is a daily summary made from the selected links I post on Twitter. It is in bullet-point format with links to the original sources which include 350 RSS feeds that produce about 2,500 items per day: Procalcitonin-guided strategy to treat suspected bacterial infections reduced antibiotic exposure in ICU by 2.7 days http://goo.gl/mws0 Both low and high HbA1c associated with increased mortality in diabetes. Guidelines for minimum HbA1c value may be needed. Survival as a function of HbA1c in type 2 diabetes: U-shaped association, with the lowest hazard ratio at HbA1c of 7·5% http://goo.gl/Lywx…
Fibromyalgia
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MedWorm: Fibromyalgia
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Health News of the Day
8 Feb 2010 | 3:57 am -
AAPM: Help for Pain and Mood in Fibromyalgia (CME/CE)
6 Feb 2010 | 3:13 amSAN ANTONIO (MedPage Today) -- Patients with fibromyalgia and comorbid depression had significant improvement in both conditions when treated with duloxetine (Cymbalta), according to pooled data from four clinical trials. (Source: MedPage Today Pain Management) -
AAPM: Drug for Fibromyalgia Boosts Multiple Outcomes (CME/CE)
5 Feb 2010 | 10:43 amSAN ANTONIO (MedPage Today) -- The fibromyalgia drug milnacipran (Savella) achieved clinically meaningful reductions in pain throughout a four-month randomized clinical trial, a post-hoc analysis of daily pain control showed. (Source: MedPage Today State Required CME) -
Analgesics: New This Year to Our Armamentarium
5 Feb 2010 | 3:00 amTwo new oral analgesics have recently been approved by the FDA: milnacipran (Savella) for fibromyalgia and tapentadol (Nucynta) for moderate to severe acute pain. (Source: Psychiatric Times) -
Antidepressant Cymbalta Eases Back Pain
4 Feb 2010 | 8:00 pmCymbalta, a drug used to treat depression, fibromyalgia, and diabetic nerve pain, may also provide relief from hard-to-treat chronic low back pain. (Source: WebMD Health)
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About.com: Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
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Debunking Myths: 'More Exercise' for Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
8 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pmIt's basic physiology -- when you feel sluggish, unmotivated and fatigued, getting up and doing some exercise causes changes in your body that boost your energy. Exercise also releases endorphins in the brain, and endorphins are great pain killers. So when people say those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome would feel better if we got "more exercise," there's something to it, right? Actually, no. In normal, healthy people, yes -- exercise creates energy. Problem is, we're not normal and healthy. Exercise is a tough subject, whether you have fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue… -
Guilt Over Asking For Help With Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
7 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pmI hate asking for help. I've always thought of myself as a strong, independent person, and asking for help with things I think I "should" be able to handle is like admitting weakness. But you know what? I need to get over it. The reality is, I have fibromyalgia. I'm not sick because I'm weak, but I have to accept that I have certain weaknesses because I'm sick. That means sometimes I have to ask for help. Even though I've regained a lot of my functionality, I can't do everything myself. It's hard enough to raise 2 children, cook meals, clean a 4-bed/3-bath house, and maintain a third of an… -
A Life of "Maybe" With Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
5 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pmOne of the few consistencies of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome is inconsistency. We never know from day to day how we're going to feel, and that means planning can be difficult or impossible. A recent comment here put it perfectly. Lisa B wrote: "I live in a world of Maybes. Maybe I can go to your party. Maybe I can do this photoshoot. Maybe I will get well one day. Maybe I can clean my house today." -Lisa B The "maybes" make it hard for us to maintain a job, a social life, relationships, you name it. Even scheduling something simple like a parent-teacher conference can be… -
FDA Approves Pain Drug for Opiate-Tolerant Patients
3 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pmNEWSBRIEF: The FDA has approved morphine sulfate oral solution for people who are opioid-tolerant and have moderate-to-severe acute or chronic pain. It'll be available in doses of 100 mg per 5 mL or 20 mg per 1 mL. This is the first time this drug has been available at this dosage. Morphine sulfate has been available and commonly used for years, but this is the first time this concentration has been approved for this specific use. The approval is part of the FDA's Unapproved Drugs Initiative, which aims to test drugs that are frequently prescribed off-label and make sure they meet FDA safety… -
New Data on Ampligen's Immune Impact
