It’s funny sometimes… the mistakes we make. We try and try to accomplish a goal, but our own actions or inactions often come back to haunt us. Such is the case with the Health Matters Show blog today. I went to correct one little thing and I messed up virtually everything in the 2 sidebar sections.
So bear with me, if you can. I’m certainly human and I make a lot of mistakes. 
But coincidentally, it is a good time for you to tell me what you’d like to see more of here on the Health Matters Show blog and podcast. More articles on certain topics, more links to others people’s blogs (I lost all but one in my morning goof up!), more speakers, more topics, more facilities to keep in touch, etc. Whatever.
Please post your comments below. I hope your Saturday morning has started off with fewer problems than mine.
P-s-s-sst… later… come back to check out my YouTube and Vimeo channels that will show up in the right column widget box. New videos should be routinely come out now!
Yes, I’ll get most everything reinstalled unless the sunshine and warm spring weather call me too loudly. Have a fantastic weekend!
Cinda Crawford, your host of the Health Matters Show
Change can be such a scary word, yet all of our lives we’re asked and expected to change. We don’t get to stay in the first grade forever even if our teacher is a dream. We don’t get to stay in high school even if we’re having tons of fun and the clubs and social activities are a blast.
Neither do we get to stay satisfied with one health status for very long because it changes literally by the micro-second. (Even if we’re talking about bad health, it, too, changes constantly.) From a quantum physics and physical standpoint, it is impossible to be at a complete standstill.
With all of the other uncomfortable unknowns about “chronic illness” like the cause, how to live with symptoms, who do we listen to that might help us, etc., it’s a daunting task to consider any change at all, much less a big one.
Yet we must not be afraid of change when it comes to healing…
After all, we do want to get well. Such is the idea and offer that I’m presenting to you today.
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If you have Fibromyalgia, you may want to consider getting chiropractic care. If I hadn’t used the services of a good chiropractor when I was so sick, I doubt it I would have made it without resorting to high-powered drugs and I didn’t want to do that.
With chiropractic care, you’re looking to correct spinal subluxations, as they call them, using various techniques. To me spinal subluxations are simply my spine being pushed and pulled all out-of-whack due to the tremendous force of cramped and hurting muscles. The actual definition is obviously much more specific.
Dear one, if you’ve been the recipient of any kind of physical trauma, your spinal and body changes can be much worse than anything I’m describing…
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It’s happened again that some non-seeing, unknowing, and non-advised person who should know better has stated that Fibromyalgia isn’t real. I’m writing this post today because I want to say more about the person and this explosive issue than simply advising you of their existence. Folks, the “Fibromyalgia” situation becomes more untenable and infuriating by the day. I’m not the only person who feels this way.
The problem arises because of:
- People who can’t see the legitimacy that something really important is going on medically, when the Fibromyalgia patient population in the US alone is estimated at 6 to 10 million people. Simply, they must be in a state of non-seeing. At the least, they are certainly in a state of denial.
You ask, “How can they not see what is so obvious?” I suggest that it must be because of the wart on the front of their nose has become unrecognizable. They see it all the time and their brains have blocked it out of their visual image of the world. Maybe they saw the wart once, didn’t like it or know what it was about, feared it at some unconscious level and/or simply decided to ignore it. Maybe it would go away… maybe they could avoid dealing with it. In very simple terms, they do not or cannot see what’s in front of them as Fibromyalgia, even though the situation is apparent to millions of other people all around them in the world.
Note: sometimes friends or loved ones can have this attitude, too.
- Medical doctors who really don’t make an effort to know their sick and hurting patients who come in the door with symptoms of Fibromyalgia. These doctors surely must be non-advised that if any of those patients meet the criteria for Fibromyalgia, they have a duty and an obligation to give them the diagnosis. The American Rheumatology Association agrees, insurance companies agree, and even the Social Security Administration supports such a diagnosis. *Research these issues more at Get Well Health.
- Individuals who are not aware of Fibromyalgia as being a legitimate illness are simply unknowing. We can certainly understand and put up with people in this group the most. Obviously not all of us know about every illness in existence today.
For people within these three groups, send them to my page on Fibromyalgia and all of the linked and referenced websites there. Surely there’s more available than they already know about or they wouldn’t have such flippant, non-caring and non-plussed attitudes about a very serious medical condition!
As I leave you today, I suggest that we in the Fibromyalgia community begin to prepare now for Fibromyalgia Awarness Day 2010, May 12th. Certainly we can begin to build a sense of urgency about it now. Also we have a duty and an obligation to spread the word about the legitimacy of this horrible illness. Don’t tolerate the doctor I mentioned above. And don’t put up with such nonsense.
