Fibromyalgia (FMS) is a frustrating and seldom understood illness. It is a collection of confusing and often contradictory symptoms which come and go and vary in intensity. It’s chief characteristic is widespread pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons. It is also characterized by stiffness, fatigue and non-restorative sleep. While it is not life threatening, it is life changing. It can be as debilitating as rheumatoid arthritis. 25% of all FMS sufferers become disabled and 36% of all social security disability payments currently go for fibromyalgia. It is a chronic illness with a hefty price tag. It accounts for 10% of all visits to physicians. Yet, there are no effective conventional medical treatments for this chronic illness.

FMS is particularly frustrating because the sufferer appears healthy and normal on the outside but feels miserable on the inside. Eight times more women are affected than men. It strikes all races, all ages, all socio-economic levels and all educational levels. It is often found in the company of other related illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), spastic bladder (urinary urge incontinence), chronic fatigue, headaches, migraines, allergies, myofascial pain syndrome, mitral valve prolapse and more.

Traditional treatments aim at improving the quality of sleep and reducing pain using a cocktail of medications. Unfortunately, the side effects of the medications can be as debilitating as the illness. Recent research confirms that a multi-disciplinary approach which includes cognitative behavioral therapies, such as hypnosis, provides the greatest relief from symptoms and the best prognosis for a return to more normal levels of functioning. This approach includes improving the quality of sleep, proper nutrition, physical conditioning and deep relaxation combined with positive mental imagery (techniques used in hypnotherapy). By combining therapies, the patient can frequently return to a healthier state and a more active lifestyle while lessening or, in some instances, eliminating the need for medications, especially pain medications. My clients have averaged a 46% reduction in pain medication usage.

In a study published in the Journal of Rheumatology, 40 refractory fibromyalgia patients (FMS patients who had failed to relieve their symptoms with traditional medical treatments) were randomly assigned to treatment with either hypnotherapy or physical therapy. The patients in the hypnotherapy group showed significantly better outcomes with respect to pain reduction, fatigue on awakening, sleep patterns and global assessments. In addition, those patients who received hypnotherapy showed a significant improvement in their overall levels of discomfort and were able to reduce their levels of pain medications. The authors concluded that hypnotherapy was effective in relieving the symptoms of Fibromyalgia.

This and similar studies corroborate what we have found at Alabama Hypnotherapy Center. We have been using and teaching hypnotherapy for the relief of FMS symptoms for over four years. Over 96% of FMS patients have shown significant and lasting improvement in their overall symptoms, especially in the areas of pain reduction, improved sleep patterns and increased energy levels. In addition, they have been able to reduce or eliminate their pain medication levels between 30% and 100% (average of 46%). All clients have been able to significantly increase their levels of daily functioning. Even more importantly, they have been able to maintain these improvements even after their hypnotherapy sessions end.

If you have fibromyalgia and are interested in how hypnotherapy can help you alleviate symptoms and return you to a higher state of functioning, go to the HYPNOSIS ASSOCIATES section of this web site, click on Fibromyalgia Associates and scroll down to your state or country for a fibromyalgia certified hypnotherapist near you or call us at 205/933-5705 to request a referral to a specially trained FMS certified hypnotherapist. All our FMS certified hypnotherapists work as a team member with your personal physicians to help you return to a more normal state of health.

I developed this therapy to alleviate my own disabling FMS symptoms. I have been symptom free since 1997 and take no medications for fibromyalgia. You do not have to "learn to live with it."

BestWishes,

Melissa J. Roth, CHt., Ph.D.

Click on the link below to read more articles, including one about how hypnosis can help heal hypertension, and lifestyle tips for better coping with fibromyalgia and IBS.

 Healing IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)

IBS is a frustrating and often debilitating chronic illness characterized by diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, bloating and spasms. Conventional medical treatment includes a variety of medications, a high fiber diet, fiber supplements and behavioral changes. The behavioral changes include exercise, stress reduction and dietary changes. Unfortunately, this regime has not been proven adequately effective for a high percentage of sufferers. In addition, many people find the side effects of the medications to be more noxious than the IBS Symptoms. Either reason results in poor compliance. And, of course, when your stop taking the medications and supplements, the symptoms return.

However, hypnotherapy has been proven highly effective in alleviating IBS symptoms. Over 25 years of solid scientific research has demonstrated hypnotherapy as an effective, safe and inexpensive choice for IBS symptom alleviation. Hypnotherapy routinely produces positive results in over 80% of the people who use it. It has been so overwhelmingly successful for IBS symptom alleviation that Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD, chair of the National Women's Health Network in Washington, DC, says that hypnosis should be the treatment of choice for IBS cases which have not responded to conventional therapy.

At Alabama Hypnotherapy Center, our work with IBS Clients has resulted in a reduction of symptoms for 93.7% of our clients and 86% have become symptom free within the course of therapy. Melissa Roth, the developer of the program, has remained syptom free since 1996 from severe, debilitating IBS symptoms. We work with clients on a one-on-one basis in our offices, or for clients at a distance, the session area available on CD's. This is a program done in conjunction with your personal physician and is not intended as a replacement for traditional medical treatment.

Conventional medical treatment has been inadequate in alleviating IBS symptoms for most people. However, hypnotherapy combined with traditional medical treatment can provide dramatic relief for most sufferers. Most of our clients, with the help of their personal physicians, have been able to reduce or eliminate most or all of the medications and supplements they were taking for IBS symptoms. To locate a certified IBS hypnotherapist near you go to the HYPNOSIS ASSOCIATES section of this web site and scroll down to your state or your country. If you are a certified hypnotherapist and would like training and certification in this therapy program, email us at info@tranceworkers.com or call 205/933-5705.

Pain Control

If you have been diagnosed with chronic pain, then we can assist your doctor in helping you alleviate that pain. From childbirth to arthritis, hypnotherapy can teach you easy methods of reducing and controlling your pain without drugs and their side effects. We have a 96+% success rate in pain reduction and relief.