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Genetics, Fibroymalgia, and Addictive Behaviors

September 10, 2007 – 8:31 am

According to this study (abstracted at FMS Global News), there is a “strong familial aggregation” to fibromyalgia. This knowledge can lead to better medical and pharmacological treatments for fibro, say the authors of the study.

The difficulty with determining genetic links is that in the traditional family environment, those environmental factors are likely to be the same for all family members. This means that while it could be genetics causing the fibromyalgia, it could also be some factor common to all family members with fibromyalgia that’s inherent to the environment in which the family finds itself.

As this article from About.com states:

Particular genetic markers have been mentioned, but those markers have been different in different studies. Most recently HLA, human leukocyte antigen markers, have been implicated. Another study published in 1996 proposed that fibromyalgia is more common in people who have a family history of alcoholism and depression. Biological and genetic factors have been studied in these areas as well.

The 1996 study especially makes me crazy. It’s pretty well established that alcoholism “runs in families” just like fibro apparently does. Of course people with fibromyalgia are going to have higher instances of depression - and I’m not surprised to see higher levels of addictive behavior in those patients, either. Chronic pain hurts, and it’s laughable that researchers still tend to place the fibro after the depression or addictive behavior in the causal equation. To me, it seems pretty obvious that any kind of chronic pain that goes untreated or undertreated would lead to depression. As one fibro patient said to her doctor, “Here, let me jump on your chest for five years and see if YOU don’t feel depressed after awhile!”

Jane | Scholarship and Research | Comments (0)

Mediterranean Diet Might Help Arthritis Pain - Maybe Fibro Too?

September 8, 2007 – 9:46 am

By now, you’ve probably heard of the Mediterranean Diet - not so much a weight loss program as a description of the way most Mediterranean cultures eat as a way of life. It consists mainly of fruits, vegetables, olive oil, and fish, and is very low in red meat. (Think of a rich Greek lamb stew - it’s mostly vegetables, with the meat mainly adding flavor.)  This way of eating really appeals to me - I mean, I’m a beach girl, roughly same latitude as the Mediterranean folks on the other side of the big pond, and I do love me some fruit and fish. The news that it was heart-healthy should have been just the push I needed, frankly. What kept me from it? Frankly, it’s expensive to buy good fish and produce to the exclusion of cheaper (and far worse for you) packaged meals and so-called convenience foods.

Now, I’ve got new reason to take a fresh look at this diet, and so do you.

This Reuters article on MSNBC.com caught my eye for a simple reason - fibromyalgia is often associated with rheumatological conditions. If the diet helps the pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, might it also help fibro pain? From the article:

[Rheumatoid arthritis] is caused by an errant immune system attack on the lining of the joints, which leads to chronic inflammation, pain and stiffness. Some research has suggested that components of the Mediterranean diet, like the healthy fats in olive oil, have anti-inflammatory effects.

Hmm - “chronic inflammation, pain, and stiffness” . . . is anyone else reminded of something? Just me?

If you’re interested in getting started on the Mediterranean Diet, I’ve found a few interesting resources you might be interested in that can help you out.

  1. The Mediterranean Diet this is a book (from Amazon.com) by Marissa Cloutier that covers the basics. However, she advocates canola oil instead of olive oil, so I’d bear that in mind.
  2. The Mediterranean Heart Diet: How It Works and How to Reap the Health Benefits, with Recipes to Get You Started by Helen Fisher - another option.
  3. Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health - a cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins.
  4. Mayo Clinic site on Mediterranean-style cooking

Hope that helps you get started! If you’ve already adopted this way of eating, I’d love to hear from you. Has it had any impact on your fibro symptoms, do you think?  Let us know in the comments!

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Jane | Nutrition and Supplements | Comments (1)

Energy Buffers: Maintaining Your Precious Reserves Through A Fibromyalgia Flareup

September 7, 2007 – 3:26 pm

Is there anything worse than a flareup of fibromyalgia?  Probably - but in the throes of one, the patient would be hard-pressed to name one.

