8. CAN FIBROMYALGIA RUN IN
FAMILIES?
From a reader--
9. GET PAST
FIBRO?
From a reader--
"Re: # 21 www.fms-help.com/011810.htm - Obviously has never
experienced unrelenting pain 24 hours a day for years on end, How in the
world do you get past something that is continually screaming in your face day
and night? I pray to God she never does experience any of the
undiagnosable issues some of us deal with every day, and the emotional
torment of no-one believing something is wrong, the so called
professionals telling you it's all in your head. Don't judge a person
until you have at least some idea of what you are talking about."
10. THE MAYONNAISE JAR &
COFFEE
11. TO COMPLAIN OR NOT
COMPLAIN?...THAT IS THE QUESTION!
From a reader--
"I don't ever tell my husband how i am feeling, how much
pain i am in, maybe he thinks i am doing ok. I dunno. But i definitely make a
point of not complaining. That is how i was raised - NEVER complain. No
matter how bad you feel, just put on a smile and say 'I'm well thanks, how are
you?' Over the years i have sometimes found this hard to do, it
is awfully hard to tell one and all that you are fine, even when you wanna curl
up in a corner and die. And now i am finding that although my husband
(thankfully) does not have fibro pain and all that goes with it, if he complains
about an achey back or hip - whatever, i am finding myself to be totally
unsympathetic. I dunno if that is because i am in so much pain 24/7 or if i just
(unintentionly) feel - 'if only he knew what it was like to have my pain.' I
certainly do not wanna be like that, and that is another reason i dont complain
to him about my pain unless it is totally unbearable. I even push my body way
beyond its limits doing washing, dusting, cleaning the bathroom, making our bed,
mopping the floors. My head tells me not to push myself so much, but i so
much like to know my house is clean and presentable."
FROM DOM: YIKES! This reader
needs to complain her head off to someone, if not her husband. She is
bottling all the pain inside! If complaining didn't help us somehow,
people wouldn't do it. We all need to GIVE and RECEIVE
sympathy. I too find myself not feeling very sympathetic with others who
complain about minor problems - but hey, maybe people with worse problems than
mine feel the same way about me??? Something to
consider!
12. FIBROMYALGIA
COOKBOOK
From a reader--
FROM DOM: Check both positive and
negative reviews before ordering!
13. ADVISORS ON VACCINES OFTEN
HAVE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
From a reader--
14. FIBRO AT
21
From a reader--
"I am a 21 year old college graduate. I read your
theory on Fibromyalgia & Insomnia www.fms-help.com/fibro.htm.
You can't imagine how happy I am finding your page. I have seriously
overwhelming joy. :) :) :) I am right
now at the line where you said, "Somehow I managed to keep up a smiling
appearance, but inside I was miserable. I couldn't even remember what it
was like to feel good anymore." I am unable to work because
of the pain, and I can't even go dancing anymore because of pain in my
body. You have no idea how happy I was when I saw your theory and its
treaments. For me this problem is hereditary, since my
mom also has it and her father, and the funniest is that I am the only one who
found it."
15. TIGER
FROM DOM: Donnie brought home this
article today: "If You Can Find a Better Deal, Take It."
http://staugustine.com/opinions/2010-01-11/ann-coulter-if-you-can-find-better-deal-take-it - "Someone mentioned Christianity on television recently and liberals
reacted with their usual howls of rage and blinking incomprehension.
On a Fox News panel discussing Tiger Woods, Brit Hume said,
perfectly accurately: "The extent to which he can recover,
it seems to me, depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think
that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that
is offered by the Christian faith. So, my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger,
turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great
example to the world."
16. LYME DISEASE OR
FIBRO?
From a reader--
"Have you heard of anyone that has been told they have fibromyalgia but it
turns out to be Lyme disease. I have a friend who was diagnosed with Lyme
and has every single one of the fibromyalgia symptoms. She was told that
most fibro cases really are Lyme and that there is an epidemic but the blood
tests that they have for Lyme are coming up false negatives. The tests are
not accurate."
FROM
DOM: I have a lot about Lyme disease and "fibro" in past newsletters - you
can do a search using the Google box at the end of this newsletter. I was
tested for Lyme 3 years ago, but it came back negative.....could be a false
negative, but I doubt I have Lyme. I am 58 and have had immune
problems since birth. I grew up in the inner city in Newark. First
time I ever even saw a tick was in my 30's, after I moved to Florida. The
treatment for Lyme disease is antibiotics. http://lyme-disease.emedtv.com/lyme-disease/cure-for-lyme-disease.html.
