IS COLLOIDAL SILVER AN EFFECTIVE REMEDY FOR FIBROMYALGIA?

Is colloidal silver an effective remedy for fibromyalgia? While there are no significant clinical studies on the use of colloidal silver for fibromyalgia, some cutting edge practitioners routinely recommend it for the condition.

What’s more, over the past 16 years I’ve received numerous anecdotal accounts from readers suffering from fibromyalgia who had serendipitously decided to use colloidal silver for a minor infection such as a cold or flu, and then found their fibromyalgia symptoms were dramatically reduced as a result.

Is colloidal silver an effective remedy for fibromyalgia? – google image

Below you’ll discover what a number of fibromyalgia victims have said about the results they’ve achieved with colloidal silver, along with some important information on the underlying causes of fibromyalgia and how colloidal silver usage can fit into a successful nutritional intervention program for this painful disease…

According to Dr. Kent Holtorf, M.D., of the Holtorf Medical Group, colloidal silver is one of the few natural treatments that have been found by cutting edge medical practitioners to be significantly effective against fibromyalgia.

He states:

“The effectiveness of oligodynamic silver’s antimicrobial action at extremely low doses in combination with its potential immune stimulating actions, makes it an ideal naturally occurring substance in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.”

In his report titled “Safety and Efficacy of Intravenous Oligodynamic Silver,” Dr. Holtorf goes on to state:

“Hundreds of thousands of doses of oral colloidal silver and thousands of doses of intravenous colloidal silver are given every month in the United States.

This is usually done to treat acute and chronic infections including those associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and fibromyalgia (FM).

The effectiveness of the use of oral and intravenous colloidal silver in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia was presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine in October 2003.

The extremely low level of colloidal silver used at 23 parts per million (ppm) has been shown to have little or no potential for toxicity while having the significant potential for clinical benefit.”

Very little significant clinical research conducted on the use of colloidal silver for fibromyalgia.

While Dr. Holtorf’s statement is promising, the fact remains that with the exception of the medical conference he cited, there has been very little significant clinical research conducted on the use of colloidal silver for fibromyalgia.

Indeed, most of the information on the use of colloidal silver as a nutritional intervention for fibromyalgia has been anecdotal in nature, meaning reports from people who have used colloidal silver themselves and have found it to reduce their fibromyalgia symptoms – sometimes quite dramatically.

And it’s largely because of these numerous anecdotal reports from fibromyalgia victims that many natural health advocates have come to routinely recommend colloidal silver as a nutritional remedy for fibromyalgia.

For example, according to natural health journalist Tony Isaacs, writing on the NaturalNews.com website:

“Fibromyalgia…is characterized by widespread chronic pain involving multiple ‘tender points’ in the upper neck, back, shoulders, and hips.

Treatments, such as painkillers, antidepressants, muscle relaxants, and the injections of anesthetics are rarely effective.

However, many may find relief from nature and alternatives as opposed to mainstream drugs and treatments.

A natural alternative which may heal fibromyalgia is to take plenty of colloidal silver – start off with 2-4 ounces per day and maintain at least an ounce a day until you achieve satisfactory results.”

Real-life accounts

Many people have found dramatic relief from their fibromyalgia symptoms after using colloidal silver – google image

Over the past 16 years, dozens of people have written or called to tell me that they’ve found dramatic relief from their fibromyalgia symptoms after using colloidal silver orally.

My theory is that fibromyalgia is much like chronic fatigue syndrome in nature – that is to say, it is often connected to a hidden underlying infection, such as a mycoplasmas infection or an underlying viral infection such as Epstein Barr or Cytomegalovirus.

Some researchers have also connected fibromyalgia with systemic Candida yeast infections. And some researchers have connected it with Hepatitis C infections, as well as Chlamydia pneumonia infections.

This may well be why so many fibromyalgia victims seem to obtain positive long-term results from using colloidal silver: i.e., its inherent infection-fighting qualities appear to help mitigate the underlying infection that fibromyalgia victims suffer from, thus dramatically reducing the painful symptoms of the disease.

