Thursday, June 6, 2013
Monday, August 27, 2007
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Concurrent with Fibromyalgia - Surprisingly Frequent
From: ImmuneSupport.com
by Olafur S. Palsson, PsyD, and Donald Moss, PhD
This information is excerpted with kind permission from a highly rated new educational guide to FM management – Fibromyalgia: The Complete Guide from Medical Experts and Patients (May 2007, Jones and Bartlett), by Dr. Sharon Ostalecki, PhD.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder present in 33% to 77% of individuals with Fibromyalgia.1 This prevalence rate is far higher than the 10% to 15% rate of IBS in the general population.
This chapter reviews the nature, impact, and treatment of IBS. It also discusses the efforts researchers are making to understand the causes and implications of the surprisingly frequent coexistence of IBS and Fibromyalgia in the same individuals.
The Nature of IBS
The diagnosis of IBS is based on a specific cluster of bowel symptoms, primarily recurrent or persistent abdominal pain associated with diarrhea, constipation, or both. Secondary symptoms, such as bloating or the sudden urge to defecate, are also associated with the disorder. Such “supportive symptoms” give doctors more confidence in the diagnosis. A committee of international experts has set criteria (called the “Rome criteria”) for the type and frequency of bowel symptoms that warrant a definite diagnosis of IBS.
IBS is one of several “functional” gastrointestinal disorders. A functional disorder is one in which no structural abnormality can be found, but function is disturbed. Therefore, a confident diagnosis generally requires a careful medical evaluation. Sometimes medical tests, such as blood tests or endoscopy, are also needed to rule out biological problems that could account for the symptoms.
Causes of IBS
The causes of IBS aren’t completely understood; however, there is growing recognition among experts that many causal factors are involved and that different factors...
Read Entire Article:
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Concurrent with Fibromyalgia - Surprisingly Frequent
by Olafur S. Palsson, PsyD, and Donald Moss, PhD
This information is excerpted with kind permission from a highly rated new educational guide to FM management – Fibromyalgia: The Complete Guide from Medical Experts and Patients (May 2007, Jones and Bartlett), by Dr. Sharon Ostalecki, PhD.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a gastrointestinal disorder present in 33% to 77% of individuals with Fibromyalgia.1 This prevalence rate is far higher than the 10% to 15% rate of IBS in the general population.
This chapter reviews the nature, impact, and treatment of IBS. It also discusses the efforts researchers are making to understand the causes and implications of the surprisingly frequent coexistence of IBS and Fibromyalgia in the same individuals.
The Nature of IBS
The diagnosis of IBS is based on a specific cluster of bowel symptoms, primarily recurrent or persistent abdominal pain associated with diarrhea, constipation, or both. Secondary symptoms, such as bloating or the sudden urge to defecate, are also associated with the disorder. Such “supportive symptoms” give doctors more confidence in the diagnosis. A committee of international experts has set criteria (called the “Rome criteria”) for the type and frequency of bowel symptoms that warrant a definite diagnosis of IBS.
IBS is one of several “functional” gastrointestinal disorders. A functional disorder is one in which no structural abnormality can be found, but function is disturbed. Therefore, a confident diagnosis generally requires a careful medical evaluation. Sometimes medical tests, such as blood tests or endoscopy, are also needed to rule out biological problems that could account for the symptoms.
Causes of IBS
The causes of IBS aren’t completely understood; however, there is growing recognition among experts that many causal factors are involved and that different factors...
Read Entire Article:
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Concurrent with Fibromyalgia - Surprisingly Frequent
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Food for Mood - The Link Between Diet and Emotional Health
From: ImmuneSupport.com
by Blake Graham, B.Sc AACNEM
Blake Graham is a clinical nutritionist specializing in nutritional and environmental treatments for patients with CFS, FM, and other chronic conditions. He is an associate of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (AACNEM) in Perth, Western Australia and a Committee Member of ME/CFS Australia (WA). This article is reproduced with permission from his Nutritional Healing Newsletter at http://www.Nutritional-Healing.com.au
If your emotional state is not what you would like it to be, the answer may lie at least partly in your diet.
