Fibromyalgia – Vagus Nerve Stimulation Brings Real Relief

A friend has been suffering from fibromyalgia for a decade, which sounds more than long enough for anyone.  Nothing has worked, nor shifted it, despite her being a scientist and very ‘well read’.  By chance, she happened upon Vagus Nerve Stimulation.  Let’s call it VNS, so the acronymistas have something to chew on.  Seems that VNS has done what a myriad of efforts had failed to do to date: the pills, the various treatments, the standard remedies – all promising but none delivering until… VNS.  So what is fibromyalgia and what is the vagus nerve that has responded to stimulation?

Fibromyalgia causes muscular skeletal pain resulting in extreme fatigue, localised tenderness and food sensitivities.  It impacts upon memory, mood, digestion and sleep – with women being two thirds of the sufferers.  The vagus nerve can be over-stimulated by periods of high emotional stress in our modern, fast paced, life.

The vagus or vagal/pneumogastric nerve, is the tenth cranial nerve and fires up the parasympathetic system to control the heart, lungs and digestive tract.  It is the longest nerve of the autonomic nervous system in the body – and as we know, size matters.  Vagus Nerve Stimulation has been used historically to improve epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression, in short it’s our ‘rest and digest’ operator.  As the human body consists of two distinct things: matter and vibration, improving the vibration to achieve a better ‘body harmonic’, in a long nerve, makes real sense. VNS involves sending electrical impulses to stimulate the vagus nerve.  Maybe it’s not just your piano which can get re-tuned.

Stimulation of the vagus nerve can be by use of an electrical energy stimulating device.  Alternatively, it can be stimulated by: yoga, acupuncture, physical activity, breathing exercises and by eating more foods rich in omega 3 fats.  Humour too has been found to be a good stimulant, improving vagal tone – the key to blood pressure control.  Sometimes the needs of the body are that simple and close at hand – “how tickled we are”.