Fibromyalgia Digest Blog

A key aspect of to coping with fibromyalgia is getting a proper nights rest sleep. Approximately seven to eight hours every night of quality sleep would be ideal.

However if you are like most fibromyalgia suffers you don’t come close to suggested amount of quality sleep. I’m in hopes that these 18 sleep tips from Dr Simone Ravicz will help you improve your sleep.

Click here to get the 18 tips.

Regards
Brian Therrien

This contribution to help you cope with fibromyalgia was written by Jodie Henslee

Most of us know about the emotional symptoms of depression. But you may not know that depression can be associated with many physical symptoms, too.

Many people with depression suffer from 1, chronic pain or other physical symptoms and even headaches.

These are common in people with depression. If you already had migraine headaches, they may seem worse  if you are depressed.

Muscle aches and joint pain. Depression can make any kind of chronic pain worse. Chest pain. Obviously, it is very important to get chest pain checked out by an expert right away. It can be a sign of serious heart problems. However, depression can contribute to the discomfort associated with chest pain.

Digestive problems. You might feel queasy or nauseous. You might have diarrhea or become chronically constipated.  Exhaustion and fatigue. No matter how:4 er much you sleep, you may still feel tired or worn out.

Getting out of the bed in the morning may seem very hard, even impossible.  Sleeping problems. Many people with depression cannot sleep well anymore. They wake up too early or cannot fall asleep when they go to bed. Others sleep much more than normal.

Change in appetite or weight.  Some people with depression lose their appetite and lose weight. Others find they crave certain foods — like carbohydrates — and weigh more. Dizziness or lightheadedness.  Because these symptoms occur with many conditions, many depressed people never get help, because they do not know that their physical symptoms might be caused by depression.

Many doctors miss the symptoms, too. These physical symptoms are not all in your head.” Depression can cause real changes in your body. For example, it can slow down your digestion, which can result in stomach problems.

Depression seems to be related to an imbalance of certain chemicals in your brain. Some of these same chemicals play all important role in how you feel pain. So many experts think that depression can make you feel pain differently than other people.

We do need to remember though, that depression can also come from pain. When we are in pain, we can become + depressed.

Finding out what came first helps in determining specific issues. It makes me think of the lot, “what came first, the chicken or the egg?”.

To learn more about how to copewith fibro click and visit our members area.

Are you having trouble sleeping because you have fibromyalgia? Most that suffer from fibromyalgia share the sleep challenge.

Regardless how long they sleep, it seldom make one feel rested and ready to go.

A crucial step to improving your condition is understanding sleep and fibromyalgia. I am in hopes that this first part of a two part fibromyalgia and sleep series by Dr. Simone Ravicz will help you understand what is happing and that you are not alone.

Click here to read the fibromyalgia and sleep article

Respectfully

Brian Therrien

 Get the latest fibromyalgia medication information here

Because it’s difficult to keep up with what combinations of medicines will provide optimum relief for your Fibromyalgia I asked author and fibromyalgia expert DR Simone Ravicz to report on latest medicines that…

> reduce muscle pain

> increasing functionality

> increase sleep

> manage stress and anxiety.

> produces the most effective results.

Get the latest fibromyalgia medication information here

I’m in hopes the latest Fibromyalgia medications report will help you learn what is best for muscle pain, sleep problems, depression, and managing stress and anxiety.

Respectfully

- Brian Therrien

Contribution from Jodie Henslee

1. Relax, which eases pain. Although there are many ways to meditate, the soothing power of repetition is at the heart of some forms of meditation. Focusing on the breath, ignoring thoughts, and repeating a word or phrase — a mantra — causes the body to relax.

While you can learn meditation on your own, it helps to take a class or look online for a specific type of meditation. I meditate regularly at night in order to help me quiet my thoughts and fall asleep. I have an application on my IPod and put in my earphones.  Works great for me.

2. Reduce stress in your life. Stress intensifies chronic pain. Depression, anxiety, stress, and even anger can increase the body’s sensitivity to pain. By learning to take control of stress and negative feelings, you may find some relief from pain.

There are many techniques to wind down. Listening to soothing, music, mental imagery relaxation (also called guided imagery) are forms of mental escape that can help you feel peaceful. It works by creating calming, peaceful images in your mind

3. Find ways to distract yourself from pain so you enjoy life more. When you focus on pain, it makes it worse rather than better. Instead, find something you like doing — an activity that keeps you busy and thinking about things besides your pain. You might not be able to avoid pain, but you can take control of your life, and taking control of your life is what we want. We do not want to be “the pain”; we want to have our pain be just a “part” of “US”!

4. Track your pain level and activities every day.
Keeping a log or journal of your daily “pain score” will help track pain. At the end of each day, note your pain level on the 1 to 10 pain scale. I have sent out journal pages before, so if you need one, let me know and I can email them to you.

Also, note what activities you did that day. Take this log book to every doctor visit — to give your doctor a good understanding of how you’re living with chronic pain and your physical functioning level.

I hope these tips help you reduce your pain…..

Contribution from Jodie Henslee

We all know the five food groups. It was pounded into us as we went to school. Grains- Fruits-Veggies-Protein-Dairy.