At first consideration, this may seem a bizarre idea, but after taking a closer look, it makes perfect sense. Our emotional response is strongly related to our brain health and chemistry. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which regulate mood, are made from amino acids. These chemical pathways also require vitamins and minerals as cofactors for their normal function.
The brain is made largely of fatty acids and requires a healthy supply of other nutrients to function normally. Almost every vitamin or mineral deficiency can cause psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, irritability, low stress tolerance, etc. A large array of other dietary factors such as caffeine, allergies, alcohol and blood sugar also influence our mood.
A growing number of health professionals are now utilizing this information to improve the mood of their patients.
Nutrient deficiencies are not an all or nothing issue, as varying degrees of severity exist.
For example, while full blown scurvy is now rare, mild vitamin C deficiency is not uncommon. In the nutritional treatment of altered mood states, correcting these nutrient deficiencies is a primary initial consideration. This may consist of dietary changes and ...
Read Entire Article:
Food for Mood - The Link Between Diet and Emotional Health
by Blake Graham, B.Sc AACNEM
Blake Graham is a clinical nutritionist specializing in nutritional and environmental treatments for patients with CFS, FM, and other chronic conditions. He is an associate of the Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (AACNEM) in Perth, Western Australia and a Committee Member of ME/CFS Australia (WA). This article is reproduced with permission from his Nutritional Healing Newsletter at http://www.Nutritional-Healing.com.au
If your emotional state is not what you would like it to be, the answer may lie at least partly in your diet.
At first consideration, this may seem a bizarre idea, but after taking a closer look, it makes perfect sense. Our emotional response is strongly related to our brain health and chemistry. Neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which regulate mood, are made from amino acids. These chemical pathways also require vitamins and minerals as cofactors for their normal function.
The brain is made largely of fatty acids and requires a healthy supply of other nutrients to function normally. Almost every vitamin or mineral deficiency can cause psychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety, irritability, low stress tolerance, etc. A large array of other dietary factors such as caffeine, allergies, alcohol and blood sugar also influence our mood.
A growing number of health professionals are now utilizing this information to improve the mood of their patients.
Nutrient deficiencies are not an all or nothing issue, as varying degrees of severity exist.
For example, while full blown scurvy is now rare, mild vitamin C deficiency is not uncommon. In the nutritional treatment of altered mood states, correcting these nutrient deficiencies is a primary initial consideration. This may consist of dietary changes and ...
Read Entire Article:
Food for Mood - The Link Between Diet and Emotional Health
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Nitric Oxide Cycle Theory: Will It Explain CFS, FM, and Other 'Unexplained' Illnesses? - Q&A with Martin L. Pall, PhD
From: ImmuneSupport.com
Martin L. Pall, PhD, is generating excitement in scientific communities worldwide with his theory that a "stressor-initiated" biochemical mechanism - the nitric oxide/peroxynitrite (NO/ONOO-) cycle - may be responsible for CFS, FM, and other syndromes.
In the following Q&A, Dr. Pall, Professor of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences at Washington State University, explains his theory in lay terms. Simply put, Dr. Pall proposes that the complex NO/ONOO- cycle he describes may result in high levels of oxidants, which affect different tissues in different individuals, accounting for a “stunning” variety of symptoms. Dr. Pall also believes a well-chosen regimen of antioxidants and other agents may help the body “downregulate” the NO/ONOO- cycle biochemistry.
Q: Dr. Pall, you suggest that cases of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may all get started (get "initiated") by similar mechanisms. What led you to that conclusion?
Dr. Pall: Cases of each of these are initiated by certain short-term stressors. These include both bacterial and viral infections in CFS and FM, exposure to three types of pesticides or to organic solvents, in MCS, to physical trauma in FM or PTSD, or to severe psychological stress for PTSD or any of these others. There are others, totaling 12 or 13 such stressors.
Each of these diverse stressors can increase levels of a chemical compound called nitric oxide in the body. So I proposed that nitric oxide is likely to have a role in the initiation of chronic illness.
Q: So how can nitric oxide act to initiate chronic illness?
Dr. Pall: That is a very important question. I proposed that nitric oxide, acting via its product peroxynitrite, a potent oxidant, acts to initiate...
