Monthly Archives: August 2023

Clinical Hypnosis and Fibromyalgia ( or any chronic pain disorders) Does hypnotherapy work to lower chronic pain?

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When most of us think about hypnosis our minds often wander to watching someone get hypnotized on stage and running around barking like a dog or clucking like a chicken. This is known as stage hypnosis. The hypnosis therapy I am referring to is clinical hypnosis. It is very different then stage hypnosis and has many benefits.

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A bit of a personal story before I get into what hypnotherapy is and the benefits…

In January (2023) , I began seeing a psychologist ( I will call her T. in my blogs) who is trained to understand chronic pain and to perform clinical hypnosis on clients she works with. She had introduced me to a self hypnosis video early on for chronic pain. I won’t lie, I probably tried not to roll my eyes when she told me she was going to send me the link to this video. ( Haha. Sorry T. for any eye rolls you may have witnessed). I’ve had very negative experiences with previous mental health counsellors and psychologists in my fibromyalgia journey that I found it difficult starting with a new psychologist without being sarcastic and defensive. I was used to having to defend myself and the guidance was not the best. “You are on the right track.” ” I can’t see you anymore, because you are too negative.” are two comments that stand out in my mind when I think back. I often thought to myself if I was on the right track I wouldn’t be sitting in your office. I always thought a psychologist was there to help a person work through the negativity and look at situations in a different way to help lower negativity. Although I do not think I was being negative simply by stating, “I feel like there is no program here for me at the pain clinic due to sitting on waiting lists for 6 months.” I know it was a lack of knowledge on chronic pain and fibromyalgia. However lack of knowledge should not result in comments that make the patient feel belittled and leaving the office crying. I began having anxiety attacks the night before when I saw the previous therapists, which then resulted in fibromyalgia flares. The one therapist I decided to walk away from treatment, but the other one had been set up by insurance disability and I was not allowed to walk away.

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After several appointments and building rapport, I decided to allow T. to perform a hypnosis on me during my appointment. In order for hypnosis to actually work, one must feel comfortable enough with the clinician. The first session I was extremely nervous and felt uneasy because I didn’t know what to expect. T. reassured me that I would be aware of everything going on and that she can’t make me do anything I didn’t want to do while being hypnotized.

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To my surprise the hypnosis was very relaxing and calming. She picked the perfect hypnosis script to use that I was able to resonate with. I can’t really reflect on whether it changed my pain levels as we only did one session with a script. I’m looking forward to trying more hypnosis sessions to see how my body reacts to the therapy. My goals are to help use it to lower pain levels, maybe see improvement in sleep quality and help keep my anxiety at bay. Maybe along the way other symptoms may diminish. Even the self hypnosis video helped me get into a deep state of relaxation. I often fall asleep while listening to this video. You can find this video here. It is geared towards chronic pain. There are many different self hypnosis videos on Youtube. I’ve tried different versions and always come back to the same one.

I decided I wanted to explore the hypnosis more, however hypnosis got put on hold for several months as I ended up needing talk therapy more at that given time. Now back on track, my next appointment we will step back into hypnosis sessions.

Quick run down on hypnosis…

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Hypnosis is a strategy that is used to help people enter a deep state of relaxation and focused concentration. For myself I find hypnosis easier then meditation. While in the deep relaxation, it is said that one is more open to suggestions a clinician may make to help improve your health. The clinician will use guided cues, repitition and imagery to help you enter into this state of relaxation. Remember, you remain aware of what is going on around you at all times. Hypnosis accesses your subconscious mind.

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Success rates with hypnotherapy is higher then other methods of treatment used by psychologists. . Hypnotherapy has a 93% success rate! That is a pretty high success rate in my opinion. Less sessions seem to be needed when hypnotherapy is used. Studies reveal that more than 75% of people with arthritis and related pain conditions – have pain relief after using hypnotherapy. If hypnotherapy can help lower arthritis pain why can’t it help fibromyalgia pain? Both are chronic pain conditions. I found this website with a ton of studies done on hypnotherapy. There are too many studies to begin to discuss in my blog. Here is the link to these studies.

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Benefits of hypnotherapy on chronic pain

1. Known to help lower chronic pain levels.

2. Helps lower stress levels.

3. Helps lower depression and anxiety.

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4. A study revealed people who use hypnosis for fibromyalgia reported 80% fewer painful episodes versus people who did not use hypnosis. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for symptoms to possibly diminish up to 80%??

5. Hypnosis can enhance quality of sleep. As we know lack of sleep causes fibromyalgia symptoms to be worse.

6. Hypnosis is said to influence the autonomic nervous system. it helps regulate the autonomic nervous system. Thus, allowing people to control their symptoms better.

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There are many more benefits to clinical hypnosis, but these are the ones that stood out when I did my research on hypnosis. One must keep an open mind when starting hypnosis and trust the process. It may awkward at first. Allow the process to happen. After all, what have you got to lose? Hypnosis doesn’t always work on everyone, but you won’t know until you try. I am learning, the mind is a very powerful, with the right guidance. I will write a blog later on reflecting on consistent hypnosis sessions and how my body responded.

Here are a few websites on hypnosis

  1. https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/hypnosis/about/pac-20394405
  2. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22676-hypnosis

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy and Fibromyalgia.

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Over the last six months I have been doing a lot of reading about hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) being used to treat fibromyalgia. You are probably wondering what hyperbaric oxygen therapy is… here is a quick run down on the concept. HBOT involves breathing 100% pure oxygen in a hyperbaric chamber. While in the chamber the air pressure is raised to a higher than normal pressure level. Raising the air pressure in the chamber allows a person’s lungs to collect more oxygen. Normal air we breath only consists of 21% oxygen levels. Oxygen is necessary for our body’s tissues to function. Sooo… how does HBOT help fibromyalgia?!

