Fibromyalgia Basics (eBook)

A Beginner's Guide

Pati Chandler (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2017 | 1. Auflage
200 Seiten
Yorkshire Publishing (Verlag)
978-1-947491-49-6 (ISBN)

Infos

The problem is fibromyalgia is not a one-treatment-fits-all kind of syndrome. Fibromyalgia Basics: A Beginner's Guide opens the door to a multitude of options that have been proven to help fibromyalgia symptoms-options you never knew you had. There's no fancy medical jargon here; this book is designed to provide a simple, quick approach so you can immediately start learning what you can do to help fight the pain, exhaustion, sleeplessness, depression, and other symptoms. Pati Chandler reveals many of the often hidden and unknown factors that can aggravate many of those symptoms. And she shares her own tips and tricks that have helped her manage her symptoms quite successfully since the year 2000! Her insight and information is valuable for chronic pain sufferers and those with other painful conditions as well. Fibromyalgia will change your life. But you can choose what direction that change will take. You can regain the quality of life that you deserve. This book will help.

Textauszug

Medical Help

Fibromyalgia starts out as a mystery even unto the patient. In some cases many of these symptoms can show up all at once. But often it may seem like you are falling apart one symptom at a time, until there is such a collection of symptoms that you believe you have collected all the diseases of the twentieth century.

You may begin to experience wrist pain similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. The sides of your thighs or hips may begin to hurt or feel so weak it’s physically difficult to lift your leg to go upstairs. Your upper arms may ache or feel so weak and shaky that you can’t reach up in the cupboard for a glass. And you need two hands to hold that glass because your wrists and fingers are so numb and tingly that you can’t even feel the glass in your hands. You may feel utterly weak and exhausted without having done anything to warrant it. You may begin to feel extremely forgetful or clumsy. You may wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed and hurt all over as if you slept on cold concrete all night. You may suddenly begin to get headaches or allergies when you never had them before. You may find yourself using the bathroom much more often than usual. You may feel bloated and extremely uncomfortable, as if you’ve eaten a full course turkey dinner, when you’ve only had a small meal or even just a snack.

One after the other after the other, accumulating, compounding your feelings of “everything going wrong!” Yes, fear comes into play. It seems there can be no way to get back to normal when everything is falling apart.

See your doctor. You may even need to visit multiple doctors in a variety of specialties before finding out anything definitive. This alone is exhausting … and depressing. But stick with it. Finding the right doctor or health care practitioner for you and your fibromyalgia symptoms is extremely important and can greatly ease your stress. This is especially important because we know that stress is one of the main aggravators.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing fibromyalgia is a bit of a problem. This is because fibromyalgia doesn’t show up in blood tests, on X-rays, on CT scans, or even on a standard MRI. When the FMS sufferer tells his or her doctor the list of symptoms—usually after weeks of feeling all-over pain, weakness, and utter exhaustion—the doctor will run a battery of tests to eliminate the usual suspects displaying these and all the rest of the symptoms. The doctor will test for hypothyroidism, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and so on.15 All the tests come up negative. Now this should be a good thing. And it is, sort of. At least these serious disorders have been eliminated. The problem lies in the criteria for the diagnosis.

The diagnosis of fibromyalgia requires only two conditions. The first is that the pain must have been consistent for at least three months. That alone does not sound hopeful. The second condition is that eleven of eighteen tender points should demonstrate pain when slight pressure is applied.16 (See illustration.)

In a non-FMS sufferer there would be no pain at all when these points are pressured. But if fibromyalgia is the culprit, a slight pressure applied to these points will create a bone-deep, radiating, lasting pain at these sites. This is not an enjoyable procedure. But it is necessary for the proper diagnosis. In recent years, many general practitioners, rheumatologists, osteopaths, naturopaths, even chiropractors and acupuncturists have learned about this diagnostic method and can confirm whether you do indeed have fibromyalgia.

