Fibromyalgia Treatment at Christchurch Pain Clinic
- Jean Jordan
- Mar 10
- 7 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Fibromyalgia is a complex illness often taking years to get a definitive diagnosis. The reasons for this delay is although fibromyalgia is a musculoskeletal problem causing chronic pain throughout your body there can be a collection of other signs and symptoms.
Signs and Symptoms of Fibromyalgia
o Pain that can come and go, even move to different parts of your body, making it very difficult to know how you're going to feel from day to day and what you will be able to do.
o Fatigue, again this can be ongoing and continual or it may be intermittent with some days better than others.
o Sleep can be very intermittent and lack of sleep can make pain and fatigue much worse.
o There is a saying of "fibro fog" due to the fact that concentration and memory can be a problem especially at work.
o Added to this effect can be a hypersensitivity to noise, smells or light.
It is not surprising if some or all of the above are part of your daily life, that anxiety or depression can develop.
Is Fibromyalgia over medicated?
I remember one client that came to my pain clinic in Perth. She found me because that only treatment she was offered was to take medication, the specialist saying this was her only option.
This was several years ago, However you are still likely to be prescribed anti-depressants or medicine such as gabapentin or pregablin as there is evidence that they may reduce your pain levels.
When I look through my client intake forms they can be taking anywhere from 2 to 5 or more medications that have little evidence to improve symptoms or reduce pain.
At the New Zealand Pain Society annual conference that took place in Christchurch in March I listened to international speakers and univeristy researchers talk about the ineffective medical treatments that are used as perisitent pain treatments.
Unfortuntely medications have side effects, at higher doses, such as tiredness, dizziness and problems concentrating - interesting that medicines side-effects seem rather similar to the symptoms listed at the top of the article.
My client decided she didn't want to take medication and decided not to return to the specialist. By working with me she found resolution of her pain. This did take about six months, during this time she needed to make changes to her lifestyle and to learn a lot about herself.
There is a lot of research being done that show resolution of fibromyalgia is possible by including neurology or understanding how the brain creates pain. I have written more about these ideas in my online website.
This is a relevant article your may find interesting: Emotional Release for Chronic Pain Management
Learn Simple Ways to Relax for Pain Relief
It has been shown in research that relaxation techniques and meditation can be of benefit to people who have fibromyalgia. I created this downloadable E-Book that you can use to not only relax but also to distract yourself from your pain.
Searching for that miracle fibromyalgia cure in support group
It is somewhat contentious as to whether once you have fibromyalgia as to whether it will ever go away. I remember visiting two different support groups while I was practicing at my pain clinic in Perth. I was giving talks in my capacity as a natural pain therapist sharing my ideas around fibromyalgia especially in relation to chronic pain.
The first group to whom I gave a presentation was a support group that met regularly. However my presentation and ideas about the cause of fibromyalgia, being related to past life events were quickly forgotten when one of the members of the group shared her recent experience of a new therapy, a new cure!
Unfortunately this new treatment had a price tag of over $2000?
Is Fibromyalgia a Lifelong Disease?
My other experience of giving a talk at a fibromyalgia support group I found interesting for two reasons.
Firstly, the president started her welcome with the statement that she would have fibromyalgia for the rest of her life.
I thought this was a very strong definitive statement to announce to the group.
This is not true for everyone who has fibromyalgia. Was this the best statement for any newcomers to the group, or those recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia, to hear and remember?
Secondly, in this particular meeting several people again, shared their 'cures' - one was a sufferer who had found and was now selling magnesium oil.
The other was a doctor, a local GP who did a variation of acupuncture as part of his regular treatments that could cost as little as $10.
It's understandable that with such a painful difficult chronic condition as fibromyalgia people who are suffering are looking to make their lives easier and of course many are hoping for a medication or treatment that will make them pain-free.
New Fibromyalgia Treatments offer Hope
CBT has been one of the none medical treatments for those with fibromyalgia giving some relief. However there is now resaerch that backs up my methods I've used for over 20 years in my practice.
My emotional release verified as neuroplastic treatment
Lumley and Schubiner have conducted research that showed processing emotions from past life events and trauma was more effective than normal treatment and also showed more relief of symptoms of fibromyalgia than CBT.
