Fibromyalgia Newsletters are a Great Information Resource
Every morning I sit down at my computer and go directly to my e-mail. Usually much has transpired since I last checked in (because my “morning” is most people’s afternoon). I subscribe to many heath & wellness site newsletters – WebMD, ProHealth, Everyday Health, etc.. Most newsletters come once a month, and I am always anxious to check out the article headlines to see what I am going to read first.
This morning I found ProHealth’s June newsletter, Fibromyalgia HealthWatch. I have read many interesting Fibromyalgia articles on ProHealth. That is where I learned of the Fibromyalgia Wellness Project. I think they do a great job interviewing important people and sharing pertinent information. A lot of their articles are excerpts from books that they sell in the ProHealth bookstore. I have yet to purchase a book from them because information on Fibromyalgia is so fluid and ever-changing, I think newsletters and online resources keep me more current. Here are some highlights of the Fibromyalgia articles in their newsletter this month.
Excerpted from Dr. Pellegrino’s very popular book Fibromyalgia: Up Close and Personal.* Dr. Pellegrino has seen more than 20,000 FM patients in his practice at the Ohio Rehab Center, and has been a fibromyalgia patient himself since childhood.
The Healing Power of Exercise – Advice from a Fibromyalgia Patient-Expert
Claudia Craig Marek, MA, is an FM patient, medical assistant to Paul St. Amand, MD, a specialist in FM patient counseling, and author of The First Year – Fibromyalgia. Claudia has counseled FM patients for some 20 years, and is co-author with Dr. St. Amand of What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Fibromyalgia and other books.
Fibromyalgia Myth Busting: The Truth about Five Stubborn Misperceptions
A concise explanation of what fibromyalgia is and is not – suitable to print out for your family, friends, and doctors – by NFA co-founder and ‘expert patient’ Karen Lee Richards.
These are just a few of the many articles in the June newsletter, and that is why I am signed up to receive newsletters from many different resources – The National Fibromyalgia Association, American Pain Foundation, The Chopra Center, etc.. They take the time to put their articles into bullet points – easy to digest reading – and then I get to chose what interests me and what I am going to take the time to read. It is a great way to stay informed and educated.
So that is my recommendation to you – sign up for newsletters! I do not receive spam, only what I register for, and if you sign up for one and find it does not interest you, it is just as easy to remove yourself from their list. But on the other hand, if you really aren’t interested in finding newsletters in your e-mail each morning, keep coming back here, because I am certain to report on what I find to be relevant and beneficial. Hey… maybe I should start my own Fibromyagia newsletter!
Just curious, are you a fan of Dr. Paul St. Amand’s practices with guiafenesin?
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you from the Pacific Northwest Foundation about a case study that may be of interest to your research into fibromyalgia. While this was not a study undertaken by the Foundation, it was a case with which we have had access to in virtually every detail. This includes the chart notes (with the patient’s approval) as well as the observations and insights of the patient’s health care provider.
The case involves an adult female who had been disabled for eight years with diagnosed fibromyalgia. Within four months of treatment, she was able to backpack, regularly work a full day and have little or no pain.
As with all our studies, it is our hope to stimulate additional efforts to determine if these results were an aberration or have wider implications. To this end, we wanted to make you aware of the cast study (which can be found online at http://pnf.org/html/fibromyalgia.html), in the hope that it might prove useful as a starting point for research within your organization.
Thanks and kind regards,
Frank Cook
Pacific Northwest Foundation
I have not read or researched Dr. Paul St. Amand or guiafenesin yet – although I have been asked to. What is your opinion?
The article above is not about him though. It is a good explanation on the benefits of exercise written by an associate of his.
I first ran across his works about 10 or more years ago. At that time it was “extremely controversial” (I can’t spell this morning, words don’t look right.) Anyway, what he was doing with the guafenesin was way out in left field. In some ways it made some sense: loosen up the fluid that held the fascia to the muscles and allow the muscles to move more freely.
The amt of med required was high and subsequent side effects were remarkable, but apparently decreased over time. I did not pursue the matter further as I felt it to be junk science. However, it is still around after all this time!
I did thoroughly enjoy the above article on Myth Busting and did read further into the newsletter. The other 2 articles IMO were “my way or the highway” in nature. But to each his own. I’m kinda picky.
Your blog on the other hand leaves room for thought, gives relevant resources, and I love it. <3 My fave.