I’ll discuss that idea in more depth, in just a moment. But first here are some excerpts from testimonials I’ve received from readers who have successfully used colloidal silver for fibromyalgia:

“I’m an RN with a BSN from a large university. My father is a retired dentist.

We are a medical family. So the biggest hurdle for me was to let myself experiment with colloidal silver and give it a chance.

…I’m also a two-time cancer survivor, and had (notice the past tense) fibromyalgia after the initial chemotherapy round in 1995.

I purchased your manual, then use Colloidal Silver, just prior to the second round of cancer/chemo.

Once I finished chemo, I treated myself for fibromyalgia as per the manual. I am convinced the fibromyalgia has at least regressed.

I still have sleep issues that go along with the fibromyalgia diagnosis, but I no longer have the deep aches and pains that affected my daily life before this.”

— C.R., Highland, Utah

Here’s another example:

“I have fibromyalgia and I take silver every day.

I feel so much… better. Less fatigue, less pain, more memory and no depression, my irritable bowel syndrome has been helped as well.”

— Cindy S.

This fibromyalgia victim says she takes two ounces of colloidal silver per day and no longer suffers from the usual aches that characterize the disease:

“Hello, we have been a fan of colloidal silver for about a year. I have Hep C and Fibromyalgia and the achys that go with them.

I have found that if I take a few oz’s of colloidal silver a day I don’t ache anymore. Now we make it for ourselves. Good stuff!”

— Terri R.

And this fibromyalgia victim says her fibromyalgia symptoms come roaring back “big time” when she fails to take her colloidal silver:

“…I also have fibromyalgia and can see a big difference when I forget to use my colloidal silver…all the pain comes back big time.

I have had FM for about 15 years and have felt so much better and have been able to continue to work…all thanks to colloidal silver.

Is Fibromyalgia caused by an underlying infection?

As I mentioned earlier, in my personal layman’s opinion, I believe in many cases of fibromyalgia there’s an underlying viral or bacterial trigger, i.e., either a virus like Epstein Barr or Cytomegalovirus, or a “stealth pathogen” such as mycoplasma. Or even a systemic fungal infection such as Candida yeast.

Such pathogens can cause ongoing inflammation in the joints and around the muscle tissues and in the nerve sheaths throughout the body, which can lead to the wide constellation of painful symptoms experienced by fibromyalgia victims.

The Road Back Foundation, a group that advocates the use of antibiotic drugs to treat rheumatoid arthritis and related pain conditions, agrees that underlying infections might well be the cause of fibromyalgia as well, stating:

“The connection of fibromyalgia to infections is well documented in the literature, especially in relation to Lyme disease, mycoplasma, Chlamydia pneumoniae, Hepatitis C, Parvovirus B19, HIV, and Epstein-Barr.

It is believed as many as 25-40% of long-term Lyme patients develop fibromyalgia-like symptoms, particularly pain and fatigue; as many as 25% of HIV patients, 57% of Rheumatoid Arthritis patients and 24% of Psoriatic Arthritis patients also have fibromyalgia symptoms.”

In other words, people with known infections such as Lyme disease, HIV, Epstein-Barr and others often experience fibromyalgia-like symptoms along with the other symptoms ofthe disease they’re suffering from.

This has convinced many researchers that classic fibromyalgia by itself may well be caused by an underlying infection, which in turn might be causing inflammation and other cellular damage in the nerves, muscles and tissues of the victim, resulting in the broad array of pain symptoms experienced as fibromyalgia.

Other causes of Fibromyalgia

But do all fibromyalgia victims have an underlying infection? Not necessarily. According to Dr. Garth Nicholson, Ph.D.:

“Are chronic, systemic infections the answer to all fibromyalgia and other pain disorders? Of course not!

While underlying infections are likely to be an appropriate explanation for a rather large subset of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia syndrome patients, certainly not every patient will have the same chronic infections.

Some patients may have chemical exposures or other environmental problems as the underlying reason for their chronic signs and symptoms.”

So while underlying infections are “likely to be an appropriate explanation for a rather large subset” of fibromyalgia victims, other causes can include chemical exposures or exposures to environmental toxins or perhaps even environmental allergens.

