The Health Matters Show With Cinda Crawford » Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia: Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Cinda Crawford — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:40:40 +0000

Fibromyalgia: Mood and Anxiety Disorders

….is information provided to you based on a media source “ahead of print” from Co-cure. If you’re not signed up for CoCure.org, I highly suggest you take a look at it.

Today we’re looking at how Fibromyalgia, mood and anxiety disorders are linked together. You may have suspected that was the case. If for no other reason, because so many doctors regard Fibro patients as “less than centered” and emotionally unhealthy. I’m not saying that that is true, it’s simply a common perception.

So, what is the real truth? Are Fibromyalgia sufferers more inclined to emotional upheavals and mood and anxiety disorders to begin with or…what? That a look at this study and draw your own conclusions. I welcome your comment below.

Compr Psychiatry. 2012 Apr 23. [Epub ahead of print]

The impact of mood, anxiety, and sleep disorders on fibromyalgia.

Consoli G, Marazziti D, Ciapparelli A, Bazzichi L, Massimetti G, Giacomelli C, Rossi A, Bombardieri S, Dell’osso L.
Dipartimento di Psichiatria, Neurobiologia, Farmacologia e Biotecnologie.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:

Several studies carried out mainly in North America revealed high rates of mood, anxiety and sleep disorders in patients with fibromyalgia (FM), while the information in other countries is scant. Therefore, we aimed at investigating the prevalence and the impact of such conditions on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and the
severity of pain in a sample of Italian FM patients.

METHODS:
One-hundred and sixty-seven women suffering from primary FM were consecutively enrolled. Psychiatric diagnoses were made by means of DSM-IV criteria. The HRQoL and the severity of pain were measured through the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (MOS-SF-36) and the FM Impact Questionnaire (FIQ).

RESULTS:
Fibromyalgia patients showed a high rate (80.8%) of lifetime and/or current comorbidity with mood and anxiety disorders. Patients with psychiatric comorbidity resulted significantly more impaired on the Mental Component Summary score of the MOS-SF-36 and showed a higher FIQ total score than those suffering from FM only. The severity of
pain was associated with current psychiatric comorbidity.

Patients with current mood disorders showed significantly lower Mental and Physical Component Summary scores of the MOS-SF-36 and higher FIQ total scores than those with current anxiety disorders or those without psychiatric comorbidity. Finally, patients with sleep disorders reported a lower HRQoL than those with a normal sleep, and specifically those with difficulty in falling in sleep had higher severity of pain.

CONCLUSION:
Psychiatric comorbidity, in particular with mood disorders, provokes a significant impairment of the HRQoL and, when current, a higher severity of pain in FM patients.

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Thank you for visiting the blog today and this important topic: Fibromyalgia: Mood and Anxiety Disorders. Feel free to comment and then forward this on to your friends who suffer with Fibro.

Cinda Crawford, your host of the Health Matters Show

Do You Have Fibromyalgia or CFS?

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 14:15:03 +0000

The question, Do you have Fibromyalgia or CFS? assumes you have symptoms similar to both illnesses, but you’re not quite sure how to classify what you’re experiencing. Your doctor may even be a bit puzzled.

It’s not uncommon to get a different chronic illness and then Fibromyalgia follows, especially if the beginning illness leaves you sedentary and involves a degree of pain. And on the flipside, it’s possible to get Fibromyalgia first and then (example) CFS, so your illness sequence doesn’t give you a concrete answer. That’s exactly how my illness manifested in earnest when I became so sick.

Some of the same add-on conditions or symptoms often accompany both illnesses, such as being prone to stress, TMJ (temporomandibular joint dysfunction or syndrome), a dysfunctional thyroid (usually low thyroid) and/or HPA axis condition (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal axis), allergies, swelling of joints (Arthritis), pain in the limbs, hips, back, shoulders, neck, etc., sleep dysfunction, energy impairment, and immune system irregularities.

(Podcast is 17 minutes 48 seconds.)
Let’s compare the two and really see what is different…

People who suffer with Fibromyalgia tend to hurt with more intense pain and in more places of the body than Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. *If you’re someone who has CFS and you hurt like the dickens, don’t brush off this statement as being false. Instead, consider getting tested for Lyme Disease and Lupus.

Lupus Syndrome symptoms:
If you simply consider Fibro and CFS by themselves and alone, Fibromyalgia is considered more of a chronic pain problem, whereas CFS if considered more of an immune system irregularity condition.

The exception to all this may be people prone to migraine headaches, however “having migraines” is not within the definition of either illness. It is common to hear of people with Fibro and CFS complain of having frequent migraines or “suffering with a new headache pattern”.
- Fibromyalgia also differs from CFS in that for Fibro, a person must have at least 11 of the 18 designated tender/ trigger points active at any one time. Note: that’s how some people do not quite qualify for Fibromyalgia because they don’t have at least 11 of these points -or- their doctor doesn’t know how to diagnose their condition properly. (*One other scenario, their doctor doesn’t “believe” in Fibromyalgia and therefore will not give such a diagnosis to any patient.)
The same “logic” applies to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome because there are still physicians in the world who (1) do not believe it is a true illness, so how can they possibly diagnose the health problem as being CFS? -OR- (2) do not know how to diagnose it, so instead the patients gets three or more additional diagnoses, each one indicating an area of the body that could be dysfunctional.

