Please Help Us Help You

Powerless Alone

Merely having a FibroFighters™ website on the Internet, and a presence on WordPress, MySpace, Facebook, BlogCatalog, etc., is not enough to get us what we all want most:  A cure for Fibromyalgia Syndrome.

FibroFighters.com is much more than a support group; we are a global force for change, education, awareness, fundraising, philosophy, and self-empowerment.  As much as we are doing on our own, the true power lies with YOU. 

The Key To It All?  YOU! 

We need everyone to join the cause in both body and spirit by spreading the word about FibroFighters.com at every opportunity.  That is the only way we can get our message out to the people who need to hear it most.  It is crucial that every FibroFighter is incorporating the products and philosophies that have been proven time and again to drastically improve the quality of life.  As tight as times are right now for everyone financially, there is nothing more important than making the critical donations to FibroFighters™ and the organizations we support who are working furiously on the medical research needed to find a cure.

Blue Collar Passion, Not White Collar Corruption

In a world of corporate corruption, it is normal for the first reaction to be one of pessimism and doubt.  We are not a charity, so we do not receive special government funding…we have no corporate funding or sponsors…we receive no special benefits whatsoever from any financial institution…we do not own office space, private jets, or country club memberships.  We are blue-collar people, spending the money from our own pockets to do whatever we can possibly do to change the world for every single human being dealing with Fibromyalgia syndrome. 

The money you spend on FibroFighters.com does not go toward new mahogany furniture for a corner office; it goes into researching product to make the lives of FMS-sufferers easier.  It doesn’t go into entertaining friends on a golf course in Hawaii; it goes into making sure we can afford the modest staff we’ve assembled to scour the Internet for articles critical to understanding every aspect of FMS.  The money does not go toward extravagance, excess, or waste; every dollar is critical in this fight, and is invested into the FibroFighters™ education and awareness campaigns that result in the funds being raised to keep medical research moving forward.

Invest In YOU!

When you donate between $10 and $100 to the three non-profit organizations we fund through our FibroDonation page, you are investing in YOU!

When you participate in one of our exciting FibroContests that not only raise money to fund all of the FibroFighters™ fundraising campaigns, but that also allow YOU the opportunity to potentially win hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars, you are investing in YOU! 

When you support our eBay fundraising efforts by bidding on the FibroFighters™ products that will get everyone asking and talking about FibroFighters™ and Fibromyalgia, you are investing in YOU! 

When you support our Fibromyalgia awareness, education, and research efforts by incorporating the products found in the FibroFashion™, FibroSpa™, FibroGear™, FibroManagement™, or FogBuster™ categories on FibroFighters.com, you are investing in YOU!

Refuse to be a passive participant.  DEMAND your life.  DEMAND a cure!  We are standing tall and letting the world know we’re “Not taking it lying down™!”

Please stand with us.

We invite you to click the link below and join the fight today!

You Spoke, We Listened

In addition to the normal FibroFeedback link on the main FibroFighters™ site, we also implemented a “Suggestion Box” thread in our FibroFighters™ Chat Room as another way for individuals to communicate with us and voice their opinions about the directions they’d like to see the site grow. 

Well, you spoke, and we listened!  Our FibroRecipes™ section has been a huge success, but we’ve received two separate suggestions from two different FibroFighters…one requested a Vegetarian sub-category, and the other asked about one for Slow Cooker recipes.  We scoured the Internet to find a variety of tasty dishes to meet the requirements of each category and are now proud to be able to officially unveil the two new sections!

Please visit the Vegetarian and Slow Cooker/Crock Pot sections and check out the delicious recipes chosen to launch each category.  And be sure to check back, as we update all of our categories on a regular basis!!

We are dedicated to ensuring that every FibroFighter is provided the tools, information, and support they need to create the happiest, healthiest, and most productive life possible.

As always, stand tall and let the world know you’re: “Not taking it lying down™!”

3 Fats That Make You Skinny

1. Coconut Oil
Why it makes you skinny:
Most oils, including corn and olive, are broken down into fatty acids that circulate through your body after you eat them, allowing hungry fat cells to suck them up and store them. Coconut oil, however, is rich in a type of fat rarely found in other foods, called medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). “When you eat MCTs, they go straight to the liver instead of going directly into circulation. There, they’re burned up like kindling for a fire,” says Cherie Calbom, author of The Coconut Diet.Plus, your body requires extra energy to digest MCTs. Including them can increase your daily burn by 45 calories, says Marie-Pierre St-Onge, Ph.D., assistant professor of nutrition at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

How to use it:
Spread coconut oil on toast instead of butter, melt it on veggies or use it for sautéing. But don’t deep-fry with it; coconut oil breaks down at high temperatures. Look for virgin oil (nonvirgin is processed and tastes nasty) at health-food stores. Beware: Coconut oil is saturated and can raise cholesterol and triglycerides, so alternate it with other oils.

