Brooks Spinal Care - Patient Experiences With Fibromyalgia

Brooks Spinal Care
Fibromyalgia Patient Experiences

Pain Free for the First Time in 30 Years - Sharon Brown

75% Better in One Month – Lisa Milner

I'd Given Up Hope, But Now I'm Living Again – Melissa Hunt

I’m Going Fishing – Sharon Froelich

Mother Ran Through the House – Sherry Herring

I Can Take Care of My Daughter & Son Again – Sheryl Cooper

I've Been To Hell & Back – Erica Schultz

I Can Do All I Want – Andrea Schaffer

The Relief Was Immediate, It Scared Me – Angie Fuller

I've Reclaimed My Life – Sandra Elleman

I Can Walk Long Distances Without Pain – Patty C

I Wouldn’t Have Felt This Good – Mary F

Pain Free for the First Time in 30 Years
In November 2000, I saw Dr. Robert Brooks and Louella Harris on Channel 6 Noon News program talking about a treatment for Fibromyalgia. I had suffered from FM for at least thirty years, back when it was called fibrosistis. I had depression, irritable bowel syndrome, sore muscles, extreme fatigue, sore throat, facial pain, TMJ, migraine headaches and all the varied problems that come with Fibromyalgia.

I tried every treatment ever heard of. I attended support groups. I was on so many medications for all the symptoms. I took 23 pills a day. But everything I tried was only temporary relief. The night before the Noon News on 6 programs, I cried out in pain asking the Lord to take away at least one of my illnesses. I knew the moment I saw the interview that this treatment was the answer to my prayer. I insisted that my husband take the day off work and accompany me to the appointment. It’s a good thing he went; if he hadn’t seen it for himself, he would never have believed it! The doctor used a gentle pressure behind my ear to correct the first vertebrae, but what a powerful treatment it was.

I’ve sent Dr. Brooks and his associates so many women who have thanked me again and again. In fact, at least three of them spoke at the Beyond Fibromyalgia Seminar in September. I have no financial interest in these events. I strictly do this as a ministry to help others who have suffered the way I did. The next time we have a seminar, please come and find out how well you can be.
- Sharon Brown, Claremore, OK

75% Better in One Month
     The Air Force taught me a lot of things about being prepared for the potential dangers of combat. But I wasn’t prepared for the devastation of fighting back the pain of fibromyalgia. My doctors told me that I would have to take the narcotic drugs for pain for the rest of my life. They told me that fibromyalgia was an incurable disease. They even said that I was required to see a psychologist because the pain would get so bad that most people will want to commit suicide. I did take pain pills. Morphine, methadone and hydrocodone would help for a while, but I had to increase them to continue getting any relief.

     I was diagnosed with fibro in March this year, but had been suffering from it since a training accident in 1999. Another soldier fell from about 12 feet above me and landed on my head. I underwent surgery to remove the disc between two cervical vertebrae and fuse the rest of my neck with a titanium plate and screws. I lived with constant pain every day.

     In May this year, I saw the TV commercial for the Beyond Fibromyalgia Seminar. Even though I had been told there was no cure, I had to be sure. My urinary function was beginning to shut down as a result of the pain medications. I knew I had to do something. I was glad we came. I scheduled my first visit with Dr. Hanson. The next morning when I woke up, I started feeling better. I quit taking my pain medications and I am now about 75% improved after only one month of care.

     My sister has fibromyalgia, too. She says she is waiting to see how I do after one year before she becomes a patient. At the rate I am recovering, maybe it won’t take her a year!
- Lisa Milner, Tulsa, OK

I'd Given Up Hope, But Now I'm Living Again
     God sent me to Tulsa, via my younger brother and his wife. Because of their move, I followed them here, heard about Dr. Hanson and began my healing from Fibromyalgia. When my sister-in-law, Mandy, relocated to the area, she met Bill Brown at work. Bill’s wife, Sharon had suffered for many years with Fibromyalgia and they were instrumental in encouraging and directing me to Brooks Spinal Care. One afternoon at lunch with Mandy and Sharon, I began sharing my story of migraine headaches every day of my life, sinus and allergy problems, knots in my muscles all over my body, TMJ and facial pain, difficulty holding my head up, chronic fatigue, urinary and bowel problems, sciatic pain on the left side, couldn’t sleep more than a couple of hours and of course I was depressed!