An example of this can be seen with recurring sinus problems. If I had $10.00 for every sinus infection a doctor diagnosed me as having, I’d be a semi-wealthy woman today. Did I actually have sinus problems? Yes, I did. I took plenty of antibiotics to “prove” it. Today, at certain times of the year, I still struggle with my sinuses. When that happens, instead of running to the doctor for an antibiotic, I often work on sinuses and immune system using my Sacred Cellular Healing (SCH) technique. It helps to keep my immune system performing at peak capacity and, more times than not, I do not sicker with a sinus infection. *That means I don’t have to take multiple antibiotic prescriptions and that’s good!

In a nutshell, I use SCH to boost my immune system to stay healthy and avoid getting sick.

But some twenty years ago, was I experiencing a breakdown of the immune system as it deteriorated in capability and functionality? Yes, you better believe it. I was sick week after week with sinus infections. That one symptom pointed towards the reality of me having CFS.

If you’re sick and a bit confused as to which illness you have or if you have both, consult my Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome pages on our sister website, Get Well Health. It is fairly inclusive and includes much of the information you want to know about this topic. Do you have Fibromyalgia or CFS?

Feeling Sick All the Time

Cinda Crawford — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 17:32:35 +0000

I often hear people say, “I’ve been feeling sick all the time lately. What is going on with me? Do I have Fibromyalgia or some other chronic pain condition?

This issue of whether you’re feeling sick or feeling well is a matter of perception and, believe it or not, this information comes directly from your brain!

a) Is the brain getting this information directly from the body? Sometimes…probably most of the time. Also, feedback pain loops escalate the pain signals, seemingly hard-wiring them directly into your central nervous system.

(*The following research involves success with “interference” of the pain signals.)

b) When you feel better, is your brain able to behave differently than when you’re feeling really tough and achy? Yes, that’s possible, too. What’s going on in your brain can change your bodily perceptions.

Read below for a hint at what’s going on and how you can benefit from this new information. Apparently, science is having success with behavioral treatment significantly reducing interference from pain in the Fibromyalgia patient.

Exp Brain Res. 2012 Mar 17. [Epub ahead of print]

Treatment-related changes in brain activation in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome.

Diers M, Yilmaz P, Rance M, Thieme K, Gracely RH, Rolko C, Schley MT, Kiessling U, Wang H, Flor H. Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J 5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany,

Abstract

Little is known about the effects of successful treatment on brain function in chronic pain. This study examined changes in pain-evoked brain activation following behavioral extinction training in fibromyalgia patients.

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, brain activation to painful mechanical stimuli applied to the 2nd phalanx of the left 2nd digit (m. flexor digitorum) was assessed in 10 patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) before and after behavioral extinction training.

The behavioral treatment significantly reduced interference from pain in the FM patients. Mechanical pain threshold and pain tolerance increased significantly after treatment.

Activation in the insula shifted bilaterally from a more anterior site before treatment to a more posterior location after treatment. The pre- to post-treatment reduction in both interference related to pain and pain severity were significantly associated with bilateral activation in pain-evoked activity in the posterior insula, the ipsilateral caudate nucleus/striatum, the contralateral lenticular nucleus, the left thalamus and the primary somatosensory cortex contralateral to the stimulated side.

These data show a relation between successful behavioral treatment and higher activation bilaterally in the posterior insula and in the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex.

