New Medication for Fibromyalgia Sufferers

  • A new drug used in Europe to treat depression is being considered for fibromyalgia patients. Savella has recently been approved by the FDA and will be available later this year. The drug may help those suffering from fibromyalgia by affecting the central nervous system transmitters.Read the full article here.

Fibromyalgia linked to Binge Eating Disorder

  • A study indicated that binge eating disorders is linked to a number of psychiatric conditions as well as fibromyalgia and irritable bowel syndrome. Read the full article here.

Proving Fibromyalgia with Functional MRI

  • People with fibromyalgia may often have a hard time convincing disability carriers, the Social Security Administration, or even their own doctors, that the pain they are suffering from this condition is real. Very, very real. It can be overwhelming, depressing, frustrating and financially devastating for someone suffering from this very legitimate and well recognized disorder.
  • "Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Robert England has received a U.S. patent for a process he developed to objectively determine the presence of chronic pain" While his research involved fibromyalgia patients and the fMRI actually revealed "In the case of fibromyalgia, a disorder associated with chronic pain in the muscles and connective tissues, England said fMRI studies showed 13 areas of pain when the patient's thumb was squeezed. When a pain-free person's thumb was squeezed, only one area of pain appeared in the brain. We can see the changes occur," England said." Dr. England was so very right when he said "It's very important that people in chronic pain be heard."
  • How many people have been wrongly accused of fabricating, exaggerating or malingering pain when, in fact, the pain and the condition itself are real. Accusing someone of malingering in a litigation context is accusing them of insurance fraud, a felony. Perhaps now the naysayers hired by the insurance companies to wrongfully deny care, or claim that a condition does not exist, may be outweighed by legitimate science.
  • The results of this study could be huge and, hopefully, applied to other conditions known to cause pain but ignored by the insurance industry who seeks to profit by claiming a condition
    a. Does not exist
    b. Is only mild
    c. Or, if it does exist, the patient is embellishing or exaggerating.
    • 2/l6/09, www.recordnet.com, Surgeon's patent removes the subjectivity from chronic pain assessments