Through most of this series, I’ve talked about fresh fruits and vegetables, but I really wanted to get a dried fruit in. We all know how hard it is to get to the grocery store regularly when you’re dealing with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, and the beauty of dates is that they’ll keep in the pantry for a very long time.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
When you have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, you’re forced to make a lot of changes in your life, to accommodate your symptoms. It’s also important for us to make changes to help alleviate our symptoms, but that leads to a whole new set of problems.
Right now, I’m facing an issue with self-discipline. About 6 weeks ago, I decided I absolutely had to loose a few pounds before traveling to my cousin’s wedding. I ate mostly fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean meats. I stayed away from processed sugar. I tracked my food intake through About.com’s Calorie Count to make sure I was getting the nutrients I need while sticking to a low-calorie regimen.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
A report that a respected NIH expert supported an association between the XMRV virus and chronic fatigue syndrome is causing a buzz among CFS patient activists, researchers and clinicians.
According to a press release issued by a Dutch magazine, one of the slides presented at a recent workshop in Zagreb by Harvey Alter, chief of the infectious disease section at the NIH’s clinical center, supports the link between XMRV and CFS reported last year in Science.
The paper is out! Or at least one of them is. Researchers, clinicians and patients in the chronic-fatigue syndrome community have been eagerly awaiting the release of two studies on the relationship between the XMRV virus and CFS, and the journal Retrovirology has just published one of them online.
It’s enough of an effort to get outside to enjoy nature and summer weather when you have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome — the last thing you want to do once you’re there is make yourself sicker by spraying on a bunch of chemical mosquito repellents.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
As expected, a task force created by the AABB, an association of facilities that collect most of the U.S. blood supply, recommended yesterday that people who either now or in the past have been diagnosed by a physician with chronic fatigue syndrome should not donate blood.
The fall of 2005 marked a fresh start for Jackie Pynaert, a veteran teacher beginning a new eighth-grade teaching assignment at Queen Elizabeth II primary school in Petrolia, Ont. Her homeroom was P1, a portable classroom across the hall from two friendly teachers who had a long history with the school.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com
Chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS, is a debilitating and complex disorder characterized by profound fatigue that is not improved by bed rest and that may be worsened by physical or mental activity.
Dr. Svetlana Kogan is board certified in internal medicine and a clinical researcher and patient advocate. She speaks here on the subject of chronic fatigue syndrome.
A comprehensive medical workup is necessary since a diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome can cover so much territory. Dr. Kogan recommends a blood workup, looking for particular diseases and for vitamin deficiencies, heavy metal toxicities, or signs of viral illness. For those who need chelation therapy, it is available.
This Food of the Week is an interesting one — spinach contains a host of nutrients that are good for you in general and may be especially important for those of us with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. However, there’s a big group of us who should be careful, especially with raw spinach.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
PHILADELPHIA, Jun 15, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. /quotes/comstock/14*!heb/quotes/nls/heb (HEB 0.48, -0.01, -1.94%) (the “Company” or “Hemispherx”), announced that the Company executed an exclusive revenue sharing Sales, Marketing, Distribution and Supply Agreement for Argentina with GP Pharm Latinoamerica (“GP Pharm”), an affiliate company of Spanish GP Pharm SA (www.gp-pharm.com).
Scientists in Norway studied 828 patients with chronic fatigue syndrome to see which treatments helped and which ones didn’t.
Rest and pacing helped these patients the most. Shielding ran a close third.
Pacing involves deliberately doling out the small energy supply, mindful that each expenditure causes the small reservoir to dwindle. The goal is to accomplish necessities of the day without collapse and ending up in deficit.
WHEN Sue Hutchins was diagnosed with this debilitating disorder, her life would change forever…
In a recently published paper, Harvey and Wessely put forward a ‘biopsychosocial’explanatory model for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), which is proposed to be applicable to (chronic) fatigue even when apparent medical causes are present.
Last week, the Chicago Tribune ran an article that re-emphasizes how hope for a cure for a chronic, debilitating illness often outpaces science.
In this case, the illness is chronic fatigue syndrome, a little understood medical condition that’s believed to affect up to 4 million people in the United States, mostly women. In addition to its namesake symptom — severe fatigue that lasts for six months or longer — the condition is also characterized by joint and muscle pain, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, headaches, insomnia, and difficulties with memory and concentration.
