FIBROMYALGIA

Two years ago I started to get periods of extreme pain in my joints. These attacks would come and go. They were never in just one or the same joints nor could we figure out what triggered them. There seemed to be no pattern or reason for them. I developed T.M.J. (pain in the jaw joint) and irritable bowel syndrome in addition to the joint pain. No one put the three together. I went to four different doctors before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I had never heard of such a condition but, by the time I was diagnosed I was in some type of pain about 70% of the time. Over the next year we tried different kinds of treatments including medication and exercise. These helped but never completely got rid of the pain. During that year my condition worsened. I was never without pain, it was just a matter of how severe it would be. During the last attack I sat in my doctor's office in tears. I cried because of the pain but, also because of my frustration. I was depressed and we had run out of options. This is when she suggested I visit Matthew Miller and consider acupuncture.

I was on the maximum pain medication I could take along with three others for pain, sleeping and depression. I felt like a 38 year old lady in a 98 year old body. It hurt to get up, walk, work, drive or do basic daily activities. I researched and prayed about the doctor's suggestion. I decided to give acupuncture a try. To be honest during the first session I said to myself, what in the world am I doing here and why am I paying this man to stick needles in me! It didn't take long to get past this because when I left I went home and fell into a deep sleep without any medication. This is something I had not been able to do in 10 months. After two days I had relief from my pain. It was amazing! The pain relief is a true blessing but, I have also experienced a sense of well being. My feeling of depression has lessened. I am calmer and less irritable. I feel like myself again. I no longer feel like that grumpy, hurting 98 year old woman. My T.M.J. is no longer keeping me up at night and my irritable bowel syndrome attacks have gone from daily to once or twice a month. I no longer take pain medication daily, matter of fact it is rarely I take it now. The benefits that I experienced after beginning acupuncture treatment have persisted for over three months now.

It is truly a hopeless feeling to be in pain every day. I cannot tell you how liberating it is to be free of that bondage. I praise God for the healing found in acupuncture and for the work Matthew Miller is doing.

Kristina May,
Preschool Director, Lynchburg, VA

:: LINKS ::

Click here to read more about scientific research on acupuncture treatment of fibromyalgia.

Click here to read more about fibromyalgia.