Q & A with CFS Patient Dorothy Wall
Author of Encounters with the Invisible: Unseen Illness, Controversy and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

How do you explain your illness to judgmental friends and family? What about dating? Do you believe CFS is genetic? Our chat room visitors asked it all, and Dorothy answered. You'll see why we said Dorothy's book Encounters with the Invisible is the best personal account of CFS and chronic illness we've ever read.   more

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): "What We Say to Ourselves"

More and more studies are reporting the benefits of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia patients. But what exactly is CBT? And is it worth trying? This simple explanation may help you decide.   more

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in Young People: Diagnosis & Myths

Many studies of CFS in children have been based on patients seen by specialists, but large-population telephone surveys paint a different picture of frequency, signs, and prognosis, a British pediatrician reports.   more

Put Your E-Mail to Work on "Virtual" CFS Lobby Day - Friday, May 11

May 15 is "Live" CFS Lobby Day in Washington, DC: 85 advocates trained by the CFIDS Association of America will educate their members of Congress on Capitol Hill. But thousands more can join a call to action via e-mail on "Virtual" CFS Lobby Day this Friday, May 11.   more

Dr. Bell to Speak at Connecticut CFIDS & FM Conference - May 19

On Saturday, May 19, the Connecticut CFIDS & FM Association Spring Conference in Westbrook, CT, will feature a report from David S. Bell, MD, on "Recent Advances in CFS-ME and FM."   more

Plan to Attend the CFS & FM Conference in Kansas City - June 1 & 2

"Powerful Speakers and Life-Changing Information" for patients - with a focus on hormone imbalances, inflammation, and natural methods for addressing CFS & FM symptoms. There's help at the 7th Annual Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Awareness Conference in Kansas City.   more

All U.S. & Canadian Med Students Receive Nutrition Guide

It's the rare physician who's been educated to understand the roles nutrients play in health. But now there's hope for a nutrition-savvy 'new generation' of MDs - and maybe a spur for your current provider.   more

• Melatonin beneficial in patients with ulcerlike stomach pain (dyspepsia)
  
  
• Major study links dietary omega-3 [fish oil] to reduced cataract risk
  
  
• Supplementary alpha-lipoic acid may improve comfort in diabetic neuropathy
  
  
• UC San Francisco review indicates Valerian root supports sleep
  
  
• Higher blood magnesium levels associated with lower body fat index
  
  

• Cognitive behavioral therapy effective for CFS pain as well as fatigue
  
  
• Cognitive therapy results in national STAR*D depression treatment trial
  
  
• Mechanism that increases nitric oxide level may underlie CFS, FM, MCS
  
  
• U.S. survey finds CFS patients highest utilizers of massage, chiropractic
  
  
• Slow wave sleep/adjustment impaired in CFS twins vs. their healthy twins
  
  
• "Bodily distress syndrome" may unite many unexplained syndromes/diagnoses
  
  
• Hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis function and testing in CFS and FM
  
  
• Physical training & rehab centers proposed for chronic pain/fatigue patients
  
  
• A summary of what the current literature suggests about CFS
  
  
• Literature review finds slight dental amalgam (mercury) exposure-MS link
  
  
• Johns Hopkins finds disrupted (not reduced) sleep can increase pain risk
  
  

The possible's slow fuse is lit, by the imagination. - Emily Dickinson

Taking Risks

Some of us have said at one time or another that we were sure we would never be able to live with our pain. Yet today we are effectively managing our pain. For this to have happened, we had to take a risk. We had to move from our old comfortable way of doing things, and try something different. We had no ideas and no guarantees that this new way would work, yet we took that risk and sought another way of managing our pain.

Many of us are afraid to take risks because we're afraid of the unknown. When we take a risk, it's just that, a risk. We don't know what the outcome will be. The same is true when it comes to coping with our pain. We're not sure what will give us relief and what won't. But one thing we do know, if we don't begin taking risks today, we are sure to stay the same or slip backwards.

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

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