2 Feb 2010 | 10:00 pmNEWSBRIEF: The immune-modulating drug that's so far failed to gain FDA approval as a chronic fatigue syndrome treatment now has some data backing its use in cancer immunotherapy. Stanford University researchers say Ampligen (rintatolimod) "shows promise" at making some cancer immunotherapies more effective. They also say that Ampligen enhanced T-cell stimulation and caused the release of proinflammatory chemokines an cytokines. They also say it had these effects without the toxicity of drugs currently in use. The peer-reviewed article was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and…
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The Fibromyalgia Experiment
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Where There’s a Will
7 Feb 2010 | 8:23 pmI suffered through all of high school with fibromyalgia. Then I went through a few years of college and my body just broke down to the point that I couldn’t take the roommates and late nights studying. I hated that I had to stick to someone else’s schedule because my body was just in a constant fibro flare. It was probably the sickest I’ve ever been and the longest I’ve ever been that sick. It would have been tottally different if bachelors degree online had been around back then. I really want to go back and get a master’s degree. I don’t know in what… -
My Life without Self Help
4 Feb 2010 | 11:08 amFor the past few months I’ve been following a guru who shall remain nameless. I’m really into the law of attraction, not because I believe it but because I really need something like that to work for me. This guru at first seemed to really be into that as well and had a lot of different systems. I started visiting her blog daily, buying books, watching videos. The only problem with her programs was her. I didn’t like who she was as a person, very abrasive and rude. She always kept telling people that they needed to support her by giving her money because she was giving them… -
The Main Event
3 Feb 2010 | 11:07 amSometimes I feel normal. I take care of my house and I have my life and I work at my job. Sure, the entire time I’m in pain and all of these things are done differently because of fibromyalgia. I have to work from home, and any modern furniture always has to be really comfortable because I can’t sit at a desk. I feel accomplished. Then I remember all of the things that I can’t do. I’m going to Texas for my brothers wedding in a few weeks. Sadly, I really considered not going just because of my health. It will mean taking a week off of work. Then I’ll get back and… -
You Know You Have Fibro When
28 Jan 2010 | 6:29 pmI don’t have a lot of energy because of fibromyalgia. I also hate the cold because of fibromyalgia. This lead me to being so exhausted when I woke up that I couldn’t believe it was morning because I was still so tired. It was one of those days when it took an eternity just to get dressed. Then I went out to the car and realized there was frost on it. As I was looking for the frost scraper I thought “Why don’t they make these things bigger so I don’t have to work as much. They should be as big as a snow shovel.” I couldn’t find the snow scraper so I… -
Do I Really Need a Reason?
28 Jan 2010 | 6:24 pmI always find this conversation funny. It seems to happen a few times a week. Them: What’s Wrong? Me: I’m tired (Also interchangeable with I don’t feel good.) Them: Did you sleep good last night? Me: Of course not (Secretly thinking I have fibromyalgia. I don’t need a reason to be tired. I am always tired.) Plus, if I say I’m achy the other person asks if I have the flu. Keep in mind that these are all people who know I have fibromyalgia. It would be so nice to finally be able to just say that I feel good and mean it.
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My Fibro Blog
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Who is on your Fibromyalgia Team? Part 1
8 Feb 2010 | 4:57 amNo matter when or how you got Fibromylagia, you are different, what might work for me, may not work for. You could say that just make us more special, but it means that Treatment, is going to be a lot harder. I am very luck to find doctors that are willing to help me, and to communicate with me as a person. That is something that has been a long road to finally find, from Scotland, US, and even some time here as well. My team as I call them, are open to my ideas, and my questions. The one thing that I have learned is that as the sick ones, we have to take some responsible for our health… -
Could XMRV Retrovirus be the cause of Fibromyalgia?
6 Feb 2010 | 12:38 amHas the Whittemore Peterson Institute found the answers to Fibromyalgia and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome? Well in a small study they say that they found a retrovirus in most people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and Multiple Sclerosis. We have detected the retroviral infection XMRV is greater than 95% of the more than 200 ME/CFS, Fibromylagia, Atypical MS patients tested. The current working hypothesis is that XMRV infection of B, T, NK and other cells of the innate immune response causes the chronic inflammation and immune deficiency resulting in an inability to mount an… -
Fibromyalgia Sucks!