     I told them I was taking multiple medications, but I learned they were not the answer. I can’t tell you how many doctors I saw. I kept saying that my problem was starting at the base of my skull; little did I know then how right I was. Even after having spinal surgery, I was disappointed. I told Sharon that I had tried so many things for relief that I finally decided my last option was to jump off a bridge!

     I have always been a hard worker. I always just worked through the pain until five years ago when I had to quit teaching. In fact, I suffered several losses about that time. And I finally learned to suffer in silence. My marriage was over, my health was getting worse by the minute, and my career was halted prematurely. I had nothing to keep me going, so I followed Don and Mandy to Oklahoma, not really knowing why, until I came to see Dr. Hanson.

     I had just enough hope to get me through my first visit with the doctor and I couldn’t believe it when I got my spine corrected that I could stand up and hold my shoulders back straight! My teeth fit together for the first time, my jaws were moving properly. My scalp is waking up and tingling; my pain in the left side of my body is gone as is the bladder and TMJ problems.

     I am just giddy at how great it feels! I can’t keep from telling people. As I was shopping at Walgreen’s, I met a man who was already a patient. He also had a miracle story and he no longer suffers from migraines. I want to share the hope and encouragement necessary to help the next person who may be ready to give up. Please don’t wait or waste your time with other treatments. Call Dr. Hanson and let him help you get your life back.
- Melissa Hunt, Owasso, OK

I’m Going Fishing
     Dr. Hanson is a godsend!
     I’ve told at least twenty people how he has helped me. My family is so impressed and my husband is ready to schedule his appointment. These last two months have changed my life.

     My mother saw an article in the newspaper about a fibromyalgia study; she cut it out and then threw it away. But she changed her mind and retrieved it from the trash and called me and told me I had to call Dr. Hanson’s office. I listened to her but just laughed, because I had seen 18 doctors in the last 12 years. They all said they could help, but didn’t. It was almost impossible to believe that anybody could help me. But my mom insisted I call, so I did.

     I had been in constant widespread pain for 45 years, ever since I fell off of a high slide as a four-year-old child. I had not known a single day without pain. I had suffered with cluster headaches, dizziness, TMJ, facial pain, neck and chest pain, shortness of breath, numbness in my fingers and hand, acid reflux, kidney problems, and low back pain. So, I was very skeptical on my first visit when I consulted with the doctor. I even told him, “If you could give me just 1 hour without pain, I’m yours for life!” He said he thought he could do a lot better than that, so we went to take x-rays.

     Over the years, I had been crunched, cracked, popped, snapped, prodded, stuck, x-rayed, tested, and prescribed multiple medications, all for nothing. Recently, my doctors thought the pain in my chest was a cardiac problem, but after the workup, I still was in pain and it wasn’t my heart. I had also been to other chiropractors and wanted to believe they could help… I comforted myself this time by saying, “At least I wouldn’t have to go through all that manipulation”. Dr. Hanson and Dr. Brooks’ technique is very gentle. And best of all, it is really effective. After the second treatment, I got relief and it has just gotten better. I can do things I hadn’t done in years. My house had been a disaster for the last two years and my husband couldn’t remember what my cooking tasted like, that was until I saw Dr. Hanson. He gave me my life back! The last two months I have scrubbed walls, dusted ceiling fans, cooked meals and cleaned the camper. I look forward to fishing this summer, even if I don’t catch a single fish, I will feel better than I have felt in 45 years!
- Shareon Froelich, Nowata, OK

Mother Ran Through the House
Before Dec 2001 Jeremiah (12) and his brother (16) used to talk, in the dark…in their shared room before falling off to sleep. They were both bewildered and concerned about the health of the their mother. She is Sherry Herring…of Cleveland, OK, our patient in the Spring Spotlight. They knew she was sad, tired, and unable to physically keep up with their young active lives. But they didn’t understand why.

     Then one day they saw a big change! “I came home ran through the house, playing with Bosworth (the family’s frisky schnauzer) and Jeremiah came up to me and shouted “ Hey mom…you just ran…what happened?” That’s how the “forty something” mom remembers her first day with a properly aligned spine.

     Sherry had seen a program on Tulsa TV-6 featuring Dr. Robert Brooks…outlining an upcoming seminar on Fibromyalgia…a condition Sherry’s doctor told her she had. She went to the December seminar…heard others talk about relief for them…had a complimentary consultation…and looked the doctor in the eye and said, “Don’t blow smoke up my chimney…I hurt all over and have heard all the promises before. If you can help let’s go…and if not tell me and I’ll leave quietly.”