There is good news and bad news with a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The good news is that fibromyalgia is not progressive or life threatening. The bad news is that it is chronic, that is, long-lasting.17

Okay. You have a diagnosis—a label. Now what? Knowledge is power. Educate yourself about the syndrome. Google it! Keyword it! Learn all you can through Web sites such as those listed in the chapter “Bountiful Resources,” through books, articles, and so on. There is information everywhere now, and it’s updated constantly. Medical testing goes on daily. And individual essays and books such as this are meant for all FMS sufferers in hopes that something that helps one may help others. Each FMS sufferer must learn what his or her medical options are, learn what aggravates the symptoms, and learn about self-care. Learn what you can do to manage your own health and well-being.

Physicians

In 1990 the American College of Rheumatology established the general classification guidelines for this syndrome, and they have subsequently done much of the research involved in its assessment. In fact, rheumatologists Richard H. Gracely, Frank Petzke, Julie M. Wolf, and Daniel J. Clauw from the University of Michigan Health System—Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center actually proved, via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that fibromyalgia was a legitimate, painful, medical condition and not an imagined ailment as had been believed for many years.18

Family practitioners are learning more and more about this syndrome as more and more cases appear in their practice. But those who are the most successful at treating this complicated syndrome are those who practice integrative medicine. Integrative medical physicians are those who utilize the best of modern Western medicine in conjunction with the proven beneficial three-thousand-year-old traditional medicines and treatments.

Osteopathic physicians and a number of Western-trained medical physicians are finding that fibromyalgia responds best to a well-blended marriage of the two forms of medicine—this is integrating medicines and treatments. Naturopathic physicians are also known to be quite successful at treating fibromyalgia, combining a variety of successful treatments and techniques of their own.

But whether a family physician, a rheumatologist, an osteopath, a naturopath, or an integrative medical physician, almost everyone involved in the care and treatment of fibromyalgia, as well as those who suffer from the syndrome, agrees that the two most important treatments are for restorative, restful sleep and pain relief.

Sleep

Unfortunately, regular sleeping pills haven’t proved helpful for FMS sufferers because they don’t address stage four sleep. However, there are several prescription medications that help. A low dosage tricyclic antidepressant, such as amitriptyline, e.g. Elavil, or a muscle relaxant, such as cyclobenzaprine, e.g. Flexeril, has been shown to help get that restorative, healing sleep. Also, a different type of antidepressant called a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) has been effective.19

Even though the tricyclic antidepressants and the SNRIs are prescribed for FMS sufferers in a fraction of the dose given for clinical depression, these and all medications are not meant to be used ad infinitum. Because fibromyalgia is a chronic syndrome, it may be necessary over a lengthy period of time to adjust dosages of these medications and/or alternate medications in order to avert dependence or adaptation.

Some physicians may recommend an over-the-counter antidepressant called Sam-e, short for S-adenosylmethionine.20 In Europe, Sam-e is a prescription medication, and physicians there have prescribed it for depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, and fibromyalgia for many years. See “Herbs and Supplements” for further description.

Note: Before taking any supplements, check with your health care provider (HCP). Always tell your HCP of any medications or supplements you are currently taking.

Pain Relief

What is the first thing recommended by health care practitioners (HCPs) for relief of fibromyalgia pain? Exercise. That’s right—exercise. It sounds all too cruel to tell a person suffering the exhaustion and muscular and joint pains of fibromyalgia that he or she should exercise. But, believe it or not, the reasoning is sound.

It’s because physical exercise releases the body’s own natural pain-relieving chemicals called endorphins, which loosely translated means “the body’s natural morphine.” Exercise has been proven to alleviate much of the pain of fibromyalgia.21

Pain management programs referred by your HCP or local medical facility can be of tremendous help. The physical therapists at these pain management facilities understand physical pain and work with you. We’re not talking Tae Bo or jumping jacks here. These are exercises for pain management. Gentle, slow, five-minute “workouts” of low or no-impact stretches are all that’s required at first to get those endorphins charged up again. The physical therapist will guide and direct movements that have been choreographed especially for you and your needs. Once you’ve learned the movements, you can then do them at home anytime for pain relief.

Start low and go slow. Add a minute or...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 24.7.2017
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Medizin / Pharmazie ► Medizinische Fachgebiete ► Neurologie
• ISBN-10: 1-947491-49-0 / 1947491490
• ISBN-13: 978-1-947491-49-6 / 9781947491496