On March 19 we sent out a special message asking that you add ProHealth's newsletter address ( wellness@prohealth.com ) to your e-mail address book or contact list - and then send a response to us to solidify communications between us here at ProHealth and you, our readers. Why? With the constant changes that e-mail service providers make, we need to ensure that the bulletins you've requested will actually reach your in-boxes.

As a thank-you, we will hold a responder drawing at noon PST on Monday, April 9 - and the name that is drawn will win a gift certificate for $250 in ProHealth supplements. To all of you who have already completed these tasks, our sincere thanks.

If you have not yet responded, please add wellness@prohealth.com to your address book or contact list - and either reply to the original "Special Edition" e-mail or to this e-mail to be entered in the drawing. Only one entry per person.

Yours in Health,
The ProHealth Team

Win $100 Gift Certificate by Helping Other Patients

Our Letter of the Week winners have been so pleased to win $25 gift certificates for ProHealth supplements that we decided to make the experience even more fun. From now on, we'll be selecting one ME-CFS/FM "Letter of the Month" instead of the weekly letters.

The writer of the month's winning letter will receive a $100 ProHealth gift certificate. More importantly, however, sharing is caring - you are helping others by expressing your suggestions, ideas, and observations. Plus, it feels pretty darn good to do something nice for someone else.

Your letters help us too, by letting us know that we are working as your partner in health, keeping you and the FM community well informed and supported.

We each have something valuable to contribute; so we hope you'll show that you care by writing to us. And remember, brevity - say 200 words or less - is brilliant.

Warmest Regards,
Rich Carson, ME-CFS Patient and ProHealth Founder

Please rate this Founder's Corner

Hormone & Thyroid Specialist Kent Holtorf, MD, on Treating CFS & FM

Kent Holtorf, MD, says patients in his FM and CFS practice tend to have hypothalamic, pituitary, immune, and coagulation problems that produce "a cascade of further abnormalities." He outlines his current testing & treatment approach.*   more

The Problem of Disrespectful Medical Treatment

An experienced nurse's insights into the problem of disrespectful medical treatment - past or present - and tips for dealing with your doctor.   more

The Stigma of Neuropathic Pain

A doctor's view on why having chronic pain issues may become a stigma that "can considerably alter a patient's pathway of care."   more

51-Center Parkinson's Trial of Creatine Recruiting Now - CoQ-10 Next?

The NIH is studying nutritional supplements that may support preservation of nerve cells and thus "slow the progression of Parkinson's disease." A study of creatine is recruiting early Parkinsons patients now at 51 centers in the U.S. and Canada, and launch of a similar phase III trial of Coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ-10) is funded & in the wings.*   more

Symposium on Making College an Option for Chronically ill Students

The Chronic Illness Initiative at DePaul University in Chicago - which offers a unique college program for students with FM and other illnesses with waxing and waning symptoms - is hosting a free symposium May 23.*   more

• C, E, & garlic supplement mix supported improved BP control*
  
  
• Bone density/mass increase in youths linked to Omega-3 intake*
  
  
• Study links more dietary fiber, less pre-menopause breast cancer
  
  

• Seizure drug Gabapentin "safe, efficacious" for FM pain & other symptoms
  
  
• Can botulinum toxin put Restless Legs Syndrome to rest
  
  
• International study of novel sleep drug concept highly promising
  
  
• Informed consent for opioids must address neuroendocrine effects*
  
  
• German research proposes FMS not one but three clinical entities
  
  
• 'Mind-body' therapies beneficial; lack of doctor training barrier to broader use*
  
  
• Mild exercise's significant, low-cost cognitive benefits for FM patients
  
  
• Dysregulation of vessel constriction crucial FM pain study target
  
  
• Disturbed involuntary/voluntary movement interface cause of FM pain?
  
  
• Low Hcrt-1 hormone linked to narcolepsy, not likely cause of FM fatigue
  
  
• Turkish study finds no psychiatric-FM link; profiles "help-seeking" behavior
  
  
• Aerobic exercise improves pain perception, mood in chronic pain patients
  
  
• Depression & pain as product of immune-response cytokine activation
  
  
• Controlled-release tramadol (opiate) improves drug's pain relief
  
  

Every survival kit should include a sense of humor - Anon

A New Pair of Wings

Many of us were severely wounded by our injury and our pain. We began wondering if our lives would ever be returned to normal. We were like a bird with its wings broken. We hopped around in fear and confusion. We had lost our ability to go at will and ultimately to protect ourselves.

But as our recovery progressed, many of us began to grow a new pair of wings. There were wider and stronger. They were grown from wisdom and experience. They were more than we had hoped to find, but they were just what we needed to begin our new journey. Have I begun to grow and develop what I need to begin my new journey?

From Living With Chronic Pain One Day At A Time, by Mark Allan Zabawa

Published by ProHealth, Inc., ImmuneSupport.com is the Web's largest resource for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Since 1988, ProHealth has raised and donated over 2.61 million dollars to CFS and FM research and advocacy groups seeking a cure. We believe in "commerce with compassion."

Every purchase made at ImmuneSupport.com funds research - as does every purchase made from ProHealth's Health Resource catalog.

Visit ImmuneSupport.com

Our Mission: Empower patients to take control of their health by providing research & treatment information, advocacy & targeted health products. more

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