12 Months and 14 Fibro Musings by The Pained Ink Slayer

As fibromyalgia awareness month winds down, I am reminded of all the wonderful work of advocates and fellow bloggers. However, this month is a difficult one for me personally, because I also have chronic migraine; and the unstable atmosphere of spring weather is a trigger I cannot control. Fibromyalgia and its partners can be more than a physical challenge. For instance, a special PAINS-KC meeting I looked forward to attending was side railed because of what would end up being a 14-day status migrainosus. And, I can’t remember doing an interview for May awareness that I did not have migraine. Unintentionally, this introduction is also a segue to June headache and migraine awareness month, stay tuned.

What I write is rooted in my personal quest for help. I have learned to forgive myself for the things I can’t control and to embrace adversity. I realize that good days for others are spectacular to me. I hope you find something that is helpful for you.

Note: For future reference, archived blogs are in the right column of this page, Celeste’s freelance articles are in the header tab Celeste’s Publications, and this particular blog will be linked in the header tab Fibro Musings.

  

Just published! 7 Tips for Reclaiming Control over Fibromyalgia

Ways we can manage the effects of fibromyalgia on our central, autonomic, metabolic, and immune systems…

9 Reasons Tai Chi Reduces Pain and Promotes Health

Explore the types and benefits and practices tai chi, dubbed “medication in motion” for those of us living with chronic pain…

Fibro-mates, GI Disturbance, and Hypnosis

There is a well-documented bidirectional pathway between the brain and gut. Read about fibro-mates, IBS and GERD, and evidence on supportive therapies of the mind…

​Pitfalls and Pleasures of Therapeutic Massage for Fibromyalgia and Myofascial Pain

Determining the most beneficial type of therapeutic massage or bodywork relies on our understanding of the differences between fibromyalgia and myofascial pain syndrome. What massage techniques can help?...

Science, Fibromyalgia, and Exercise

What type of movement is showing promise for managing our fibromyalgia? You might be surprised to see the recent evidence…

Does Rare Disease—EDS—Plague Fibromyalgia?

Fibromyalgia and EDS (hEDS = EDS hypermobile type) share connections you might not have considered…

3 Tips for Reducing Stress in Fibromyalgia

What you may not know about your symptoms, stressors, and management tools…

Myofascial Pelvic Pain in Men and Women with Fibromyalgia

About the male and female fibromyalgia pelvis, pain and the myofascia, diagnosis to treatment…

Update: Fibromyalgia FM/a Blood Test and EpicGenetics Landmark Clinical Research

Genetic studies on fibromyalgia are underway with the assistance of the University of California, UCLA, and University of Illinois at Chicago using the FM/a blood test to identify participants.

Fibromyalgia and Thyroid Dysfunction

Thyroid problems can co-exist with and/or sometimes mimic fibromyalgia, the science, medicine, and awareness...

Lymphatic Massage, Clogged Drains and Fibromyalgia Pain

To understand why manual lymphatic massage is beneficial for those of us with fibromyalgia, we must first understand how it works.

The Lessons of Myofascial Pain Syndrome and Fibromyalgia

Why does myofascial pain become chronic? What causes the chronic pain of fibromyalgia? Does myofascial pain sustain fibromyalgia pain? Difference between a trigger point and tender point, and more...

Casting Light on the Shadow of Fibromyalgia: Finding the cause

The FDA "Voice of the Patient", getting unstuck, the biology of body matter, immune cells, and noteworthy news...

It’s a Battlefield: Bruising and Fibromyalgia

Are your arms and legs like battlefield magnets? Do your extremities look like a world atlas? For those of us with fibro, there might be an explanation to why that is.

Criteria and Chaos: Diagnosing Fibromyalgia

Disparity, agreements, 2016 Revisions to the 2010/2011 Fibromyalgia Diagnostic Criteria appear to address previous concerns, and now conclude...

Don’t miss:

The Pain Advocate’s Corner: How to Raise Your Voice

(also permalinked in the header tab of The Pained Ink Slayer).

“To unleash victory, I must have an open mind and willing heart,

judge not, embrace change, and be a steadfast observer of self.”

