Fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue/ME are very difficult to treat conditions, often described as 'refractory', meaning non-responsive to treatment. As a Chinese medicine practitioner, I treated these conditions with various degrees of success but including hypnotherapy in the treatment makes a huge difference, clearing negativity or trauma from the past or from the condition itself, finding peace and calm, also important, as CFS/ME patients tend to be buzzy go-getters who have been forced reluctantly to turn-off, though often couldn't before they succumbed to the condition. Tapping into 'feeling good' and dealing with all the niggling symptoms makes hypnotherapy a great choice of treatment.
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From the research below...
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"We conclude that hypnosis may be a useful tool to help people with fibromyalgia manage their symptomatology". (Martinez-Valero)
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"We conclude hypnotherapy may be useful in relieving symptoms in patients with refractory fibromyalgia". (Haanen)
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Derbyshire, Stuart W. G.; Whalley, Matthew G.; Oakley, David A.
(May 2009). Fibromyalgia Pain and Its Modulation by Hypnotic
and Non-hypnotic Suggestion: An fMRI Analysis. European Journal
of Pain, Vol 13(5), 542-550.
The neuropsychological status of pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, commonly
categorized as ‘psychosomatic’ or ‘functional’ disorders, remains controversial.
Suggestion following a hypnotic induction can readily modulate the subjective
experience of pain. It is unclear whether suggestion without hypnosis is equally
effective. To explore these and related questions, suggestions following a hypnotic
induction and the same suggestions without a hypnotic induction were used during
functional magnetic resonance imaging to increase and decrease the subjective
experience of fibromyalgia pain. Suggestion in both conditions resulted in
significant changes in reported pain experience, although patients claimed
significantly more control over their pain and reported greater pain reduction when
hypnotised. Activation of the midbrain, cerebellum, thalamus, and midcingulate,
primary and secondary sensory, inferior parietal, insula and prefrontal cortices
correlated with reported changes in pain with hypnotic and non-hypnotic
suggestion. These activations were of greater magnitude, however, when
suggestions followed a hypnotic induction in the cerebellum, anterior midcingulate
cortex, anterior and posterior insula and the inferior parietal cortex. Our results thus
provide evidence for the greater efficacy of suggestion following a hypnotic
induction. They also indicate direct involvement of a network of areas widely
associated with the pain ‘neuro-matrix’ in fibromyalgia pain experience. These
findings extend beyond the general proposal of a neural network for pain by
providing direct evidence that regions involved in pain experience are actively
involved in the generation of fibromyalgia pain.
Martínez-Valero, Consuelo; Castel, Antonio; Capafons, Antonio; Sala,
José; Espejo, Begoña; Cardeña, Etzel. (Apr 2008). Hypnotic
Treatment Synergizes the Psychological Treatment of
Fibromyalgia: A Pilot Study. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis,
Vol 50(4), 311-321.
In this pilot study, we compare the efficacy for fibromyalgia of multimodal
cognitive behavioural treatments, with and without hypnosis, with that of a purely
pharmacological approach, with a multiple baseline N = 1 design. We randomly
assigned six hospital patients to the three experimental conditions. The results
suggest that psychological treatment produces greater symptom benefits than the
conventional medical treatment only, especially when hypnosis is added. We
conclude that hypnosis may be a useful tool to help people with fibromyalgia
manage their symptomatology.
Wik, G., Fischer, H., Bragee, B., Finer, B., Fredrikson, M. (Mar 1999).
Functional Anatomy of Hypnotic Analgesia: A PET Study of
Patients with Fibromyalgia. European Journal of Pain, 3(1), 7-12.
Hypnosis is a powerful tool in pain therapy. Attempting to elucidate cerebral
mechanisms behind hypnotic analgesia, we measured regional cerebral blood flow
with positron emission tomography in patients with fibromyalgia, during
hypnotically-induced analgesia and resting wakefulness. The patients experienced
less pain during hypnosis than at rest. The cerebral blood-flow was bilaterally
increased in the orbitofrontal and sub-callosial cingulate cortices, the right thalamus,
and the left inferior parietal cortex, and was decreased bilaterally in the cingulate
cortex. The observed blood-flow pattern supports notions of a multifactorial nature
of hypnotic analgesia, with an interplay between cortical and subcortical brain
dynamics.
Berman, B. M., Swyers, J.P. (Sep 1999). Complementary Medicine
Treatments for Fibromyalgia Syndrome. Baillieres Best Practice &
Research Clinical Rheumatology, 13(3), 487-92.
Fibromyalgia is a chronic-pain-related syndrome associated with high rates of
complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use. Among the many CAM
therapies frequently used by fibromyalgia patients, empirical research data exist to
support the use of only three: (1) mind-body, (2) acupuncture, and (3) manipulative
therapies for treating fibromyalgia. The strongest data exist for the use of mind-body
techniques (e.g. biofeedback, hypnosis, cognitive behavioural therapy),
particularly when utilized as part of a multidisciplinary approach to treatment.
Haanen, H. C., Hoenderdos, H. T., Romunde, van, L. K., Hop, W. C.,
Mallee, C., Terwiel, J. P., Hekster, G. B. (1991).
Controlled Trial of Hypnotherapy in the Treatment of Refractory Fibromyalgia.
Journal of Rheumatology, Vol. 18, 72-5.
In a controlled study, 40 patients with refractory fibromyalgia were randomly
allocated to treatment with either hypnotherapy or physical therapy for 12 weeks
with follow-up at 24 weeks. Compared with the patients in the physical therapy
group, the patients in the hypnotherapy group showed a significantly better outcome
with respect to their pain experience, fatigue on awakening, sleep pattern and global
assessment at 12 and 24 weeks, but this was not reflected in an improvement of the
total myalgic score measured by a dolorimeter. At baseline most patients in both
groups had strong feelings of somatic and psychic discomfort as measured by the
Hopkins Symptom Checklist. These feelings showed a significant decrease in
patients treated by hypnotherapy compared with physical therapy, but they remained
abnormally strong in many cases. We conclude hypnotherapy may be
useful in relieving symptoms in patients with refractory fibromyalgia.
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