June 5, 2000
Question: In his book Natural Health, Natural Medicine, Dr. Andrew Weil says that fibromyalgia is an inflammatory condition. I read research abstracts on fibromyalgia in Medline. I thought I'd read studies that said fibromyalgia is not an inflammatory condition. I have some "fibrofog," and maybe because of it, I just don’t remember correctly. But if fibromyalgia is an inflammatory condition, why don’t anti-inflammatory medicines work with us fibromyalgia patients? Lots of patients on the newsgroups have said they didn’t help them.

Dr. Lowe: I know of the passage in the book you refer to. On page 310, Dr. Andrew Weil mentions Boswellin, an extract of the herb Boswellia. Then he states, "It may be useful for generalized inflammatory conditions like fibromyalgia." Anti-inflammatory agents (whether extracts of herbs or pharmaceuticals) don’t help patients for one well-established reason—fibromyalgia is not an inflammatory disorder. Studies made this clear long ago.

I think you’d serve your own interests well to take special note: Based on your reading of the research literature, you’re right and Dr. Weil is wrong. I applaud you for reading the fibromyalgia research literature. You’re an informed patient. Hence, I hope in the future you’ll avoid a mistake: marking up as "fibrofog" differences between your understanding of fibromyalgia and that of many doctors and medical writers.

Tragically, by making false statements about fibromyalgia, Dr. Weil is likely to confuse many patients. He’s especially likely to confuse those who assume he bothers to study the science on fibromyalgia before publishing statements about the disorder. Also, Weil is likely to perpetuate many doctors’ false beliefs about fibromyalgia. By so doing, he’s more likely to harm fibromyalgia patients than help them.

Unfortunately, too many doctors and medical writers make smug but false pronouncements about fibromyalgia. But, as in this case, the fibromyalgia patient usually knows more about fibromyalgia than the doctors and writers. I believe any medical writer (including Andrew Weil) is responsible to his readers to know current scientific information on disorders before they give treatment advice on them. Otherwise, patients may waste money on useless treatments. Also, they may become more disillusioned by one more treatment that fails to work. Sadly, some medical writers aren’t going to educate themselves on disorders before they give advice about treating them. I think these writers should humble themselves and follow a new procedure: let patients such as you review their manuscripts, and allow the patients to correct the writers' errors before their books go to press.

Regardless, for you own good, I hope you’ll come to trust your knowledge of fibromyalgia based on your own reading of published studies. This is surely justified. After all, even with your "fibrofog," when it comes to a scientific knowledge of fibromyalgia, you’re one step ahead of Dr. Andrew Weil.