2. Enova
Why it makes you skinny:
Traditional fats contain three fatty acids, but Enova, an oil, has just two, so your body treats it differently. It’s processed in much the same way as coconut oil, traveling directly to the liver, where it’s burned off and used for energy.

When people on low-calorie diets consumed 15 percent of their daily calories from Enova (between three and eight teaspoons), they lost 1 percent more weight and nearly 3 percent more body fat than those who ate a similar amount of vegetable oil.

How to use it:
Enova’s neutral taste makes it perfect for salad dressings. You can also bake and sauté with it, but don’t use it for frying, says Kyle Shadix, R.D., of the Art Institute of New York City/New York Restaurant School, as it can change taste and color when overheated. One caveat: Enova is expensive - it costs about $6.65 for a 20-ounce bottle, compared to about $1.60 for the same size bottle of vegetable oil.

3. Nut Butters
Why they make you skinny:
Research has shown that people who eat nut butters often weigh less than those who shun them. It’s likely that the combination of protein, fat and fiber keeps you full, so you’ll eat less overall.

Whole nuts are effective, too: Purdue University researchers found that people who added peanuts to their diet for 19 weeks boosted the amount of calories they burned at rest by 11 percent. Why? The unsaturated fat in peanuts and nut butters burns faster than other fats.

How to use them:
Nut butters add flavor to Asian noodles, satays or dipping sauces, or you can use them as a spread for your morning muffin. Chunky varieties are better, since they have more fiber than creamy versions. But a little goes a long way, says New York-based nutritionist Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D. “The ideal amount is one to two tablespoons, not the whole jar.” Use natural versions that are free of added oils and hydrogenated fats.

When Good Fats Go Bad
All fats contain nine calories per gram. To get weight-loss benefits, you have to substitute these for fat that’s already in your diet, not tack them onto what’s on your plate.

Article found at Marie Claire

Please be sure to visit our Nutrition & Exercise page at FibroFighters.com for even more informative articles that will help you live the longest, healthiest, and most productive life possible.

As always, live each day making sure the world knows you’re: “Not taking it lying down™”!

Ebay Fundraiser!!

After a short hiatus, we’re back on eBay full-force!  We’ve got branded items from our FibroFashion™, FibroFitness™, FibroGear™, FibroManagement™, and FogBuster™ sections represented this week, so be sure you stop by our eBay page and show your support!!

Please also be sure to tell all of your friends and family members that we’re on eBay, as the more exposure and auction bids we receive, the better the chances that our fundraising efforts will be successful.

As always, stand tall and let the world know you’re: “Not taking it lying down™!”

Stress: Coping Tips and Strategies

As we all know, stress is a huge contributing factor to the occurance of flare-ups, as well as the intensity of the symptoms suffered.  FibroFighters.com would like to offer the following article from iVillage.com to help turn the tide and put the control back in YOUR hands.  We recognize that the article is a bit lengthy, but we feel the information here is too important to the well-being of all FibroFighters to condense and dilute it.  Even if the article is digested in small chunks instead of all at one time due to time constraints or difficulties with focusing, we encourage everyone (whether you have FMS or not) to please take to heart these crucial steps toward simplifying and improving your life:

Reviewed By:
Steven A. King, M.D.
Tahir Tellioglu, M.D., APA, AAAP

Summary

There are various ways for individuals and their loved ones to cope with stress and other difficult situations. A good start in developing resilience and coping skills is to become informed about mental and behavioral health. Knowledge can empower individuals and their loved ones to achieve personal growth, understanding, positive changes and emotional well-being. A mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, may be able to first evaluate the need, and then provide appropriate coping tips and referrals for support groups. Other sources of information on mental and behavioral health include the Internet, community centers and libraries.

Tips and strategies for coping with stress include:

• Eat a well-balanced and healthful diet.
• Avoid or reduce alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking.
• Exercise regularly and get adequate amounts of sleep.
• Engage in activities that boost self-esteem, such as learning a new skill or hobby or joining a local social group.
• Accept personal feelings. It is normal to experience feelings of anger, sadness and grief from time to time.
• Build strong, positive relationships with family and friends.
• Seek medical help when necessary. Individuals should seek assistance from a physician or mental health professional if symptoms of stress are alarming in nature (e.g., pounding heart, shortness of breath, mood disorders) or impede daily functioning.

