I Have Fibromyalgia/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, but it Doesn't Have Me!
That Fibro MOM: Pediatric Fibromyalgia is Real
According to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), children need to have pain only in three sites on their body for a period greater than three moths, in addition to five (instead of eleven) out of eighteen predetermined tender points, and three of ten minor criteria such as fatigue, anxiety, poor sleeo, or IBS. Children do not usually have pain in as many areas as adults,.. and most do not have the full spectrum of symptoms.
(Scroll over each image and click to read more.)
"This initial map serves as our baseline and the only evidence of fibromyalgia that is possible to obtain. We remap our patients at each subsequent visit while hiding our earlier maps from our view. Only upon completion of the examination do we retrieve the older sketches for comparison. This system has effectively permitted us to find the proper dosage of our medication and to confirm reversal of the disease."–R. Paul St. Amand, MD, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Fibromyalgia
Here Dr. St. Amand is palpating Alex's muscles checking for fibromyalgia lesions: the swollen tissues of fibromyalgia (spastic muscles, tendons, ligaments, and some joints.) Dr. St. Amand then draws his findings on a printed caricature of the body. He depicts the size, shape, and location of each lesion and shades it according to its degree of hardness. The first map is the "baseline" to be used for future mappings that he'll compare for progress under treatment.
As a Fibro MOM, and patient of Dr. St. Amand's, who has followed the Guaifenesin Protocol for years, I suspected at age two, that Alex had fibromyalgia, but I didn't want to "open that can of worms" with local doctors, until I knew Alex was old enough to swallow pills and to fly with me to Los Angeles and get checked by Dr. St. Amand.
Fibromyalgia is genetic. City of Hope Research Center, Duarte, CA, has ongoing studies. https://www.cityofhope.org/research/research-overview/fibromyalgia-research-fund/fibromyalgia-research-faqs
I suspected Pediatric Fibromyalgia in Alex when he was two. He would run around and play with other children and then suddenly STOP and lie on the ground to rest. He also had pain behind his knees and would walk on his toes. He developed migraine headaches caused by (reactive hypoglycemia) at age five. Our whole family follows Dr. St. Amand's Diet for Hypoglycemia.
Meet Alexander (Alex)
This is my son, Alex. He was six years old when he was diagnosed with Pediatric Fibromyalgia (Juvenile Primary Fibromyalgia Syndrome, JPFS) by R. Paul St. Amand, MD, in Marina del Rey, CA. www.fibromyalgiatreatment.com
Alex always used to sit "rolled in a ball" because it hurt his body too much to extend his legs. He always had lots of pain behind his knees and "growing pains" as a younger child.
*Alex has been on the Guaifenesin Protocol for seven years now, and he is doing GREAT! He no longer sits like this, nor has pain behind his knees.
© 2023 Chantal K. Hoey-Sanders. All rights reserved.