6 Feb 2010 | 12:02 amI am just going to come right out and say it, Fibromyalgia sucks! That is right, anything to do with Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatique Syndrome, is horrible. You never know what will come next and just when you think you might understand this disease, it changes on you. You have to learn that you just can not do the things you want to do, and you will never be able to things like you did before. I have never been one to complain about Fibromyalgia, I have just tried to go with the flow or the bumps that it gives me, but I am tired of doing that. One of the worst thing about Fibromyalgia… -
Updates
5 Feb 2010 | 12:54 amWe’ve fixed some of the problems with the site and hopefully I can post more regularly now. We installed Disqus for comments, which is nice because it has Twitter and Facebook integration. Also, we installed a number of plugins that add different features to the site, so hopefully you’ll enjoy that. Finally, if you check out the site with iPhone or many other mobile devices you should see a version of the site especially made for that format. No related posts. Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin. -
How low can the iron go?
4 Feb 2010 | 11:55 pmWell it has been a while since I last wrote, but it has been an interesting time. It seems that my iron levels are also affected with Fibromyalgia, and they got really low in November and December. My iron and Ferritin (a protein that stores and releases iron in the body) levels were so low that I was having a really hard time being able to go through the day with out sleeping, having bad joint pain, and freezing. When I would get home from work, I would just go strait to bed, and I would sleep until the last minute before having to go back to work. This was not how life was to be,…
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My Life with Fibro
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Kate Update: January 5, Mayo Clinic, Day One
7 Feb 2010 | 10:01 amJanuary 5, 2010 Today was my first day at Mayo. It went well. I have an unusual doctor, with a “bedside” manner unlike anything I have experienced previously. Despite his odd behavior, my doctor seems to really know his stuff. He has me on a new five-part regimen which consists of drinking an inordinate amount of water (there’s a funny story here), consuming twice to three times the daily recommended amount of salt, a few specific types of exercise, and two new medications. Tomorrow morning I will begin the first medication, Midodrine, which they want to raise my blood pressure. After… -
Kate Update: January 4, Arizona, Mayo Clinic
3 Feb 2010 | 9:34 amI’ve pondered how best to relate the events of the last month, and have decided to be most open and share the notes I wrote for myself , while in Arizona. These will read a bit more like a journal than you may be accustomed to, but I make no apologies. January 4, 2010 Tonight Mom and I flew to Phoenix, via Denver… an airport I love. Loads of open space, lots of light, and plenty of room to sit, on my butt, along the people mover. I ate a cheese pizza from Pizza Hut. It was good, but I hate that I ate it. So quickly, too. Why? There was some confusion regarding our seats, so we… -
Kate Update: What is Possible and Getting Lost
23 Jan 2010 | 7:55 amThose who love me don’t understand why I have not written. In fact, I do not understand why I have not written. They remind me I committed to tell you about the health issues I face, so we may create a positive and fresh community of folks who strengthen each other and learn from each other. They are right. And I have 12 article drafts saved in my Wordpress. But I have no guts to post. So, yet again, I will post what feels possible. And what is most-honestly on the tip of my tongue, via my fingertips. As I type, my breakfast sits uneaten, in my lap. There is much to be done, yet here I… -
Kate Update: Please Forgive Me
14 Jan 2010 | 9:31 pmI know I should have something to say. I know that you all understand me more than most. I know I owe something to all the wonderful people who have had me in their prayers over the past three months. I really do. In fact, I think I will spend the entire month of February making up for ignoring them. But for now all I can say is thank you. I pray each night that you may be blessed for your selfless kindness and your countless prayers. Please forgive me for January. For those who may not know, I am in Arizona getting help for an ongoing heart issue and a cyst in my brain. It’s not as… -