In dealing with FM/CFS, what would a balanced diet consist of, because we all know that (here I go….) we are all different and what works for some will not work for others. An overall balanced diet could not hurt, right?

Let’s talk about protein. Our bodies need protein for growth and maintenance. It is directly responsible for about 20% of our cells and tissues. Protein also functions as hormones, antibodies and enzymes that keep us going and we know that we need to “keep going”. Some “experts” say that some of the tissue abnormalities that we have with FM can get worse by not getting enough protein.

There are also foods that can make our FM/CFS symptoms worse. Not for all, but for some. The trick is to eliminate things from your diet and then adding them back in. The most common trigger foods would be: Fried foods/High Saturated Fat, Refined Sugar, Aspartame (this is a migraine trigger for me). MSG (also a migraine trigger for me).   Other triggers could be Caffeine, Alcohol, Nicotine, and even drugs/meds.

Most of us are taking meds that increase our Serotonin Levels Serotonin is involved in our pain perception, sleep regulation and feelings of general well being. Foods that raise serotonin levels would be carbohydrates rich foods, complex carbohydrates , grains/beans, starchy foods. Even dark chocolate in small amounts.

Talk to your doc to see what would work for you. We all have different needs. The “cure all diets” we see on the web are not for everyone, but may very well help. Before spending money on these, check with your doc because some could cause issues with meds. DO YOUR RESEARCH!

For me, rather than starving myself during the day and then eating dinner, eating something in each of the food groups, in moderate proportion might just be what I need.

I hope these dieting tips help you cope with fibromyalgia.

Jodie Henslee

Interview and movie Invisible helps others understand and accept fibromyalgia.

Hi

If you suffer from Fibromyalgia/CFS or know someone that does and are having a hard time accepting or understanding the disease then I have some GREAT news for you…

There is a movie called Invisible that is jammed-packed with real stories from real people like you that explains what this horrible disease does, how it takes the life out of people.

The result, Invisible, helps parents, spouses, brothers, sisters, friends, neighbors, employers and physicians understand and accept the disease.

Anyone in their right mind that watches this and does not get a better understanding for Fibromyalgia should go for a check up…

Invisible was created by Rik Carlson a fibromyalgia sufferer. I recently had the opportunity to meet with Rik and recorded our conversation so you can get insights into the movie and some of Rik’s tips to cope with the disease.

I believe the interview with Rik and Invisible will reduce the misunderstanding people have about Fibromyalgia and ease the frustration of not being understood.

Click here to listen to the conversation with Rik and learn about Invisible…

Respectfully

Brian Therrien

Setting and reaching goals is tough when you have fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or any other chronic pain disorder, but that does not mean we shouldn’t set them. We just need to customize how we go about it. I try to set some kind of resolution each year. I am learning how to be realistic about what I can accomplish.

Why Set Goals?

Having something to work toward is good for us. It can give us some structure, improve our self-esteem, and, as we reach our goals, it is actually therapeutic. With the feeling of accomplishment, there comes a release of norepinephrine in our brains, and most of us with chronic pain disorders do not have enough of these particular neurotransmitters.

However, goal setting can backfire if we are not realistic with ourselves. We do not want to set ourselves up for failure, and for the negative feelings and guilt that go with it.

Setting Realistic Goals

Being realistic, means taking into account our limitations. If you remember, I had done a series of articles about limitations and how to find them. We do not have to expect too much from ourselves. Be good to yourself and set small goals.

Be sure to consider all of your resources. Do you have the time, energy, money, etc. to reach your goal? Again, be good to yourself and set smaller goals. Trust me, you will feel better about who you are.

Here are some goal-setting guidelines I read about:

• Think in baby steps. Break your goal into small parts so you can see each step as an accomplishment. That can keep you from being overwhelmed, and give you more opportunities to feel a sense of accomplishment.

• Build in more time than you think you need. You do not want to beat yourself up for getting behind, and yet your energy levels are unpredictable. Expect delays and plan for them.

• Write your goals down. Research shows that people who write down their goals are more likely to reach them. Try putting them somewhere where you will see them regularly.

• Re-evaluate periodically. Every so often, look back at how much you have accomplished and see whether your expectations were unrealistic. Change what you need to.

• Identify potential barriers and ways to overcome them. Make a list of the things that may keep you from reaching your goal, or things that have kept you from reaching it in the past. Then, find solutions.

Here’s an example:

Last year, I had resolved to lose weight. I used that point thing. The one where there are points assigned to specific foods and you are only allowed so many points per day. Because of my illnesses, and the meds I take, this type of weight loss was not ideal for me.

Therefore, this year I decided I would stretch that out over 2 years, cutting the total loss I want for the year in half. Moreover, I am adding in some walking to help with specific barriers.

I will still encounter setbacks and obstacles, but I am going to be realistic and know that I will so that when they come up I won’t be so hard on myself.

Do you have any resolutions for 2011?

What is your plan for reaching them?

What helps you reach your goals, and how will you overcome your barriers?

How has setting and reaching your goals changed your life? Let us know.

Happy New Year

Jodie Henslee

Member and contributo to The Fibromyalgia Digest