     Following her initial x-rays and first adjustment, Sherry was under-whelmed, “ You better do something more than that”…she thought following the gentle upper cervical adjustment. “Then something started to happen. The pain evaporated. I could lift my arms, and I know this sounds corny…but it was like a miracle”

     Sherry tried to walk two miles a day with her friends and Bosworth…a trip she seldom completed…and one for which every step was painful…often tear-filled. Her friends often waited…or slowed the pace for her.

     Not today…she’s on the trail, with Bosworth and “Best of all”…she says now with tears of joy, not pain, in her eyes, “I got my health back, my family back, and my life back”

     “I know people may get tired of me telling about this…but it is soooo good.”

     So if you’re in the Cleveland area…look out for the mom who goes to every soccer game, takes good care of her family, is the first to volunteer at her church…and oh yes, leads the morning walks scooting Bosworth along

     And by the way…Jeremiah and his brother sleep better too.
- Sherry Herring, Cleveland, OK

I Can Take Care of My Daughter & Son Again
     A co-worker at my husband’s office, told him about her years of suffering with fibromyalgia and about how she was finally recovering under Dr. Brooks’ care. He was eager to relay the information to me because he knew how I had been suffering for the last six years. I couldn’t get out of bed in the mornings and I had young children who were only 1 year apart who needed me. You can imagine what that would do to the whole family.

     Life was so difficult during those days. I couldn’t cook and cleaning was impossible. Thank goodness, I had friends who would come in to help me with the household duties. The winters were the worst. I would be down for long periods of time. It is hard to be a “Mommy “ who is happy when you live in constant pain. So the whole family suffered with my fibromyalgia. You know what they say,” When Momma ain’t happy, Ain’t nobody happy!”

     I had tried conventional chiropractic manipulations and they may have made it worse when my neck was popped. I took Lortab three times a day and it eventually didn’t help at all. I tried physical therapy, which actually helped me for a while. I tried electric stimulation, ultra sound and soft tissue manipulation … for nothing. Nothing but more pain.

     It was difficult to believe that this could help when all those other treatments didn’t, but when you suffer for years, you’ll eventually try again. I’m glad I did. It was a bit of a surprise to walk into the office that first day, Christine Saferight recognized me as a former classmate from Nathan Hale High School. She was very encouraging and supportive to me in the beginning, so I wouldn’t give up too quickly. And as I began to improve within the next few months, every week it got easier. My husband is so grateful and he still encourages me to stay in alignment. I am proud to say, “I got my life back”.

     I no longer wear my night guard for the TMJ. Sinus headaches have disappeared; I can take care of my daughter and son again without outside help. I can cook and clean the house. I even volunteer at the school and pick up 30-pound toddlers; I can exercise using weights; I can do yard work again; and I can chase my 11 year old son and even catch him! My friends are becoming aware of what N.U.C.C.A. can do for other people who suffer like I did. We are all very thankful and blessed to have found Dr. Brooks. There is no doubt in our minds; it is definitely worth the investment.
- Sheryl Cooper, Tulsa, OK

I've Been To Hell & Back

      I am eighteen years old and I attend Pittsburg State University. To briefly sum up the last five years, I have been to hell and back with my health. It started in eighth grade; the doctors thought that I had a classical case of shin splints. As luck would have it, I never got better after that until I came and saw Dr. Brooks.

     At one point I was diagnosed with Chronic Exertion Compartment Syndrome, and I had surgery to try to correct it. After surgery, I got worse and worse. All of the doctors I have seen range from K.U. Med Center to Mayo Clinic. At one point I saw an herbologist from Florida. One could honestly say that I have been everywhere possible to try to get better. Through out these five years I was in unbearable pain; I missed school all of the time because of my “unknown” disease. Every doctor that I went to said I was their mystery patient and they promised that they would keep trying to find me an answer. When I was in high school, I could not think beyond that I wanted to play the sports I played before. I didn’t really think of all the long term effects that I could experience.

