Help women with fibromyalgia by supporting research

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain condition, poorly understood and difficult to treat.

The majority of sufferers are women. They live with constant pain, fatigue, headaches, digestive problems, sleep disturbances and more. It restricts their ability to function normally on many different levels.

This invisible condition has no obvious disability nor apparent cause, therefore patient experiences are often dismissed. Treatment options are limited and include pain killers, antidepressants and anticonvulsant drugs. No treatment is fully effective and many have to live with the symptoms their entire lives.

Studies have found that patients have AT LEAST one digestive problem, but how these relate to their symptoms is unclear. Often a patient’s symptoms change in relation with digestive function, but no-one knows why.

This research project aims to uncover more about this illness, which may provide information to help guide potential new treatments that target the digestive system and its microbiome to improve symptoms and quality of life in people living with fibromyalgia.

Our aim is to investigate whether gut bacteria are connected to other health problems, such as headaches, fatigue, sleep problems and digestive complaints, as well as other symptoms of fibromyalgia in New Zealand women. The suite of tests includes:

Stool microbiome (shotgun metagenomics),

Breath tests x3 (lactulose, glucose & fructose challenges),

Oral microbiome (shotgun - on those with elevated baseline breath gases),

Blood (RNA, BGL, electrolytes, FORT/FORD test),

Environmental mould (house),

Comprehensive questionnaires, and

Urine for Intestinal permeability (aka "leaky gut")

For more information visit the study website; https://www.theFidgitStudy.com