The case for listing Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) on the register of free national health services may be reopened in future, after research has shed new light on a little-known and controversial condition.
The Health Ministry has confirmed with MaltaToday that a review is currently in progress.
“With regard to ME being recognised for the purposes of disability benefit, please note that the issue is currently pending evaluation and discussion as part of the social security review process,” an official said this week.
People with chronic fatigue syndrome suffer from crippling, unexplained fatigue that persists for longer than six months.
Other symptoms include painful joints, impaired memory, incessant muscle pain, headaches, tender lymph nodes and sore throat.
No lab test exists to diagnose the disorder, and there are no federally approved pharmaceuticals for it, though physicians can work to alleviate symptoms.
Everyone with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) has experienced post exertional malaise. Post exertional malaise is a delayed reaction to activity that may not hit until a day or two later. But when it hits its effects are far out of proportion to the level of activity that triggered it.
This week the Government announced an independent review of the assessment methods for people claiming incapacity-related benefits.
The review is being chaired by occupational health expert Professor Malcolm Harrington, who will produce a report by the end of the year in a bid to see if the Work Capability Assessments (WCA) are fair and transparent.
However, work minister Chris Grayling said the Government would start reassessing existing claimants of Incapacity Benefit in autumn 2010, before Professor Harrington makes his report and any resulting changes are made to the WCA.
From The Times, 3 July 2010 (story by Rosemary Bennett and Alice Fishburn)
The academic behind a new benefits system designed to end Britain’s sicknote culture warns today of an impending crisis if radical changes are not made. He says that ministers should postpone plans to move 2.5 million incapacity benefit claimants on to the new employment and support allowances (ESA) in October until series errors have been rectified.
http://www.meassociation.org.uk
Last fall, researchers made a big announcement for sufferers of chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS. They had examined the blood of 101 patients and 218 healthy people — and found more than half of the people with CFS had evidence of a retrovirus known as XMRV. Only 8 of the healthy people did.
If true, the finding suggested a possible cause of CFS, and a first step toward a treatment and a vaccine.
http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com
Research just published in the journal Virus Adaptation and Treatment shows a relationship between herpesviruses and chronic fatigue syndrome and also offers a treatment.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
A woman who suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is starting up a support group for local sufferers. Sarah Mann, who recently moved to the area from Newark in Nottinghamshire, has suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) also know as myalgic encephalopathy (ME) for two years.
http://www.meassociation.org.uk
A battle with chronic fatigue syndrome was the catalyst that saw Teena Cooke create a new business specialising in organic skincare.
The Otumoetai woman had been working as a hairdresser for 15 years when she became ill.
While her doctor told her it was chronic fatigue, Teena suspected the underlying cause was years of working with harsh chemicals.
“Your body is designed to handle crap but it was overloaded. It was being tipped over the balance.
http://www.bayofplentytimes.co.nz
Have you ever heard of quinoa? Do you have any idea how to pronounce it? Before eliminating gluten from my diet, I was completely unfamiliar with this grain. I quickly learned it’s not pronounced quin-oh-ah, but keen-wa.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
On Wednesday 7 July David Amess MP chaired the inaugural meeting in Westminster of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for M.E.
We are pleased to report that the decision was taken to re-register as an approved APPG and that the mandatory 20 qualifying names of Parliamentarians were obtained to enable this to happen.
ME Association
Orthostatic Intolerance (OI) occurs when the individual is standing or sitting up. In 1995, a link between OI and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) was observed at Johns Hopkins University. In some cases up to 97 percent of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients in studies have some form of OI, particularly young people.
Do you know the difference between a cause and a risk factor? What about a causal factor? I’ve seen multiple comments lately that make me think it’s a gray area for a lot of people.