PS- I became aware of this doctor’s opinion through a Facebook group that I belong to entitled, “Sufferers against Dr Crippen’s “Fibromyalgia-Whatever That Is.” You can find it and me on Facebook (as Cinda Crawford) or you can access his article here. (Get past the tarot card reading video and he has quite a bit to say… just none of it good.)
Please leave a comment to this post below. Then, send this information on and on and on. We all need to keep spreading the word about Fibromyalgia. And if you have any great ideas about how to create more Fibromyalgia awareness for Awareness Day, share them, too. I’m planning on doing a BlogTalkRadio Show and working out the details as we speak. If that interests you and you’d like to attend, comment below and tell me that, too. I would welcome your suggestions about how we can publicize the event within your community and sphere of influence.
Thanks so much and have a great day, Cinda Crawford
Host of the Health Matters Show
Alternative medicine includes methods for treating illnesses, even Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome CFS. Alternative medicine has been around long before western style medicine began because way back when many of the alternative treatments were our mainstream medicine, like homeopathics, herbs, essential oils, acupuncture and laying on of hands.
Doctors judged their patients by what they could see, feel, hear and sense. They asked questions and then offered an evaluation. Much of the time these old timey doctors were darned accurate and darned effective.
Such is the more subtle approach of most alternative methods of treatment. Recently, in the Journal of Alternative Complementary Medicine, an analysis was made “attempting to evaluate the efficacy of possible treatments for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) and fibromyalgia
(FM). ”
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Hold on to your hat, dear one, because undoubtedly, this interview with Mary Moeller, the author of Fibromyalgia Cookbook: A Daily Guide to Becoming Healthy Again (revised) is one of the most powerful, thought-provoking interviews I’ve ever done for the Health Matters Show! Mary really shares some truly great information.
(Note: This is actually the second part of our longer, extended interview. You can catch the first part from last week’s interview by accessing the link here, but please do it later. I don’t want you to miss what’s coming up next.)
(This audio file is 29 minutes and 44 seconds long, and it contains dynamite stuff! Either listen here or download for later. Just be sure to catch it all.)
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Whether you have Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or some other chronic illness, when you and I make a habit of eating well, we promote our good health and stave off the possibility of furthering chronic illness symptoms. Now not all illnesses are obviously influenced by diet, but surprisingly, I don’t know of a one that isn’t greatly affected by the foods, liquids, vitamins, herbs, minerals, chemicals and toxic substances that we ingest. OUCH! That hit home!
Well, you say, I don’t put anything harmful in my body? Well, maybe not, but take a moment to answer two simple questions:
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Anyone walking this earth and having the slightest interest in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Myalgia Encephalomyelitis (ME) and CFSME has heard the rumblings and is confused about the science battle over whether XMRV exists as any kind of cause of these illnesses.
First we had the great report from the Whittemore Peterson Institute (WPI) that XMRV had been linked with CFS. That’s good. That sounds like we’re moving forward.
Now we have 4 reports from the UK saying there is no link. That’s bad… or is that good? (Hint: it may just be bad science!)
It turns out that the conclusion of the question about the involvement of XMRV will probably have to wait awhile because the UK experiments were not done in the same fashion and, therefore, they don’t yield comparable results.
Check out Mart Schweitzer’s new blog post at Slightly Alive and then read this posting sent recently to the Co-Cure folks… .
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Whether you suffer with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what foods you eat -or lack of “good” food- is often a real mountain to climb because problem foods certainly can cause lots of problem symptoms. They cause digestion problems at the least and readily add to immune dysfunction and a general increase in overall symptoms. Can suicide be one of those symptoms? You decide.
The truth is our bodies react to the foods we eat!
Foods were a big problem for me many years ago and for Mary Moeller, my interview guest yesterday. Read more about her fascinating story below… .
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by Cinda Crawford on February 26, 2010
in General
For today’s show I am interviewing Mary Moeller, author of Fibromyalgia Cookbook, A Daily Guide to Becoming Healthy Again (revised). I am impressed with this marvelous lady. She has lived in the deepest trenches of Fibromyalgia, not only fighting for herself but for her young daughter to get well, too.
As a Licensed Clinical Nurse, Mary worked in a doctor’s office at the time she grew more and more ill. No traditional medicines helped her. But Mary found her way out of the long, deep “illness” ditch and walked out a winner.
Through the aid of a caring doctor and her own intensive, investigative work, Mary uncovered many secrets of what it takes to get well from an illness like Fibromyalgia. Both this week and at least one more week, I am featuring my interview of Mary Moeller on the Friday podcast edition of the Health Matters Show. Access the audio below by clicking the right-facing arrow or feel free to download the file.
