Going Grey?

New Research shows that people with fibromyalgia may have greater premature ageing risks.

When comparing healthy vs FM patients, it was noted that:
- Both groups contained the same volume of white matter in the brain.
- FM patients however had significantly less grey matter.

What does this mean?
White matter is the tissue through which messages pass between different areas of grey matter within the nervous system. Using a computer network as an analogy, the grey matter can be thought of as the actual computers themselves, whereas the white matter represents the network cables connecting the computers together.

It has been found that every year of fibromyalgia was equal to approximately 9.5 times loss in the normal ageing process.

What is the implication of this?
- The brain undergoes structural changes in response to chronic pain and stress.
- This means our brains for those of us with fibromyalgia, could potentially be 20 years older than our actual age.

Read more at: www.examiner.com/article/brain-grey-matter-atrophy-seen-fibromyalgia

Cognitive Dysfunction & Fibromaylgia

Do you struggle with fibromyalgia and have a bad memory? Do you find it difficult sometimes to be able to get a whole thought out before it disappears? It could be linked to your fibromyalgia.

New research suggests that fibromyalgia patients perform more poorly than the counterparts of their age, in three areas:

1. Free recall: remembering words
2. Working Memory: everyday info
3. Vocabulary tests - accessing words from memory

Research also suggests that blood pressure, anxiety and depression have no effect on fibromyalgia patient's cognitive abilities.

Sad news: There is currently nothing available to help improve this.

However, there is some hope: Here's some tips that may help us as we battle our own cognition:

1. Establish regular routines: Eat and sleep at the same time regularly.
2. Snack every three hours, rather than eating full meals.
3. Use reminders and to-do-lists.
4. Take breaks when you find your concentration waning.
5. Avoid multitasking, as it reduces your effectiveness.
6. Pace, pace, pace.
7. Avoid loud noises, bright lights and other distractions in your environment, particularly where you sleep.

Do you have any strategies that work for you?

Source: www.examiner.com/article/cognitive-dysfunction-and-fibromyalgia

It's Not all in your Head after all..

Researchers have new reached a new breakthrough in relation to fibromyalgia.

Previously, researches believed fibromyalgia to be a psychological problem. Approximately 20 years ago, it was believed to be a change in the way the brain processed pain, causing hyperactivity in pain centres, although the cause was unknown.

Now researchers have gone one step back and discovered something that may cause the hyperactivity in your brain.

Your hands... sounds too simple to be true? The culprit is thought to be our arteriole venule shunts. How do they work? They work to keep our hands and nerves at the right temperature, kind of how a car radiator works. In warm conditions, the shunts close, which forces blood into the capillaries at the skin surface to radiate heat from the body. Under cold conditions, the shunts open allowing blood to bypass the capillaries to conserve heat, which is why our hands get cold.

Excessive nerve fibers concentrated in these areas are thought to cause mismanaged blood flow, causing muscle pain, acheyness and hyperactivity in the pain centre of the brain.

So does it explain all our symptoms? Probably not. Is it an important breakthrough? Yes. It shows progress.

It means we are one step closer to figuring out how this madness began and how we might cure it or ease the suffering from it.

Source: http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1112879104/fibromyalgia-is-not-all-in-your-head-new-research-confirms/

Nothing a glass of wine can't fix???

Does alcohol actually make fibromyalgia worse? If so, how?

According to the Mayo Clinic USA and researchers at Michigan University, low and moderate drinkers had better scores for physical function, ability to work, the number of work days missed, fatigue and pain, than people who abstained. Moderate drinkers who had between three and seven standard drinks a week seemed to have less pain than low or heavy drinkers.

Why? Aminobutyric Acid (GABA), an inhibitory neurotransmitter, which is low in our brains, is thought to bind with the alcohol causing lower perceived pain levels. But like any good thing, too much is going to hurt you. And when it wears off, the pain levels are likely to return.

Keep in mind, if you do if have intolerances such as fructose intolerance, you will need to limit your drinking to spirits or one glass of dry red wine depending on your tolerance levels.

How does alcohol affect your pain levels? Does it make it better or worse?

For details of the full article, read at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130315074615.htm

Welcome back!

Hi fellow bloggers and friends.

