Re: Re: Fibromyalgia: Cure for a baffling disorder?

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the article.........my rheumy is a

specialist with fibro also as he has suffered from it

himself.........he has written a book about it if

anyone is interested.......check him out at

www.drdryland.com

I really like him.

Pat

--- JANE <janeatregis@...> wrote:

> a, thanks for this wonderful article. I hope and

> pray that there

> is a cure for this awful disease. I would tend to

> take issue with

> the " old school " view of us being hypersensitive,

> etc. I was a size

> 8, running 4 miles a day, playing softball &

> volleyball, not to

> mention having 4 kids, when I started having these

> baffling symptoms.

> If those who don't believe in FMS could spend a week

> in our bodies,

> they might have a little different perspective on

> things. However, I

> wouldn't wish a week of a FM flare on any one...you

> give us weapons

> in our battle against these disorders, and we all

> appreciate your

> time and dedication.

> Hugs from

> Jane

>

> > Fibromyalgia: Cure for a baffling disorder?

> >

> > The Los Angeles Times

> >

> > Monday, August 29, 2005

> >

> > For years, pain, stiffness and fatigue clung to

> Armistead

> like

> > an invisible shroud. It was tough enough to live

> with

> fibromyalgia,

> > but the skepticism she encountered when she

> discussed her

> condition

> > was intolerable.

> >

> > " Throw out a word like fibromyalgia and you'll get

> this blank

> stare, "

> > the 28-year-old said recently, sitting in her

> Santa ,

> Calif.,

> > apartment. " For so long, it was my own private

> battle. "

> >

> > Today, however, Armistead is slowly, tentatively

> opening up about

> a

> > disease that is simultaneously emerging from its

> own mysterious

> black

> > box.

> >

> > A groundswell of research has begun to expose the

> underpinnings of

> > the baffling disorder, which affects an estimated

> 6 million to 10

> > million Americans, most of them women. The

> findings not only have

> the

> > potential to ease the condition's stigma but also

> may provide

> clues

> > to other illnesses for which there is no clear

> clause.

> >

> > Fibromyalgia, experts now believe, is a

> pain-processing disorder

> that

> > arises in the brain and spinal cord and disrupts

> the ways the body

> > perceives and communicates pain.

> >

> > " There was a time when it was thought to be

> psychosomatic, " said

> Dr.

> > , a fibromyalgia expert at Oregon

> Health & Science

> > University in Portland. " We now understand the

> pain in

> fibromyalgia

> > is an abnormality in the central nervous system in

> which pain

> > sensations are amplified. "

> >

> > Now doctors are more likely to acknowledge

> fibromyalgia as a real

> > illness. Because patients are being diagnosed and

> referred to

> > specialists more quickly, they're finding relief,

> and acceptance,

> > easier to come by.

> >

> > Pharmaceutical companies have jumped on the new

> theory of the

> > disorder, too. The first prescription drug

> approved specifically

> for

> > fibromyalgia probably will be approved late next

> year or early in

> > 2007, and at least a half-dozen pharmaceutical

> companies are

> > developing other treatments. Meanwhile, the

> federal government is

> > funding 10 studies of the disease.

> >

> > " It's very rewarding, " said Dr. Stuart Silverman,

> medical director

> of

> > Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Fibromyalgia Rehab

> Program in Los

> > Angeles. " I was seeing patients before because no

> one else wanted

> to

> > see them. Patients would tell me, 'Everyone has

> told me there is

> > nothing I can do.' "

> >

> > Fibromyalgia typically is defined as unremitting

> pain in at least

> 11

> > of 18 specific tender points in the body,

> accompanied by fatigue,

> > difficulties with concentration and other vague

> physical

> discomforts.

> > The illness is called a syndrome because the

> cluster of symptoms

> > lacks the clear markers of disease, such as

> changes in the blood

> or

> > organ function.

> >

> > Because patients often look healthy, doctors

> sometimes have

> diagnosed

> > fibromyalgia as a muscle problem or an autoimmune

> disorder. It

> also

> > can be a " wastebasket " diagnosis, attached to

> people with

> > inexplicable pain problems. Some have even

> dismissed it as the

> > complaints of emotionally troubled women.

> >

> > Years seeking help

> >

> > Many fibromyalgia patients spend years seeking

> help for their

> > symptoms, even after receiving a diagnosis. Always

> athletic,

> > Armistead first experienced back pain when she was

> a child, but

> she

> > assumed the discomfort was a part of playing

> sports.