Nevertheless, Dr. Nicholson says that through the use of DNA/PCR testing (a sophisticated lab test that can verify otherwise difficult-to-find hidden infections) he’s found mycoplasma infections in approximately 50% of patients with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and arthritis.

He states:

“The identification of mycoplasma infections in the leukocyte blood fractions of a rather large subset of chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia syndrome and arthritis patients suggests that mycoplasmas, and probably other chronic infections as well, may be an important source of morbidity in these patients.”

Fibromyalgia researcher D.L. Goldenberg has also found a connection between infectious microorganisms and fibromyalgia pain. He states:

“Infectious agents are capable of activating inflammatory cytokines which may in turn cause severe myalgias, fatigue, and neurocognitive disturbances…

The potential role of a microbial agent as a trigger to fibromyalgia remains tenable.

For example, antibodies to Chlamydia pneumoniae have been found in 78.3% of FM patients tested.”

That’s quite an interesting statement. The fact that infectious microorganisms are capable of “activating inflammatory cytokines which may in turn cause severe myalgias, fatigue, and neurocognitive disturbances” may well help explain why so many fibromyalgia victims find benefit from taking colloidal silver.

Indeed, recent clinical research has demonstrated that silver nanoparticles are potent inhibitors of the inflammatory response caused by cytokines.

For example, in the study “Silver Nanoparticles Interactions With the Immune System: Implications for Health and Disease,” it was demonstrated that silver nanoparticles have dramatic anti-inflammatory properties, and that these properties are a direct result of the inhibition of excessive cytokine production.

Said the researchers:

“It has been shown in vivo that silver nanoparticles decrease inflammation through cytokine modulation.

…silver nanoparticles…were found to strongly inhibit cytokine production, for example, of INF- γ, IL-6, IL-8, IL-11, TNF-α and more weakly IL-5.

…The lack of amplification of the inflammatory cytokine cascade is important in providing a permissive environment for wound repair and tissue regeneration to proceed.

These results have given an insight into the actions of silver and provided a novel therapeutic direction for wound treatment in clinical practice.”

In other words, the study authors believe that silver nanoparticles can improve wound healing because of their ability to modulate the cytokine cascade, which is to say, to prevent excessive cytokine expression in the human body which would otherwise lead to inflammation and pain and slower healing.

If it is true that silver inhibits excessive cytokine production in wound healing, would it not also be true in the case of underlying infections in which the infectious microorganism – whether bacterial, viral or fungal – is “activating inflammatory cytokines” and as a result causing “severe myalgias, fatigue, and neurocognitive disturbances”?

In another study published in the journal International Immunopharmacology, in 2007, researchers also found that silver appears to reduce cytokine-provoked inflammation to such a degree, they actually recommended it as a treatment against inflammation.

According to the study authors:

“…new research…indicates that silver goes further than this and modifies cytokines – the enzymes involved in cell growth and movement – leading to reduced inflammation and an increased rate of healing.

…MIT-based medical scientist Rutledge Ellis-Behnke regards the Hong Kong group’s research as groundbreaking, saying: “Silver has been used for over a thousand years in traditional Chinese

medicine for wound healing, but this is the first time that a hint of the true mechanism has been shown.”

The authors of the study concluded that “These experimental data suggest that nanosilver could be used to treat immunologic and inflammatory diseases.”

The bottom line is that this may well be the basis for the profound relief experienced by some fibromyalgia victims after experimenting with colloidal silver usage.

All of this leads me to believe that many people who have used colloidal silver and later witnessed a profound regression in fibromyalgia symptoms may very well have had a hidden underlying infection they were unaware of, and the colloidal silver either worked to remove the infection, or at least suppressed the inflammatory activity of the pathogen by reducing the excessive cytokine activity it would normally trigger.

Treating non-infectious cases with Colloidal Silver?

Colloidal Nano Silver 10ppm

However, Dr. Aundrea Adams, Ph.D., CTN, points out that colloidal silver is often wonderful for relieving pain on its own, whether or not an infection exists.

