Growth Hormone Treatment for Severe Fibromyalgia

I just got an email update from MDLinx about the following article.  This is only a summary of the article.  In order to read the whole thing you have to pay $32 I think.  The source link is included at the end of the article summary if you're interested in purchasing it:

Pain, 04/04/2012

Cuatrecasas G et al. – In this largest and longest placebo–controlled trial performed in FM (NCT00933686), addition of growth hormone (GH) to the standard treatment is effective in reducing pain, showing sustained action over time.
Methods

• A total of 120 patients were enrolled in a multicenter, placebo–controlled study for 18months.
• They were randomly assigned to receive either 0.006mg/kg/day of GH subcutaneously (group A, n=60) or placebo (group B, n=60) for 6months (blind phase).
• The placebo arm was switched to GH treatment from month 6 to month 12 (open phase), and a follow–up period after GH discontinuation was performed until month 18.
• Standard treatment for fibromyalgia (selective serotonin re–uptake inhibitors, opioids, and amitriptyline) was maintained throughout the study.
• Number and intensity of tender points, Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) with its subscales, and EuroQol 5 dimensions test (EQ5D) with visual analogue scale (VAS) were assessed at different time points.

Results

• At the end of the study, 53% of group A patients obtained fewer than 11 positive tender points, vs 33% of group B patients (P<.05). 39.1% vs 22.4% reached more than 50% improvement in VAS (P<.05).
• Group A patients showed significantly improved FIQ scores (P=.01) compared with group B.
• Although GH discontinuation worsened all scores in both groups during follow–up, impairment in pain perception was less pronounced in the GH–treated group (P=.05).

Read more: http://www.mdlinx.com/pain-management/news-article.cfm/4003919/fibromyalgia#ixzz1vWoGSN3f

Vegan Diet for CFS/FMS - Day 6

Well, I don't want to get my hopes up prematurely, but I think I may actually be feeling a bit better.  I think I have a little more energy than usual.  Since my last post, I've spoken to more people who have seen the documentary film "Forks Over Knives" and were also inspired to "go Vegan".  They also reported feeling better than they ever had.  Of course, none of them were suffering from chronic illnesses that I'm aware of but just the fact that a change in diet could have such a profound effect on one's general well-being is so exciting.

My conscience is so much clearer now too.  I gave up eating meat quite a few years ago but still ate fish and dairy.  I always felt guilty, since I knew of the tortured lives chickens and dairy cows endure, never seeing the light of day or breathing fresh air.  I love the taste of fish, so I always rationalized eating it by thinking that since fish lived in their natural habitat and basically led a normal life up till the time they were killed, they weren't nearly as inhumanely treated as other farm animals.

I never had a rationale for eating dairy, I guess I was just lazy and simply avoided thinking about it.  Anyway, I didn't mean to get on my animal rights soap box since it's not really relevant to the topic.

I'm displaying the link for the film "Forks Over Knives" here again because I highly recommend watching it.  I think it can be very helpful if not life-changing.