Read Entire Article:
Nitric Oxide Cycle Theory: Will It Explain CFS, FM, and Other 'Unexplained' Illnesses? - Q&A with Martin L. Pall, PhD
Martin L. Pall, PhD, is generating excitement in scientific communities worldwide with his theory that a "stressor-initiated" biochemical mechanism - the nitric oxide/peroxynitrite (NO/ONOO-) cycle - may be responsible for CFS, FM, and other syndromes.
In the following Q&A, Dr. Pall, Professor of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences at Washington State University, explains his theory in lay terms. Simply put, Dr. Pall proposes that the complex NO/ONOO- cycle he describes may result in high levels of oxidants, which affect different tissues in different individuals, accounting for a “stunning” variety of symptoms. Dr. Pall also believes a well-chosen regimen of antioxidants and other agents may help the body “downregulate” the NO/ONOO- cycle biochemistry.
Q: Dr. Pall, you suggest that cases of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), fibromyalgia (FM), multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may all get started (get "initiated") by similar mechanisms. What led you to that conclusion?
Dr. Pall: Cases of each of these are initiated by certain short-term stressors. These include both bacterial and viral infections in CFS and FM, exposure to three types of pesticides or to organic solvents, in MCS, to physical trauma in FM or PTSD, or to severe psychological stress for PTSD or any of these others. There are others, totaling 12 or 13 such stressors.
Each of these diverse stressors can increase levels of a chemical compound called nitric oxide in the body. So I proposed that nitric oxide is likely to have a role in the initiation of chronic illness.
Q: So how can nitric oxide act to initiate chronic illness?
Dr. Pall: That is a very important question. I proposed that nitric oxide, acting via its product peroxynitrite, a potent oxidant, acts to initiate...
Read Entire Article:
Nitric Oxide Cycle Theory: Will It Explain CFS, FM, and Other 'Unexplained' Illnesses? - Q&A with Martin L. Pall, PhD
Monday, August 13, 2007
Lyme Disease & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Patient-Researcher's Perspective
From: ImmuneSupport.com
A UK-based patient/researcher offers information on borreliosis (Lyme disease), and a perspective on the difficulty of accurate testing for its presence - particularly for those currently diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and a host of other illnesses Lyme is known to mimic. Though the focus is on issues in the UK, much of the information is of international relevance. The author, diagnosed with ME/CFS several years ago, and recently with borreliosis, "is a highly intelligent anonymous sufferer whose research is endorsed by myself," notes Dr. Sarah Myhill, MD, a CFS specialist who features the article on her website.
Lyme Disease and CFS – The Practical Aspects
Many people in the UK with ME/CFS who are now being tested privately are finding they are infected with bacteria from the Borrelia species that cause borreliosis or Lyme disease. It wouldn't be surprising if a very significant percentage of those currently with a diagnosis of ME/CFS are actually infected with Borrelia or similar bacteria. An e-mail group poll showed that 80% of those with a diagnosis of borreliosis or Lyme disease had a previous diagnosis of ME/CFS.
Borreliosis and Lyme Disease
Borrelia is the name of a group of bacteria, of which there are many species, over 300 I believe, some of which are pathogenic. Borreliosis is the name of the disease caused by infection with these bacteria. Lyme disease has a narrower definition and can only be caused by 3 strains of Borrelia, so it can exclude many people with long term illness caused by the other strains of the bacteria.
The terminology used to define infections caused by Borrelia is not clearly defined. Lyme disease and borreliosis are often wrongly used interchangeably in the literature and sometimes the terms "Lyme borreliosis" and "neuroborreliosis" are used. Although the term "borreliosis" would be far more appropriate, it is seldom used in the UK, which is why I often refer to it as "borreliosis/Lyme".
Lyme disease was first recognized in the USA in 1975, when an outbreak occurred in Lyme, Connecticut, USA. The Borrelia bacteria were only discovered in 1982, which is one of the reasons why...