     If I thought I had it bad in high school, I hadn’t seen anything until I got to college. All of a sudden I was sleeping at least fifteen hours a day and in constant pain. I missed a tremendous amount of class because my body physically could not get off the couch to go. After a while, weird things started happening to my body. My muscles would freeze and I wouldn’t be able to use them. I was in more pain than I had ever experienced before. I ended up going and seeing a doctor in Joplin and she diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia. This of course terrified me, being eighteen. She ended up putting me on medication and I had quick results... After a couple months I noticed the tiredness was back and the pain seemed to be increasing too.

     My aunt heard about Dr. Brooks on tv and that he had a lot of luck with Fibromyalgia patients. I went to see him and my spine was definitely out of line. He corrected it, but I didn’t feel the instant relief that I heard everybody else talk about. I continued to come back but wasn’t feeling any better. One day he told me that he wasn’t going to ask me to go off my medicine, but he did think that I would have better results with his treatments if I did. The first time he said this I shrugged him off. I felt like I could not give up my medication because I was scared to go back to that awful feeling again. When I went to see him two weeks later, he suggested that I go off the medication again. This time I told myself that I had nothing to lose and if I got worse, I could always go back to the meds.

     My life was changed by one decision! The weekend I went off them I slept all of the time, but that Monday morning I woke up and felt like a different person. It was a very gutsy decision, but it was the best decision I have ever made. I got my personality back that I haven’t had for five years. Everything was changed. I have held my alignment since I went off the meds. The best advice I could give anyone would be don’t be afraid to try. The treatment is painless and it might be scary to go off meds, but think about how much better your life could be. I know mine has changed: I have one now!
- Erica Schultz, Independence, KS

I Can Do All I Want
      In 1996, I began attending the University of New Mexico on athletic and academic scholarships. I was a competitive swimmer and had workouts twice a day every day (except Sunday). On the first official day of practice, I decided to check my mail on my way to the aquatic center and ended up being late for practice. Instead of going around the building and up the stairs into the center, I decided to jump over an eight-foot fence. I landed on the other side just fine, but then my right kneecap broke. I slammed the right side of my head and my shoulder into the hard ground. The next day, I was taken to the hospital for knee surgery.

     A few weeks later, I attended swim practice and noticed some unusual pain and numbness in my left arm and back. My left arm would go numb, turn blue and become extremely painful. My coach told me to keep swimming! All of the athletes had athletic trainer, so I decided to visit mine and see if he could figure out what was going on. He could not. So I went to the health center. They could not understand it either. The doctor wrote me a prescription for pain medicine and muscle relaxers and told me to take it easy.

     After spending several more weeks in this condition, my mother brought me back to Tulsa, Oklahoma to see a neurology specialist and have more MRI’s and tests done. All of the tests came back negative. Not one doctor could figure out my problem. So they prescribed me more pain medicine and muscle relaxants. By now, I was going to classes, occasionally swimming, and spending the rest of my time in bed, doped up on pain killers and muscle relaxants. I thought I was going to end up graduating college…to go to bed!

     I moved back to Tulsa in 1998 because I could not swim (I had to give back my athletic scholarship). I was attending classes and going to bed. I am not even sure what my papers were like back then, because of all the medication I was on (including anti-depressants). I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia in 1999 (three years and two states later). Disability at 21 years old was looking like a possibility.

     In November of 2000, I received a call from my grandmother. She had seen a commercial on television for Brooks Spinal Care and the relief they had provided for other Fibromyalgia suffers. I attended a free informational seminar where I was given information that seemed too good to be true. I sat in the audience crying the whole time (because of the pain and the promise of being better). Deciding that I had nothing to loose, except some money, I made an appointment.

     The first time I went to Dr. Brooks’ office, I was impressed at their kindness and willingness to make me comfortable. X-rays were taken and I was told to return later that day for an assessment of the results. That evening, Dr. Scott worked on my spine. He only pressed on my neck, behind my right ear. I did not think that anything was even occurring. But I did receive some immediate relief. The real relief came about 2 days later. I felt more relaxed, and was not in near as much pain.

     For a while, I would fall out of correction every week. But now my spine is stabilizing and I have held for 4 months. Dr. Brooks has taught me how to recognize when my spine is out and what I can do for it when it is not out but is hurting. Every issue in life plays a part in holding the correction of my spine. I am learning to deal with each issue as it comes.

