Archive for the ‘Lyrica’ Category

Fibromyalgia and Treatment

Saturday, June 13th, 2009

“What I am looking for is not out there; it is in me”, Helen Keller

The idea that fibromyalgia can be ‘cured’ through medications is erroneous. Drugs such as Neurontin or Lyrica can sometimes be effective to control the symptoms in some people with fibromyalgia some of the time. Is this really treatment or merely masking the symptoms?mind20and20the20brain

I will make this blog very short and suggest that the best way to treat fibromyalgia is  1) to remap the brain; 2)control the excess arousal of the nervous system; 3) unlearn what we have believed to be either a   biological/viral/bacterial cause of fibromyaliga; 4) stop the talk therapy that only brings up the same negative stories we have told ourselves over and over and continues to reactivate our nervous sytem; 5) stop looking for a ‘cure’ with medicines.

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Fibromyalgia: hearing ’science’ and being silenced

Saturday, January 31st, 2009

k7408” A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot”, Albert Einstein

Having worked, taught and been involved in research for many years in a university, I am accoustomed to conferences and seminars where reviewing, applauding or critiquing the work of others is usual. Building upon good science and discarding that which seems wrong headed is part of the research process. It is how new knowledge is created. It is the true meaning of what constitutes good science. In short, open debate is encouraged.

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The Stigma of Fibromyalgia, a Women’s ‘Condition’

Sunday, January 20th, 2008

“Being a woman is hard work”, Maya Angelou. angelou

There can be little doubt that fibromyalgia has become very prominent as a serious social and personal condition that affects primarily women. In fact, it is said by some that it is an epidemic of great proportions. Loss of work, physical impairments and challenges, intense pain, decreased income for many, increases in medication consumption, burdens on the health care systems and family disruptions are among the many serious outcomes of this debilitating syndrome. The numbers of people, mostly women, often middle age-aged, who suffer from this condition far outnumber the numbers of those who suffer from such a horrific life threatening disease as HIV/AIDS, even though fibromyalgia is not in and of itself a threat to life. While I do not suggest that comparisons should be made,  or pitting one bitter struggle against another, nonetheless, both HIV/AIDS and fibromyalgia suffer from social stigma, as did the tuberculosis epidemic of decades ago.

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