Future studies should compare responders and non-responders for differential treatment effects and examine in more detail the mechanisms underlying these changes.
~~~~~~~~~~

If you’re feeling sick all the time, it’s time to ask the right questions. Can your brain function (while your body’s in chronic pain) differently that it does now? Possibly so, especially if you have Fibromyalgia, according to this data. Simply know that you have a chronic pain condition and scientist/ doctors are learning more about how to treat it everyday. That’s always good news!

Thank you, Cinda Crawford
Your host of the Health Matters Show

Flupirtine: Possible Fibromyalgia Drug

Cinda Crawford — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:30:14 +0000

(*At the request of several people, this post is being updated with a new date. Hopefully the info and great comments attached will reach even more people.)

THE MECHANISM OF ACTION OF FLUPIRTINE IS A NON-OPIOID DRUG WITHOUT ANTI-PYRETIC OR ANTI-PHLOGISTIC PROPERTIES AND WITH A GOOD TOLERABILITY.

Flupirtine displays indirect NDMA receptor antagonism via the activation of pottassium channels.Flupertine activates G protein regulated inwardlyrectifying k (GIRK). GIRK channels characterise a new family of K channels that are distinctive from the voltage dependant K channels.GIRK channels contributes to the maitenance of resting membrane potential and manage the excitability of the cell.

Activation of GIRK channels results in the hyperpolarization of the neuronal membrane.Flupirtine stabilizes the membrane potential indirectly by activating GIRK channels.

Several disease pathophysiology states such as migrane and chronic pain includes a component of neuronal hyperexcitability.Hyperpolarisation of the resting membrane potential and hence decreased action potential generation by K currents.Flupirtine may provide a unique approach in the management of diseases assosiated with neuronal hyper-excitability.

Is there a possible new Fibromyalgia drug on the horizon named Flupirtine? Maybe.

Flupirtine is a widely known analgesic drug that is approved for the treatment of acute and chronic pain, particularly musculoskeletal pain. However, it is neither an NSAID nor an opioid. Given pending trials of flupirtine for the treatment of Fibromyalgia pain, an understanding of Flupirtine’s (unique?) mechanism of analgesic action is of both clinical and basic science interest.

Is there more information about Flupirtine? Might it be an answer for your pain? Yes.

Flurpirtine may represent a novel class of analgesic drug. As such, it would be useful for the treatment of types of pains normally not amenable to conventional (NSAID or opioid) pharmacotherapy. It could also spawn new avenues of analgesic drug discovery efforts, according to recent thoughts.

Leave a comment here on the Health Matters Show blog if you know any more about Flupirtine, a possible new Fibromyalgia drug.

Thanks, Cinda Crawford, your host

Fibromyalgia Online Survey

Cinda Crawford — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 07:20:50 +0000

If you’ve ever thought that you’d like to know the “real” statistics about Fibromyalgia, then consider taking the National Fibromyalgia’s new online survey. Read below for more info, but then click the appropriate blue hyperlink to take you directly to the questions to answer.

In their words…

The National Fibromyalgia Association is conducting the first of several surveys to learn about fibromyalgia and chronic pain patients’ interest in a new state of the art, technology-driven website platform that has the potential to change the way health care is provided in the United States. This concept was created by Lynne Matallana, the Founder of the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA}, and nurtured by Rae Marie Gleason the past Executive Director of the NFA along with several world-renowned scientific researchers and medical professionals.

This is an important opportunity to make your voice count in a way that could truly affect treatment options for millions of fibromyalgia and chronic pain sufferers worldwide. Your participation will help us to better understand what quality of life changes, resources and treatment therapies are the most important to you so that they can be incorporated into this new, unique platform.

So, please take a few minutes to fill out this survey to help us better understand your needs and wishes when it comes to new evidence-based treatment options, physician referrals, scientific research, and resources that might help you experience a better quality of life while living with pain.

Expect to hear from us often regarding the outcome information from this survey and future opportunities to participate in creation of this new website!

So spread the word among your friends and acquaintances. Share this blog entry however you like on Facebook, Twitter and more. It’s so important for each of us to fill out this Fibromyalgia online survey and, of course, you know how much I appreciate you sharing info from the Health Matters Show!

Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Your host

Healing from Fibromyalgia: How is Self Worth Involved?

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:15:20 +0000

Today’s topic is Healing from Fibromyalgia: How is Self Worth involved in the process? It’s a big one. So often as we fall into the trap of being a chronic illness person, e.g. having long-term Fibromyalgia, we begin to think of staying sick more than the possibility of getting well. Yes, of course, we want to get well, but a chronic illness like Fibromyalgia is so invasive and involves living with so many unpleasant symptoms that the mind gradually shifts from the possibility and hope of getting well to the expectation of possibly living with this level of torment the rest of your life!

That’s not good.

Self-worth can feel like a joke. How can you have a good self-image of yourself when you don’t feel whole? How can you regain what you lost when you have no earthly idea how to go about it?

If you feel this way, you’re not alone. Thousands of people, if not millions, get caught in this dangerous trap. And know this fact for sure…it is a trap! Negative, doubtful feelings add to your feelings of being blue or depressed, if bad enough. It can be a tough spiral to break out of. And when these thoughts run rampant, it’s hard to see the possibility of healing. It’s almost as if you’re not really sure in your gut if your “sun” will ever shine again. Are you stuck? Will you hurt like this forever? Who can help you? What will alleviate your tough Fibromyalgia Symptoms?

Today’s Health Matters Show podcast is 12 minutes 19 seconds long. Listen to it today. Hear how other people are dealing with this same issue and conquering it!

When you’re finished listening to the audio podcast, my second suggestion is to get off your perch and take action. Really! You can’t afford to languish in a low, sultry mood. It’s important to find ways to boost your self-worth (in some circles called self-esteem) and to propel your health forward and upward.

As for now, my Learn How to Heal Yourself membership course is always open and the prices are exceptionally reasonable. If you decide to take it for the twelve months, I urge you to do so at the Platinum level. That way I can help you and offer you the most individual help with the actual Sacred Cellular Healing protocol. (*I do this all the time in my home with one-on-one sessions; -OR- at-a-distance on the phone or on Skype sessions, still just you and me, but using a device to help us communicate. Both ways work equally well.)