> >

> > However, by the time Armistead had joined the UCLA

> volleyball team

> in

> > the mid-'90s, she knew something was seriously

> wrong. After games,

> > she would be racked with pain. She sometimes took

> as many as 15

> over-

> > the-counter pain pills a day.

> >

> > Coaches and trainers, alarmed at her use of

> painkillers, insisted

> > that she undergo medical tests. Armistead saw

> numerous doctors

> during

> > a yearlong span but got no answers.

> >

> > " Eventually everyone started doubting whether or

> not I was really

> in

> > pain, " she said. " My coach couldn't understand how

> I could play

> one

> > day and be bedridden the next. "

> >

> > Debilitated by pain and fatigue, Armistead quit

> the team and began

> to

> > cut back on classes. She lost 35 pounds in eight

> months. It was a

> > time in her life " so painful, I've tuned a lot of

> it out. "

> >

> > In 1996, however, a doctor diagnosed her problem

> as ankylosing

> > spondylitis, a type of arthritis affecting the

> spine, and

> fibromyalgia.

> >

> > Today Armistead takes an arthritis medication, two

> sleep

=== message truncated ===

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the article.........my rheumy is a

specialist with fibro also as he has suffered from it

himself.........he has written a book about it if

anyone is interested.......check him out at

www.drdryland.com

I really like him.

Pat

--- JANE <janeatregis@...> wrote:

> a, thanks for this wonderful article. I hope and

> pray that there

> is a cure for this awful disease. I would tend to

> take issue with

> the " old school " view of us being hypersensitive,

> etc. I was a size

> 8, running 4 miles a day, playing softball &

> volleyball, not to

> mention having 4 kids, when I started having these

> baffling symptoms.

> If those who don't believe in FMS could spend a week

> in our bodies,

> they might have a little different perspective on

> things. However, I

> wouldn't wish a week of a FM flare on any one...you

> give us weapons

> in our battle against these disorders, and we all

> appreciate your

> time and dedication.

> Hugs from

> Jane

>

> > Fibromyalgia: Cure for a baffling disorder?

> >

> > The Los Angeles Times

> >

> > Monday, August 29, 2005

> >

> > For years, pain, stiffness and fatigue clung to

> Armistead

> like

> > an invisible shroud. It was tough enough to live

> with

> fibromyalgia,

> > but the skepticism she encountered when she

> discussed her

> condition

> > was intolerable.

> >

> > " Throw out a word like fibromyalgia and you'll get

> this blank

> stare, "

> > the 28-year-old said recently, sitting in her

> Santa ,

> Calif.,

> > apartment. " For so long, it was my own private

> battle. "

> >

> > Today, however, Armistead is slowly, tentatively

> opening up about

> a

> > disease that is simultaneously emerging from its

> own mysterious

> black

> > box.

> >

> > A groundswell of research has begun to expose the

> underpinnings of

> > the baffling disorder, which affects an estimated

> 6 million to 10

> > million Americans, most of them women. The

> findings not only have

> the

> > potential to ease the condition's stigma but also

> may provide

> clues

> > to other illnesses for which there is no clear

> clause.

> >

> > Fibromyalgia, experts now believe, is a

> pain-processing disorder

> that

> > arises in the brain and spinal cord and disrupts

> the ways the body

> > perceives and communicates pain.

> >

> > " There was a time when it was thought to be

> psychosomatic, " said

> Dr.

> > , a fibromyalgia expert at Oregon

> Health & Science

> > University in Portland. " We now understand the

> pain in

> fibromyalgia

> > is an abnormality in the central nervous system in

> which pain

> > sensations are amplified. "

> >

> > Now doctors are more likely to acknowledge

> fibromyalgia as a real

> > illness. Because patients are being diagnosed and

> referred to

> > specialists more quickly, they're finding relief,

> and acceptance,

> > easier to come by.

> >

> > Pharmaceutical companies have jumped on the new

> theory of the

> > disorder, too. The first prescription drug

> approved specifically

> for

> > fibromyalgia probably will be approved late next

> year or early in

> > 2007, and at least a half-dozen pharmaceutical

> companies are

> > developing other treatments. Meanwhile, the

> federal government is

> > funding 10 studies of the disease.

