a compression
phenomenon due to lack of sufficient width/depth at the base of the skull, while
CFIDS is a compression phenomenon due to anoxic cerebral edema. Many CFIDS
patients are familiar with Dr. Cheney's earlier oxygen protocol using a partial
rebreather mask to address tissue acidosis/blood alkalosis and thereby improve
oxygen transport from the blood into cells (see
www.virtualhometown.com/dfwcfids for Cheney Treatment Plan Prescriptions).
Dr. Cheney has realized this rebreather protocol, while beneficial, has
limitations. It can be difficult to find the equipment, it is expensive, and the
procedure requires much "tweaking." Most significantly, he has come to realize
that it does not address the underlying problem of 2,3 DPG levels.
2,3 DPG is a substance that allows oxygen to be released from the hemoglobin in
our blood. Without 2,3 DPG, oxygen can't get off the hemoglobin and into the
cells of our body. This oxygen deprivation makes the body switch over to
anaerobic metabolism, which produces tissue acidosis, which can be painful.
However, the more 2,3 DPG one has, the more oxygen is released from the blood
into the tissues and organs and brain. (And oxygen will help kill candida and
other pathogens.)
The very simple breathing technique Cheney is recommending to all his patients
can be found on Andrew Weil's tape of eight different breathing methods. This
particular method is Weil's favorite - he says it's the most powerful way to
treat chronic illness that he knows of. Ayurvedic physicians developed it 3,000
years ago. And 30 years of clinical experience now back it up.
Here is how it works:
1) Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds
2) Hold your breath for 7 seconds
3) Exhale through tightly pursed lips for 8 seconds, creating "back pressure"
(you should be able to hear the air being forced out of your mouth as you do
this.)
Do this 8 times in a total of two and a half minutes. Do this twice a day - a
grand total of 5 minutes a day. That's all it takes. (If you feel lightheaded,
just do it 6 times or until you begin to feel lightheaded, then build up to 8.)
You must be very faithful and consistent for this to work, and it takes weeks
for the body to adjust the 2,3 DPG levels. But your oxygen transport will get
better and better over time.
What does this breathing exercise do? This method is based on the same principle
at work in the marathon runners from Kenya who frequently win the Boston
Marathon. They live and train at a high altitude. They run at 12,000 feet. To
compensate for the lack of oxygen at higher altitudes, their bodies make a
physiological adjustment, raising 2,3 DPG levels so more oxygen is released. The
higher the 2,3 DPG goes, the easier it is to run. Then the Kenyans go to Boston,
which is at sea level (with more oxygen in the atmosphere of course), and run
their race. But their bodies are still set for high altitude, so they end up
with more oxygen being transported into their tissues than other runners. They
are superoxygenated, transporting oxygen like crazy.
Dr. Cheney's goal is to 'trick' our bodies into thinking we live at a higher
altitude, thus raising our 2,3 DPG levels, thereby transporting more oxygen from
our blood into our tissues. How is that done? By not breathing! This method is
actually regulated breath holding. As you regularly breath hold, your O2 drops.
You induce a state called desaturation. And for those five minutes a day of
desaturation, your body panics. It believes it's high up in the mountains and it
spends the rest of the day compensating for that (by raising 2,3 DPG), even
though you're not actually up in the mountains. The body is so concerned with
desaturation that even though you live in Dallas, for example, it will program
your body as if you live in Denver (at a higher altitude).
Besides being cheaper, easier, and more effective, Cheney says this method has
another advantage over the rebreather mask: you can't "over regulate." With the
rebreather mask you can "counter regulate" - the result is that you can get too
much oxygen transfer going on, which will cause your body to lower 2,3 DPG,
ultimately lowering oxygen transfer.
This is why the rebreather stopped working for many of us after several months.
With this breathing method, Cheney said that the body will raise 2,3 DPG to the
point that it is beneficial, but it won't raise it so high that it "forces a
more profound alkalosis" of the blood.
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/bulletinarticle.cfm?ID=3D3214&EM=3D1205=01&P=20ROD=3Dph134
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2)
Subject: FM Patient Found Relief Through Diet Author : Ivanhoe Newswire Source :
ImmuneSupport.com
Anywhere from 3 million to 6 million Americans suffer with severe pain all over
their bodies. The condition is known as fibromyalgia. Doctors say the cause of
the pain is unknown and there is no cure. However, some patients are finding
relief by changing their diets.
