You Feeling Well?

Severe fibromyalgia and severe chronic fatigue (CF) are mysterious ailments, to say the least. Doctors cannot say what precisely causes either malady. They also have no tests designed to diagnose them. The best a patient can hope for is the doctor to examine the fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome symptoms list to see if he or she meets the criterion. Since neither life-afflicting syndrome is deadly, they are often put on the back burner while chronic infectious diseases receive the funding. Yet, life is not easy for these patients.

Severe fibromyalgia and CF sufferers say that fatigue is the most debilitating part of their condition because they feel hyper-sensitive to pain and never fully alert, which can affect all of their day-to-day activities. Therefore, CF and fibromyalgia treatments usually begin with sleep management, says Mary Rose, a clinical psychologist and behavioral sleep specialist at Houston’s Baylor College of Medicine. “We know from research that sleep improves mood, pain, and in general how people feel during the day,” she explains. “Regardless of the reasons for CF, if we can get some control over quality of sleep, we’re likely to see positive benefits to mood, fatigue, concentration.”

Chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia patients usually have a lot of bad habits that prevent them from getting adequate rest. “Don’t lie in bed, worrying and stressing,” Dr. Rose tells her patients. “Get up, go to the other room. When you’re calmer, relaxed, feel tired, go back to bed.” Another recommendation with fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome is to avoid napping. “A lot of patients have circadian rhythm problems. Napping can throw you off. Any sleep during the daytime will be taken from your sleep at night,” Dr. Rose adds. Limiting noise and distractions in the bedroom, blocking out all light and participating in calming activities before bed are all ways to improve sleep quality.

When chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia patients hear the word “exercise,” they often panic. “How can I possibly go running, walk on a treadmill, ride a bike, or do anything? I feel too pooped to even do the dishes!” They also know the pain of relapsing or “crashing,” as it’s called. Often they’ll over-exert themselves on “a good day” and suffer for the next week, struggling to recover from the worsened signs and symptoms. However, exercise for a CFS and fibromyalgia patients is different. They should start small and pace themselves, doing just a few minutes of gentle exercises at a time. Yoga, water exercises and walking around the block are all safe exercises for beginners.

Tania Hurtis is a modernized talent of home improvement. Her modern look ideas can be surprisingly fascinating. Just tell her what you want your home to look like and she will do the magic. Her secrets: tools such as tape measures, drills and so on. Check her website and start working with her now.