About coping with stress

Coping with stress can be emotionally and physically draining for individuals and their family members, regardless of the source of the stress. One effective way of dealing with stress is ensuring emotional and physical well-being.People with good mental health have the ability to control their thoughts, feelings and behaviors most of the time. They usually have strong support systems. Such people have a strong foundation of mental health that allows them to keep problems in the proper perspective. They can also adapt to stress, adversity and traumatic events. This ability is called resilience and it is an important component of coping with life’s challenges in general.

Resilience includes remaining psychologically stable in the face of adversity or chaos. The majority of people experience difficult situations at some point in their lives (e.g., divorce, job loss). Resilient individuals are usually able to continue with daily tasks, remain generally optimistic about life and rebound from adversity in a timely fashion. Contrary to what some may think, resilience is not about being “tough” or emotionally distant. Rather, it is about reaching out to others for support, accepting and dealing with events in life that one cannot change such as the death of a loved one or a chronic mental illness (e.g., major depression, schizophrenia).

Resilience may also help offset certain risk factors (e.g., family history of mental illness, lack of social support, previous trauma) often involved in developing depression. There are a variety of ways to promote strength and resilience. A good start for developing resilience is expanding protective factors such as becoming informed about mental and behavioral health issues. Individuals who take an active role in personal emotional and physical health are often better able to cope with difficulties when they arise. Knowledge can also help to empower patients.

Another protective factor for patients or caregivers is contacting support groups, which can also be a great source of information. They provide emotional support and practical coping tips and strategies for dealing with stress, regardless of the stressor. Some support groups are affiliated with organizations or hosted by experts. Others, especially Internet groups, may be hosted by the members themselves. A health care professional, such as a physician (e.g., psychiatrist), nurse, social worker or psychologist may be able to provide referrals for appropriate support groups.  

Other sources of information on coping with stress include the Internet, community centers, libraries and bookstores. Acquaintances, friends and relatives who have had similar experiences may also prove to be valuable resources. State and national organizations such as the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) can also provide reliable information on mental health and coping skills. 

Coping tips and strategies

A person’s physical well-being can significantly impact their emotional and mental health and vice versa. Actively promoting good health can help build resilience to cope with stress and other life difficulties. Tips and strategies for coping with stress include:

• Eat a well-balanced and healthful diet. This can be accomplished by eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, and reducing or avoiding excess fat, salt and sugar in meals. A well-balanced diet promotes energy, alertness and helps keep weight under control – all of which can lead to good mental and physical well-being.
  
• Drink plenty of fluids. Adequate consumption of fluids, especially water, helps prevent dehydration, which can lead to fatigue and lack of energy. Most health experts recommend drinking a minimum of six to eight 8-ounce servings a day.
  
• Avoid or reduce alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. These are unhealthy ways of coping with stress.
  
• Exercise regularly, as recommended by a physician. Various research indicates that exercise helps boost production of chemicals (e.g., endorphins) in the brain that improve mood, thereby alleviating symptoms associated with stress such as increased anxiety, irritability, sadness, fatigue and anger.
  
• Get adequate rest. Proper relaxation and sleep habits can go a long way toward promoting emotional and physical well-being. Sleep requirements differ among individuals. Most adults require seven to eight hours of sleep, but some people need only four to five hours. Also, practicing relaxation techniques such as biofeedback, meditation or massage therapy can help reduce stress and alleviate anxiety, insomnia and depression.
  
• Participate in activities that boost self-esteem, such as learning a new skill or hobby or joining a local social group. Low self-esteem can be damaging because it can affect a person’s body, mind and spirit. It has been associated with a wide array of problems including emotional disorders (e.g., depression, eating disorders).
  
• Accept personal feelings. It is normal to experience feelings of anger, sadness and grief from time to time, especially when faced with adversity such as the death of a loved one. It is important to take time to express those feelings and not keep them inside. Crying, writing in a journal or confiding in a friend or relative can help provide relief.
  
• Maintain a positive outlook. It should be noted that remaining optimistic in distressing or stressful situations does not mean one is in denial. Rather, it can give hope when it is much needed. It can also nurture self-confidence, which can empower an individual to deal with hardships. Other positive coping mechanisms include avoiding self-criticism, being proud of one’s accomplishments no matter how big or small and finding sources of humor (e.g., books, movies).
  
• Establish a healthy social network. Strong, positive relationships with family and friends are an important source of support. They can fulfill an individual’s need to belong, which helps prevent loneliness, especially during hard times. In addition, family members and other loved ones can help ensure that an individual seeks proper treatment (e.g., counseling) when necessary.
  