The point is…act. Do. Plan. Feel better. You want to get well. Your friends, family and doctor actually want you to heal and once more be more like the “self” you left behind. Discovery of lingering, nagging, unhealthy self-worth issues can play a big part in how you feel. And they greatly influence the mind, body and spirit challenge of healing from Fibromyalgia or any chronic illness.

Take care and Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Your host of the Health Matters Show

Controlling Fibromyalgia Pain

Cinda Crawford — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:15:17 +0000

When one talks or blogs about controlling Fibromyalgia pain, an immediate awareness lights in the eyes of sufferers. There’s a pain awareness, a response with questions about pain management and more. People suffering with symptoms of Fibromyalgia pain want good news.They want relief!

It’s possible to suffer with all types of pain, but Fibromyalgia pain can be some of the most intractable (e.g. hard to control) pain that a person can have. Of course there are others, but for just this moment, I’m just talking about this as the topic. The pain may be more of a physical or muscle pain (a.k.a cramping, stinging, burning, knife-in-the-back type of pain), migraine headaches or more mental-oriented or it can be a more emotionally natured pain from sources like depression, trauma or abuse.

I am interested in helping you get out of pain, so Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2012, at 1:30 pm EST on my Facebook page, GET WELL HEALTH, I’m featuring a live interview/ event/ talk session with Dan Howard, the creator of Intentional Resting. If you’ve been following my work with Dan at all, you have heard him talk about how many people with Fibromyalgia pain have been relieved by his healing technique. Intentional Resting helped them get out of pain!

Make your plans to join us there on Wednesday on Facebook. Then, pick up another tip for pain management as you finish reading this post. I want to see you finding relief and controlling your Fibromyalgia pain as soon as possible.

Pain is Pain, no matter whether it has a physical, mental, emotional or spiritual origin. When you’re experiencing runaway pain, the world is not as bright. The only one really capable of curtailing the process is you and your purposeful actions and attitude. You have the capacity to turn the lights back on!

If you decide that your pain is not the end of the world, it won’t be. If you decide to be in control, you will be. If you decide that there are positive things that you can do, you have already gained the upper hand to manage your pain!

Of course, Wednesday, we’ll be talking about the health tool you can learn in 30 seconds or less, Intentional Resting. Help YOU manage YOUR pain. I hope you join us for this easy-going, informative talk. Until then…you feel better now, you hear? Don’t give away your power to pain. Instead, do something positive to help yourself.

HEALTH GOAL: do this for yourself, for your pain management, for controlling your Fibromyalgia pain. And then, share this post to increase pain awareness and pass on this opportunity to other friends who suffer with chronic pain. All comments and sharing appreciated.

Many soft hugs for you today,
Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show

Fibromyalgia Interview Dan Howard; Week 3 of 3

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:15:28 +0000

During the previous two programs on Fibromyalgia, I have been encouraging you to think about and determine what is making you sick. In today’s interview we will look at why it so often happens that a major factor can be the stress of a job, family issues or virtually everything in your life! I know when I got so sick, it was all of those things combined.

If you’re suffering with physical stress, you need to take some time off and probably relax.

If you’re being bothered by mental and emotional stress and anxiety, you need to relax because your perceptions about this topic are housed in your mind, but often expressed in your body.

If life in general is getting too much to handle,
YOU REALLY NEED TO RELAX
more than anything else!

If you don’t relax and allow your system to re-balance itself, you will be headed towards worse illness symptoms of some sort. One person may suffer migraine headaches; the next, a backache. The next, Fibromyalgia or more. Think of the 3-legged stool we’ve talked about so often. Work to balance yourself in body, mind and spirit.

Now, I can hear you, “I don’t have time to relax. It’s two days before Christmas!” Well, I’m here to tell you that you can and should relax. As a matter of fact, time spent in rest and relaxation is a wonderfully positive way to make it through the holidays and start off your new year without feeling that you’re climbing out of the gutter!

Please join me today in welcoming and interviewing Mr. Dan Howard to the Health Matters Show about this topic of Intentional Resting.

(Today’s podcast interview is 18 minutes 2 seconds long.)

Today instead of thinking about some abstract “cause” of Fibromyalgia, let’s concentrate on what we do know: it’s crucial that YOU make it through the holidays (no worse for wear) and begin 2012 on as positive health note as possible. If you take this ands-off and indirect approach to your problem of “being sick with Fibromyalgia,” (or any illness), you may get further ahead faster. Listen to today’s podcast and hear Dan Howard and I talk about how to lower mental and emotional stress by using his “Intentional Resting” technique.

Your body wants respect, time spent “honoring” it and the necessary components that bring about your long term, good health. If you become less distracted with the stuff in life that does not matter, you have a better chance of getting this right and getting healthy again. Surely better health will follow you right into the 2012 New Year.

Speaking of that, be sure to keep tuned in to all that’s going on here at the Health Matters Show. I’m starting a new Newsletter and I will be interviewing Dan Howard for a longer, tell-all seminar. I can’t wait! He has so much more to tell us. Today on the broadcast, he goes over “why” his fabulous Intentional Resting technique works. In the longer seminar, he’ll share more goodies, plus help you learn to self-practice intentional resting. As I said, stay tuned right here.

Okay, that’s it for today. Congratulations, dear ones, for making it as well as you have this year. By listening to, following and acting upon what Dan Howard has to offer you, such as his 30-day email Intentional Resting program, you will be several steps ahead and moving forward towards your good health and eliminating a whole lot of mental and emotional stress. You need to relax and there is no better time than now.

Many blessings, Cinda Crawford
Your host of the Health Matters Show

Fibromyalgia: Christmas Season Broadcast 2 of 3

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:15:45 +0000

As you and I approach the Christmas season with a goal of surviving it, one thing you may be asking yourself was hinted at last week: if Fibromyalgia Syndrome is not a terminal condition, then why am I still sick? There could be many reasons for whatever answer you come up with. It’s true that some people get over the condition and go on with their lives, while others keep right on suffering. Many people even get worse over time and watch their health decline further! Let’s change that and start now during the Christmas season holiday.

(This audio podcast is 6 minutes 21 seconds)