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There have been many studies completed on HBOT and fibromyalgia. A 2015 clinical study was conducted to determine if hyperbaric oxygen therapy can diminish fibromyalgia symptoms. Patients were evaluated at baseline ( before HBOT treatments), after a control period of no treatment and after HBOT treatments. Each individual was evaluated physically which included tender points and pain threshold, evaluations on quality of life and SPECT scan which evaluated brain activity. The study revealed that there had been improvements of all fibromyalgia symptoms and improvement in quality of life. The SPECT imaging revealed that the brain’s hyperactivity in areas of the brain decreased in pain related areas of fibromyalgia patients. Read about the study here.

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In 2022, 9 studies were compiled together for review to compare data on HBOT treatment on fibromyalgia. A total of 288 patients were included in this review. Again the results showed that HBOT could relieve the pain in fibromyalgia patients compared to the control intervention. The treatments helped improve tender points, fatigue, multidimensional function and sleep disturbances. Read the full study here.

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What are the benefits of hyperbaric oxygen therapy for fibromyalgia?

1. Known to lower chronic pain levels.

2. Known to diminish nerve pain.

3. Increases oxygen levels throughout the body, thus increasing blood flow to areas on the body.

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4. Has been shown to improve brain function and cognitive abilities.

5. Decreases inflammation and swelling.

6. Increases the body’s ability to fight toxins that can build up in cells and cause damage.

There may be many other benefits, but for my blog these are the ones I chose to list.

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There are also risks involved in using hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

1. Ear pressure or popping feeling in the ears due to higher air pressure in the chamber.

2. The therapy can cause lightheadedness and fatigue. These are normal side effects and should reside shortly after treatment.

3. Due to changes in air pressure treatment could possibly irritate the sinus. The pressure can cause the sinuses to become inflammed.

4. “Tooth squeeze” can result from the pressure changes. It can cause pain in the teeth.

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5. Eye pain and pressure. Research states therapy can cause possible change to the shape of the lens of the eye. These changes are temporary and rarely permanent.

More serious complications include

1. Lung damage

2. Ruptures middle ear. My research stated that this is more common due to the pressure.

3. Oxygen poisoning. There are specific directions to preventing this from happening. Prolonged exposure and very rare.

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The complications sound scary, but with proper protocols being followed, side effects are often short lived and begin to correct themselves after resting.

Read more about the possible complications here.

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Please note not everyone will be a match for hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Certain health issues or conditions make it too risky for therapy to take place. I won’t list all the conditions here as I do not know the entirety of the list. For example, many articles stated people with COPD should not use HBOT therapy.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used for many other conditions. It is also known to slow dementia progression, help heal skin grafts, help recover from traumatic brain injuries and even improve carbon monoxide poisoning. It is no surprise that HBOT can possibly help fibromyalgia. If I was given the opportunity to try hyperbaric oxygen therapy I would – after all it is less invasive then adding more prescriptions.

Fibromyalgia and hearing loss. Another correlation found!

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Since I started conversing with people world-wide who live with fibromyalgia, an interesting topic in regards to associated coexisting issues keeps arising. I never had the answer or even heard complaints of this topic before – hearing loss. I thought to myself hearing loss can’t be yet another possible condition that coexists with fibromyalgia. To my surprise, it is possible to suffer from hearing loss from fibromyalgia!! According to researchers, a study revealed people with fibromyalgia are 4.5 times more likely to suffer from hearing loss then people without the illness! Visit here to try the online hearing test.

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A Norwegian study was conducted – 44, 494 people with fibromyalgia or other forms of musculoskeletal pain disorders participated. The study was set out to determine if there was a correlation between pain disorders and hearing loss could be established. A control group was also part of the study. The study never clarified possible causes of hearing loss with musculoskeletal pain disorders. I researched over and over and could not find any further explanations. The results revealed that individuals with fibromyalgia reported hearing loss compared to people without fibromyalgia or other musculoskeletal pain conditions. You can read about this study here.

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A more recent study was done in 2021. The study was much smaller, which included only 33 people with fibromyalgia and 33 healthy volunteers. Each individual underwent various testing on their hearing. The results of the study revealed pure-tone hearing thresholds of right and left ears were found to be decreased in those with fibromyalgia compared to the healthy individuals. Read about this study here.

These are just two studies completed. I found a few other studies which all seem to report hearing loss is prevalent among people with fibromyalgia.

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Another ear issue that can occur with fibromyalgia…

Tinnitus is also prevalent in those with fibromyalgia. If you do not know what tinnitus is – it is when a person hears ringing in their ears or other sounds that are not produced by external sounds. Other people around you will not hear the ringing sounds. A 2021 study revealed that fibromyalgia patients were more likely to suffer from tinnitus then those without fibromyalgia. 59.3% with fibromyalgia were found to have tinnitus and 7.7% of the control group ( without fibromyalgia). Another study also revealed that that patients with fibromyalgia and severe tinnitus had lower functional impairments and their overall quality of life was low then those without fibromyalgia.

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You can read about both studies here

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35077079/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10324957/

Tinnitus does not contribute to deafness, ( according to many websites I used while researching). However, other sites state it does contribute to hearing loss. I am getting mixed information, so I cannot state if it does or does not contribute to deafness. Either way, tinnitus can cause interference with your hearing.

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