> >

> > " It's very rewarding, " said Dr. Stuart Silverman,

> medical director

> of

> > Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Fibromyalgia Rehab

> Program in Los

> > Angeles. " I was seeing patients before because no

> one else wanted

> to

> > see them. Patients would tell me, 'Everyone has

> told me there is

> > nothing I can do.' "

> >

> > Fibromyalgia typically is defined as unremitting

> pain in at least

> 11

> > of 18 specific tender points in the body,

> accompanied by fatigue,

> > difficulties with concentration and other vague

> physical

> discomforts.

> > The illness is called a syndrome because the

> cluster of symptoms

> > lacks the clear markers of disease, such as

> changes in the blood

> or

> > organ function.

> >

> > Because patients often look healthy, doctors

> sometimes have

> diagnosed

> > fibromyalgia as a muscle problem or an autoimmune

> disorder. It

> also

> > can be a " wastebasket " diagnosis, attached to

> people with

> > inexplicable pain problems. Some have even

> dismissed it as the

> > complaints of emotionally troubled women.

> >

> > Years seeking help

> >

> > Many fibromyalgia patients spend years seeking

> help for their

> > symptoms, even after receiving a diagnosis. Always

> athletic,

> > Armistead first experienced back pain when she was

> a child, but

> she

> > assumed the discomfort was a part of playing

> sports.

> >

> > However, by the time Armistead had joined the UCLA

> volleyball team

> in

> > the mid-'90s, she knew something was seriously

> wrong. After games,

> > she would be racked with pain. She sometimes took

> as many as 15

> over-

> > the-counter pain pills a day.

> >

> > Coaches and trainers, alarmed at her use of

> painkillers, insisted

> > that she undergo medical tests. Armistead saw

> numerous doctors

> during

> > a yearlong span but got no answers.

> >

> > " Eventually everyone started doubting whether or

> not I was really

> in

> > pain, " she said. " My coach couldn't understand how

> I could play

> one

> > day and be bedridden the next. "

> >

> > Debilitated by pain and fatigue, Armistead quit

> the team and began

> to

> > cut back on classes. She lost 35 pounds in eight

> months. It was a

> > time in her life " so painful, I've tuned a lot of

> it out. "

> >

> > In 1996, however, a doctor diagnosed her problem

> as ankylosing

> > spondylitis, a type of arthritis affecting the

> spine, and

> fibromyalgia.

> >

> > Today Armistead takes an arthritis medication, two

> sleep

=== message truncated ===

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

You're welcome Jane. I too hope they find the cure. I think you may

be taking the hypersensitivity meaning the wrong way.

What they mean by hypersensitivity, is that our perception of pain is

amplified. If someone pokes me even in a gentle way,

it causes much more pain than it should cause. My pain is amplified.

My nerves are hypersensitive.

I was also very active and athletic. It isn't easy being trapped in

our bodies when our minds are still on the ball field.

hugs,

a

On Aug 31, 2005, at 10:36 AM, JANE wrote:

> a, thanks for this wonderful article. I hope and pray that there

> is a cure for this awful disease. I would tend to take issue with

> the " old school " view of us being hypersensitive, etc. I was a size

> 8, running 4 miles a day, playing softball & volleyball, not to

> mention having 4 kids, when I started having these baffling symptoms.

> If those who don't believe in FMS could spend a week in our bodies,

> they might have a little different perspective on things. However, I

> wouldn't wish a week of a FM flare on any one...you give us weapons

> in our battle against these disorders, and we all appreciate your

> time and dedication.

> Hugs from

> Jane

[Guest guest]

You're welcome Jane. I too hope they find the cure. I think you may

be taking the hypersensitivity meaning the wrong way.

What they mean by hypersensitivity, is that our perception of pain is

amplified. If someone pokes me even in a gentle way,

it causes much more pain than it should cause. My pain is amplified.

My nerves are hypersensitive.

I was also very active and athletic. It isn't easy being trapped in

our bodies when our minds are still on the ball field.

hugs,

a

On Aug 31, 2005, at 10:36 AM, JANE wrote:

> a, thanks for this wonderful article. I hope and pray that there

> is a cure for this awful disease. I would tend to take issue with

> the " old school " view of us being hypersensitive, etc. I was a size

> 8, running 4 miles a day, playing softball & volleyball, not to

> mention having 4 kids, when I started having these baffling symptoms.

> If those who don't believe in FMS could spend a week in our bodies,

> they might have a little different perspective on things. However, I

> wouldn't wish a week of a FM flare on any one...you give us weapons

> in our battle against these disorders, and we all appreciate your

> time and dedication.

> Hugs from

> Jane