The worst flareup I ever experienced came on suddenly at a grocery store. I’ll never forget it. I started the shopping trip a little tired but nothing out of the ordinary was going on with me. There was absolutely no warning. On the typical scale of 1 (no pain) to 10 (maximum pain), my pain level that day went from a 4 (a pretty good day for me) to an off-the-chart 11+. But that wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was the bottoming out of my energy level. It happened so fast, I barely made it from the produce section to the little cafe attached to the deli, where I collapsed into a booth and had to wait for my husband to come pick me up and finish the shopping for me.  The whole transition - from functional to flareup - took less than 2 minutes.  When I finally got home, I hobbled into the bedroom and fell onto the bed, where I stayed for the next 2 days.

During flareups, it’s easy to add mental anguish to the physical pain and discomfort. But for the sake of your energy level, you should try to maintain a buffer zone - a safe “space” both mentally and physically between you and the rest of the world. We’ve all heard “conserve your energy” but what does it really mean? Is it as simple as doing nothing?

I think the concept of the buffer zone takes “doing nothing” one step further. What I try to do is this: imagine I’m in a cocoon, made of bubble wrap, several feet thick. Inside that cocoon, my energy level simmers, like a stew on the back burner. It’s like brewing tea out in the sun - no input of energy from me or an external source, just the natural energy of the sun.  It might sound “new age”-y and a little off the wall, but it really works for me. It makes me feel more proactive, without actually expending any real effort (other than a slight bit of mental visualization). In short, it makes me feel I’m contributing to my recovery and healing.

The next time you’re feeling a little energy-depleted, try a short rest with this simple visualization. Practice makes perfect, so the next time a flareup hits you, you’ll be ready to try it out. If it works for you, great. But if it doesn’t, don’t use it as another thing to beat yourself up with. We fibro patients have enough to deal with. Just resolve to try something else.

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Jane | Coping and Healing | Comments (2)

Does Acupuncture Really Work for Fibromyalgia? A Rundown Of Different Experiences

September 6, 2007 – 12:12 pm

If you’ve done any exploration of alternative therapies to treat your fibro, you’ve no doubt run across mention of acupuncture. And if you’ve never actually had acupuncture performed on you, you might understandably feel a bit apprehensive about having someone stick needles into you as a treatment for a pain condition!

You’d be not only forgiven for the cautious approach - you might be right. Although the acupuncture needles themselves are, in fact, pain-free (in every instance I’ve experienced them, and according to all others I’ve spoken to, though - as always - YMMV*), many people (myself included) experience a painful relapse on the first few sessions of acupuncture. Yet others speak very highly of it as an effective treatment for the pain symptoms.

So what gives? What’s the real scoop on acupuncture for fibro? Here’s a rundown on the subject collected from various sources on the web, as well as my own story.
* Your Mileage May Vary

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Jane | Alternative Treatments | Comments (0)

Introducing The Fibro Blog Follies - A Carnival of Hope for FMS/CFIDS Patients and Loved Ones

September 5, 2007 – 4:39 pm

I’m proud to announce that beginning on Monday, September 17, 2007, The Fibro Follies will host the Fibro Blog Follies - a Carnival of Hope for FMS & CFIDS patients, and their loved ones.

If you’re not familiar with a blog carnival, here’s a good description from Wikipedia:

A blog carnival is a type of blog event. It is similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks links to other blog articles on the particular topic. There are many variations, but typically, someone who wants to organize a carnival posts details of the theme or topic to their blog, and asks readers to submit relevant articles for inclusion in an upcoming edition. The host then collects links to these submissions, edits and annotates them (often in very creative ways), and publishes the resulting round-up to his or her blog.

More on the rules for the carnival after the jump . . .