With all the antibiotics I've been given (one after the other in my lifetime, I
think lyme should have been eradicated). Actually, my severe CFIDS began
after 6 months of antibiotic treatments (6 different kinds) in 1987 to
"cure" a lung infection that turned into pleurisy.
17. CHRISTIANS WITH
FIBRO
From a reader--
"I wanted to add that I simply love how your newsletter has
become centered more and more on Christ and fibro....Your
newsletter attracts more and more of us who sincerely love our Lord and
happen to have fibro. We seem to be a special breed.
During my first agonizing year with this illness, I was using the internet
to find all the information I could find, and one hit that came up at that time
was Dr. Kevorkian's list of patients; the final
two pages on the list were a LOT of those with
FIBROMYALGIA!! That proves how dreadful this illness can be when living it
alone; not just without family or friends, but without GOD Himself.
As Christians who suffer daily, we have a real opportunity to
show our Faith and our strength through Christ. I have heard it said so
many times that this illness is not for sissies; that only the very strong
can tolerate this kind of pain.
In my last few flares I found myself wishing if only this pain were for
HIM. If only this was a pain put upon me by someone else's
hand because of my faith! THEN it would count...THEN I could tolerate it
better! I could count it as pure joy like we are instructed to do
in times of testing and tribulation!
This illness might not be at the hands of an enemy, but it is
something our God has allowed for one reason or another! And for whatever
reason He has given room in our lives for this painful and debilitating illness
, we are being tried by fire just as certainly as some others on the mission
field! and it is our response and our walk and our
faith in our God that is being tested and tried and
watched.
I am able to see my own life's growth through the pain He has
allowed ; after years of fibromyalgia and M.E. and
other secondary illnesses, I have arrived at a place where I
realize what kind of person I have grown into because of this
pain. When I am in tune with Him, I can even appreciate what He is
doing to me and in me and for me and through
because of this illness. My life will never be the same; I will
never be the same. Thank God!
And Dom, YOUR newsletters are a big part of my life. When I see a
new one pop up in my inbox, I 'tear it open' anxious to find what new
things you have to share through your own words of encouragement and
your OWN story and the stories of your other readers. Sharing
any burden lightens it...you certainly do have a ministry
here, Dom. and a LOT of appreciative readers!!!"
FROM DOM: Thanks so much to this reader
for her words of encouragement. She is an awesome communicator!
I believe my calling is to comfort His people who have FMS/CFIDS/ME -
sort of like what is described in Isaiah 61:2,3: "To comfort all that
mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the
LORD, that he might be glorified."
We are a unique subset, but anyone who has
FMS/CFIDS/ME is welcome to use my site www.fms-help.com and read the newsletters www.fms-help.com/newsletters.htm.
18.
CHOLESTEROL
Reader 1--
"There is a lot of controversy about whether
cholesterol lowering is really that important. I would never even consider them
as a fibro and cfs patients. With that said, I have had many patients who
cannot tolerate statins. Things that are non statin that can lower
cholesterol are: metamucil/psyllium- 2 tbs per day, mixed with water, drink a
lot of water with it. I worked with a cholesterol group many years ago
when it was first starting and they used a lot of metamucil. It binds the bile
acids and carries it out the bowels. Secondly, I would add ground flax
seed. 2 tbsp per day. Now that is a lot of fiber, and I would increase slowly,
but I Have had good results with that in patients. (myself with the
metamucil). I also recommend promise supershots for cholesterol (kind of a
yogurt)- expensive but does help. It has probiotics plus sterols/stanols both of
which have been shown to lower cholesterol. Again, out of all this
the Metamucil works best, and is the cheapest. It now comes in capsules
too instead of having to take powder in water."
Reader 2--
"Like you, I refuse to take a Statin drug. I believe it is one
of the many drugs successfully pushed by pharmaceutical companies and
doctors, and the connection between high cholesterol and stroke or heart attack
is inconclusive at best. All the while people are told that they "must"
take this drug! I say, absolutely NOT! Those drugs have serious side
effects and I am quite willing to take my chances without them.
That being said
however, there are many things you can do to improve your cholesterol
levels. For me that means eating healthy. Almonds are often touted
as a food which can help lower cholesterol. I'm not sure about that, but
my doctor tells me is that while my 'bad' cholesterol is "a little" high,
my 'good' cholesterol is EXTREMELY high. So I would tell anyone to
just spend some time researching and then eating a good diet. The
Mediterranean diet is an example of a good way to eat,
healthy fats, lots of vegetables, nuts, etc. And of course, NO junk
food, which isn't easy in our world. I've been working at and
educating myself about diet for many years, and I'm not an expert by any means,
but I can testify that it makes a tremendous difference in your life and
health."
