A comprehensive guide on chronic pain, its causes, symptoms, and effective management strategies to improve your quality of life.
By: Dr Alexa James Our days are dictated by pain, tight muscles, fatigue and many other factors and symptoms for the patient who suffers from fibromyalgia or Chronic Pain. Sometimes we have to go so far as to plan a relaxing day, as far as our plans are concerned. What people who don’t have difficulties to understand with these conditions is how we can be productive some days, take part, enjoy fun activities, but some…
By: Dr Alexa James At least by the standards of society, I won’t lie. I succeed in being a mother. Not because I don’t love my kids because, above and beyond anything I could ever have imagined, I do it. No, my body makes me spend more time, energy, and money on ensuring I survive and work than I can on my children, I suck being a mother. It was very difficult to accept that…
By: Dr Alexa James It can be frustrating if we need help, but don’t want to accept it, or even harder, that we don’t want to burden anybody else. Fortunately, as someone living with chronic conditions that make it harder to do normal business, I can say that there are people who really want to help others. Some people have the best of intentions but don’t know exactly what to offer, or maybe just want…
By: Dr Alexa James I was something that was wanted to deny the health community once. You told me I was just in your head, I didn’t exist, you felt like freaks who have lost their minds. Something different than what their practice has been teaching them could not believe. Oh, but I’ve demonstrated I’m so real, and now they know that. I am not in your head as a figment of a psychological or…
By: Dr. Alexa James I spend a lot of time negotiating with my body as someone with multiple chronic illnesses. I feel I can’t go for days and I’m determined to never give up for days. The emotional range is wide. I was through all of them and I have a great deal of coping mechanisms. My inner dialog is one of them. It could be my enemy or my friend. I have a large…
By: Dr. Alexa James I watched one of my favorite TV shows recently, The Golden Girls. Though I saw the show hundreds of times, I really clicked and hit home this time to watch some episodes. The episodes I am talking about are known as “sick and fatigued,” if we know the show. This two-part episode was a time of extreme exhaustion for Dorothy and a month of feeling sick. I know everything too well…
By: Dr. Alexa James Fibromyalgia is the second most common disease that affects your bones and muscles. However, it is usually misunderstood and misdiagnosed. His classic symptoms are generalized pain and fatigue of muscle and joint. There is no cure. There’s no cure. However, a combination of medication, practice, stress management, and healthy habits can alleviate your symptoms to the point of leading a normal active life. It is not known by physicians why, but…
By: Dr. Alexa James When people ask me what I am or what I am doing, generally my typical answer is the same, “I am OK,” or “I am good,” or “I am OK,” or, “We are all OK.” Without a second thought, we have conditioned this response. These reactions are so automatic that we don’t know any other answer. It’s just because I sometimes think “Hello, how are you going?”When you see the people,…
You probably are asking right now, “What’s the heck of myofascial release?” Yeah, it’s like massage, but it doesn’t really feel like massage. Myofascial release (MFR) is a bodywork that physical therapist John Barnes has created. The muscle tissue and fascia have steady, gentle pressure to break up adhesions. At least two European studies (referred to here and here) have found MFR to be effective in reducing fibromyalgia pain, according to Fibromyalgia expert and father-in-law…
Exercise can be too much for people with autoimmune, Lyme and other chronic diseases, fibromyalgia and fatigue disorders, though. Out of my own practice, I know that. You can see that I have thyroiditis of Hashimoto, celiac disease and fibromyalgia and exercise can be a dangerous thing for people such as myself. It can make the body worse and push it to a pain flare instantly. More than I can count, this has happened to…