• Work to resolve conflicts with other people in a positive way, such as by talking in an objective, non-accusatory manner.
  
• Set realistic goals at home, school or work. It is important to realize how little time there may be in the day to accomplish all necessary tasks. Whenever possible, delegate or schedule tasks in a manner that allows extra time for their completion.
  
• Prepare to the best of one’s ability for stressful events, such as job interviews. This can promote peace of mind and help one succeed in such situations.

In addition, people should get regular check-ups with their primary care physician – every two to three years for individuals under age 50, and annually after age 50 – to ensure that they are in optimal health. However, individuals should seek immediate assistance from a physician or mental health professional if symptoms of stress are alarming in nature (e.g., pounding heart, shortness of breath, mood disorders) or impede daily functioning.

Questions for your doctor on coping with stress

Preparing questions in advance can help patients have more meaningful discussions with their physicians regarding their conditions. Patients may wish to ask their doctor the following questions regarding coping tips and strategies:

1. What coping tips and strategies do you recommend for dealing with my stress?
2. How effective are these coping strategies for dealing with my situation?
3. What can I do to take a more active role in my emotional and physical well-being?
4. Do you know of community centers that offer recreational activities and other coping techniques for dealing with stress?
5. How can I verify the accuracy of information obtained via the Internet regarding my condition?
6. How can I help a family member struggling with stress?
7. Is there any medical problem contributing to my stress?
8. Where else can I turn for assistance with coping tips and strategies for my condition?
9. Can you recommend a support group for people in my situation?
10. Will my prolonged stress put me at risk for a nervous breakdown?

FibroFighters.com offers a number of FibroSpa bath, shower, and aromatherapy stress-relieving sets and accessories, as well as hundreds of articles to both inform and inspire a healthy, productive, and more pain-free life for all.

Please be sure to visit our FibroSpa section for yourself, and start welcoming the healing benefits of our product lines into your life today!

Tenderpoints & FMS

How Can You Tell if You Have Fibromyalgia?
Your doctor will ask about your pain symptoms and then press on a series of anatomically-defined soft tissue body sites called “tender points.” There are 18 tender points on the body that will usually be highly sensitive to pressure in people with fibromyalgia as specified by the American College of Rheumatology criteria. People who do not have fibromyalgia are much less tender to pressure applied at these tender points.

 

What is Fibromyalgia?
Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and tenderness in localized areas of the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips called “tender points.” According to William Hennen, Ph.D., author of Fibromyalgia: A Nutritional Approach, fibromyalgia has been classified as a syndrome, not a disease. He explains that a disease is a condition with a clearly identifiable cause, while a syndrome is a set of symptoms that define the condition without a single causative agent upon which to place the blame.

What are the Symptoms of Fibromyalgia?
While the symptoms associated with Fibromyalgia fluctuate from person to person, there is one common symptom that all agree on - they ache all over. The pain can feel like a deep bone ache, pains and needles, or a stabbing or burning pain. Muscles may feel like they have been pulled or overworked. There are times this pain is mild, others when it is so severe that it becomes unbearable.

Along with pain, many Fibromyalgia sufferers report headaches, poor sleep, fatigue, depression, and irregular bowel habits. Many others simply describe their symptoms as “flu-like.”

Fibromyalgia: A Disorder of the Brain?

by Catherine Bushnell, et al.

ImmuneSupport.com 02-15-2008

This article presents evidence that Fibromyalgia patients have alterations in CNS [central nervous system] anatomy, physiology, and chemistry that potentially contribute to the symptoms experienced by these patients.

n There is substantial psychophysical evidence that Fibromyalgia patients perceive pain and other noxious stimuli differently than healthy individuals and that normal pain modulatory systems, such as diffuse noxious inhibitory control mechanisms, are compromised in Fibromyalgia.

n Furthermore, functional brain imaging studies revealing enhanced pain-related activations corroborate the patients’ reports of increased pain.

n Neurotransmitter studies show that Fibromyalgia patients have abnormalities in dopaminergic, opioidergic, and serotoninergic systems.

n Finally, studies of brain anatomy show structural differences between the brains of Fibromyalgia patients and healthy individuals. The cerebral alterations offer a compelling explanation for the multiple symptoms of Fibromyalgia, including widespread pain and affective disturbances.

The frequent comorbidity of Fibromyalgia with stress-related disorders, such as chronic fatigue, posttraumatic stress disorder, irritable bowel syndrome, and depression, as well as the similarity of many CNS abnormalities, suggests at least a partial common substrate for these disorders.