Kate Update: In Third Person
21 Dec 2009 | 10:51 pmKate is spent. She is enjoying the Christmas season immensely. She is having a rough month. She is smart enough to know the previous two statements can both be true. She is fighting brain aches, and dizziness, and for control of her appendages. She is waiting to go to Mayo. (And is quite sad she didn’t get in today.) She enjoyed her fourth anniversary with her sweetie, and his family. She is ready to enjoy sleeping, but she had to reach out to you first. She feels like she has nothing to write. Like you’ve heard it all before. Like she can’t explain how she feels or all that’s…
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Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Blog
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National Thyroid Awareness Month: Thyroid Testing
20 Jan 2010 | 2:00 pmLast week, we talked about some red flags of thyroid problems—sudden weight gain or inability to lose fat, fatigue or insomnia, chronic sinusitis or lingering infections, for example. Perhaps you decided it was time to get an expert’s opinion, and if so, your doctor will probably want to perform thyroid testing. The thyroid works when the pituitary gland releases thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), which tells the thyroid to make thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). Too much or too little of one thing can throw the hormonal system—and your body—off balance. To measure if your… -
National Thyroid Awareness Month: Red Flags to Watch
12 Jan 2010 | 11:54 amHappy 2010! We hope the first month of this new year has started off on the right foot for you—and did you know that January is National Thyroid Awareness Month? Here, FFC’s Kelly Boulden, MD, gives a heads-up on when it may be time for a checkup on your thyroid. What’s the thyroid? The thyroid is a small gland located in the middle of the lower neck. It’s part of the endocrine system, which “produces and sends hormones to all areas of our body to regulate essential functions such as temperature, reproduction, growth, immunity, and aging,” Dr. Boulden explains. -
Question of the Day: What’s a biofilm?
16 Dec 2009 | 7:54 pmCheck out what FFC’s Werner Vosloo, ND, MHom, has to say about biofilm communities for CFS and fibro patients! Biofilm communities are a bug survival strategy in FMS and CFIDS patients. These communities are well-structured colonies of highly interactive microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, yeast, and mycoplasma. Biofilm structures make it very easy for these microorganisms to survive in our bodies because they provide a layer thatprotects infections from the immune system and antibiotics, but still allow nutrients to get through, which feeds the microorganisms. -
CFS and XMRV on the ‘Dr. Oz Show’
10 Dec 2009 | 9:00 pmIf you missed the recent “Dr. Oz Show,” where Dr. Mehmet Oz and Dr. Donnica Moore discussed chronic fatigue syndrome, and a retrovirus that has been linked to the condition, don’t worry—we’ve got a recap here for you. A U.S. research team recently found a retrovirus called XMRV in the blood of 68 of 101 CFS patients, but in only eight of 218 healthy people—that’s 67% versus 3.7%. Dr. Oz, a physician at Columbia University and host of his own health talk show, invited women’s health expert Dr. Donnica to explain a little more about CFS, XMRV, and the relationship between the… -
The Mental Side of FM & CFS
7 Jul 2009 | 6:44 amMany who suffer from Fibromyalgia and/or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at one time or another find themselves depressed over how they feel, the difficulties in finding effective treatment, lack of energy, the ongoing pain, or how loved ones respond to their illness. For many just being “happy” is a daily task in itself. In reaching out to one of the largest online support resources, Fibro360.com, one of the most common questions I found were sufferers asking ”how to stay positive and deal with depression when you’re always in pain and hurting”? Here are a few tips: 1. Keep…
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WordPress Tag: Fibromyalgia
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Is Your Body Getting Enough Oxygen?
8 Feb 2010 | 12:16 pmDo you feel tired all the time even though you get eight hours of sleep a night? Do your muscles throb every time you complete a workout even though you exercise every day? Do you experience occasional irritability for no apparent reason? If you answered yes….. -
Is Your Body Getting Enough Oxygen?
