Fed Up with Fatigue | Living better with fibromyalgia and chronic Lyme

04.24.2018

Want to join me for group coaching?

Quick note: I want to apologize for being MIA the past week. I'm in the midst of another flare-up of the herniated disc in my back and have been mostly sofa-bound for several days now. I had a new MRI late last week, which showed the herniation has grown in size since my last MRI in July. I met with a surgeon today and will be having a laminectomy plus microdiscectomy next month. Now onto the reason for this post... This post contains an affiliate link. Last week, my chronic illness friend Julie Holliday presented two free workshops on "Taking Back Control from Chronic Illness." … [Read more...]

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04.16.2018

Taking back control from chronic illness

Julie Holliday, my friend from the Chronic Illness Bloggers network, is offering two free online workshops this Wednesday and Sunday where she’ll share her 8 steps for taking back control from chronic illness for a more relaxed, balanced and fulfilling life. I signed up over the weekend for these workshops and thought you guys might be interested, too! Julie's 8 steps are designed to: Decrease anxiety and increase calmness Help you to feel more in control and less overwhelmed Practice more self-compassion and acceptance of your health challenges Foster a more positive … [Read more...]

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04.13.2018

Friday 5: April 13, 2018 fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and Lyme news

1. New York Times: Many people taking antidepressants discover they cannot quit NYT did a great piece on the challenges of dealing with withdrawal symptoms when quitting Cymbalta and other antidepressants. 2. ME Association: Chronic fatigue syndrome possibly explained by lower levels of key thyroid hormones From the article: "Published in Frontiers in Endocrinology, the study indicates that CFS, a condition with unknown causes, can be explained by lower thyroid hormones - but may be distinct from thyroidal disease. This finding can be seen as a first step to finding treatment for a … [Read more...]

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04.11.2018

The underlying cause of fibromyalgia may be small-fiber polyneuropathy for some patients

This article was originally published on NationalPainReport.com and is being republished here with permission from the editor. We've all been told fibromyalgia is a diagnosis of exclusion, but how thorough was your doctor in ruling out other conditions that mimic fibromyalgia? I'm sure we were all tested for rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, hypothyroidism, anemia and maybe Lyme disease, if we were lucky. But I bet there's one test most of our doctors skipped: a skin biopsy for small-fiber polyneuropathy (SFPN). SFPN is a neurological condition that causes chronic widespread pain and … [Read more...]

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04.06.2018

Friday 5: April 6, 2018 fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and Lyme news

1. Griffith University: Drug hoped to treat CFS causes impaired immune function, Griffith study says From the article: "....the study by Griffith’s National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases (NCNED) concluded that the use of rituximab in CFS patients could incur problems with their immune cells and is not beneficial as a potential treatment." 2. MedicalXpress.com: Researchers uncover [Lyme disease] protein used to outsmart the human immune system From the article: "A University of Maryland (UMD) researcher has uncovered a mechanism by which the bacteria that causes Lyme … [Read more...]

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iQuity releases new fibromyalgia blood test

This article about the new iQuity fibromyalgia blood test was originally published on NationalPainReport.com and is being republished here with permission from the editor. iQuity, a Nashville-based data science company, is now offering a blood test to aid in the diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The IsolateFibromyalgia test relies on RNA gene expression to identify fibromyalgia. “RNA analysis is a cutting-edge tool for doctors that has great potential in the field of medical diagnostics,” said Chase Spurlock, iQuity's CEO, in a press release. “Unlike DNA, which can predict the risk of … [Read more...]

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03.30.2018

Friday 5: March 30, 2018 fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and Lyme news

1. Prohealth: 101 ways to tackle energy-limiting chronic illness From the article: "There are many, many ways we can help ourselves when we have illnesses like ME/CFS Fibromyalgia and Lyme disease. Many of them are small simple steps that may not have a huge impact in themselves, but put together they can make a big difference to well-being." 2. Medscape: Much can be done to ease 'chronic fatigue syndrome' symptoms During a two-day meeting in Salt Lake City, specialists met to discuss best practices for treating ME/CFS. This article details some of their recommendations. 3. Pain … [Read more...]

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03.26.2018

An estimated half of all fibromyalgia patients have sleep apnea | Are you one of them?

This post is sponsored by Aeroflow Healthcare through the Chronic Illness Bloggers network. There are many theories on what causes fibromyalgia, one of which is that it's actually a sleep disorder. The rheumatologist who diagnosed me with fibromyalgia fell into this category. He was certain that if he could just fix my disrupted sleep, then my symptoms would improve. After a year of trying various medications, I gave up on his theory. No matter what medication he prescribed to zonk me out, I still woke up exhausted and in pain. Numerous research studies have documented sleep … [Read more...]

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03.23.2018

March 23, 2018 fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and Lyme news

1. PNAS.org: Cytokine signature associated with disease severity in chronic fatigue syndrome patients From the article: "Although only two cytokines were found to be different (TGF-β higher and resistin lower) in ME/CFS patients compared with controls, 17 cytokines correlated with ME/CFS severity. Thirteen of these cytokines are pro-inflammatory and may contribute to many of the symptoms these patients experience for several years." 2. Global Lyme Alliance: Are mold and mycotoxins compromising your recovery? This article was written for those with chronic Lyme disease but is relevant … [Read more...]

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03.21.2018

It’s time to take a new approach to fibromyalgia

This article was originally published on NationalPainReport.com and is being republished here with permission from the editor. This article is an introduction to my new Healing Fibromyalgia series. Don't worry! I will still be covering the usual fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and Lyme-related treatments, research and news, but this will be additional content I'm adding to FedUpwithFatigue.com. Do you view fibromyalgia as an incurable disease or a symptom of a deeper problem within the body? The answer to that question makes a difference in how we manage life with fibromyalgia and if … [Read more...]