Fibromyalgia Patients Find Pain Relief with Synthetic Marijuana
Fibromyalgia patients have found that a synthetic form of marijuana called nabilone significantly reduces pain and anxiety, Canadian researchers found. The study, published in The Journal of Pain, found those treated with nabilone had significant reductions in pain and anxiety, measured by comparisons with baseline scores. The randomized, controlled-access trial involved 40 subjects and was conducted at the University of Manitoba Rehabilitation Hospital. The nabilone and placebo groups were treated for four weeks.
Fibromyalgia: Stigmatization and its Impact
Fibromyalgia is defined and validated by the Arthritis Foundation and is characterized by ongoing and widespread musculoskeletal pain and weakness, joint pain, and excessive fatigue, and it is diagnosed by the existence of specific criteria called tender points (Clauw & Groner, 2000; Gemignani, 2003; Mengshoel, 1999). Other symptoms or conditions include stiffness, sleep disorders, soft tissue swelling, muscle spasms, affective and cognitive disorders, paresthesia, irritable bowel or bladder syndromes, tension headaches or migraines, dysmenorrhea, vestibular symptoms, restless leg syndrome, temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ), chest pain, and various environmental and chemical sensitivities.
This constant being woken up is the worst thing – experiences of sleep in fibromyalgia syndrome
Sleep disturbance affects a high proportion of people with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). This study aims to explore people’s perceptions of their sleep quality and the influence sleep has on their symptoms and daily lives. Method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen participants diagnosed with primary FMS, covering all aspects of the sleep experience. The audio recorded qualitative interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Anger Linked to Pain in Women With and Without Fibromyalgia
“We observed that many patients with fibromyalgia experienced negative emotions such as anger and sadness due to their condition, and patients told us that the stress that they experienced daily increased their pain,” lead author Henriët van Middendorp, PhD, a senior researcher from the Psychorheumatology Research Group at the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Utrecht University in Utrecht, the Netherlands, told Medscape Medical News. “Although many studies have shown that negative emotions and pain are mutually associated, which may only reflect that pain causes negative feelings, hardly any study examined whether negative emotions were able to amplify pain.
Elevated excitatory neurotransmitter levels in the fibromyalgia brain
Consistent brain imaging findings demonstrate that neurobiological factors may contribute to the pathology of “central” pain states such as fibromyalgia (FM). Studies using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy suggest that glutamate (Glu), a key excitatory neurotransmitter, may be present in higher concentrations within the brains of FM patients. This neurotransmitter imbalance is present in multiple brain regions that have been implicated in processing pain information.
Is It All Central Sensitization? Role of Peripheral Tissue Nociception in Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain
Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) is a highly prevalent musculoskeletal disorder that is often accompanied by somatic hyperalgesia (enhanced pain from noxious stimuli). Neural mechanisms of somatic hyperalgesia have been analyzed via quantitative sensory testing of FM patients. Results of these studies suggest that FM pain is associated with widespread primary and secondary cutaneous hyperalgesia, which are dynamically maintained by tonic impulse input from deep tissues and likely by brain-to-spinal cord facilitation. Enhanced somatic pains are accompanied by mechanical hyperalgesia and allodynia in FM patients as compared with healthy controls.
Fibromyalgia & Childhood Abuse: What’s the Relationship?
It’s one of those stereotypes that many people with fibromyalgia (FMS) struggle against — that childhood abuse is a cause or risk factor for our illness. A lot of research has been done showing high levels of abuse in the FMS population, but is it conclusive? Two recent studies by the same German team caught my eye, and they both appear to refute many of the claims linking FMS and abuse.
Fibromyalgia Study: Anger, Sadness & Pain
A new study highlights the relationship between negative emotions and pain, in women with and without fibromyalgia. It revealed higher sensitivity to pain while thinking about events that caused anger or sadness in both groups, and the researchers concluded that anger and sadness appear to be risk factors for pain amplification (hyperalgesia), which intensifies pain and is a key feature of fibromyalgia.
Passing the Invisible Boundary
I dream of being whole. I dream of healing. I dream of living with passion and with purpose and without pain. I am not there yet, but I am headed confidently in that direction. After one month of yoga teacher training, I am certain I am on the right path. In this short time I have learned that although suffering exists, so too does happiness, and I have the ability to nurture my happiness, which in turn diminishes my suffering.
Thank you for this blog. Thats all I can say. You most positively have made this blog into something thats eye opening and important. You clearly know so much about the topic, youve covered so many bases. Nice stuff from this a part of the internet. Again, thanks for this blog.