Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

My name is Gwenn Henkel and I am a Master Hypnotherapist and a Certified Hypnoanesthesiologist. Prior to becoming a Hypnotherapist, I worked in the medical field for 18 years,16 of those years at Stanford University Medical Center. I worked in various aspects of nursing and also as a Unit Coordinator in Coronary Care.

In 1995, I was faced with a huge life challenge when I fell at work, changing my healthy, active life as a runner and weight trainer, into one of chronic pain and depression. I was unable to work for four years.

After many different doctor's opinions and treatments that did not help, I was finally sent to the Sequoia Pain Clinic in Redwood City California, where not only was my body treated, but my mind and spirit also. I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, Myofascial Pain Syndrome, and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The good news was that there were actually names for the maladies that I was suffering. The bad news was that there were no known cures for them. My team of doctors task was to help me find some sort of "Norm" for my life as I now knew it, racked with pain like a bad flu, twenty-four hours a day.

You see, Fibromyalgia is a "chronic invisible illness." It isn't just a form of muscular rheumatism. It is actually a type of neurotransmitter dysfunction. Neurotransmitters are what the brain uses to tell the body what to do. My brain was sending "false pain messages" to the nerve endings in my body. Well the message might have been false, but the pain was very real!

Now faced with the news that my conditions had no cure, my depression worsened and so did my pain. The hope that I had continued to hold, that I would eventually improve, was fading day by day.

Cognitive difficulties associated with FM can be one of the most frustrating symptoms. The most common memory and cognition problems seen are diminished reading retention, short-term memory lapses, misnaming items and word finding problems. FM patients become easily distracted and have difficulty concentrating. This is known as being in the "Fibro Fog."

Sleep disturbance is another problem with FM. The continuous pain made the very much needed, restful sleep impossible. Regardless of all the medications I was taking, including Ambien, a sleeping pill, I still averaged approximately three hours of sleep at night, and often less. This caused me to need sleep at various intervals throughout the day. It was imperative that I was not stressed, because stress could send my body into serious "fibro flares" that could last for days. For these reasons, I was unable to return to work at Stanford Hospital or any other job.

Finally I decided that I would like to learn hypnosis in hopes of finding a way to control the pain and enhance my ability to sleep. With the encouragement of my doctors at the Sequoia Pain Clinic, I enrolled in the Palo Alto School of Hypnotherapy. The class was only one day a week for three hours. Traveling to that class (about 25 miles round trip) was all that I could do for that day. I would have to return home to sleep for three hours or so to recover from the drive.

I found that I learned far more about the human mind than I ever thought possible! I began utilizing the techniques immediately and found that I was gaining some control over my condition. I did not stop with just one course of Hypnosis 101. I signed up for every possible course that was available and became a Certified Medical Hypnotherapist and Certified Hypnoanesthesiologist.

In three years time, I had studied enough about Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain Syndrome that I was able to write inductions for myself using the techniques that I had learned. I am now healthy and active once again, weight training and walking two to three miles a day, something I thought I would never do again. FM, MPS, and Chronic Fatigue no longer control my body…I do!

Now a Master Hypnotherapist, with my own practice, Star Imagery Hypnotherapy, in Belmont, California, I specialize in helping other people suffering with chronic pain conditions, sharing with them my knowledge and expertise in gaining control of their bodies as I did my own.

I was looking through all of my pictures to find some before and after shots to share with you here. When I am telling my personal story of being a weight trainer and runner before my accident at Stanford Hospital where I worked, I show pictures to show that. So I decided to put the pictures here on the site for you. Pictures are worth a thousand words and these certainly are.

I have here a picture of me in my own home gym in 1991 when my weight varied between 110 and 112 pounds. I was very fit and healthy. I worked out 6 days a week.

Then I have a picture of me a couple of years after my accident and I'm in that 180+ pound range and I'm at my sister-in-law's house sitting with her rather large dog. You can see how big I am in comparison to the dog! (I'm the one on the left!)

Then in January of 1998 I had my first promotional picture taken for my hypnotherapy practice and I had lost a few pounds, maybe 10 or so, but on the way (weigh) down. I never used that picture because of what the photographer said to me. I had asked him if he could position me and use the lights to help perhaps make me look "a little smaller." He said, "Face it Gwenn…you're just FAT!" I was so crushed by that, I did not use that picture. I went to someone else to take my picture and they did make me look a bit better. I had to change my pictures every year since then as I have lost the weight and look so different, it's important to keep things like that current.

My new pictures that you see here on the site were taken in August of 2003. My weight was at my goal of 120. I've even lost a few more since then. I do not have the goal of 110 and do not wish to weigh that anymore. My priorities have really changed since those days and so have my responsibilities having my practice as Master Hypnotherapist, studying for my PH.D, and also traveling with my work to different clinics in California. Being HEALTHY and fit is the important thing now. That is what I help others do with their lives just as I have mine.

I am planning on putting some of my client's before and after pictures here so watch for those to come soon!

Gwenn Henkel is a Certified Medical Hypnotherapist, Hypnoanesthesiologist, and Master Hypnotherapist. She is a member of The National Board for Hypnotherapy and Hypnotic Anaesthesiology, the American Association of Professional Hypnotherapists, The American Board of Hypnotherapy, and The International Association of Counselors and Therapists.

Gwenn also belongs to one of the most highly recognized organizations for Certified Hypnotherapists in the world, the International Medical and Dental Hypnotherapy Association®. She is a proud to be a member in good standing of this organization. As a Referral Service of Certified Hypnotherapists, the IMDHA has been influential in furthering the education of Hypnotists and Hypnotherapists around the world for more than two decades. For more information on aligning yourself with this prestigious organization you may reach them at http://www.imdha.com or email: info@imdha.com

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