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FMS eNews 31/10/15


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 WORDz for the WEEK

 244.  A word can change someone's life but a hug can make their life worth living.

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 Medical Tests/Proceedures & Our Symptoms

  Symptom triggers can come from anywhere, and the more we can predict what could set us off, the more we can try to prevent it. See what I learned when I went -- unprepared -- for an MRI, and learn from my mistakes.
 We'lll also look at some other common medical situations that could leave you in a flare if you're not careful. Then, looking ahead to some of the earlier holidays.
 Take care of yourself! 
Adrienne Dellwo - Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Expert

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DO YOU HAVE FIBROMYALGIA?

Local doctors need your help with a research study testing an investigational pain medication for fibromyalgia.
If you have fibromyalgia you know the constant burning and throbbing pain can have a serious impact on your daily life. Doctors are searching for new pain relief options, but they need your help.
Read on to see if you can help.

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Joey & Rachael here! We have some really significant and exciting news for you. When we launched HealClick in January 2014, we wanted to create a space for patients with chronic illness to connect and access the information and resources that they had always been lacking. For both of us, the process of finding effective treatments involved investing time, resources, and effort to finding similar patients and experimenting with the treatments that worked for them until we found what worked for either of us. But this process took too long and involved too much luck.
For 21 months, we’ve tried to create this special space, and in terms of creating a thriving  community, we were moderately successful. But we couldn’t say the same for our main goal: helping patients find effective treatments. For the last year, our metrics plateaued, and new reviews slowed to a trickle. Users expressed concerns that we weren’t providing enough medical value. Everything pointed at the same verdict: we could do so much better.
Read on . . .

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 6 Out Of 10 To Lose Higher Rate Mobility Plus PIP Refused For Spending Too Much Time On Facebook

 The Court of Appeal has crushed any lingering hopes of a successful challenge to the PIP 20 metre rule. As a result the DWP estimate that 6 out of 10 working age recipients of DLA higher rate mobility will have lost their award by 2018.
Meanwhile a first tier tribunal refused an award of PIP because the claimant spent too much time on Facebook.
And, in a move that may surprise many readers, Maximus are now offering free help with completing your ESA50. Would you accept it?
Elsewhere, we have evidence of the not so subtle stereotyping of claimants in a Capita training manual for assessors and news of a new Benefits and Work resource
coming soon.
Oh, and there’s a Maximus video of an ESA medical assessment you might want to watch too.

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Blog title inspired by The Spoon Theory,  by Christine Miserandino, an excellent explanation of what it's like to live with invisible illness. Read More 

Selected article - Magnesium for Fibromyalgia
One of the earliest recommendations that I received for Fibromyalgia was magnesium. A friend suggested epsom salt baths and my chiropractor suggested taking magnesium supplements. Since then I’ve read many studies that confirm that most of us with Fibromyalgia are low in magnesium and can benefit from some sort of supplementation. There are a ton of different magnesium supplements available in different formulations. Some are easier on the stomach than others, some are easier to absorb. I personally prefer magnesium malate as it seems to have far less of GI issues than some others.
Read on . . .
See also FB
 
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 This week’s fibromyalgia and ME/CFS news (week of Oct. 26, 2015)

 Thought I’d share a fibro fog moment this week: I accidentally used the wrong debit card (because they are both silver in color) to pay a large bill yesterday and ended up overdrawing my bank account. Didn’t discover what I’d done until this morning, so that required an unplanned trip to the ATM and the bank to fix the account balances. Can’t believe I did that! Doh!
Top news
  • Oklahoma woman with fibromyalgia admits to stealing hydrocodone because she couldn’t afford her medication.
  • This is incredibly disturbing: ME Global Chronicle covers the story of Karina Hansen, a Danish ME/CFS patient who is being kept against her will in a clinic for people
  • with brain damage. (The link will take you to a page of ME Global’s issues. You’ll need to download the Oct. 25, 2015/Karina Hansen issue.)
  • First legal cannabis vaporizer hits the U.K., and a woman with fibromyalgia reviews it.
  • U.S./U.K. study finds there are differences in disability and symptoms among U.S. and U.K. ME/CFS patients.
  • I bet most of us know all about these “9 Things Only Someone with Chronic Pain Understands.”
PLUS - Research news, Interviews, Personal stories and Odds & Ends

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10.23.2015 - The Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuits: An interview with the attorneys

 This is Part 2 of an ongoing series on the Cymbalta withdrawal lawsuits. It includes an interview with Baum, Hedlund, Aristei & Goldman, PC, one of the law firms representing hundreds of patients who have been affected by Cymbalta’s withdrawal symptoms. Part 1 of this series addressed Cymbalta’s withdrawal symptoms, why the lawsuits were brought and helpful information for anyone planning to stop Cymbalta. Next month, I’ll be writing a follow-up post summarizing the cases that have been heard so far and their outcomes. As always, I’ll post any news related to the lawsuits in my weekly news updates. To make things easy, I’ve created a page dedicated to the lawsuits where you’ll find all of FedUpwithFatigue’s Cymbalta posts, links to national media stories and other useful information. I’ll be covering these lawsuits as they unfold. Please consider subscribing (there are forms at the top of the page and the bottom of this post) to receive the latest updates.
After I posted Part 1 of this series, I was shocked by the number of comments and emails that I received from people who had experienced Cymbalta’s withdrawal symptoms. Based on the feedback, it’s obvious this issue has affected thousands within the fibromyalgia community (and others since Cymbalta is used for various conditions).
Read on . . .