Okay. Let’s start off by playing a what-if game… what if the quality of your life eroded and got worse, the drama in your life story intensified and your future changed for the absolute worst? Unless you make the right choices now (Christmas or otherwise), you might never get another opportunity to come back and do it right again. Such a time as the Christmas season can be the very event that preempts and precipitates your life and symptoms either tunneling down into the trenches of ultimate pain and agony -or- spiraling upwards towards renewed hope and a re-invigorated life!

Help…my life’s in a tailspin. I don’t want to go here!!

Yes, It’s critical to learn the important need-to-know facts about Fibromyalgia. But after that, if you’re at one end of the spectrum (e.g. the complaining, negativity and poor-me) or the other end of it, the “fluffy stuff” that’s batted around), neither of these two things end up being important at all. Not long term. Not when all you really want is to get well.

The truth is that we all complain sometimes. As soon as you can, though, make a point to lay aside being negative. Lay aside looking for some magic, cure-all drug. Lay aside thoughts that you’ll only be happy when and if… . Instead, put all of this out of your mind because instead you’re concentrating on bigger, better and different things. Things to help you succeed. Things to improve your health and help you get healthy again. I know you want to do whatever it will take to feel better and reclaim your life! Being negative and dependent will not get you where you want to go.

And as for the fluffy stuff? I’m talking about anything that promises you symptom relief or a cure, but isn’t doing the job for you. *In 2012, I’ll be offering you something special which I and lots of people are finding to be priceless. Stay tuned. Personally, I find that few supplements (or drugs) conquer Fibromyalgia. Help maybe, but not really slay the symptoms.

SUGGESTION: Take a few minutes to add up what you’re spending on Fibromyalgia, both on drugs and over-the-counter supplements. After you make a comprehensive list, tuck it away where you can get to it easily. We’ll get back to this. I promise…in a couple weeks, I plan to have all of the data in place to tell you about something F-A-N-T-A-S-T-I-C!!! I’ve got my fingers crossed, too, and I am very, very excited!

Your to-do assignment from last week began with your making a personal list of who or what might trip you up this holiday. When you sat down to make that list, what life points did you focus on? People? Places? Did you concentrate more on emotional problems that could trip you up? Are all of these items really important now that you’ve listed them or did you include any points that actually don’t matter that much?

If you have a few of the latter on your list, go ahead and cross them out now. You can return to the smaller issues later. Today instead, concentrate on what’s crucial in YOU making it through the holidays and working positively on your health. Resolve to get to the crux of the problem NOW. Why not? If you become less distracted with the stuff in life that does not matter, you have a better chance of getting this right. Better health will follow.

Now go ahead and keep working on your list, but save it. Especially, put it up where no one will see it if you’re writing down and thinking about some very personal issues. Then check back next week to compare your answers to mine. Just don’t stop this process. It’s too important. This is your health we’re talking about. Your future depends on you getting this right!

Plus, I’m hoping that you come up with some ideas that I don’t think of. If so, submit and share them in comment form. Get recognition for your hard work while you’re growing and getting control over your Fibromyalgia.

Thanks. I’m Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show and thanks for attending “Fibromyalgia: Christmas Season Broadcast 2 of 3″

Fibromyalgia: Christmas Season Broadcast 1 of 3

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:15:32 +0000

Today’s Christmas season broadcast is one of three weeks of presentations when I’m highlighting Fibromyalgia Syndrome. I’m convinced that it is not a terminal condition. Even though it may seem that way when you’re in the depths of the illness, some people do get over it and go on to resume healthier lives.

Unfortunately, other people keep suffering. They can even get worse and watch their health decline further and further into an illness pit that’s hard to climb out of!!

Today, let’s talk about how to prevent staying in the Fibromyalgia rut, particularly at this time of year…the holiday, Christmas season! No one wants to feel “bad” and no one wants to be the drag on their holiday party. Fun and good times are coming!

If a person only gives up a few of life’s pleasures because of a small (lean) to moderate case of Fibromyalgia (FMS), he of she may not have to make too many sacrifices. The necessary changes needed to survive regular “living” may be doable and tolerable enough to maintain. Such a person can live a reasonably good life.

If that’s not true for you and you’re much sicker than that, could your situation be worse because you haven’t discovered the knack of adjusting to match the needs of your illness??

That question is appropriate for the people who struggle with more and worse symptoms. Adjusting may not be the end-all, universal, cure-all answer. It won’t make that much difference, yet adjusting is still wise and I’ll tell you why.

In the end, some people can change their level of personal expectations, required duties and everyday activities and get by well enough, while others don’t seem to be able to easily change or adjust barely at all. Instead, they go to the extreme and give and give and give…until they feel like an overused rubber band about to break. *Today’s idea is aimed more at the people who (so far) have refused to make any adjustments to their lives and, therefore, the illness is pushing back at them hard!)

I encourage you to honestly think through this issue. If you’re prone to diving into the holidays head first and feeling all panicky, start a Christmas Season List. Jot down all of the things, people and activities in your life that you believe to negatively affect your condition. But don’t just list these issues => =>

Figure out why and how you’re affected by the issues (or people) yesterday, last month, last holiday season. Thinking about them and planning what you should do to circumvent them is the key here to insure you’ll have a better, healthier Christmas season holiday with fewer symptoms. Don’t let it/them get to you!
Plan your holiday get togethers. Plan the energy requirements you’ll need to prepare and last through the event. Plan for the day ahead, the day after, and especially plan your money outlay. You don’t want to be the queen bee of giving and end up suffering the month after because you have no money for medications or a massage!
Pre-warn people that you may or may not feel like attending if you’re especially symptomatic that day. *If you’re going to someone’s house, ask them ahead of time about the possibility of lying down, eating special foods or drinking a drink that you brought with you, etc. Pre-plan. Your host wants you there and will likely accommodate your needs, if asked.
Keep some cute thank-you or I’m-sorry-cards handy. This will help you to easily jot down notes as to why you couldn’t attend something or had to duck out early. With all the stress and strain of the holidays, even healthy people have to forgo all the things they want to do once in awhile!