For example, in posts about risk factors for fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), I frequently get reader comments saying, “That can’t be right because I don’t have X,” or “I’ve never done X,” or “X doesn’t run in my family.” Many people seem to think a risk factor is the same as a cause.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
Thirteen MPs so far have signed a Commons’ ‘Early Day Motion’ which makes a number of points about ME/CFS.
http://www.meassociation.org.uk
From The Independent, 9 July 2010 (Story by science editor Steve Connor)
Study that ‘solves’ chronic fatigue syndrome blocked
A study that supports the controversial link between chronic fatigue syndrome and a new type of virus has been blocked from being published in a leading scientific journal even though it had been accepted for publication by its editors.
http://www.meassociation.org.uk
From the July 2010 newsletter of the Hunter-Hopkins Centre
XMRV update: the controversy
http://www.meassociation.org.uk
After the years of plenty, when the NHS budget doubled and doubled again to £100 billion, the lean years beckon. The axe, it is promised, will fall preferentially on the micromanaging, box-ticking activities of the burgeoning administrative class whose numbers have increased 1,000 per cent over the past 20 years.
According to information published by Newswise, two recent studies on sleep shed light on what could link fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome to a higher risk of diabetes, and a third could make it easier for people with these conditions to have a quality sleep study.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
From the Sunday Express, 27 June 2010 (story by Ruby Millington – comment facility open at Sunday Express website)
WHEN Sue Hutchins was diagnosed with this debilitating disorder, her life would change forever…
http://www.meassociation.org.uk
Norwegian scientists surveyed 828 chronic fatigue syndrome patients to find out what treatments were most and least helpful.
Rest was rated the most helpful by 97% of participants, followed by pacing at 96%.
Pacing is a method of managing energy expenditure by limiting activities to the most essential that can be handled at a comfortable pace.
http://www.americanchronicle.com
The brain fog of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome can really impair our memories — both short and long term. The short-term memory problems are evident when we walk into a room and don’t remember why we’re there, or when we tell ourselves over and over not to forget the grocery list and then arrive at the store only to remember it’s sitting on the kitchen table. Those things are aggravating, potentially embarrassing, and often detrimental on the job or when it comes to those have-to-do things like paying bills.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
MINNEAPOLIS, May 27 /PRNewswire/ — Fibromyalgia affects as many as one in 50 Americans, 90 percent of whom are women. Yet, despite its nearly epidemic status, patients still often rely on pharmaceutical options solely for treatment. That’s why Bioenergy Life Science, Inc. (www.bioenergy.com) has introduced Corvalen M®, a natural treatment option for fibromyalgia symptoms.
As reported on 1 July 2010 on the MEA website (Retrovirology, 1 July 2010), results from a further XMRV study, which has attempted to validate the finding of XMRV infection in people with ME/CFS, has failed to do so.
http://www.meassociation.org.uk
Severe disability and fatigue are two characteristics shared by both cancer and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Immune dysfunction is a major hallmark of both types of illness.
As a matter of fact the various types of immune dysfunction found in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and cancer demonstrate significant overlap.
There is an apparent link between the various types of immune dysfunction and the debilitating fatigue experienced in both types of illness. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and cancer show abnormalities in natural killer cells.
THIRTY of Northern Ireland’s oldest restored tractors and vintage cars will be moving in stately parade later this month (July) – turning the latest chapter of a remarkable event that has raised £290,000 for charity in the last 32 years.
Members of Mid-Ulster Vintage Vehicles Club will be taking the best of their fleet on to the road in their annual sponsored vintage tractor and car trek on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th July. And this year members will be raising money for research into the much-misunderstood illness, M.E.
http://www.meassociation.org.uk
LEBANON, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is a condition that affects more than a million Americans but there is no known cause or cure.
Two women living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or CFS, have spent years raising awareness of it.
Nancy Fowler and Lisa Ball have just published a book to help others cope with the disease.
Yogurt is one of those foods that’s been increasingly popular due to news about health benefits. Yogurt has been fairly well researched in the general population and shown to have several properties that may benefit those of us with fibromyalgia (FMS) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS or ME/CFS).
http://chronicfatigue.about.com
Do you eat foods from India, Thailand or Morocco? If so, you’ve probably eaten plenty of this Food of the Week. Turmeric is a spice with a distinctive mustard-yellow color that’s popular in the Far East, especially in curry-spice blends. It’s a member of the ginger family and, like ginger, comes from the root of the plant. A key component of turmeric is curcumin, which has long been used medicinally in the east and has been studied in the west.
http://chronicfatigue.about.com