Apologies for the long delay between posts. Unfortunately the nature of this illness is that sometimes back to back flare ups make it quite difficult to survive, let alone blog or do anything else.

But by the grace of God, I hope I keep being strong enough to keep trucking on and keep blogging.

Day 4: Hope Springs... or maybe it just bands..

This is what hope means to me:

Two things:
1. White band: that God loves me.. that though I am a rebeller and an outcast, he sends his Son to die for me on a cross and bring me back to good relationship with Him. This God can save me, can heal me and can give me strength to press on...

2. Purple band: that my fibrocommunity and support group is with me.. that no matter how mean / unhelpful other people may be calling me lazy, or denying me the help I desperately need, only a facebook message away is a smile, a hug and a loving word (more than one or two)....

What does hope mean to you?

Day 3: Look deep into my soul....

Every eye is unique - one thing that's sure of is that it is a window into our soul....

Today's theme is to photograph something starting with an "E"...

Look deep into the picture.. what do you see? Lots of "E"'s to me... Eye, Eyelashes, Eyebrows, Egg shaped...

What really intrigues me is that if you look deep into my pupil, you can make out a few dots, that when put together make my pupil look like a smiley face... Eerie.. (and that's another E!)

Day #2: Patterns that change lives

So today's theme is "Pattern" - This photo was taken in my Paris trip last year in Montmarte, a beautiful artsy town in the north of Paris. This picture captures what is called, "The I Love You Wall", where thousands have written "I love you" in various languages from Hindi, Tamil, French, Spanish, English etc, etc, and the list goes on..

There is nothing more comforting to the soul than the words, "I love you" and this is the pattern is full of those words. May it be a comfort to your soul as it was to mine and clearly to the couple in this photo as well. 

Day #1: Forks can be Fun

Friends and fellow fibro survivors, welcome to the first Friday of February. To have a little fun, I have decided to join the Feb Photo a Day Fun Challenge... What does it involve you ask? Simple.. each day has a theme, take a photo and post, linking back to #FMSPHOTOADAY - Let the festivities begin!!!

Day 1: Fork

The Themes

The Voice of Jesus

THE VOICE OF JESUS

by Mary Hastings (c) Fms Poetry

 

I can feel the voice of Jesus,

Saying " Be still and know I am here;"

I know what you are going through,

And remember that I am near.

 

I know you do not understand,

But in time I will reveal,

All these things that do not make sense,

Are yet a part of My great will.

 

There is something that I am showing you,

And some day you will see;

The struggles that you are experiencing now,

Will draw you closer in your walk with me.

 

It is in this time of suffering,

That you’re gaining more wisdom and faith;

And I have so much more in store for you,

But right now be patient and wait.

 

You need some time to learn and grow,

As I guide you through each day;

And though it seems you are all alone,

I am holding you all the way.

 

In your time of weakness and your pain,

Your strength I will make strong;

I will show you life in a whole new way,

Leading you to the place that you belong.

 

Although right now it seems unfair,

Be aware on what sights are set;

Because I have a job just for you,

And I’m not finished yet.

 

You are so very blessed if you look around,

And I love you oh, so much;

I have not turned you away,

I want you to feel my touch.

 

Please don’t get angry and never give up,

Let your faith in Me bring hope;

And when you feel like you are slipping away,

Hold strong to my Hand as your mighty rope.

 

All things work for good if You’re trusting in me,

So you always have to believe;

It may not look so good to you now,

But there are many blessings you are going to receive.

 

If I can create the Heavens and Earth,

Then know I can take care of you;

So you need not worry about anything,

Just wait and watch what I can do.

 

Come to me daily in conversation and prayer,

Stay focused on My word;

And I will guide you each step of the way,

As My revelations to you are made heard.

 

Rest assured that you will overcome,

This trial will one day be past;

But the lessons learned and the gifts that are gained,

Forever they will last.

 

Live each day with glory and praise,

Be an example that others might see;

And when they ask where you find your peace,

You can then tell them all about ME!

The Biggest Fibro Lie: I'm Okay....

Who can you encourage today? Whose hand can you hold? Who can you hug when words are just not enough?

How Long?

How Long?

My God, it is not fretfulness 

That makes me say "How long?" 