     I graduated college with a Bachelor’s in Special Education in December of 2000. Since then, I have started my own wedding and party planning business, and gone back to school to complete a Master’s in Educational Psychology with emphasis on Gifted and Talented. I have moved to Salina, Kansas and am participating in Yoga twice a week. I can do all that I want with little pain or repercussions. Life is looking up!
Thanks! - Andrea Schaffer, Broken Arrow, OK

The Relief Was Immediate, It Scared Me
     A friend of mine saw an advertisement in the newspaper with a story of relief from Fibromyalgia and information about the seminar. My best friend, Betsy, insisted that I go, but I refused. So, finally, we bargained that I wouldn’t go to the seminar, but I would make an appointment for a consultation in the office.

     I really thought the idea of this N.U.C.C.A. thing was a big joke. I just went so Betsy would shut up. But she knew how much I was suffering and thankfully hadn’t given up on my finding help. I had been unable to work for two years. But my condition really started many years before that.

     When I was 18 years old I started having most of the symptoms, but I didn’t get the diagnosis until I was 30 years old. I had all the trigger points, migraine headaches, ringing in the ears, chronic fatigue, TMJ, insomnia, irritable bowel, and was even tested for multiple sclerosis, and of course, I was clinically depressed. Wouldn’t anyone be with all that suffering? I was admitted once for psychiatric care because I just couldn’t take it any more.

     It was during that time that I began to acknowledge my history of abuse, both physical and sexual. I began to openly admit that my mother had been physically abusive to me even as a young child. Shortly after that, I made efforts to reconnect with her, but finally realized that I was wasting my time and energy. So, I chose to end that toxic relationship with her. I later learned that these kinds of traumatic events are commonly associated with Fibromyalgia patients.

     For years, I tried everything for the pain: various medications, cortisone injections in the muscles, pain management, massage therapy, physical therapy, which made my pain worse…and I also became addicted to Lortab! So here I was again trying one more wasted effort to get relief.

     When I actually got my first correction that afternoon, I still thought it was a joke when the doctor leaned over me while I laid on my side on the adjusting table. But in a couple of minutes, I heard a few clicks and then a pop. The relief was immediate…my ears quit ringing…it scared me! Could it be true that this would work? I was afraid to believe it, for a while.

     Now, when I get a correction, I take that time to meditate and totally relax in the recovery room, then I go home to rest. I hold my corrections really well unless I have “accidents” like falling out of a truck…

     To think that I was destined for a wheelchair, unable to work for two years, and now I am working full time and planning to open my own Sonic Drive-In is really amazing. No joke!
- Angie F., Tulsa, OK

I've Reclaimed My Life
“I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in June approximately five years ago.” “My initial consultation with Dr. Brooks was surprising, to say the least.” “ But that is nothing compared to the surprise I experienced when, despite the gentleness of the adjustment, within ten seconds my hands and arms began to tingle; by 20 seconds into the adjustment my legs were also tingling; and within approximately one minute my back began to tingle and burn as though it had been rubbed with menthol. I don’t know how long it was after that, maybe a minute or two, when I felt this surge of energy, like I wanted to break out running. Instead, I broke out bawling!” “It could have been because of the immediate relief from pain,...or the anger at the medical community for not telling us about this treatment, or simply the deep thankfulness I felt at having received this wonderful gift.” “...during the months since that treatment, I have reclaimed my life...”
- Excerpts of a letter from Sandra E., Sand Springs, OK

I Can Walk Long Distances Without Pain
My neighbor, Pam S., had been after me for months to get treatment at Brooks Spinal Care. She knew how my pain had become constant and nothing was helping. My hip and leg hurt constantly. I had gotten where I couldn’t sleep. Driving was especially painful when I had to stretch my leg to reach the accelerator. I also was having headaches every day. This had been going on for about a year, non-stop, even though I had experienced it occasionally before. I tried hot baths and showers, the heating pad, anti-inflammatory medications and pain meds. No real relief. Pam finally convinced me to come see Dr. Brooks. After I got my first spinal correction I was better immediately! I stayed in alignment for 2 weeks now. I am able to walk long distances without pain. Driving doesn’t hurt. I slept 7 1/2 hours for the first time in years…and I haven’t had a headache since my spinal correction.
- Patty C., Tulsa, OK

I Wouldn’t Have Felt This Good
Another fibromyalgia sufferer told us “I just spent a week in Branson. I would have gone before (becoming a patient), but I wouldn’t have felt this good. I would have had to go slowly and rest a lot."
- Mary F, Tealton, OK