Despite the numerous cerebral alterations, Fibromyalgia might not be a primary disorder of the brain but may be a consequence of early life stress or prolonged or severe stress, affecting brain modulatory circuitry of pain and emotions in genetically susceptible individuals.

Source: Neuroscientist. 2008 Feb 12 [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 18270311, by Schweinhardt P, Sauro KM, Bushnell MC. Center for Research on Pain, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Getting The Word Out!

Well, the word has gone out to news agencies now about FibroFighters.com and all the site has to offer those with Fibromyalgia, their friends, families, and loved ones.  We’ve signed up with blog catalogs, promotion companies, and seven powerhouse Internet news agencies where we’ve posted press releases for immediate dispersement, so keep an eye out for those in your search engines!!

We’ve also found other sites linking to FibroFighters.com, our products pages, articles, chat room, and this blog…and all without asking for reciprocation!  What a powerful statement.  We are humbled to know that folks are so moved by our mission that they feel compelled to help in the cause without ever contacting us, or expecting anything in return.  We research the Internet search engines and find those individuals who are supporting us and reach out to them in order to say thank you for their support…the response has been phenomenal!

As much as we are able to do on our own, there is nothing more powerful than your participation and support.   We’d like to encourage everyone to post a FibroFighters link on their websites and blogs to help get the word out.  If you have the ability and desire to include a FibroFighters.com banner, please feel free to choose from one of the following we have available:

 

1)  160 x 600 - Tall, verticle “skyscraper

 

<a href=”http://www.fibrofighters.com“><img src=”http://www.fibrofighters.com/images/160×600-3.jpg” border=”0″></a>

2)  300 x 250 - Box-style Rectangle

<a href=”http://www.fibrofighters.com“><img src=”http://www.fibrofighters.com/images/300×250.jpg” border=”0″></a>

 

3)  728 x 90 - Standard Banner Header style

 

<a href=”http://www.fibrofighters.com“><img src=”http://www.fibrofighters.com/images/728×90.jpg” border=”0″></a>

As always, stand tall and proudly proclaim to the world that you’re:  “Not taking it lying down™!”

Wishing Everyone True Love

Sleep Apnea Tied To Risk Of Mental Impairment

Reuters HealthWednesday

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older women with sleep-related breathing problems may have a heightened risk of impairments in thinking and memory, a new study suggests.The findings, reported in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, suggest that so-called sleep-disordered breathing, including sleep apnea, may be a risk factor for age-related cognitive decline.They also open the possibility that treating these sleep-related breathing disorders could prevent mental impairment in some older adults, researchers say.

Sleep-disordered breathing, or SDB, refers to a group of sleep-related breathing problems. Obstructive sleep apnea, where breathing stops briefly and restarts repeatedly through the night, is one of the most common forms. People with SDB may also have repeated episodes of hypopnea, during which breathing diminishes but does not stop entirely.

Signs of SDB include chronic snoring and daytime sleepiness owing to poor sleep quality.

Sleep apnea has been linked to a number of health consequences, including high blood pressure and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Whether it affects cognitive function as people age has been less clear.

The new study included 448 women with an average age of 83 who underwent an overnight sleep study to detect breathing problems. They also took standard tests of memory, attention and other cognitive abilities.

In general, the study found, women with SDB were more likely than those without breathing problems to show cognitive impairment. Those with severe breathing problems had a more than three-fold increased risk of impairment.

What’s more, the link between SDB and cognitive impairment was particularly strong among women who carried a gene linked to Alzheimer’s disease — a variant of the apolipoprotein E gene known as APOE e-4.

The findings do not prove that nighttime breathing problems directly contribute to cognitive decline, according to Dr. Adam P. Spira, a research fellow at the University of California San Francisco and the lead investigator on the study.

However, he told Reuters Health, it is “quite plausible” that this is the case. In theory, the chronic oxygen deprivation caused by SDB could damage brain cells. Furthermore, women who are genetically vulnerable to dementia may be more susceptible to this damage.

Studies that follow older adults over time, looking at whether SDB predicts future cognitive decline, are now needed, according to Spira. “Future research that provides this evidence would, in turn, suggest that treatment of apnea could help prevent or reduce cognitive decline,” he said.

Regardless of whether this turns out to be the case, though, older adults stand to benefit from having sleep apnea treated, Spira noted. If treatment eases daytime sleepiness, for example, that could improve older adults’ ability to function and boost their quality of life, he said.

SOURCE: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, January 2008

Article found at MedicinePlus

Please be sure to check out all of the articles in our “Science” section by clicking here.

As always, stand tall and proudly proclaim to the world that you’re:  “Not taking it lying down™!”