In healing,

Celeste Cooper, RN / Author, Freelancer, Advocate

Think adversity?-See opportunity!

http://www.CelesteCooper.com

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Learn more about Celeste’s books here. Subscribe to posts by using the information in the upper right hand corner or use the share buttons to share with others. 

Can Aerobic Exercise Reduce Fibromyalgia Symptoms? by Celeste Cooper

The answer to this question, "Can Aerobic Exercise Reduce Fibromyalgia Symptoms?" is tricky because there is evidence that aerobic exercise can reduce fibromyalgia symptoms, and there is evidence to suggest it can increase fibromyalgia symptoms.

The Cardiovascular System

In regards to helping symptoms, aerobic exercise is movement that increases your heart rate. Because the heart is a muscular pump, making it work by increasing heart rate, aerobic activity improves the strength of the heart walls, making it more efficient. The heart can eject more oxygen rich blood to the cells.  Exercise also releases the feel good hormones thought to be in short supply for those of us who have fibromyalgia and cellular oxygen deprivation has been noted in some studies..

The Lymph System

Exercise or movement of any kind is the engine, the only engine that drives the lymph system, which is responsible for gathering, filtering, and removing cellular waste from the body. When the lymph system is working right, or we aren’t moving enough, swelling occurs in our extremities, a source of complaints for many people living with fibromyalgia.

The Muscles

Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a condition that can be misdiagnosed as fibromyalgia and it can coexist with fibromyalgia. If you have myofascial pain syndrome, make sure your muscles are well cared for and returned to their normal resting length before exercising, including weight bearing exercise or weight bearing of your body or static positions during Yoga. Otherwise, you may feel the exercise is worsening your symptoms because of stress on muscles with trigger points. Healthy muscles ward of the trigger points of MPS, so exercise is good for prevention, but not for treatment. Opting for T'ai Chi or Qi Gong might be a better choice.

Autonomic Effects

Some fibromyalgia patients have a condition called postural orthostatic hypotension. If you have this condition, aerobic exercise can harm you. Other studies suggest that some FM patients have a heart rate variability. In other words, when you exercise, you cannot reach your target heart rate, through no fault of your own. You body is not responding as it should.

What Next?

The best way to treat our body is to move it. Maybe we don’t tolerate exercise, maybe we tried too much too soon, maybe we have a joint problem that keeps us from doing moderate aerobic exercise, but even our joints do better if we move them. The best thing to do is move and use common sense. Nobody— nobody—NOBODY should start exercise without slow conditioning; magnify this by 10 for the  5 million Americans 18 or older who live with fibromyalgia.

When we say baby steps, really think about how a baby starts to walk, develop muscle slowly with certain movements.

So the short answer to “Can Aerobic Exercise Reduce Fibromyalgia Symptoms?”

• One size does not fit all.
• Start low and go slow.
• And by all means—MOVE (even if it means exercises done in bed or requires the assistance of a caregiver).

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(Signature line appended, April 2018)

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Celeste Cooper, RN / Author, Freelancer, Advocate

Think adversity?-See opportunity!

http://www.CelesteCooper.com

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

Learn more about Celeste’s books here. Subscribe to posts by using the information in the upper right hand corner or use the share buttons to share with others. 

Exercise and Chronic Pain: Complimentary Roommates

The article includes:

What is exercise?

When to exercise

Types of exercise

Movement and tolerance

Finding your target heart rate(THR)

Effects of exercise

Due to the number of linked resources on my website, please refer to the following link.

https://www.thesethree.com/Exercise___Chronic_Pain.html#.UN4En2_LQyI

Weird or Wonderful Comrades: Neurontin and pain in fibromyalgia and myalgic encephalomyelitis

Neurontin® was originally used to treat epilepsy, and later approved to treat diabetic neuropathy, and since has been used for treating fibromyalgia and chronic pain.

It’s efficacy in treating fibromyalgia pain gets mixed reviews.

My concern is the side effects. Neurontin® (gabapentin) functions therapeutically by blocking new excitatory synapse formation in the brain, (Cell), therefore, it could make brain fog worse. The target of any medication should be improve function, and in our case relieve pain and improve cognition so that we can participate in therapy, and interact with others. Many complain of a disconnection with reality when using Neurontin®, I am not sure this is considered improving function.