Being in your presence, hearing from you, knowing you’re suffering and being kept in the loop is what your friends and family really want from you this holiday season. No one is perfect. Don’t expect to be. This is your “Fibromyalgia” plan and a beginning step to gaining control and beginning to feel better…even during the holidays! (You don’t want to go backwards.)

My best Christmas wishes for you and your family,
Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show‘

PS- Next Friday return here to find edition #2 of the Fibromyalgia: Christmas Season Broadcast.

“I Am Thankful For…” by Cinda Crawford

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:15:40 +0000

As I sit down to think of all the things in my life that I am thankful for, I’m also narrowing it down to what may appeal to most people who suffer with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia or other illnesses. Now, that may seem odd, but I’ll share with you why I think it is important to look at this topic. One, it’s Thanksgiving, a time when we’re stuffed full of good food and probably had a pretty good day sharing our bounty with family and friends. And two, it’s time to be grateful for what we have. We’re alive, we have time to grow and become the people we really want to be and with the growing, doing and becoming, we can look forward to a life that carries its own rewards.

Let me explain a little more. As strange as it may sound at first,

I’m thankful that I got ill.

“What?” you say. “Are you nuts?”

(This is short audio today, 2 minutes 48 seconds. I hope you listen to it & read the rest of the post. Then, leave a comment for what you feel thankful for. Many blessings, Cinda Crawford)

Nutt-y maybe, but not nuts. If I had not gotten so ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I would never have acquired the ability to have the compassion that I do now for people who cancel out on a fun outing (even a Thanksgiving Day meal!) at the last minute because they’re suffering with an unexpected symptom flareup -or- for people who can’t manage a part-time job because they can’t get out of bed for days at the time.

If I had not gotten so ill with Fibromyalgia, I would never have had the compassion to deal with people who have trouble thinking of the right word to say in a sentence, or who insist on telling you about the different “spots” that hurt in their body, but their doctors can’t seem to find out what is wrong -or- treat adequately.

If I had not suffered so many years in chronic pain myself, I would think a chronic pain sufferer might instead be a chronic complainer and not a worthy person to get to know or be around as a friend. If I had not had such a dysfunctional immune system, I might think that people who regularly get sick with cold or flu-like symptoms, etc., (*I know a lady who marks her calendar… . After twenty years, she’s sick for one week of every month!) are putting on airs or possibly are hypochondriacs.

After suffering for so long and now living well on the other side of illness, I can honestly say that I’m thankful for the tough and convoluted path I took to get well. My walk through the valleys was surely challenging. I’m sure yours is, too. Surely there were times when I doubted if I could or would get better.

I can assure you that having compassion and feeling grateful are not only great skills to acquire, they’re a blessing. Taking empty, non-important moments and replacing them with an attitude of gratitude is a blessing worthy of paying such a steep price.

“That could be me.
I still…could feel that badly.
I could be that sick today if it weren’t for
The many blessings I have received.
I feel grateful.”

Now, at some time during each holiday season, I give thanks. For each family visit and the shared time together, I give thanks. For each desire in life that I am lucky enough to accomplish, I am elated. For each friend I meet and each person I help, I am humbled, yet bubbling with joy. I feel grateful and I Am Thankful For YOU!

Thank you so much,
Cinda Crawford, host of the Health Matters Show

Relaxing for Health

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 14:25:03 +0000

We’re entering the busiest season of the year and that’s all the more reason to consider relaxing for health. I know this because I’m as prone to getting caught up in the hoo-ha as anyone else. Just yesterday I went to the mall and stayed too long. That’s when I officially became my own worst enemy. I lost my keys!

Well, you know how the tiredness and pain of Fibromyalgia and CFS can take you to that really bad place and you truly need a transport machine to instantly “poof” you back home? I didn’t have one and I began to get frantic as I walked around, overly tired, with an aching back and legs and surely a big frown on my face. Why me? Why did I have to lose my keys in the middle of the 8th row of sweaters in the store’s last display? It happens.

So today, dear ones, I have a treat for you. Click on the Health Matters Show podcast link below and hear me read a creative visualization to help you relax and help your health be all it can be. The title of it is Healing Firemen. I believe you’ll like it, plus I know you can benefit from such a nourishing experience. Block out a portion of your day to do this. Find a quiet spot for a few moments to really do some relaxing for health. Don’t let people or responsibilities distract you from taking care of yourself. But,…don’t drive while you’re listening either!

You should get an immediate benefit from this experience. If you’d like to create some of these visualizations for yourself, check out Julie Lusk’s great book below.

(12 minutes 18 seconds jewel of an audio- Be sure to DOWNLOAD and keep this one!)

I hope you enjoyed my creative visualization reading from Julie Lusk’s wonderful book, 30 Scripts for Relaxation, Imagery and Inner Healing. Get your own copy at Amazon.com…

Thanks so much me for joining the podcast today. Please leave a comment if you like this type of broadcast -and- about how your “relaxing for health” needs are or are not being met!

Cinda Crawford, your host of the Health Matters Show

Memory Problems: What impaired memory has to do with Fibromyalgia and CFS

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:24:33 +0000

If you suffer with Fibromyalgia or CFS (Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), you likely have a major symptom that drives you bonkers at times and it’s called memory problems. It’s much more than an occasional lapse in memory. Today let’s explore a way to look at this that will make better sense than thinking you’re dumb, getting old, losing your mind, or not able to remember anything! And, if we’re successful at this, you should come away with useful knowledge and lesser degree of feeling frightened and helpless with what this illness symptom implies.

If you’re faced with a health challenge like Fibromyalgia or CFS, it’s not uncommon for your body to experience impaired memory functionality or cognitive dysfunction such as memory loss, jumbled memories, forgetting appointments, getting lost on familiar roadways or losing time.Having experienced an episode similar to that, a client recently shared with me her moments of horror… .

(Audio podcast is 8 minutes 45 seconds long)

“I felt so dumb when it was happening…so helpless. My mind just wasn’t there, you know…with me. It was like it had checked out and left my body. And worse than that, I had no idea what to do to get out of the trouble I was in. Plus, I couldn’t figure out why everyone was looking at me so strangely.” At that point, she cried and we hugged a long time.
~~~~~