Reader
3--
"I have a friend
whose husband had high cholesterol and she gave him oatmeal (not
instant) with cinnamon every day and between the two it dropped
considerably - I have heard good things about both of oatmeal & cinnamon and
it worked for him."
FROM
DOM: Oatmeal has always made me highly acidic and works on me like a
diuretic. Love it, but can't eat it...
19. STARS
FROM DOM: In my last newsletter www.fms-help.com/011810.htm, I
mentioned a DVD called "The Star of Bethlehem" www.bethlehemstar.net sent to me
by a friend. It was fascinating! In the time of Christ, there
was no pollution or electric lights, so the sky was very vivid at night (their
TV......ha), so the "wise men from the east" could easily see the star that
led them to Jesus. Today I ran across this most interesting comment about
the night sky by Anne Sullivan (Helen Keller's teacher) when she (Anne) went to
Puerto Rico to recover from an illness. I am supposed to dress up
like Anne Sullivan for a patriotic program this summer, so I wanted to do
some research. We had two maladies in common - Anne suffered from a
bacterial eye infection (hers was so severe it led to blindness for many
years) and she also had pleurisy at one time. Very sadly she had a
horrendous childhood (I can't imagine anyone with a worse childhood!!!) -
but through God's will, she became teacher to the unruly, blind and deaf
6-year-old Helen Keller - and the rest is history! But here's what
Anne wrote to Helen about the night sky in Puerto Rico--
http://tdaait.wordpress.com/2008/06/10/todays-heroine-anne-sullivan-macy-1866-1936/ - "We sit on the porch
every evening and watch the sunset melt from one vivid color to another—rose
asphodel (Do you know what color that is? I thought it was blue, but I have
learned that it is golden yellow, the color of Scotch broom) to violet, then
deep purple. Polly and I hold our breath as the stars come out in the sky—they
hang low in the heavens like lamps of many colors—and myriads of fire-flies come
out on the grass and twinkle in the dark trees! Harry Lake says that a beautiful
Porto Rican girl went to a dance in a gown ablaze with fire-flies which she had
imprisoned in black net. Did you know
that in tropical skies the stars appear much larger and nearer to the earth than
farther north? I didn’t know it myself. Neither Polly nor I
have ever seen such stars! It is no exaggeration to say they are lamps—ruby,
emerald, amethyst, sapphire! It seems to Polly and me, if we could
climb to the bamboo roof of our new garage, we could touch them. We lie on our
cots and gaze up at them—the shack has no windows, only shutters and our view is
unobstructed—we say over and over the names of stars we know, but that doesn’t
help us to identify these. Is that long, swinging curve the Pleiades? We are
ashamed to be so ignorant. If we could get hold of a book on astronomy,
how we should study it here! Do you
remember the big globe in the rotunda at “Perkins?” Well, the moon looks as
large as that sometimes, and often it is girdled with pearls as large as
oranges, like the metal circle the globe hangs in. And several times we have
seen it lighted as by lightning."
FROM DOM: Thank God for the rich gift of
sight! We take it for granted! A long-time
newsletter reader with FMS is also blind - he uses "text to voice"
technology. (He could use our prayers for these dual challenges in
life.) BTW.....regarding the star of Bethlehem, I'm not at all into astrology
(forbidden by God), but I am interested in God's astronomy. Here are
some interesting verses: Genesis
1:14 - "And God said, Let there be lights in the
firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them
be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and
years." Luke 21:25 - "And there shall be
signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon
the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves
roaring;" and Acts 2:19-20 - "And I will shew
wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood,
and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned
into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and
notable day of the Lord come."
20. DEPRESSION & SLEEP
DEPRIVATION
From a reader--
"I am doing much
better (emotionally) today. Still have fibro pain, but that is easier to deal
with when i am in a more positive mind-frame. I dunno if you prayed for me to be
able to get some sleep - but if you did -- THANK YOU!!!! I actually got
more sleep last night than i have had in ages. I slept about 7 hours!!! It was
wonderful. I did wake a couple of times during the night, but nothing like
usual. And that was without any sleep meds!!! Isn't it amazing how
much sleep or lack of can upset our whole system. From body pain and fatigue to
our emotional health."
FROM DOM: Woo hoo!
Thank God! I'm soooo glad this reader slept. Truly a miracle - and
without sleep meds! Our brain chemistry is so delicate. When we are
consistently sleep-deprived, the "feel good" chemicals disappear and we struggle
with biochemical depression. My insomnia story is at www.fms-help.com/insomnia.htm. A list of things I've tried for sleep is at
www.fms-help.com/sleep.htm. A list of things I use now is at www.fms-help.com/what.htm. Some people try to put a guilt trip on insomniacs, but
have they ever considered that most criminals sleep
soundly? When I was in my 20's (my sleep disorder began at age 16), I
had a friend who was seriously flirting (maybe even cheating) with her doctor
while her husband was in the military - and she slept like a baby.
