No One Has A Prozac Deficiency

Welcome to the Fibromyalgia Summit 0:00

Hi. Welcome. I'm doctor Roger Murphy, and I'm your host of freedom from Fibromyalgia Summit. Welcome. Do you have an antidepressant deficiency? Now, that's kind of facetious, I know, but it's a common medication used in the fibromyalgia communities. It's recommended. 1 in 10 females in the United States is taking at least one antidepressant. In fact, the United States, we spend more money on antidepressants

Rethinking Antidepressants in Fibromyalgia 0:31

than the next three largest countries gross national products combined. We spent a lot of money on antidepressants, and there's certainly a time and a place, and these medications can be helpful. But I want to really change the paradigm to one of thinking that we can drug our way out of fibromyalgia, to realizing that that approach will be a consistent failure, and that the approach that, experts like myself, who've been practicing functional medicine and talking about finding and fixing the underlying causes of the symptoms, especially the fibromyalgia, I mean, there's just so many symptoms and just relying on prescription medications alone or even supplements alone without diving deep to find out what's causing the symptom is a recipe for disaster.

And it's really kind of the model that most people have been used to for a number of years. You go to your doctor, he or she recommends, prescription medication for whatever symptom that is ailing you, whatever you're complaining about and practicing, for the last 32 years, specializing in fibromyalgia, last 22 years. It's not, common when I start working with patients for them

Limits and Side Effects of Medication 1:49

to be on half a dozen or a dozen prescription medications, they're taking a drug, the drug to put them to sleep, a drug to wake them up, a drug to speed them up, a drug to slow them down. It's not uncommon for these individuals to not even know what the medications are for. They're on so many medications. They've lost track, and it's very common for them not to know. Is the medication helpful or not. And that's partly due to the illness of fibromyalgia where you some days are good, some days are most days are bad.

Right? I have to say it that way. But, so you never know. I mean, is the medication helpful or not? I mean, you don't really notice that you feel that much better, but this is what has been recommended. I want to change that whole mindset to one of really looking at, a more natural approach. And I know that, it can be hard to, to change paradigms and realize that there's, there are natural substances, what we call nutraceuticals or natural supplements, whether it's vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids that actually correct the underlying deficiencies and then correct the symptoms rather than just covering up the symptoms with the medication.

But if we look at selective serotonin and reuptake inhibitors or selective serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, these are something that are these are medications recommended all the time for fibromyalgia. In fact, the first couple of medications recommended or approved

Why Serotonin Matters 3:25

for fibromyalgia were, antidepressants. Avila and Cymbalta. And those medications, again, they can be helpful. But we need to realize that there are some inherent challenges with these medications. One is they all have potential side effects. Ironically, these medications can cause anxiety and depression, but they can also cause diffuse achy pain. They deplete your natural sleep hormone, melatonin. They can cause brain fog, weight gain. All sorts of potential side effects can show up with these medications.

And we need to realize that these medications are oftentimes no better than a sugar pill. When we look at an a meta analysis or, research that shows, you know, looks at a bunch of different studies, we see that if you take an antidepressant, it's really no more effective than taking a sugar pill. And 70% of those those studies. Now we look at, what these medications do. First of all, we need to realize these medications don't make serotonin. They don't make norepinephrine. Serotonin is an incredibly important stress coping chemical.

This neurotransmitter helps to raise your pain threshold, helps to reduce anxiety and depression, helps to correct irritable bowel syndrome. And it helps for mental clarity. So obviously it's something that those are fibromyalgia need to optimize because you'll hear many of these interviews in the summit that those are fibromyalgia or notoriously low in serotonin.

Natural Ways to Rebuild Brain Chemistry 4:59

And that's one reason why they have a low pain threshold. But these medications don't make serotonin. They only help you hang on to what you have. So if you look at a normal brain and then you look at a fibro, right, if you're taking a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor and there's nothing to take, it's not going to do much. It's like using a gasoline additive in an empty gasoline tank for those of fibromyalgia after years of poor sleep and and just have the stress of having a chronic illness like fibromyalgia, you deplete these stress coping chemicals, including serotonin.

And so using a gasoline additive in an empty gasoline tank usually doesn't yield much. As far as positive results. What I want to share with you is that the that serotonin, like a lot of chemicals that the body needs, actually comes from our diet. You can take it in a supplement, but you should be getting into your diet. Now, some people with fibromyalgia can't get enough of the amino acid in proteins and the amino acids tryptophan, or they have a genetic glitch that blocks the conversion of tryptophan to its more active form, called five hydroxy tryptophan.

And so but you can rather than taking a gasoline additive, you can use an over-the-counter supplement to help you create more serotonin. And that is the preferred method of most of the the, experts that are sharing with you. Certainly, it's my preference is to encourage you to use more, more natural approach rather than using a drug that is. Again, this doesn't make serotonin. They only helps you hang on to what little or any that you have. Why not use a natural approach

Restoring Sleep and Reducing Symptoms 6:54

that will literally fill your brain up with gasoline? So there's all kinds of things that can be helpful and be dramatically helpful even though they're natural. So don't discount some of the speakers and some of the things that we're sharing with you. Yes, the majority of us really try to use, all natural supplements and avoid prescription medications, although there's a time and there is a place for prescription medications. But what you'll hear in today's interviews, a lot of people talking about some of the natural approaches that they have found to be helpful with, with their fibromyalgia patients.

For myself, looking at patients of, you know, looking at the history of patients our last 22 years, what I see is if I can start getting that serotonin level built back up, get them going into deep restorative sleep, we'll see a dramatic reduction in their symptoms, whether that's plane fatigue, irritable bowel, restless leg syndrome, brain fog, anxiety, depression, whatever it is. So don't discount the fact that you've got a complicated illness. And you come to the false conclusion that something natural is is not going to be strong enough.

It's a whole different paradigm. We're looking to use the raw ingredients that make the hormones that make the brain chemicals that make the enzymes that help you digest the food. We're looking to use these natural substances that the body has become deficient in to help you to correct these deficiencies that are creating the symptoms. So keep an open mind and enjoy today's interviews for.