It is not heaviness of heart 

That hinders me in song, 

'Tis not despair of truth and right, 

Nor coward dread of wrong.

But how can I, with such a hope 

Of glory and of home; 

With such a joy before my eyes, 

Not wish the time were come 

Of years the jubilee, of days 

The Sabbath and the sum?

This life, how long it seems! 

And how can I in evil days, 

'Mid unknown hills and streams 

But sigh for those of home and heart 

And visit them in dreams?

Be calm, my troubled breast; 

Each restless hour is hastening on 

The everlasting rest. 

Thou knowest that the time thy God 

Appoints for thee is best.

Awake the cry, "How long?" 

Let now faintheartedness of soul 

Damp thy aspiring song, 

Right comes, truth dawns, the night departs 

Of error and of wrong.

These years, what ages they have been! 

Yet peace, my heart and hush my tongue; 

Let faith, not fear nor fretfulness, 

                          —Horatius Bonar

Show me your pain....

Many doctors / relatives etc refuse to believe in fibromyalgia as there is only a diagnostic checklist to confirm its presence... Well, maybe not for much longer..

Scientists have long searched for a method to objectively measure pain and a new study from Brigham and Women's Hospital may have the answer. 

The following is an extract from Science Daily News:
"While we need to be cautious in the interpretation of our results, this has the potential to be an exciting discovery for anyone who suffers from chronic pain," said Marco Loggia, PhD, the lead author of the study and a researcher in the Pain Management Center at BWH and the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. "We showed that specific brain patterns appear to track the severity of pain reported by patients, and can predict who is more likely to experience a worsening of chronic back pain while performing maneuvers designed to induce pain. If further research shows this metric is reliable, this is a step toward developing an objective scale for measuring pain in humans."

Specifically, researchers studied 16 adults with chronic back pain and 16 adults without pain and used a brain imaging technique called arterial spin labeling to examine patterns of brain connectivity (that is, to examine how different brain regions interact, or "talk to each other"). They found that when a patient moved in a way that increased their back pain, a network of brain regions called Default Mode Network exhibited changes in its connections. Regions within the network (such as the medial prefrontal cortex) became less connected with the rest of the network, whereas regions outside network (such as the insula) became connected with this network. Some of these observations have been noted in previous studies of fibromyalgia patients, which suggests these changes in brain connectivity might reflect a general feature of chronic pain, possibly common to different patient populations." 

If such research persists, we might have an accessible mapping technique to prove to those "nay-sayers" that we are in fact, undeniably IN PAIN. 

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121220195752.htm 

R&R 101: Serenity

(c) Merimbula Lake, ChronicFaith 2012

Nature has an amazing way of calming and distracting us away from pain and focusing us on the world that is & God it's creator. Enjoy some amazing views captured by yours truly... Stop, Stay and Reflect.. even if it's just for one moment.. The God who designed all of this, made you & is perfectly able to hold you together. 

"You will keep in perfect peace

him whose mind is steadfast,

because he trusts in you. 

Trust in the Lord forever, 

for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal."

Isaiah 26:3-4

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, 

the world, and all who live in it; 

for he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the waters."

Psalm 24:1-2

I remember....

Let me tell you about something that seems to be helping me get through this pain..

For a while, I've been fascinated with memory foam.. it seems to be popular, but does it really work?

If you haven't heard of it before, memory foam is supposed to remember the position of your head and body and thus conform to it. It also has the added bonus of reduced muscular pains and keeps your body cool so that you can avoid those pesky night sweats..

I've used it for two nights so far and already I can notice the difference.. Especially for a person suffering with fibro, who spends most of the day in bed, it actually helps. How, you ask?

- While I sleep, the pillows keep my head aligned. My previous pillows were too high resulting in intense neck and head pain each morning
- While I sit, it cushions my bum & my legs, thus reducing sores
- It eases my muscles so that I can get out of bed easier

It really helps! And don't worry, once you get up, the foam goes back to normal. Thus, even if you move around in the night, it will conform to your new position each time.

It can be quite pricey - I bought my set off CatchoftheDay for $100. Money well spent!
The only downside now, is that I am resting better and therefore, just can't seem to get up!

Laughter Lost Episode 10: Fibro Fog

My New Year Wish to you...

I know you can do it, because we are survivors!!