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NY Times Article: The Voices of Fibromyalgia

Wayne

Senior Member
Messages
4,300
Location
Ashland, Oregon
Hi All,

There was an article in the NY Times on Wednesday (3/3/10) entitled, "The Voices of Fibromyalgia". Somebody posted this on the forum yesterday, but I can't seem to find the original thread. Thank you to the person who was kind enough to bring this to our attention.

I would highly recommend checking out this article, as there are now close to 200 comments posted online. The first comment is critical of FM in general, and a few early posts support this poster/doctor. Many followup comments are very good however, with many of them articulately refuting the psychologiizing of FM and/or ME/CFS.

I especially liked the following reply:

I practice chinese herbal medicine so my training is to always listen to the patient and I have yet to meet a hypochondriac in over 20 years of practice. What I have found in my practice is that fibromyalgia (just like arthritis) is an autoimmune reaction to an infection.

The platelets react by laying down fibrin in the muscles and the result is pain and inflammation. The infection can be viral, bacterial, dysbiosis, yeast, mold or even exposure to chemicals or heavy metals. The infection may be subtle or obvious but must be addressed to achieve a good result.

The first step is to find and address the infection with herbs that are anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-mold etc. Then herbs are used that are fibrinolytic or anti-fibrotic to treat the fibromyalgia reaction. Then other herbs are used to strengthen the immune system to clear the infection. Avoiding milk products and coffee are essential to a good outcome.

— daniel light
 

Dreambirdie

work in progress
Messages
5,569
Location
N. California
OMG! I know Daniel Light! He worked for many years with Matt Van Benschoten--my TCM guy until I couldn't go to LA anymore.

Matt is by far absolutely THE BEST TCM practitioner in the world. I am not exaggerating. And Daniel was trained in part by him.

I am really glad Daniel posted this.

Thanks Wayne, for bringing it to my attn.
 

leelaplay

member
Messages
1,576
nyTimes Patient Voices: Fibromyalgia

Patient Voices: Fibromyalgia

With its generalized symptoms of pain, fatigue and digestive issues, fibromyalgia can often hide as something else for many years. Worse, some professionals doubt the existence of this condition, which can also cause chest pains, brain fog and depression. Here, six men and women speak about living with fibromyalgia. (Join the discussion here.)
 

starryeyes

Senior Member
Messages
1,558
Location
Bay Area, California
The first few people were good to listen to but then some of them start saying things that sound like they asked Wessely or Reeves what to say. I had to stop listening as I found myself getting angry. The final straw was that lady who said she felt like she had been Dx with the Yuppie Flu. :rolleyes:
 

andreamarie

Senior Member
Messages
195
The comments from most patients were excellent though. I made two. Also the Q and A by Dr. Clauwes was excellent. I don't think most people read it. He talked about seeing changes on MRI's on FMS patients brains. The more comments the better. The NYT has given a lot of coverage to CFS and FMS. No other newspaper has.
 

Jenny

Senior Member
Messages
1,388
Location
Dorset
OMG! I know Daniel Light! He worked for many years with Matt Van Benschoten--my TCM guy until I couldn't go to LA anymore.

Matt is by far absolutely THE BEST TCM practitioner in the world. I am not exaggerating. And Daniel was trained in part by him.

I am really glad Daniel posted this.

Thanks Wayne, for bringing it to my attn.

No - Giovanni Maciocia is the best! His treatment led to my recovery in the 1980s. But now he's moved to California :Retro mad:

If any of you over there get a chance to see him - you must!

Jenny
 

Dreambirdie

work in progress
Messages
5,569
Location
N. California
No - Giovanni Maciocia is the best! His treatment led to my recovery in the 1980s. But now he's moved to California :Retro mad:

If any of you over there get a chance to see him - you must!

Jenny

I'm so glad there is someone else that fits the definition of "the best."
I'm in CA, but have never heard of Maciocia.