When I, personally, was so sick for fifteen long years, I found myself in situations like the one my client described many times. I would feel scared, humiliated and definitely worried to the bone, worried that I might lose every cognitive ability I had ever had. In the beginning months, all I could do was read and retain the meaning of the headlines in the newspaper. Sentences strung together in a paragraph no longer made sense and forget about remembering the content. I was lucky to keep general impressions only; details were non-existent.

If this sounds like similar memory problems that you have experienced, ask yourself the following questions, but do so in the comfort and security of your home or in a quiet moment. These are thought provoking, for sure, and you’ll want to take your time to answer them.

I know I’m not crazy, but WHY has my body and brain apparently stopped working together?
WHAT has happened to drive them so far off course? Like the connection between them has been broken?
And WHEN will I feel better and more like myself again? Or will I be in this condition…forever??

The answers to what is going on, what to do about it -and- if it’s possible for you to get significantly better are not simple. Scientists actually have few answers to memory problems. But even so, I urge you to keep reading the following, important background information.

At birth a newborn infant’s immune system usually functions well, maybe even for several months before the first taste of sickness arrives. Doctors tell us this is a carry over of the biological influence and immunity of the mother. As the baby grows and matures, that immune system protection dissipates and, in some cases, the baby’s own system doesn’t function as efficiently. If so, sickness ensues.

Your and my health, as we keep growing from babies to older children, to teenagers and finally to adults, encounter times when the immune system is negatively affected by tough and sometimes virulent disease-promoting entities, like viruses, bacteria, spirochetes, mycoplasmas, etc. And when one of us gets sick, a common symptom is some degree of cognitive impairment of the brain. [Whether we're talking about disease mechanisms actually attacking tissues of the brain (e.g. a herpes virus) or simply the person's central nervous system not working well (e.g. a functional breakdown of the cerebral process, nerve conduction and pathway damage such as what is seen in cases of Multiple Sclerosis), a sick person can be left at one end of the spectrum with a short, mildly dysfunctional physical situation all the way to a totally dysfunctional memory system that would disturb the hardiest of souls!]