Indeed, she says that colloidal silver can heal pain because of silver’s innate quality as a “superconductor” of electrical current, including the electrical current that flows through the human body, and which pain often disrupts. She states:

“Many people are skeptical of claims that colloidal silver can take away pain and accelerate healing. Nevertheless, these impressive attributes are firmly grounded in medical science.

Pain is caused by an interruption of the electrical current that normally flows throughout the body at 50 to 70 millivolts. At the point of injury, the current drops towards zero millivolts.

This lack of electrical energy also impedes healing. Silver is a superconductor that bridges the electrical gap and restores healthy current flow.

You can prove this to yourself by placing a silver coin on a burn and experiencing instant pain relief.

In clinical trials at an FDA-approved laboratory, even silver-coated bandages were proven to have analgesic and regenerative properties.”

— Dr. Aundrea Adams, Ph.D., CTN

In other words, sometimes colloidal silver works to relieve chronic pain simply because it can help restore proper electrical flow in the body.

This means that even if a case of fibromyalgia is not caused by an underlying infection, colloidal silver might still help relieve the pain by acting as a conductor of electrical current in the body!

Are large doses necessary?

Most colloidal silver users with fibromyalgia say they’ve found relief with just a few ounces a day, taken orally.

However, some victims of fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme disease, Multiple Sclerosis or related chronic degenerative diseases feel they need to take extremely large daily amounts of colloidal silver in order to obtain relief.

This is often because they’ve read anecdotal accounts on the internet in which victims of mycoplasmas infections or related chronic degenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis or Lyme Disease have stated that they didn’t obtain relief from their symptoms until they began taking eight, 10, 12, or even 16 ounces of colloidal silver per day on a regular basis.

But that’s one heckuva load of silver on the kidneys and liver – one which I’d never recommend anyone to take, for any reason, for long periods of time. Why?

Because as I’ve written numerous times (here and here and here and here, for example), taking large daily amounts of colloidal silver for long periods of time can lead to a condition called argyria.

Argyria is a condition caused when excessive levels of silver are ingested on an ongoing basis, and the body’s normal channels of elimination become overwhelmed.

As a result, the excess silver cannot be effectively removed from the body, and ends up getting stored in the organs and tissues, and later pushed out to the skin. It then becomes tarnished upon exposure to light, permanently staining the skin blue or gray.

Colloidal Silver is only part of the solution

That’s why, for cases of fibromyalgia or other related chronic degenerative diseases such as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lyme disease, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis and others that are suspected of being caused by underlying infections, it’s often important to use more than one nutritional intervention in order to help the body repair the damage being done by the offending pathogen, and help the immune system stop the spread of the infection.

Colloidal silver can be an important part of that nutritional intervention, but should not be the only part, and should never be used to excess.

Indeed, when you bring other nutritional supplements into the picture, you can often reduce colloidal silver usage to a tiny fraction of the excessive amounts some people have advocated, and still obtain remarkably successful results.

As a long-time victim of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia myself, I discovered that only small amounts of colloidal silver are necessary, once you learn about the other powerful and effective nutrient substances that can be used to heal the body, restore peak immune system function and eradicate problematic symptoms.

Among the nutritional supplements I’ve found to be extremely helpful in addition to colloidal silver are:

D-Ribose, to help restore cellular function often damaged by viruses or other pathogens
Pregnenolone, to help restore hormonal function often damaged by viruses or other pathogens
Beta-1,3-1,6-glucan, to help restore peak immune system function
Vinpocetine, to help restore peak brain function and eliminate “brain fog”
Methylcobalamin, to help repair nervous system damage
There are other helpful nutritional supplements as well, but those are a great start.

The bottom line is that being solely dependent upon colloidal silver for relief from fibromyalgia or related chronic degenerative conditions can lead to excessive usage, which in turn can lead to argyria or other complications.

But by using colloidal silver responsibly, as one small part of a much broader nutritional supplement regimen designed to help the body repair and heal itself, you gain all of the benefits of colloidal silver usage, but without the very real risks of excessive usage.