(18 minutes 5 seconds)
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I heard Joan Borysenko speak again recently. She is a fascinating lady and author. Her book and DVD, the Power of the Mind to Heal, will surely be required information for all those folks who want to have me work with them one-on-one in the healing process.
She talks about how the power of the mind is an incredible tool in life. Your mind has the capacity to keep you stuck in your current reality or move you forward!
I’ve decided to put this book on the “suggested” reading list for the Learn How to Healyourself membership series that’s coming up shortly. (The whole course is almost ready!)
I encourage you to go ahead and pick up your copy of Joan Borysenko’s book or DVD. The DVD is listed below. Find the book in my Amazon store in the tab above or to the right under Cinda Recommends.
As you contemplate how to heal, please don’t let fear of the unknown stop you. Instead, be brave and know that all things are possible. Like beauty, health can be in the eye of the beholder, so to speak.
Okay, now answer this question and the ones that follow: How brave are you when it comes to stepping out into the future?
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As reported in MedPage on Sunday from work at the Conference on Retrovirus and Opportunisitic infections in San Francisco, current studies about the XMRV, Xenogrophic Murine Leukemia-related Virus, indicate that many secrets about XMRV are unfolding gradually, but that we’re probably only at the beginning of the process.
To date there is a tremendous amount of controversy surrounding XMRV. Most of it is coming from the UK after a series of studies found no correlation between XMRV infection and CFS or CFSME.
However, these studies are in question by many people because of how they were constructed, patient-wise. It is suspected that they didn’t use the accepted diagnostic criteria to qualify their sample patient population. We’re left to conclude that the results they obtained could be skewed.
Example: if you looking for blondes in a group of black-haired people, do you think you’ll find any blondes??
Similar to the early days with the HIV retrovirus, there’s certainly more that we don’t know than what we do know or what we can prove. Some instances of XMRV showing up in prostrate cancer victims and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers has been obtained. Per Stephen Goff, PhD of Columbia University in New York City, he “cautioned that has yet to be any clear evidence linking it to disease.”
However, there is more news from Dr. Goff and this time it’s better:
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Recently the Journal of Disability Policy Studies published new information about the number of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) sufferers. A Constructive Debate With the CDC on the Empirical Case Definition of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
In essence, the number of people considered to suffer with the illness has gone up by a multiplying factor of 12.7. That means that now the new United States patient population for CFS is a whopping 4 million!
I suggest that we don’t become too alarmed yet, because some of this difference could be due to the interpretation of the case definition used by the CDC: what is CFS, what symptoms does someone have to have to be classed as having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and all of the rest of the criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, that is required to meet a literal diagnosis. That’s because… .
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I use the expression, the use of CBT to treat ME, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, very gingerly here because I see very little treatment going on. The prevalent attitude of treating ME (also known as CFSME) with a treatment regimen that involves cognitive behavior therapy and an exercise protocol is surely missing the bigger point, even though it is the prevailing attitude in the UK. How can you treat someone if you basicly think they’re faking it??
(Did I say this “CBT attitude” was sponsored by the psychiatric community alone? No, I didn’t, but it ain’t called cognitive behavior therapy for nothing. And the CBT group surely has won over and convinced many otherwise sensible medical professionals into believing that because no one has proven a definite cause and effect relationship for ME, surely the tens of thousands of people affected by it must be making up all the symptoms in their heads! That’s just plain and simple hogwash.)
Since ME is regarded as mostly a psychosomatically inspired illness and not a true physical entity, the UK brand of medicine insists that it can be treated by talk therapy and exercise, no matter how sick or disabled the patient.
This philosophy and treatment regimen does not take into account how physically ill someone is, even if that person had been perfectly healthy before coming down with the severe illness symptoms attributed to ME.
The following is a sampling of one public letter written to BMJ, the British Medical Journal, about this horrific issue and after Lynn Gilderdale’s death, a lady who committed suicide recently after suffering for so long, being believed so little and getting no real help during her lifetime:
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During this interview and the previous one with Dr. Mike Funicello, DC, he explains why you may be sick with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, what happens during the illness process, what you can do at a physical level to relieve the trauma your body has stored, plus he offers a tantalizing opinion of where health comes from. By all means, take time to listen to the whole Health Matters Show today!
(Then when you get a chance, go back and review the previous interview, if you haven’t already heard it.)
When energy is stored in your body after a traumatic event, it has the capacity to influence your health very negatively and for a very long time.
(This whopping interview is 23 minutes long and includes information that could potentially help you. Listen here on the website by clicking the right-facing arrow on the left of the blue bar. To download this interview to your computer, iPod or telephone, right click your mouse directly over the hyperlink that says, “Download MP3″. Then left click it to save the file where you can find it on your device. Enjoy. )
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