“You know you have brain fog when you walk back into the same room 5 times and still can't remember what you are doing there, but have that nagging sensation there’s a reason, and you do it several times a day, everyday.”

Since fibromyalgia has been related to central nervous system hypersensitivity, and a centralization effect also occurs in ME/CFS, it makes sense that a drug affecting the brain might help with blocking pain impulses. Fibromyalgia is aggravated by a common co-existing condition called myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), AKA chronic myofascial pain (CMP). This neurological imitator, could also explain some of the myalgias in ME/CFS. The associated neuralgia (nerve pain) is due to the presence of myofascial trigger points. Myofascial therapies and body work is the only thing that will affect a myofascial trigger point. This might help explain why Neurontin® is not as effective for treating pain in some patients.

Because impaired cognition and altered proprioception can be present in both FM and ME/CFS there are some red flags. Concern for impaired reasoning and risk of injury should be considered. Both postural orthostatic tachycardia (POTS) and nuerally mediated hypotension (NMH) are mediated in the brain, and since Neurontin ® crosses the blood brain barrier it is possible it could exacerbate these syndromes.

Improved function is the goal of all therapies and medications. if you are not seeing improvement, see a trained therapist that follows the teachings of Dr. Janet Travell and Dr. David Simons and report any dizziness, feelings of disconnection, worsening in ability to reason, word finding, sudden drops in blood pressure, or palpitations to your doctor. We don’t always have the “usual” side effects.

This blog is based on my answer to “How does Neurontin work to treat fibromyalgia pain?” As Fibromyalgia expert at Sharecare.com
Profile http://sharecare.com/user/celeste-Cooper


All blogs, posts and answers are based on the work in Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection by Celeste Cooper, RN, and Jeff Miller, PhD. 2010, Vermont: Healing Arts press are for educational purposes and not meant to replace medical advice. www.TheseThree.com


Resources:

Bou-Holaigah I, Calkins H, Flynn JA, Tunin C, Chang HC, Kan JS, Rowe PC. Provocation of hypotension and pain during upright tilt table testing in adults with fibromyalgia. Clin Exp Rheumatol. 1997 May-Jun;15(3):239-46.

Eroglu C, Allen NJ, Susman MW, O'Rourke NA, Park CY, Ozkan E, Chakraborty C, Mulinyawe SB, Annis DS, Huberman AD, Green EM, Lawler J, Dolmetsch R, Garcia KC, Smith SJ, Luo ZD, Rosenthal A, Mosher DF, Barres BA. Gabapentin receptor alpha2delta-1 is a neuronal thrombospondin receptor responsible for excitatory CNS synaptogenesis. Cell. 2009 Oct 16;139(2):380-92. Epub 2009 Oct 8.

Galland BC, Jackson PM, Sayers RM, Taylor BJ.A matched case control study of orthostatic intolerance in children/adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome. Pediatr Res. 2008 Feb;63(2):196-202.

Ge HY, Wang Y, Danneskiold-Samsøe B, Graven-Nielsen T, Arendt-Nielsen L. The predetermined sites of examination for tender points in fibromyalgia syndrome are frequently associated with myofascial trigger points. J Pain. 2010 Jul;11(7):644-51. Epub 2009 Nov 14.

Giamberardino MA, Affaitati G, Fabrizio A, Costantini R. Effects of Treatment of Myofascial Trigger Points on the Pain of Fibromyalgia. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2011 May 5. [Epub ahead of print]
Staud R, Craggs J G, Perlstein W M, Robinson M E, and Price, DD, “Brain activity associated with slow temporal summation of C-fiber evoked pain in fibromyalgia patients and healthy controls,” European Journal of Pain (March

Hubbard JE. Myofascial Trigger Points: What Physicians Should Know about these Neurological Imitators. Minn Med. 2010 May;93(5):42-5.2008).

Ocon AJ, Messer Z, Medow M, Stewart J. Increasing orthostatic stress impairs neurocognitive functioning in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Postural Tachycardia Syndrome. Clin Sci (Lond). 2011 Sep 15. [Epub ahead of print]

Staud R. Autonomic dysfunction in fibromyalgia syndrome: postural orthostatic tachycardia. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2008 Dec;10(6):463-6.