Fibromyalgia in Reno, NV
Fibromyalgia is one of the most misunderstood and underserved chronic pain conditions in medicine. At Gates Brain Health, Dr. Randall Gates, D.C., Board Certified Chiropractic Neurologist, takes a neurologically-grounded, root-cause approach to fibromyalgia — helping patients who have been told there’s nothing more that can be done finally get the answers and relief they deserve.
Request an AppointmentWhat Is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a complex chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive difficulties often referred to as brain fog. It affects an estimated 4 million adults in the United States and is significantly more common in women than men.
The defining feature of fibromyalgia is central sensitization — a state in which the central nervous system becomes “turned up” and amplifies pain signals throughout the body. In someone with fibromyalgia, the brain and spinal cord process ordinary sensory input as painful. This is why fibromyalgia pain is real and measurable — it’s rooted in a dysregulation of the nervous system’s pain processing pathways, not in tissue damage.
Common symptoms of fibromyalgia include:
- Widespread pain and tenderness throughout the body
- Fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest
- Cognitive difficulties (brain fog, memory problems, difficulty concentrating)
- Sleep problems — difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking unrefreshed
- Headaches and migraines
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and digestive symptoms
- Heightened sensitivity to temperature, light, and sound
- Depression and anxiety
- Numbness or tingling in the hands and feet
What Drives Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia does not have a single cause, but a consistent finding across patients is dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis — the body’s central stress response system — along with central sensitization of the nervous system.
Contributing factors that Dr. Gates evaluates include:
- HPA axis dysregulation: Chronic stress, trauma, or a significant illness can dysregulate the body’s stress response, affecting cortisol rhythms, sleep cycles, and pain perception.
- Gut-brain axis disruption: Dysbiosis and leaky gut drive neuroinflammation that contributes to central sensitization and amplified pain signaling.
- Autoimmune and inflammatory conditions: Fibromyalgia frequently coexists with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis — and the systemic inflammation from these conditions worsens pain sensitivity.
- Sleep dysfunction: Poor sleep quality disrupts pain modulation pathways, creating a vicious cycle in which pain disrupts sleep and poor sleep worsens pain.
- Nutritional deficiencies: Deficiencies in magnesium, vitamin D, B vitamins, and other nutrients can impair neurotransmitter function and worsen fibromyalgia symptoms.
- Mold exposure and environmental toxins: Chronic exposure to mycotoxins and other environmental toxins can trigger or perpetuate fibromyalgia-like central sensitization.
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue
Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome frequently overlap, and many patients carry both diagnoses. The shared underlying mechanisms — HPA axis dysfunction, central sensitization, immune dysregulation, and gut-brain disruption — mean that addressing these root causes benefits both conditions simultaneously.
How Gates Brain Health Approaches Fibromyalgia
Dr. Randall Gates takes a comprehensive, individualized approach to fibromyalgia that addresses the neurological, immune, and metabolic underpinnings of the condition. His evaluation includes a full neurological examination, videonystagmography (VNG) eye movement testing to assess brain function, and comprehensive laboratory testing covering thyroid and autoimmune markers, nutrient levels, gut health indicators, cortisol rhythms, and inflammatory pathways.
Treatment is personalized and may include an anti-inflammatory dietary protocol, gut healing support, targeted nutritional supplementation, neuroplasticity-based exercises, and strategies to reset the HPA axis and calm the central nervous system. The goal is not just symptom management — it’s restoring the body’s ability to regulate itself.
Patients from Reno, NV and across the country have seen significant improvement under Dr. Gates’ care. For distance patients, comprehensive telemedicine follow-up is available after the initial in-person evaluation.
Call Gates Brain Health at (775) 507-2000 or schedule a consultation to get started.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fibromyalgia
Is fibromyalgia a real condition or is it all in my head?
Fibromyalgia is absolutely real. It is a neurologically-based condition involving central sensitization — a measurable state in which the brain and spinal cord amplify pain signals. Research using functional brain imaging has demonstrated objective differences in pain processing in fibromyalgia patients. It is not a psychological condition, though psychological stress can worsen it.
What is central sensitization and how does it relate to fibromyalgia?
Central sensitization is a state in which the central nervous system becomes hypersensitive to sensory input, processing ordinary signals — touch, temperature, movement — as painful. It is the core neurological mechanism behind fibromyalgia. The nervous system’s pain amplification has become stuck in an overactive state. Addressing the triggers that maintain this state is essential to recovery.
Why is fibromyalgia so hard to diagnose?
Fibromyalgia doesn’t show up on standard blood tests or imaging, which leads many physicians to dismiss it as a psychological problem or a diagnosis of exclusion. There are no tissue abnormalities to detect with conventional tools. Diagnosis is clinical — based on widespread pain lasting more than three months and the exclusion of other conditions. Specialized neurological and functional medicine testing can help identify the underlying mechanisms driving symptoms.
Can fibromyalgia be treated without medication?
Many patients achieve significant improvement through non-pharmaceutical approaches. These include anti-inflammatory dietary protocols, gut healing, targeted nutritional supplementation, sleep hygiene optimization, neuroplasticity-based rehabilitation, and stress response normalization. Dr. Gates specializes in these holistic approaches and develops individualized treatment plans for each patient.
Is there a link between fibromyalgia and gut health?
Yes. Research has demonstrated significant gut microbiome alterations in fibromyalgia patients. Dysbiosis and intestinal permeability (leaky gut) drive systemic neuroinflammation that contributes to central sensitization and worsens pain sensitivity. Restoring gut health is often a foundational step in fibromyalgia recovery at Gates Brain Health.
Can fibromyalgia coexist with autoimmune diseases?
Yes, and quite commonly. Fibromyalgia frequently coexists with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren’s syndrome, and other autoimmune conditions. The systemic inflammation from these conditions can worsen pain sensitization. Treating both the fibromyalgia and the underlying autoimmune disease simultaneously produces better outcomes.
Does Gates Brain Health treat fibromyalgia patients from outside Reno?
Yes. Dr. Gates treats patients from across the United States and internationally. The initial evaluation is conducted in person at our Reno, NV office, after which ongoing care and follow-up are available via telemedicine. To get started, call (775) 507-2000 or schedule a free consultation.