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International Distinguished Services Award for Pam Stewart

 Fibromyalgia Action UK (FMA UK) has a pleasure to announce that Pam Stewart,  Trustee and a former long-standing Chair of the charity has received an international Distinguished Services Award from the Bone and Joint Decade, a Global Alliance for Musculoskeletal Health.This is an international Alliance of organisations working in the musculoskeletal conditions field.
Pam received the Award ‘’for promotion of the goals of the Bone and Joint Decade and in recognition of distinguished professional excellence and service to colleagues and people affected by musculoskeletal disorders.’’ Everyone at FMA UK would like to congratulate Pam as she wholeheartedly deserves the award for her outstanding contribution, commitment and achievements in raising awareness about fibromyalgia nationally and internationally and for her advocacy work in this field.

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 30 Years in the Making: Fibromyalgia Finally Recognized as Official Diagnosis
 [Not new news for us but the implications are worth noting]

For the first time ever, fibromyalgia is being listed as an official diagnosis in the medical coding list that doctors, physicians, nurses, researchers, insurers and others use to classify diseases and other health problems. The list – known as the International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems or ICD – is released by the World Health Organization (WHO). The ICD lists codes for diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases.
Implications
  • More Credibility
  • May Help with Disability Claims
  • May Help with Insurance Coverage
  • Will Advance Fibromyalgia Research
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Serotonin: Is it an Important Factor in Fibromyalgia?


Serotonin, also known as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) is an important chemical neurotransmitter found in the human body. Serotonin is manufactured in the brain and the intestines. The majority of the body’s serotonin (90%) is found in the gastrointestinal tract where it regulates intestinal movements that stimulate gut motility. The remainder is found in the central nervous system and blood platelets where it plays a role in the formation of blood clots through vasoconstriction. It is synthesized along with its metabolite 5-hydroxtryptophan (5-HTP) from the amino acid L-tryptophan.
Serotonin is popularly thought to contribute to feelings of well-being and happiness. There is no scientific evidence, however, that low levels of serotonin contribute to depression. Antidepressant medications such as selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are thought to inhibit the re-absorption or serotonin and norepinephrine neurotransmitters. This increases the levels of serotonin in the synapse of the nerves in the brain resulting in an elevation of mood. Recreational drugs such as MDMA and cocaine are also thought to inhibit the re-absorption of serotonin to create their highs. Scientists, however, are still not sure precisely how these drugs work.

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Are All the “Feel-Good” Pathways Blocked in Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
A recent study illuminated a new factor in the production of a runner's high (or probably any good feelings for that matter). Removing that factor caused the mice in the study to run to their hearts delight.
That factor, interestingly, is under investigation in ME/CFS. The study prompted the question if any of the feel-good pathways are working in ME/CFS and FM? Find out the outcome.

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Fibromyalgia - Neuroinflammatory Disease? Savella - Anti- Inflammatory Drug?
First Natelson and company found high lactate levels in the brains of FM patients. That suggested FM was a neuroinflammatory disorder (putting in the same boat as multiple sclerosis). Then they showed that Savella - an antidepressant - reduced those lactate levels. That suggested that Savella, at least in FM, is probably better known as an anti-inflammatory - and pointed in a new treatment direction.
It was a study that shifted contexts all over the place. Check out what happened.

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 10 Cancer-Causing Foods You Should Avoid
[Not strictly 'on-topic' but relevant to general health.]

The food we eat has the ability to affect our health in very big ways – for better or for worse. Eat too much fat and you increase your risk of heart disease. Drink too much alcohol and you damage your liver. In today’s day and age of processed and “fast” food, much of what we eat is actually a detriment to our health. But can food actually cause cancer? How much damage does our diet actually do to our cells? Here are 10 foods that have been found by studies to increase cancer risks:
  1 – Red Meat
  2 – Alcohol
  3 – Artificial Sweeteners
  4 – Genetically Modified Food
  5 – Refined Sugar
  6 – Manufactured Soft Drinks
  7 – Smoked And Grilled Meat
  8 – Hydrogenated Oils
  9 – Non-Organic Produce (Pesticide Sprayed)
10 – Farmed Salmon
Read the details on the herbs.info website.

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What’s Good? A List Of Anticancer Foods:

Some Good News after all that “bad news” – there are numerous foods which have been associated with LOWER cancer risks in scientific research. Check out our mega list of the good stuff here – Top 34 Anti-Cancer Foods.

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Don't get too excited about Hallowe'en or Guy Fawkes!  Be wary of fires and fireworks, tricks or even treats!  But have fun.

Fibro hugs
Stella

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or leave your comments below under Post a Comment

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N.B. The links on this my FMS eNews blog are in the BROWN text, usually in the title of each article but occasionally elsewhere too. Some titles have no links in which case the title is in PURPLE like the dividers.  This blog gives just a taster of each article which can be viewed in full through its link.  If you have any navigationproblems, let me know.
I would like to point out to you that the information in my FMS eNews blog is passed on to you mainly from other sources. Links are given to the original articles. I take no responsibility for their accuracy but freely give them publicity if I think they might be of interest to my readership. Sites I refer you to are for information only. They might conflict in their opinions, they might not even be medically sound, but I merely offer them for you to peruse and make your own judgements, accept or reject as you will. Only by reading widely can we get an overall picture of fibromyalgia syndrome and how we can deal with its symptoms, learn to cope with them and still have a life. Any advice or recommendation of a medical or legal nature should always be discussed with a qualified  professional.
I also include various awareness items, benefits issues, as well as general health considerations. Anyone wishing to reproduce any of the included items in printed form should seek permission from the originators.
Wordz for the Week are from ‘Wordz for the Day’ by Donnie Kuhn, Sr. who died in May 2011.
This eNews is my personal offering to fibromyalgia sufferers and their carers and is not related to any other organisation or charity.
If you don’t already get reminders when each new FMS eNews is posted, please send an email to fmsstella@gmail.com and you will be added to the emailing list.
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