Today there is still an ongoing debate about the validity of Fibromyalgia as a legitimate diagnosis.  In the medical community, sides have been drawn over whether fibromyalgia is a genuine syndrome or a catchall diagnosis based on very vague clinical criteria.  “Despite being recognized as a diagnosable disease by the American College of Rheumatology, the Food and Drug Administration and most insurers, fibromyalgia has not completely shed the stigma of being dismissed as ‘psychosomatic’ by some in the medical establishment.” noted the Sacramento Bee in a May 31, 2009 article on patients not being taken seriously by their doctors.

Fibromyalgia is a condition involving widespread chronic pain which is often severe.  To be diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a patient must have widespread pain for three months or more, and must have tenderness at 11 or more of 18 specific points on the body.  Ninety percent of patients are women, and about 3.5% of the female population suffers from the condition. 

There is no reliable objective diagnosis instrument available, which results in more problems for those experiencing with fibromyalgia. There are no objective laboratory tests or imaging studies that can confirm the presence of fibromyalgia. Combined with the array of conditions many patients experience that may lead doctors in different directions, this can result in a long delay after the onset of symptoms before a proper diagnosis is made. Some patients are shipped from doctor to doctor for years (all the time suffering with the untreated symptoms) before being diagnosed with fibromyalgia.

I’ve worked with many patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia and most of them were treated as hypochondriacs, drug seekers, addicts, or “hysterical/histrionic.”  There are also many different thoughts about how to treat this condition.  One debate is opiates versus non-opiates.  I would recommend people not seek out opiates as many of the symptoms don’t really get managed with this type of medication. 

Also, there are many other research-based nonpharmacological (non medication) interventions that have shown great results in improved quality of life and decreased pain symptoms without any side effects; e.g., acupuncture, physical therapy, hydrotherapy, exercise, and Yoga just to name a few.  Other research shows that psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy, is also an important part of a multi-pronged treatment plan that can lead to more positive treatment outcomes.

To learn about effective relapse prevention for chemically dependent people undergoing chronic pain management please check my article Relapse Prevention and Chronic Pain Management that you can download for free on our Article page.

You can learn about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you are working with people undergoing chronic pain management and want to learn how to develop a plan for managing their chronic pain and coexisting psychological disorders; including depression, addiction and other coexisting psychological disorders effectively; please consider my book Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please click here and input your name and email address. You will then recieve an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.

To see an online overview of Cognit delivering Addiction-Free Pain Management® please go to this Link for a free demo.

To learn about my upcoming trainings you can check out our Calendar page.

Our goal is to update our website News and Research page monthly to provide a synopsis of news stories and research or publications that are related to chronic pain and prescription drug addiction treatment.  Plrease read below the introductions for April’s posts.

Cannabis for Chronic Pain Management: In 2002 I published a controversial article on medical marijuana. Last year I published an update on my thinking regarding the use of marijuana as a legitimate, effective medication because of the recent quality research that has been done on some its components. With over $100 Billion dollars a year spent on chronic pain conditions, including the $20 Billion the pain management industry . . .

More on Using Meditation for Chronic Pain Management: In response to stress the body mobilizes an extensive array of physiological and behavioral changes in a process of continual adaptation. This is an important part of the body’s defenses with the goal of maintaining homeostasis and coping with stress. The body reacts to stress by secreting two types of chemical messengers – hormones in the blood and neurotransmitters in the brain. That is why stress . . .

Genetics and Chronic Pain Management: According to the National Institute for Health (NIH) chronic pain states are common in the general population and genetic factors can explain a significant amount of the vari-ability in the perception of pain. For instance, fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and related conditions are syndromes characterized by generalized pain sensitivity as well as a constellation of other symptoms. Family studies show a strong familial aggregation of FMS and related conditions . . .

Visit our Addiction-Free Pain Management® News and Research Page to see the complete postings as well as an archive of past research.

You can learn more about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you or a loved one is undergoing chronic pain management, especially if you’re in recovery or believe you may have a medication or other mental health problem and you want to learn more effective chronic pain management tools, please go to our Publications page and check out my books; especially the Addiction-Free Pain Management® Recovery Guide: Managing Pain and Medication in Recovery. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please click here and input your name and email address. You will then recieve an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.

To see an online overview of Cognit delivering Addiction-Free Pain Management® please go to this Link for a free demo.

To learn about my upcoming trainings you can check out our Calendar page.

I’ve spent the past week in Nashville Tennessee at the Cumberland Heights’ Treatment Program conducting 40 hours of advanced certification clinical skills trainings in Denial Management and Relapse Prevention for their staff.  Cumberland was also generous enough to open these two 20 hour Competency Certification trainings to the outside treatment community and they attracted many people interested in learning how to help their clients get into recovery and prevent relapse.

Since they opened their doors almost 50 years ago, Cumberland Heights has touched the lives of more than 200,000 individuals. Their four decades of experience has taught them that recovery is not only possible; it’s a path that no one has to walk alone. All therapeutic interventions are based on the principles found in the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.  In addition, Cumberland Heights treats the whole person as well as including the entire family in the recovery process, because addiction is a family disease.

The Cumberland treatment programs encompass the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual dimensions of recovery. And their professional medical and therapy staff are committed to providing the highest quality care possible. Most of their primary treatment staff have many years of personal recovery from addiction and all are state licensed alcohol and drug counselors.

Cumberland Heights’ 170-acre campus is located along the banks of the Cumberland River in Nashville, Tennessee.  Surrounded by wooded hills and free of the distractions of city life, it provides the ideal setting for recovery.  To learn more about this wonderful program go to the Cumberland Heights Website.

To learn more about effective relapse prevention for chemically dependent people undergoing chronic pain management please check my article Relapse Prevention and Chronic Pain Management that you can download for free on our Article page.

You can learn about the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System at our website www.addiction-free.com. If you are working with people undergoing chronic pain management and want to learn how to develop a plan for managing their chronic pain and coexisting psychological disorders; including depression, addiction and other coexisting psychological disorders effectively; please consider my book Managing Pain and Coexisting Disorders: Using the Addiction-Free Pain Management® System. To purchase this book please Click Here.

To read the latest issue of Chronic Pain Solutions Newsletter please click here. If you want to sign up for the newsletter, please click here and input your name and email address. You will then recieve an autoresponse email that you need to reply to in order to finalize enrollment.

To see an online overview of Cognit delivering Addiction-Free Pain Management® please go to this Link for a free demo.

To learn about my upcoming trainings you can check out our Calendar page.