One thought is that although acknowledgement and changing how we react or manage our emotions is still leaving those troublesome neural networks (encoded memories) in our brains intact.
Explaining the effect of those past stored emotions to clients and allowing their expression in a safe manner as used by Emotional Awareness and Expression Therapy developed by Mark Lumley and Howard Schubiner.
The processing emotions I have been doing within my consultation is now accepted. Although I knew it worked (have research to prove this) but I will accept at times the positive changes could be difficult to explain.
Effectively the techniques I developed when I worked as a kinesiologist were not only 'clearing out emotional baggage' but at the same time starting to rewire the brain by changing neural networks.
Hence physical or mental symptoms created by the brain were changed, either during the consultation or by self-help techniques used at home.
I have brought all of this knowledge and information together here in Natural Pain Solutions. Now if you have persistent pain and are ready to create change by youf effort I can introduce you to understadning of how the brain is implicated in chronic pain.
Add to that I have produced videos and recordings that give you the opportunity to create change.
New pain support program in 2026
Choose 6 weeks or 12 weeks
Managing Fibromyalgia Symptoms at Home
It may seem at times that fibromyalgia takes up all your thoughts, time and effort so that the normal everyday life and things you enjoyed in the past are just not possible. But there are steps, natural self-help ideas that can really improve your life.
Find a support person for your fibromyalgia illness
Some of my clients have had supportive doctors or therapist - this is important. So. if you don't have support from a clinician, medical or complementary it's time to find them.
Obviously, if you have to pay for visits you will need to make good use of that time. To do this you need to spend time thinking about the information and help you need from them and ASK!!
In my clinical practice it's important to make plans together to bring about change and to set a follow-up appointment or email contact. Without support any self-care plans are very likely to fail.
Finally, on this topic of support for your fibromyalgia treatment and plans for your future what you must have is someone who listens to you, not just a professional who talks, one who listens.
Holistic Natural Solutions for Fibromyalgia
You may have to take a variety of medications to manage your fibromyalgia symptoms but at the same time it's important to learn and use natural self-help practices to improve not solely your fibromyalgia but your general health and happiness, as we all need a self-fulfilling life.
One of the reasons I created my new online business 'Natural Pain Solutions' was to help explain the process of chronic pain and provide information from both research and my own clinical experience of over 20 years working with those with chronic pain.
At the same time I share straight forward ideas that anyone; patient or clinician can use for themselves or prescribe for their patients or clients.
If you wish to begin to gain more understanding of fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions visit my Natural Pain Solutions Website.
Fibro-Fog - Memory and Thinking Problems with Fibromyalgia
I want to briefly mention one aspect of fibromyalgia that is often overlooked especially in many treatment plans and protocols; how your brain can be affected. It may seem that you are 'losing your mind' and the harder you try to concentrate, focus and remember the worse your memory becomes.
There is a reason for this.
The area of the brain responsible for learning and memory is the hippocampus. This part of the brain can diminish with long standing chronic pain (Mutso, 2012). Therefore this aspect of living with fibromyalgia needs to be discussed and explained to clients or patients who are experiencing memory or concentration problems.
Online Chronic Pain Support Program
Christchurch and South Island
As I mentioned above if you have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, recently or years ago you may need a support system; someone to listen, someone to help you not only make plans but to also encourage you to be accountable so that change can begin now in 2026!
Jean Jordan: as a natural therapy practitioner, that includes naturopathic medicine, kinesiology and yoga I can bring a holistic integrated approach to all pain conditions. And it's been my experience in the last 20 years that natural therapies, complimentary or alternative therapies are often searched for and used by people who have not found satisfactory treatment for their chronic pain.
References: -
Mutso, Amelia A., et al. "Abnormalities in hippocampal functioning with persistent pain." Journal of Neuroscience 32.17 (2012): 5747-5756.
Lumley, Mark A et al. “Emotional awareness and expression therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and education for fibromyalgia: a cluster-randomized controlled trial.” Pain vol. 158,12 (2017): 2354-2363.
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