Read Entire Article:
Lyme Disease & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Patient-Researcher's Perspective
A UK-based patient/researcher offers information on borreliosis (Lyme disease), and a perspective on the difficulty of accurate testing for its presence - particularly for those currently diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, and a host of other illnesses Lyme is known to mimic. Though the focus is on issues in the UK, much of the information is of international relevance. The author, diagnosed with ME/CFS several years ago, and recently with borreliosis, "is a highly intelligent anonymous sufferer whose research is endorsed by myself," notes Dr. Sarah Myhill, MD, a CFS specialist who features the article on her website.
Lyme Disease and CFS – The Practical Aspects
Many people in the UK with ME/CFS who are now being tested privately are finding they are infected with bacteria from the Borrelia species that cause borreliosis or Lyme disease. It wouldn't be surprising if a very significant percentage of those currently with a diagnosis of ME/CFS are actually infected with Borrelia or similar bacteria. An e-mail group poll showed that 80% of those with a diagnosis of borreliosis or Lyme disease had a previous diagnosis of ME/CFS.
Borreliosis and Lyme Disease
Borrelia is the name of a group of bacteria, of which there are many species, over 300 I believe, some of which are pathogenic. Borreliosis is the name of the disease caused by infection with these bacteria. Lyme disease has a narrower definition and can only be caused by 3 strains of Borrelia, so it can exclude many people with long term illness caused by the other strains of the bacteria.
The terminology used to define infections caused by Borrelia is not clearly defined. Lyme disease and borreliosis are often wrongly used interchangeably in the literature and sometimes the terms "Lyme borreliosis" and "neuroborreliosis" are used. Although the term "borreliosis" would be far more appropriate, it is seldom used in the UK, which is why I often refer to it as "borreliosis/Lyme".
Lyme disease was first recognized in the USA in 1975, when an outbreak occurred in Lyme, Connecticut, USA. The Borrelia bacteria were only discovered in 1982, which is one of the reasons why...
Read Entire Article:
Lyme Disease & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - A Patient-Researcher's Perspective
Monday, August 6, 2007
Richard Podell, MD, explains shingles – a herpes virus activation that may affect a significant proportion of FM and CFS patients
From: ImmuneSupport.com
by Richard Podell, MD
Did you have chicken pox as a child? If so - and especially if you’re a Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patient with immune vulnerabilities - you are at risk for the pain of a shingles attack. FM/CFS specialist Richard Podell, MD,* a clinical professor at New Jersey’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, explains:
Shingles and Chronic Shingles Pain – The Right Treatment Can Help
Shingles pain is a delayed complication of childhood infection with the chicken pox virus, varicella zoster, a form of herpes virus. After childhood chicken pox, varicella virus remains within nerve cells in the spinal cord in a kind of long-term hibernation. However, among about half of us the hibernating virus can wake up and become active. This is the disease we know as shingles.
Shingles pain begins when the varicella virus "wakes," becomes infectious, and migrates from the spinal cord down through the long filament or axon of a nerve. In addition to shingles pain, we usually see a line of tender vesicles or blebs [blisters] on the skin over the path of the infected nerve.
Shingles treatments can reduce shingles pain if we start an anti herpes virus drug within the first two or three days of symptoms. Such shingles treatment medicines include...
Read Entire Article:
Richard Podell, MD, explains shingles – a herpes virus activation that may affect a significant proportion of FM and CFS patients
by Richard Podell, MD
Did you have chicken pox as a child? If so - and especially if you’re a Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patient with immune vulnerabilities - you are at risk for the pain of a shingles attack. FM/CFS specialist Richard Podell, MD,* a clinical professor at New Jersey’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, explains:
- Acute shingles, chronic shingles pain, and heightened pain sensitivity (allodynia),
- Why it's important to seek treatment immediately,
- The wide range of possible treatments, depending on pain severity and duration – from antivirals to nutrients that may encourage nerve repair.
Shingles and Chronic Shingles Pain – The Right Treatment Can Help
Shingles pain is a delayed complication of childhood infection with the chicken pox virus, varicella zoster, a form of herpes virus. After childhood chicken pox, varicella virus remains within nerve cells in the spinal cord in a kind of long-term hibernation. However, among about half of us the hibernating virus can wake up and become active. This is the disease we know as shingles.