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Jane | The Fibro Blog Follies | Comments (4)

Lyrica’s Approval As Government Validation? I Didn’t Need It - How About You?

September 5, 2007 – 9:47 am

I’m curious about something - this ongoing “is it or isn’t it?” debate over whether fibromyalgia is actually acknowledged and respected as a serious, “real” disease by the medical profession. I realize full well that it used to be thought of as psychosomatic, and I know full well that there are a few silly people (mostly older white men - I’m looking in the general direction of UNC at Chapel Hill, by the way, and you know who you are . . . ) who insist that it still is (then remind us condescendingly of the true definition of psychosomatic, as if that’s supposed to take away the sting of the insult).

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Jane | News and Recent Developments | Comments (2)

Ten Ways to Celebrate Your Day and Laugh in Fibro’s Face

September 4, 2007 – 10:43 am

Sometimes, it’s really hard to do this - the blogging about fibromyalgia thing, I mean. I don’t want to merely recount statistics, cover treatments and new studies and trials. I want to tell stories. And unfortunately, or fortunately, that means coming face to face on a daily basis with the hell that this illness brings so many patients. I’m one of them, but I find comfort focusing on others. My fibro is, thankfully, somewhat under control as long as I do the right kind of yoga and walk just fast enough and long enough (but no faster and no longer), maintain my diet and take my medication and supplements. It’s a fast dance on a tightrope; one wrong move, and I’m over the edge. But, for the most part, I’m walking the rope pretty well. And this mix - of management, of mind control, and of focus on other things - helps me ignore my own condition in a sense.

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Jane | Elsewhere in Fibro-Land, Coping and Healing | Comments (2)

Study Shows Significant Work-Related Disability and Job Loss in Fibro Patients

September 3, 2007 – 9:47 am

At FMS Global News, there’s a recap of an abstract on a recent study examining fibro patients and job loss. The researchers looked at 136 fibro patients in Scotland (along with comparable numbers of controls) through a questionnaire about work history as well as clinic and GP visits for medical treatment.

What the researchers found:

 

RESULTS: Significant number of patients with FMS (46.8%) reported that they lost their job because of the disease, compared with only 14.1% of controls (P < 0.00001). There was no significant difference in health system utilization between patients with FMS and other clinic controls in a subset of patients surveyed. CONCLUSION: Fibromyalgia is significantly associated with reports of working disability. Reasons for this decreased employment need to be investigated. The impact on the health system appeared to be the same as for patients with known specific organic diseases with regard to the number of general practitioner or hospital visits.

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Jane | Fibro and Work, Scholarship and Research | Comments (0)

From “Upbeat Health” - More on Supplements and Herbals for Fibro Patients

September 2, 2007 – 9:26 am

Following on our earlier discussion from the UM Medical site, here’s another blog post (this one from Upbeat Health) about supplements and herbals that might help fibro patients. As always, do your own research; consult with your medical team; and make sure you look carefully at any and all interactions. Remember: just because it’s billed as “all natural” doesn’t mean it can’t do any harm!

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Jane | Alternative Treatments | Comments (0)

The Fibro-Blogosphere Unveiled: “The Fibromyalgia Experiment”

September 2, 2007 – 9:15 am

Every now and again I’ll spotlight a new blog in this category “Elsewhere in Fibro-Land” - tell you a bit about the blogger behind the magic, and maybe highlight a few posts. In this way, we all get to know each other and further solidify our community. And I’m big on community. Hey - we gotta stick together.

Today’s spotlight finds The Fibromyalgia Experiment, located at http://www.fibromyalgiaexperiment.com. It’s written by a fabulous 24-year-old who calls herself Sarakastic (love it). She freely admits that’s not her given name but frankly I think it should be - her writing voice strikes the exactly right tonal mix of free-wheeling honesty and sarcasm (but the helpful kind, not the misdirecting, hateful kind).

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Jane | Elsewhere in Fibro-Land | Comments (2)