And getting back to you, if you have Fibromyalgia or CFS, know that memory problems are extremely common problems. Not rare, not occasional nuisances, but very common problems. If you’re fortunate, the symptoms may come or go, but when significant cognitive dysfunction appears, you, the patient, feel as if your brain is barely functioning. As mentioned in the last paragraph, this could be from the inflammatory process of the body and brain fighting a (example) herpes virus or it can be something else entirely. Either way, your immune system is likely on guard, active and sometimes too active.

Your best bet is aiming to improve and bolster the functionality of your immune system while calming it at the same time. Think about it. In this case, y our immune system is doing the hard work, all the heavy lifting here. Your brain is simply the organ that is most affected when you suffer with significant memory problems. *To find out more about how I help clients successfully refine and re-tune their immune system, I invite you to visit my Free 15 Minute Health Consultation page. I’m happy to help you if I can.

Thank you for joining the Health Matters Show today,
Cinda Crawford, your host

Who Doesn’t Have Fibromyalgia?

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:34:05 +0000

Travel through this world enough or even tool around in your hometown with an awareness and openness to people who are chronically ill and suffering with chronic pain conditions and you may find yourself wondering or asking, “Who Doesn’t Have Fibromyalgia?” That’s because their are literally millions of people suffering with chronic pain conditions that resemble Fibromyalgia! Some of them have been diagnosed and treated accordingly, but a large portion of them go un-diagnosed and worse, under-treated, if treated at all.

Almost every week or at least every month, I am amazed to see different doctors in my geographical area who are being hounded by the medical profession for treating and prescribing drugs in some supposedly unorthodox or illegal way to people suffering with some form of chronic pain. Maybe those docs are guilty…I don’t know. The newspapers report stories of professional people being sent to jail for knowingly or unknowingly prescribing Oxycontin (etc.) to others who either re-sell the drug illegally or take it themselves, thus overdosing and dying!

I do know that some of these doctors are caring and concerned about their patients. They didn’t get into the medical profession to push drugs to drug-seekers or supply drug dealers, so I ask you:

(6 minutes 4 seconds long)

Why lump every one of them in one assumed-to-be-guilty group?

Are all seekers of pain relief legitimate? Is each hurting person valid and worthy of having his or her pain needs met?

I cannot vouch for everyone; no doubt, there are drug-seekers. But I am sure that many times, the majority of hurting people are going untreated or are under-treated. Thousands of people are not getting adequate pain relief (for a multitude of reasons) and their lives are being shattered because of it. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM!

Thank you so much for visiting the Health Matters Show today. Please share this info and then leave a personal comment about how you handle illness and pain. Example: if people don’t understand your level of pain, do you continue to try explaining your predicament to him or here =or= do you give up and quit trying? (I posted similar thoughts on this issue at Get Well Health this week by way of Lizzy’s blog and her writings about RA, Rheumatoid Arthritis, patients.)

None of us can afford to slink away into obscurity. Whether pain is your main symptoms or it’s something else, speak up. Find you a good doctor and get the help you need to get well!

Cinda Crawford, your host of the Health Matters Show

An App for Healing Illness: Steve Jobs, Where Are You Now?

Cinda Crawford — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 14:20:04 +0000

Is there an app for healing an illness like Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lyme disease, Lupus, or Arthritis? If not, why not? As I wander through my mind today, come with me and let’s explore the thought process involved in why a large population of people are sick, stay sick, and continue to go to doctors without finding success for healing their illness.

It makes me miss Steve Jobs already. Yes, he was a technological guru, but he was so much more. He dreamed up technologies before we knew we needed them! He not only envisioned the end result product, but he made it, invented the technology to support it and then, as the super marketer, told us our lives would never be the same unless we owned it!

What we need now…

Answers based on where we are now in terms of knowing more about the illness(es) that we face everyday.
Answers based on thinking forward…into the future. What is missing? Are we on the right track for coming up with the answers of tomorrow by relying so much on medicine, drugs, etc., the so-called answers of today? To pursue this line of thought, we must first be brave and ask the right questions…out loud! (First, to ourselves; then, to others.)

Go ahead. Envision the end result of your longings: Being Healed. Rejoining Life. Having a smile on your face. Okay, this is your assignment. To get there, that is…if you choose to accept this mission…figure out the real problems surrounding your illness:

Why did I get sick? Why can’t I heal? Where should I be looking for ‘my’ answers?

CONCLUSION: Let’s find the answers and come to the right conclusion based on outcome results of what we want to experience: improvements in health status. What end result would you like to have? How do you see yourself next week, two months from, two years from now or two decades?

Well, I hope that’s not sick and trending in the direction of ‘more well’ and certainly happier. Take a moment to check out the audio podcast today for some additional information. Let me know what you think of all the proposed questions. How will you answer them if you don’t have “an app for healing illness”?

Thanks, Cinda Crawford
Your host of the Health Matters Show