8 Feb 2010 | 12:10 pmIs Your Body Getting Enough Oxygen? Do you feel tired all the time even though you get eight hours of sleep a night? Do your muscles throb every time you complete a workout even though you exercise every day? Do you experience occasional irritability for no apparent reason? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your problem may be a lack of adequate levels of oxygen in the blood. That’s exactly how I use to feel. Sometimes I even felt that if I could only breath better, I would feel better. With our environment the way it is, our bodies are not getting sufficient … -
Fibromyalgia Pain Relief with Massage Therapy Chair
8 Feb 2010 | 10:41 amBeware of the signs of going over the cliff with fibromyalgia. I have had a history of headaches since high school. However, approximately 15 years ago I noticed I started having pain in my back and shoulders with increasing headaches, probably stress related when I look back. I started going to a massage therapist for relief. I remember the massage therapist stressing that it was important to manage my stress and that massage therapy can be a very effective tool. I remember asking the massage therapist what can happen if a person does not take steps to manage the stress and pain. … -
Trip to Tampa
8 Feb 2010 | 9:41 amI just spent 4 days away from home without a computer. It was enlightening. There was a time when that would not have effected me in the least. This trip, however, revealed that I have changed . . . evolved. I have become more dependent on my computer and the contacts it allows me than I realized. I now have pages on social networking sites, this blog, and a Twitter address. I have old friends that I am now in contact with on a far more regular basis and new friends who keep me entertained and informed. This is new for both me and my husband. He doesn’t participate in all… -
Scoliosis, Back pain, Exercise, Surgery and Egoscue
8 Feb 2010 | 9:09 amThe truth about Scoliosis from Egoscue Portland. A must read : Scoliosis, Back pain, Exercise, Surgery and Egoscue
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FightingFatigue.org
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2010 ICA Capitol Hill Walk
7 Feb 2010 | 9:52 pmThe 2010 ICA Capitol Hill Walk will be held on Thursday, March 25, 2010 from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. in Washington, D.C. Thanks to the ICA for sending out the following information: Calling all IC patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and researchers! Come to Washington and help Congress understand how IC affects your lives. Educate our leaders on the challenges of treating patients with chronic pain conditions like IC. Explain to policymakers the need for dedicated research dollars. Let’s rally and march together on Washington to help conquer IC and change lives! As a part… -
New Clinical Trial For IC Patients with Vulvodynia Patients
7 Feb 2010 | 9:35 pmThere is a new clinical trial that is currently recruiting patients who suffer from Interstitial Cystitis with generalized vulvodynia. The purpose of the clinical trial (per the Clinical Trials.gov website): In order to investigate whether the pain in women with vulvodynia may represent bladder origin pain, we will be performing a diagnostic test for interstitial cystitis (IC) in women with generalized vulvodynia. Those women with a positive test for IC, we will be performing a series of bladder treatments (instillations) for IC and checking symptoms throughout the trial to see if… -
GERD, ME/CFS & Fibromyalgia Relationship
4 Feb 2010 | 8:46 pmFor the past month, I have been getting extremely sick at least once or twice a week on my stomach – but I’m not throwing up. I feel like I have to vomit, but I can’t get anything to come out. I started having severe pains in my stomach, sides, lower back, and up into my chest and I would have varying bouts of diarrhea and constipation. The constipation was weird though because I would feel like I was going to have diarrhea and I would race to the bathroom to go and nothing would come out. I keep geting this terrible nausea also that would not go away. When these… -
Leadership Change for CDC’s CFS Research Program
2 Feb 2010 | 8:23 pmAs of February 14th this year, William Reeves will no longer be head of the CDC’s CFS Research Program. He is taking another position and will be replaced with Dr. Elizabeth Unger, who will serve as acting chief of the Chronic Viral Diseases Branch, the unit within CDC that houses the CFS Research. Below is the email from the CFIDS Association with all the details on this new change. I am hopeful that the change will bring about some quicker changes for CFS research. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced that Dr. William C. Reeves, head of… -
ME/CFS Pain & Fibromyalgia Pain – Can You Distinguish Between the Two?
31 Jan 2010 | 5:41 pmChronic Fatigue Syndrome patients suffer from pain as well as Fibromyalgia patients. Sometimes it can be hard for patients with both to know whether their pain is coming from the Fibromyalgia or the ME/CFS. For me, I can usually tell the difference because I had ME/CFS first. I know that my headaches are coming from ME/CFS, as well as the back pain. The majority of the rest of my pain comes from the Fibromyalgia. In most cases, if someone has both ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia, you can usually tell which illness takes precedence over the other by just asking one question: Which is…