A walk is how Darlene starts each day. It's something she couldn't do nine years
ago. Darlene suffers from fibromyalgia. "Basically, five days out of the week I
didn't get out of bed. Oh, a couple of hours during the day, but that's about
it," she says.
After years of therapy and 13 different medications, Darlene tried a new
treatment -- a changed diet. She eliminates two things -- aspartame and
monosodium glutamate or MSG. Today her pain is gone.
Full article:
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/bulletinarticle.cfm?ID=3D3211&EM=3D1205=01&P=20ROD=3Dph120
------------------------------------------------------------------------
3)
Subject: Losing Sleep Over It Author : Benedict Carey, Times Health Writer
Source : latimes.com
<quote>
A restless night now and then is normal. But for some people, troubled sleep is
chronic. Experts say insomniacs have physical traits, coupled with psychological
factors, that are behind the problem.
The "slumbering giant" of the United States has awakened, all right. But now
many of us can't get back to sleep.
In the days after Sept. 11, 44% of Americans reported trouble falling asleep,
48% said they had more awakenings, and 50% said they woke up unrefreshed,
according to a nationwide survey released last week by the National Sleep
Foundation. A spot survey by the Pew Research Center after the attacks put the
rate of sleep problems at 33%--about the number of Americans who typically
report having insomnia symptoms over a given year. Under typical circumstances,
these difficulties would resolve quickly, researchers have found.
Full article:
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-000096088dec03.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dhealth
------------------------------------------------------------------------
4)
Subject: Estimating Health Needs: The Impact of a Checklist of Conditions and
Quality of Life Measurement on Health Information Derived From Community Surveys
Author : Knight M, Stewart-Brown S, Fletcher L Source : Journal of Public Health
Medicine September 2001 (Volume 23, Number 3) J Public Health Med.
2001;23:179-186
More than 90% of rheumatologist visits relate to complaints of pain.
Recent studies have emphasized the diversity of pain mechanism. For obvious
reasons, these studies have largely been performed in preclinical animal models
but have provided interesting insights that have clinical correlations.
There are distinct differences in the neurochemical changes that occur in the
spinal cord and primary afferent neurons in inflammatory and neuropathic pain
states.[1] Inflammatory pain induced by injection of Freund's adjuvant was
associated with increases in substance P, calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP),
and substance P receptor in the spinal cord. In comparison, sciatic nerve
transection or L5 spinal nerve ligation (a model of neuropathic pain) was
associated with decreases in substance P and CGRP, but with increases in galanin
and neuropeptide Y in both primary afferent neurons and the spinal cord.
In contrast, in a model of cancer pain induced by injection of sarcoma cells
into the femur, there were no detectable changes in the above markers in either
primary afferent neurons or in the spinal cord.
However, in the cancer pain model, changes including massive astrocyte
hypertrophy (without neuronal loss in the spinal cord) were observed, but only
in the region of the cord ipsilateral to the limb with cancer.[2]
These findings may help explain why many analgesics are efficacious only against
specific types of persistent pain. For example, although morphine is efficient
at treating inflammatory pain, it is not particularly effective in treating
neuropathic pain, and inversely, gabapentin is more efficacious in treating
neuropathic than inflammatory pain. Similarly, relief of severe cancer-induced
pain usually requires higher doses of morphine.[1]
References
1. Honore P, Rogers SD, Schwei MJ, et al. Murine models of inflammatory,
neuropathic and cancer pain each generates a unique set of neurochemical changes
in the spinal cord and sensory neurons. Neuroscience.
2000;98:585-598.
2. Honore P, Menning PM, Rogers SD, Nichols ML, Mantyh PW. Neurochemical
plasticity in persistent inflammatory pain. Prog Brain Res.
2000;129:357-363.
http://rheumatology.medscape.com/Medscape/features/JournalScan/Rheumatology/2001/js-rheum0102.html
Designed, developed and owned by
The Fibromyalgia Community,
a
CSSA Partner, (a 501(c)3
non-profit corporation)
maintained by
Chip Davis and
Jane Kohler
Copyright (C)
1997-2004 The Fibromyalgia Community.
All Rights Reserved.
Page Updated:
July 31, 2004
Health
Information Disclaimer