Shingles pain begins when the varicella virus "wakes," becomes infectious, and migrates from the spinal cord down through the long filament or axon of a nerve. In addition to shingles pain, we usually see a line of tender vesicles or blebs [blisters] on the skin over the path of the infected nerve.
Shingles treatments can reduce shingles pain if we start an anti herpes virus drug within the first two or three days of symptoms. Such shingles treatment medicines include...
Read Entire Article:
Richard Podell, MD, explains shingles – a herpes virus activation that may affect a significant proportion of FM and CFS patients
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Flat on Your Back and Moving On - An ME/CFS Patient's Story
From: ImmuneSupport.com
by Mark Pullinger
Mark Pullinger was a promising young musician when Chronic Fatigue Syndrome struck. It turned his whole world upside down...
"You have a post-viral fatigue syndrome. Six months and you'll be back to normal." My GP seemed so reassuring.
He had a kind, affectionate face and a comforting smile that gave him the aura of being constantly amused. He said, "Right, Mark," and, "Exactly," a lot and bore an uncanny resemblance to the news presenter, Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
His room, the first on the left down a corridor adjacent to the waiting room, was peppered with the standard National Health Service doctors' toys; a photo of his teenage daughter skiing, perhaps in the Alps, sat proudly on his desk. She seemed the picture of good health, which was encouraging.
I had made the familiar drive down to the surgery earlier that morning and was eager, if a little anxious, to hear the results of some tests taken a week before.
It was July and the record hot summer of 2003. I'd just finished my first year at a London music conservatoire. I was 19 and giddy with a youthful ambition, high on life. My days had been spent in classrooms amidst the swirling sounds of jazz's legends - Miles Davis, John Coltrane; our task to decipher and absorb, from the records, as much as we could about the genre, one day hoping to make our own mark as musicians; my evenings, in London bars and jazz clubs with friends or someone I had recently started a relationship with. A career as a saxophonist was gaining momentum. It occurred to me that I had probably never been so content.
It had all started a month beforehand. Fraught with the anxieties that could only mean end-of-term concerts, I had started to feel run down. At first, it just seemed like a run-of-the-mill flu-like illness and I was able to carry on more or less as normal until, one morning, I woke up to find that I couldn’t move. I was awake and could wiggle my hands and toes, but the part of my brain responsible for getting up didn't seem to be working...
Read Entire Article:
Flat on Your Back and Moving On
by Mark Pullinger
Mark Pullinger was a promising young musician when Chronic Fatigue Syndrome struck. It turned his whole world upside down...
"You have a post-viral fatigue syndrome. Six months and you'll be back to normal." My GP seemed so reassuring.
He had a kind, affectionate face and a comforting smile that gave him the aura of being constantly amused. He said, "Right, Mark," and, "Exactly," a lot and bore an uncanny resemblance to the news presenter, Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
His room, the first on the left down a corridor adjacent to the waiting room, was peppered with the standard National Health Service doctors' toys; a photo of his teenage daughter skiing, perhaps in the Alps, sat proudly on his desk. She seemed the picture of good health, which was encouraging.
I had made the familiar drive down to the surgery earlier that morning and was eager, if a little anxious, to hear the results of some tests taken a week before.
It was July and the record hot summer of 2003. I'd just finished my first year at a London music conservatoire. I was 19 and giddy with a youthful ambition, high on life. My days had been spent in classrooms amidst the swirling sounds of jazz's legends - Miles Davis, John Coltrane; our task to decipher and absorb, from the records, as much as we could about the genre, one day hoping to make our own mark as musicians; my evenings, in London bars and jazz clubs with friends or someone I had recently started a relationship with. A career as a saxophonist was gaining momentum. It occurred to me that I had probably never been so content.
It had all started a month beforehand. Fraught with the anxieties that could only mean end-of-term concerts, I had started to feel run down. At first, it just seemed like a run-of-the-mill flu-like illness and I was able to carry on more or less as normal until, one morning, I woke up to find that I couldn’t move. I was awake and could wiggle my hands and toes, but the part of my brain responsible for getting up didn't seem to be working...
Read Entire Article:
Flat on Your Back and Moving On
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