The last week has been rough for my husband and me. So rough it has left me feeling down and out physically and emotionally. With all the stress, I had no intentions of recording a live video for Fibro Live. Trying to pull myself together enough to have a proper show required more energy than I thought I had in me. Needless to say, I found the strength to do just that, and I did an impromptu show in which I listed various fibromyalgia resources.

{Scroll down for the video of this show.}

#Fibromyalgia resources on #FibroLive Share on X

Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post, but these are products I recommend and have verified and/or used.

 

Fibromyalgia Resources

Three Things to Know: Lady Gaga’s Fibromyalgia Diagnosis

Lady Gaga announced her fibromyalgia diagnosis shortly before the release of her Netflix documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two. Many sources are still reporting on her diagnosis, and CBS Los Angeles is no different. Their article Three Things to Know: Lady Gaga’s Fibromyalgia Diagnosis points out three essential topics regarding fibromyalgia. These are great points and should be areas we work on in the fibromyalgia community.

 

International Support Fibromyalgia Network

The International Support Fibromyalgia Network (ISFN) is an official 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to bring the fibromyalgia community together through education, awareness, research and advocacy.

The program, Families & Fibromyalgia, is just one of the programs within ISFN. The program states, “We understand that family can either be painful or supportive and we hope to cut through the fibromyalgia guesswork by establishing a program built to service families directly with resources and expert leadership.”

As program director of Families & Fibromyalgia, my goal is to bridge the communication gap between fibro thrivers and their loved ones by creating useful content and expertise, host workshops and support group nights geared towards the whole family, and empower the family to be involved with advocacy training. We will post more information about the program as it continues to develop.

 

The Fibromyalgia Magazine

As of May 2016, I am a monthly contributing writer at The Fibromyalgia Magazine. My articles printed in the magazine are reserved to a four week exclusive to the magazine, but then I am able to publish them here. Click here for all issues.

 

Fed Up with Fatigue

Donna Burch is the writer of Fed Up with Fatigue, a blog that covers the latest news and research on fibromyalgia and chronic Lyme disease. She was diagnosed with fibro in 2014 and found out she has chronic Lyme last summer. She has worked for newspapers and magazines as a reporter for more than 20 years and decided to use her journalism skills to help herself and others figure out effective treatments and tools for living better with fibromyalgia and chronic Lyme.

 

Fibromyalgia News Today

“Fibromyalgia News Today is a science and health publishing website that occasionally writes about clinical trials taking place in the Fibromyalgia research community. The information provided on this site is designed to help educate patients on clinical trials that may be of interest to them, based on the topic of the story, and to help patients contact the centers conducting the research. Fibromyalgia News Today is neither promoting research nor involved in conducting any clinical trials. Some study summaries have been edited for clarity purposes to make them easier to understand.”

 

Fibro Blogger Directory

Lee Good is the owner of Fibro Blogger Directory, a directory of people who blog about fibromyalgia.

 

Fibro Parenting Facebook Group

My closed Facebook group, Fibro Parenting, is focused on any parent or guardian looking for support while parenting with fibromyalgia. Fibro is an intrusive illness that can be complicated enough without the added stress of parenting. Fibro parenting is a creative form of parenting, but does require the support and encouragement from other fibro parents. There are so many of us battling fibro and trying to be the best parent/guardian we can be. Browse all of my fibro parenting articles.

 

Fibromyalgia Communities

There are numerous online fibromyalgia support groups and communities, but the ones I am an active member include the following.

GeneFo

Dr. Wilnai created GeneFo as a solution to patients and medical experts wishing to connect and enrich their understanding of their condition, how to better manage it, and get the most up to date information on new treatments and clinical trials.

 

What Works for Fibromyalgia

There is no cure for fibromyalgia, but there are small steps we can take to help reduce our pain, fatigue and other symptoms. “What Works for Fibromyalgia” will focus on those things. What has helped your symptoms the most? Is there a supplement? A certain kind of exercise? A particular diet? A pharmaceutical? Please share your experiences so we can all learn from one another. This group is moderated by Donna Gregory Burch, founder of Fed Up with Fatigue, a blog dedicated to helping others live better with fibromyalgia, and fibro warrior Janice Hollander. Donna and Janice will regularly post links to content that may be useful to those in the fibromyalgia community.

 

Fibro Fighters Under 40

Fibro Fighters Under 40 is a group is for those of us who are on the younger side of the Fibro spectrum. Our age group as a whole is perceived as healthy and active, and we can very much relate in dealing with our life experiences while managing Fibromyalgia. In our early 20’s up to 40 we are working, going to school, pregnant, raising children, engaged, married, housekeeping, socializing, etc. There are many of us who have had to make big changes and sacrifices due to our illness and it’s even more difficult to do at a young age. **To join the group, you MUST be in your early 40’s at most. Nothing against the “older crowd” with Fibro, but this group is specifically for those on the younger side. There are very few groups, if any, just for us.**

 

What the Health?

Last week, my husband and I watched a Netflix documentary called What the Health. It’s all about what is good for you and what is it not as well as how corporate America is putting us in medical debt. At the time we watched it, my husband and I were appalled at the studies, graphs, and interviews. We immediately decided to do away with dairy, meat, and everything processed. Bad idea.

After doing this Fibro Live show, I decided to do a little digging into this documentary. I was surprised, but excited, to find that the cases, facts, and studies presented in the documentary were skewed, conflicting, and biased by the filmmakers. I’m still doing additional research on the film before doing a more detailed article on it, but here are some websites to visit about this film: What you should now about the pro-vegan Netflix film ‘What the Health’ by Time and A Vegan Dietitian Reviews ‘What the Health’ by Vegan.com’s Virginia Messina, MPH, RD.

 

Fibro Diet Guide

With fibromyalgia, there are certain foods that will help symptoms. Likewise, there are foods that will aggravate symptoms. These foods make up the fibro diet and should be followed if you are looking to alleviate your fibromyalgia symptoms (particularly the stomach issues).

Here is a a free Fibro Diet Guide which includes a printable to keep as a quick reference in your pantry or kitchen cabinet.

 

My Fibro Journal

I have decided to share my journal with my readers at My Fibro Journal. A way for this fibro mom to be raw and real to reveal that we all struggle, celebrate, and embrace our ups and downs. Please understand that everyone is different in their journey with fibromyalgia and/or chronic illness. This is my journey, my stories, my vulnerability to share with you in order to help in some way. It is in no way to compare my journey with yours or to minimize your pains, feelings, or experiences. In return, I ask for you to also not minimize my pains, feelings or experiences, and for you to be open-minded and open-hearted to anyone living with a chronic illness.

 

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