# FM in the NEWS



## Debbielee (Jun 14, 2000)

Hi everyone! Hope everyone is doing ok tonight.Someone sent me the link to Dr Goldburgs interview with Katie Curic on msnbc.Thought i would post it here as any publicity affirming the reality of this condition can only help. http://www.msnbc.com/news/513675.asp?cp1=1 Let me know what you all think.Debbie


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## Feisty (Aug 14, 2000)

Excellent, DebbieLee. THANK YOU! We need as much info as possible to keep us up to date on this.Glad you passed it on.Karen


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## Guest (Jan 11, 2001)

Hi, I was lucky enough to just be sitting down for breakfast when the interview started on "Today"! I was pretty excited







DeeDee


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## weener (Aug 15, 2000)

Happy to hear that this condition is being recognized as a legitimate concern. I don't see too many tv shows touching on this topic. Like Feisty said the more the more we are kept in tune with this condition the better. Maybe a miracle is only a short time away.


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

He said his wife has it. That's what it takes to get the doctors' attention sometimes. Either they have to have it, or the one they love. She runs in some marathon races. I can't imagine doing that! He did emphasize exercise, and I do think that is extremely important. He did say something like "all conditions are psycho-somatic" when he was asked about it. What do you think he meant by that? I know he has done some very good things to get the word out about Fibromyalgia, and its complications though. I am glad they had him on there to help shed some more light to the general public. Hopefully, there will be more money going for research.


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## Debbielee (Jun 14, 2000)

What i believe he meant moldie--is that one can not seperate the mind from the body. When one is ill the mental state is effected.Debbie


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## moldie (Sep 25, 1999)

I think you are probably right Debbielee, as far as your explanation. What I think many people with fibro (and IBS among other conditions for that matter) object to and are sensitive about, is that doctors often say that your illness is probably due to stress, therefore it is psyhco-somatic. Putting the word "psycho" before "somatic" makes one think that our minds conjured the illness up, and we are having physical complaints out of some underlying neurotic need to have them. This further negates any viral, accidental toxin ingestion, or even genetic condition. Of course putting the "somatic" (bodily complaints) before the "psycho", making it "somatically-psycho" wouldn't help either.







They associate depression with Fibromyalgia. It is so intertwined with it because people who are experiencing pain on a daily basis, and as a result have to slow/change their life-style, would be naturally blue about it (situational/reactive depression). The depression is further exacerbated by a lack of sleep, and the lack of the production of seratonin. Sometimes I wonder if the way in which many doctors use "psychosomatic" is accurate.In the Encylopedia and Dictionary of Medecine and Nursing under neurosis pertaining to the word, it says: " Psychosomatic disorders usually affect only organs under the control of the autonomic nervous system, such as the digestive tract, the endocrine glands, the heart, the genitounrinary, circulatory and repiratory systems, and the skin. Among illnesses known to be partly or completely psychosomatic illnesses are migraine headaches, mucous and ulcerative colitis, peptic ulcer, skin allergies and perhaps asthma." and under the word "Psychosomatic": "Possibly the most widely known psychosomatic illness, and the first to be proved to be of emotional origin, is gastric or duodenal ulcer. Other conditions of the digestive system can also be traced wholly or in part to emotional causes. Among these are regional enteritis and ulcerative colitis. Migraine is frequently a psychosomatic illness. Other conditions that appear to be in some cases psychosomatic include hypertension, hyperthyroidism, arthritis and certain skin disorders."That book was published in 1972, probably at the time new discoveries were being made about asthma, but before many discoveries were made for some of the other conditions mentioned, unfortunately. Asthma was formerly thought to be a condition brought on by emotional distress, however, allergens were increasingly thought to be implicated as time went on and new research was documented. Ulcers were found to respond to some antibiotics, so bacterial infections are now thought to be the cause for many. CT scans of the brain have found different activity happening in some migraine patients, and some fibromyalgia patients for that matter. In my own IBS experience, allergens have been implicated in causing a response. They seem to also cause a response for some migraine and, of course, skin conditions as well. Arthritis, CFS, and Fibromyalgia have many autoimmune type responses to be answered. Hypertension, of course, has something often to do with fluid retention and blocked arteries. Deficiencies in endocrine/thyroid production have been treated successfully in patients with some of these hormone problems.I think that the term/use of "psychosomatic" should be limited as it is used too loosely to label people and conditions before they have been studied properly. This is an old term, that has in my opinion become out-dated in describing many illnesses, as above. Not only this, but people associate negatively to it because it tends to put blame on the person for being emotionally weak or not in control of their mind and body functions. It was easier back then to label someone with this because they didn't have the research to discover some of the real causes. Certainly, there are people who have true psychosomatic disorders in which psychotherapy may be beneficial in uncovering deeply seated emotional distress responses to situations. However, there are studies of the brain that have found some depression and anxiety disorders to have "organic" origins stemming from chemical or brain abnormalities too.Unfortunately, many doctors from the old school out there have not kept up with the studies and treatments. In fact, some doctors are not so old, but have studied from books/professors of the old school that have not been kept up to speed with the times. How unfortunate for patients who are suffering for proper treatment, and at the very least, understanding about the latest on their conditions. How awful it must have been for those of times past who were put into asylums for their "psycho" disorders, and/or given drugs like librium and valium to quiet/drug them into feeling nothing at all.


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## Debbielee (Jun 14, 2000)

Hi Moldie,Excellent post. Very well said. I couldnt agree more.In my experience in health care--depression/mental health issues etc,,,are usally a result of illness not the cause.As you said there are those who meet the other criteria but i agree the terminology is to loosely applied.Debbie


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## Feisty (Aug 14, 2000)

Well said, Moldi and DebbiLee!!


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## mamamia (Jan 21, 2000)

Dear friends,ditto!!!!love to all, mama-


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