A LETTER TO ‘NORMALS’

by Jeanne Hambleton © 2008 NFA Leader Against Pain-Advocate How many times do you feel guilty when you watch your family do jobs which you used to do without thinking about it? What is your reaction to that barbed comment, “No, you sit still. You said you don’t feel well!” Yes me too – I [...]

Chinese suffer aches and pains too

We like to complain about our aches and pains, but rheumatism is not only the preserve of western society. A comprehensive survey of rheumatic diseases in China, published in the open access journal Arthritis Research & Therapy, reveals that rheumatic complaints are also common in China. The survey suggests that the incidence of certain rheumatic [...]

Help for young people misdiagnosed, isolated and forgotten

PRESS RELEASE: 23 JANUARY 2008 Help for young people misdiagnosed, isolated and forgotten For the first time two charities are coming together to reach out to young people of Sussex suffering from a very painful and distressing illness. The Association of Young People with ME, AYME in partnership with the Fibromyalgia Support Group for Surrey [...]

Antidepressants and painkillers – a dangerous combination

Contact: Simon Dunford s.dunford@uea.ac.uk 44-016-035-92203 University of East Anglia Taking antidepressants together with painkillers can substantially increase the risk of bleeding from the stomach, according to new research by the University of East Anglia. The antidepressant drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors known as SSRIs, are recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE). SSRIs [...]

Treatment blocks pain without disrupting other functions

Contact: Natalie Frazin 301-496-5924 NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke A combination of two drugs can selectively block pain-sensing neurons in rats without impairing movement or other sensations such as touch, according to a new study by National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported investigators. The finding suggests an improved way to treat pain from childbirth [...]

Opioids for managing chronic non-malignant pain: safe and effective prescribing.

Kahan M, Srivastava A, Wilson L, Mailis-Gagnon A, Midmer D. Addiction Medical Service, St Joseph’s Health Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. kahanm@stjoe.on.ca OBJECTIVE: To review the evidence on safe and effective prescribing of opioids for chronic non-malignant pain. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: MEDLINE was searched using the terms “opioid effectiveness” and “adverse effects.” There is strong evidence [...]

Prevalence of Interpersonal Abuse in Primary Care Patients Prescribed Opioids for Chronic Pain.

Balousek S, Plane MB, Fleming M. Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA. BACKGROUND: Interpersonal abuse is associated with clinical problems including chronic pain disorders. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to describe 30-day and lifetime prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual abuse found in [...]

SOUNDING OFF ABOUT FIBROMYALGIA AWARENESS WEEK

By Jeanne Hambleton© UK Fibromite I know I am always going on about raising awareness and fibromyalgia and this is especially important as far as the UK Government is concerned. Although we have E Petitions allegedly for the eyes of the Prime Minister, asking for support for various aspects of fibromyalgia, I have my doubts [...]

The classification of fibromyalgia syndrome.

Müller W, Schneider EM, Stratz T. Rheumatologische Forschungsabteilung, Weihermatten 1, 79713, Bad Säckingen, Germany. As has been shown by a number of working groups, primary fibromyalgia syndrome does not represent a single clinical entity. It is possible to distinguish between a subgroup with high pain sensitivity and no associated psychiatric condition, a second and a [...]

Publication trends in chronic fatigue syndrome: Comparisons with fibromyalgia and fatigue: 1995-2004.

Friedberg F, Sohl S, Schmeizer B. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Stony Brook University, NY, USA. OBJECTIVE: In order to identify publishing patterns in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), we compared the annual number of peer review articles for CFS, fibromyalgia (FM), and non-CFS fatigue over a recent decade (1995-2004). METHOD: Citations were drawn from [...]