COULD “SKINNY SHOTS” CURE FIBROMYALGIA?

The most well-known, so-called ‘skinny shots’ are semaglutide and tirzepatide. the GLP-1 inhibitors may be better known by their heavily advertised brand names Ozempic (semaglutide), Mounjaro (tirzepatide), and Zepbound (also tirzepatide). If it seems like ‘everybody’s on them,’ you’re right. Currently 18% of the U.S. population report having used a GLP-1 inhibitor at some time in their lives.

If you’ve not tried a GLP-1, the med works by balancing your blood sugar, slowing your digestion, and preventing you from feeling hunger. You literally forget to eat. You don’t hear any background “food noise,” no inner voice whispering (or screaming) “feed me that bag of potato chips, now!” And then, slowly, steadily, at about a pound a week, you lose weight.

With millions of patients on GLP-1 inhibitors, doctors began noticing side benefits. Many patients with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and lupus remarked about feeling ‘better.’ Although the GLP-1’s are not FDA approved for any of these conditions, many specialists are using them as ‘add-on’s’ to conventional therapies. The science behind this is that at the heart of every autoimmune disease is an excess of an inflammatory molecule called a pro-inflammatory cytokine. These are literally “packed” into fat cells. The levels of cytokines are measured by blood tests hsCRP (high sensitive C-Reactive Protein), TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), and IL-6 (interleukin-6). High levels of each trigger inflammation and pain.

I have been working with fibromyalgia patients for thirty years. The condition affects about 4% of the population, 90% female, and to this day it is considered a “clinical diagnosis” based on listening to your patient and performing a physical exam. There are no “tests” for fibromyalgia. ‘Fibro’ is not an autoimmune disease but does seem to be an overreaction of the nervous system to ‘pain signals.’

However, using the GLP-1 medications during the past two years has brought some extremely interesting results.

• It had been known from previous research that the severity of a patient’s fibromyalgia correlated to her body fat distribution especially as fat cells infiltrated through her muscles.
• Women have much more fatty tissue throughout their bodies and more visceral fat (deep in abdominal cavity), literally a storehouse of inflammatory chemicals.
• Women frequently describe themselves as “feeling inflamed.” Well, they are.
• And yet, despite being awash with inflammatory cytokines, fibromyalgia patients routinely test negative for having any autoimmune disease.

Having a special interest in fibromyalgia, and having written “Healing Fibromyalgia,” we’ve accumulated quite a few fibro patients over the past three decades. Our patient population follows the national statistics: 90% female, 80% overweight or obese.

Many have started GLP-1 meds.

You can guess where this is going. Those that have lost the most weight, emptying their muscles of inflamed fat cells, have also had the best success with their fibromyalgia.

This totally concurs with a recent study published here.

The main problem of course, is that unless you’re ‘obese’ (BMI >30) or diabetic, your insurance likely won’t cover a GLP-1. Fortunately, the government allows compounding pharmacies to prepare the syringes and you can start treatment by scheduling with your WholeHealth Chicago practitioner.

Be well,

David Edelberg, MD