Just shows that guilt doesn't cause insomnia.
21. XMRV WEBINAR
SLIDES NOW ONLINE
More than 600 people participated Jan 18 in a CFIDS Association-sponsored
XMRV information webinar featuring a presentation by Dr. Lucinda Bateman, MD,
director of the research-oriented Fatigue
Consultation Clinic in Salt Lake City, Utah. The event - titled "XMRV:
Implications for CFS" - was moderated by CFIDS Assoc. scientific director
Suzanne Vernon, PhD.
The video record of the event, which the CFIDS
Association of America had planned to feature on their website, encountered
technical difficulties. But they have made available the 28 slides Dr. Bateman
used to spell out basic facts on retroviruses, the XMRV virus, XMRV testing, and
current studies.
The slides can be found and downloaded at the
CAA website - www.cfids.org/webinar/xmrv-slides-jan2010.pdf.
Closing
her presentation with a positive “Worst Case Scenario,” Dr. Bateman
suggests:
"Even if we eventually determine that XMRV only infects a
small subset of CFS patients, and/or that it is not the primary, but rather a
secondary infecton, at very least… This important breakthrough has succeeded
in bringing international attention to CFS in the research, medical and pharma
communities, and to policy makers.
"Our job is to help sustain this
interest!”
22. SLEEP
TIPS?
Article from a reader--
FROM DOM: Rose is a psychologist
and behavioral sleep specialist, but it doesn't sound like she has
fibromyalgia herself, or she would know that the sleep tips she mentions help
normal people, but not those whose sleep clock is permanently broken such as
mine for the past 42 years. My insomnia story is at www.fms-help.com/insomnia.htm.
Everything I've tried for sleep is at www.fms-help.com/sleep.htm.
What I use now (thank God) is at www.fms-help.com/what.htm.
23. READERS' PRAYER
CORNER
Dar - "I went to one test and it was not
good, so this Friday when I go, they will put in stents or we will
decide about open heart surgery . I don't know about this all. I just lost
my baby brother in January 2009 - he had open heart surgery...but of course he
had so much more going on. I hope you will be praying and hugging me.
I will be hugging you."
24.
EARTHQUAKES
ARE EARTHQUAKES A FINAL WARNING OF THE LORD’S
RETURN?
With all the
attention focuses on the current earthquake many remember Jesus gave earthquakes
as a sign of His return and the end of the world:
"And as he
sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John
and Andrew asked him privately, 4 Tell us, when shall these things be ? and what
shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? 5 And Jesus
answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: 6 For many
shall come in my name, saying , I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 7 And when
ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled : for such things
must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 8 For nation shall rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers
places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of
sorrows” (Mark 13:3-8).
This prophecy
has stirred great debate over whether or not earthquakes are on the increase.
Much of the argument center on what years you compare and what size earthquakes.
Also the number of quakes recorded is a factor. The U.S. Geological Survey, with
10,000 scientists, technicians, and support staff, reports, “A partial
explanation may lie in the fact that in the last twenty years, we have
definitely had an increase in the number of earthquakes we have been able to
locate each year…. In 1931, there were about 350 stations operating in the
world; today, there are more than 8,000 stations and the data now comes in
rapidly from these stations by electronic mail, internet and satellite. This
increase in the number of stations and the more timely receipt of data has
allowed us and other seismological centers to locate earthquakes more rapidly
and to locate many small earthquakes which were undetected in earlier
years.”
But this is
only a partial explanation. The rest of the results indicate there are more than
every. The NEIC, presently records about 20,000 earthquakes each year or
approximately 50 per day. This means there are a lot more being recorded now
than ever before. In 2000 there were 22256 earthquakes; in 2008 there were 31777
according to the US Geological Survey National Earthquake Information
Center.
If 50
earthquakes a day are not a clear fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy of the last
days, there never will be one. Certainly, this is one more clear warning. God
appears to be shaking the world to wake us up before time runs out for our
planet.
Mark 13:31-
37 concludes our Lord’s teaching, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my
words shall not pass away. 32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no,
not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. 33 Take ye
heed , watch and pray : for ye know not when the time is. 34 For the Son of man
is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his
servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. 35 Watch
ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or
at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: 36 Lest coming suddenly
he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto all,
Watch.“
DOMINIE'S FIBROMYALGIA & CHRONIC
FATIGUE SYNDROME HOMEPAGE