Question:
had fibromyalgia for who knows how long, but just got diagnosed this year. I
am hugely fortunate to have a doctor who is also struck with this evil pain
in the...well....everywhere basically, and she has put me on an experimental
treatment which I have had some success with. The theory is (besides the
accident and underlying infection that started the whole thing) that
fibromyalgia may be a blood clotting disorder which causes tiny clots to
form in the small vessels in the muscles, blocking/decreasing flow. This
prevents fresh oxygen and nutrients from getting to the muscles and also
prevents waste from getting out of them. (Like lactic acid, so when you
exercise, it just hurts more.) It also allows bacteria to grow in the
clotted areas creating all sorts of other fun cooties for us to deal with.
Anyway, I take a heprin shot twice a day to help break up these clots.
Heprin is a blood thinner which has been used forever for dealing with
clotting problems. It has been closely monitored to make sure I don't have
any allergies, because allergic reactions to heprin are not pretty, and also
to make sure that my blood has not been delayed so long in it's clotting
time that I could bleed out in case of an accident, etc. So far everything
is going well. I've been on this treatment for about 9 months or so. It has
helped quite a bit with my pain, although I do still have flare ups, which
are not at all enjoyable. I take other pain killers and muscle relaxers,
plus a special diet to also help with this, but primarily the heprin is the
major influence. I was wondering if anyone else was on this treatment, or
knew about it, and what kind of results you might be having?
Answer:
Sodium Heparin is an anti-coagulant usually administered
intravenously. For instance, it is used during hemodialysis to
prevent blood coagulation within the artifical kidney and related
tubing. By the way, s. heparin is made from bovine and porcine animal
sources, which is why alergies can be a problem. Usually when a
patient shows an allergy to one type, they do well with the other.
It is surprising to hear that your docs are using heparin instead of
the usual panwafarin-type oral coagulants, like Coumadin (also used
in some rat poisons, though in very differnt relative strengths),
which are also used as a preventative treatment for peripheral
vascular thrombosis. Perhaps the heparin is more effective with this
micro-clots? I will have to look in the literature.
I am curious. Have you had any problems with brusing and/or internal
bleeding complications, ie, in the gut or joints?
Thanks for sharing this personal information on a fascinating new
treatment.
