Rid Fibromyalgia For Good

Thanksgiving Overdone! Whew...The Holidays Are Crazy for Fibromyalgia Sufferers

2009-12-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to post a topic that I'm sure anyone with fibromyalgia may relate to: Overdoing it through the holidays, makes things hard for those with fibromyalgia.

Are you exhausted and stuck in the I can't sleep but need to sleep cycle? Or are you so tired you can't think about getting out of bed? Or do you feel more pain than you normally do?

Well, my friends I think we may be part of the problem through the holiday seasons. Did you stay up late the night before Thanksgiving making sure the pies were baked or the turkey thawed? Did you stay up entertaining family or travel distances to see family?

Overdoing it mentally or physically can really cause fibromyalgia pain and symptoms to flare. We think we can be anything and everything to everyone because WE ARE WOMAN! Haha! I think we as women feel like we can do and be all things to everyone.

So my advice for you for this Holiday season is to sit back, let others do more for us and just appreciate our families and friends in a laid back environment. I know, easier said than done. Take time to get your relaxation in, your exercise if you can, and let the little things go.

Please comment on what you do during the holidays to feel better and keep your wits about you and your pain and fatigue minimal.

My Good Good Friend Has Fibro

2009-11-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Today, I'm a little sad, I was talking to my good good friend, whom I have been dear friends with for years. She was just recently diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She had many many questions and although she is struggling with the diagnosis, it has actually helped her move forward and put some of her other concerns to rest.

She has gone through the same diagnosis process and problems that a lot of us go through when becoming diagnosed with fibromyalgia. She went from doctor to doctor with all kinds of weird symptoms, always leaving with more questions than answers. She was becoming discouraged. She finally was able to get in with a good rheumatologist after a recommendation from her ob. He was able to go over her multiple symptoms and check her tender points and make the diagnosis.

Becoming diagnosed with fibromyalgia can be detrimental to youyou if you allow it to or it can empower you with the knowledge to feel better. Which are you going to choose? I'd love to hear your diagnosis story, or if you haven't been diagnosed I love to hear that as well.

Yoga and Fibromyalgia

2009-11-03T06:09:00.001-08:00

So, I keep getting people who are writing in and asking about exercise and fibromyalgia and do I think it will help or hurt fibromyalgia sufferers. First off, you can always talk to your doctor about it. However, here is my opinion on the subject. When considering exercise, I think definitely it helps no matter how bad you are feeling. However, you must know your limits! Sometimes people push to hard and then they wear themselves out for the next few weeks. Please, I can't stress enough, don't push yourself beyond your limits of where you are in your cycle of fibromyalgia.

A great exercise to consider when suffering from fibromyalgia is Yoga.

If you have always wanted to know more about Fibromyalgia and exercise, you are not alone. There are many new exercise gadgets, videos, and other paraphernalia out there on the market today, and it can be confusing what’s good for Fibromyalgia sufferers. I mean, just turn the television on and you will see a bun slimmer here or a weight loss machine there, you may even hear of a total fitness machine to help your strength and overall health. All of this is nice but what can help with Fibromyalgia and exercise. I mean really what can help relieve the suffering and devastating pain of Fibromyalgia sufferers? Well, there is an answer.

To understand what exercise can greatly benefit Fibromyalgia sufferers, it’s necessary to remind ourselves of two key symptoms of Fibromyalgia. The two symptoms I am talking about are pain and anxiety. There is one exercise that that benefits Fibromyalgia sufferers more than any other and can provide relief to these two main symptoms. Yoga.

Yoga is a proven exercise that improves the Fibromyalgia sufferers body and psychological state, addressing and aiding in the recovery of the two symptoms pain and anxiety, giving you a sense of well being.

Please let me know how you feel about yoga and other exercise options. I am curious to know what has helped you and what has not helped you.

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia...

2009-10-27T04:29:00.000-07:00

Are you feeling fatigued, achy, have headaches, and other symptoms that may be so bothersome that you feel your life is changing and starting to go downhill healthwise? You may have fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia can otherwise be called as Muscular Rheumatism, Tension Myalgia or Fibromyositis. Fibromyalgia is a syndrome where the patient suffers from chornic muscle pain. This is complicated syndrome wherein the pain can be all over the body or just in certain parts of muscles around the joints. The majority who are affected by this are women over the age of 30, who suffer from pain in the neck, back and shoulders. They would generally complain of stiffness and tenderness and pain in the joints. It may seem that the problem is with the joints but infact it is a muscular pain that causes the problem. This can appear in anyone including children and men of all ages and is the second most common disorder as per rheumatologists.

The hard thing with this syndrome is that you may feel a myriad of different symptoms and doctors may perform multiple tests and not come up with a conclusive diagnosis. Because of this, you may become depressed or think people think you are crazy! You are not! And the good news??? There are plenty of studies that are being done and medical advances taking place right now in the fibromyalgia arena. There are steps you can take right now to feel better from your fibromyalgia symptoms.

Study from pub med about sleep and fibromyalgia

2009-10-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

Study from pub med about sleep and fibromyalgia
Study of the role of sleep with Fibro
The role of sleep in affect and in negative event reactivity and recovery.Hamilton NA, Affleck G, Tennen H, Karlson C, Luxton D, Preacher KJ, Templin JL.Department of Psychology, University of Kansas.

Objective: Fibromyalgia (FM) syndrome is a chronic pain condition characterized by diffuse muscle pain, increased negative mood, and sleep disturbance. Until recently, sleep disturbance in persons with FM has been modeled as the result of the disease process or its associated pain. The current study examined sleep disturbance (i.e., sleep duration and sleep quality) as a predictor of daily affect, stress reactivity, and stress recovery.

Design and Measures: A hybrid of daily diary and ecological momentary assessment methodology was used to evaluate the psychosocial functioning of 89 women with FM. Participants recorded numeric ratings of pain, fatigue, and positive and negative affect 3 times throughout the day for 30 consecutive days. At the end of each day, participants completed daily diary records of positive and negative life events. In addition, participants reported on their sleep duration and sleep quality each morning.

Results: After accounting for the effects of positive events, negative events, and pain on daily affect scores, it was found that sleep duration and quality were prospectively related to affect and fatigue. Furthermore, the effects of inadequate sleep on negative affect were cumulative. In addition, an inadequate amount of sleep prevented affective recovery from days with a high number of negative events.

Conclusions: These results lend support to the hypothesis that sleep is a component of allostatic load and has an upstream role in daily functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved).