Today I want to tell you a story. It's the story of a quality topical pain reliever and the reputable company that stands behind it. Sadly, it's also the story of another company that is using the same or a very similar product to deceive and take advantage of people in pain.

My story began a few years ago, when I was still on the Board of the National Fibromyalgia Association. A topical pain-relief product called “O24 Fibromyalgia” was submitted to us requesting our seal of approval. I personally received a case of individually wrapped towelette samples which were each soaked with the O24 formula.

I tried the product myself and shared it with numerous FM patients in my local support group. Most of the people who tried it were very pleased with the results. I personally found it to be effective in relieving specific areas of pain. I didn't use it for the all-over aching type of pain I have every day, but only for those spots in which I would sometimes experience more concentrated, intense pain like my left hip, low back or neck. Using the O24 Fibromyalgia always helped ease the pain significantly and often relieved it completely.

At the time, O24 Fibromyalgia was made by a company called Swiss Medica, Inc. They had medical studies to back up their claims that their product could help relieve pain. Based on those studies and our own personal trials of the product, the NFA awarded O24 its first-ever seal of approval.

The Search for More O24

Jumping ahead several years, my original supply of O24 Fibromyalgia samples was starting to run low so I began searching for where I could purchase more. I also wanted to write a review of the product and tell people where they could get it. Much to my dismay, I could not find it anywhere. I began to ration the towelettes I had left, only using them when the pain was significantly interfering with my ability to function. A year or so after that, I did finally locate some O24 Fibromyalgia online in Canada but it could not be shipped to the U.S. I was frustrated and confused. At that point I pretty much gave up my search figuring I wouldn't ever be able to get any more of the product.

Then, two weeks ago I happened to see a press release titled, “O24 Pain Management System Relieves Physical, Mental Effects of Arthritis.” Since “O24” is a somewhat unusual name for a product, I thought maybe this would turn out to be the same thing with a slightly different name.

The Scam

I was excited when I got to the website given in the press release and saw that the product seemed to be the same, containing the same seven essential oils as the original product. It bothered me, though, that the only way to get further into the website and find the price of the product was to fill out a form giving your name, address, phone number and e-mail address. I hesitated but finally filled out the form because I was determined to find out if this was the product I had been looking for.