LIVING WELL with FIBROMYALGIA: June 2015 Volume 4 Issue 2 by Fibro modem

June 2015

Volume 4: Issue 2

What I Have to Say Does Fibromyalgia Own You?

FibroModem Paul Teeuwen-Green

And He Said

Joshua David

Take Charge

FibroModem

A New Weapon Can You Last Twelve Rounds?

Travis Wild & Kelly Davidson Anita Wheatley

Ode to Can (poem)

Author Unknown

How I Fight Back

Amy Mulholland

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Quit (poem)

Author Unknown

Warriors Fighting Back

Melissa Swanson

Reading good advice is easy; living with fibromyalgia is much more difficult. When you begin the fight against FMS, you join the ranks of a very special group of people - people who have had the will power to make their lives better, not just for one day but, for the rest of their lives. email: fibromodem@fibromodem.com blog: fibromodem.com Facebook page: www.facebook.com/FMawareness Twitter: @Fibromodem Shop at: cafepress.com/fibromodem Editor: Simone Moszkowicz FibroModem welcomes your feedback, comments and any appropriate contributions to further editions.

YOU can be a part of this group. How do I know? Many other people very like yourself have fought back to the point where they feel better, where they have regained control of their lives. You need only enough strength to take the first step today. One day at a time; one step at a time. You have already taken the first step – you’re reading this. Take the second step, then. Worry about the third step tomorrow. By choosing to fight fibromyalgia you have placed yourself on the winning team. Your life, and the lives of those you love, will be the better for it.

To contact FibroModem, please use the email address: fibromodem@fibromodem.com © Copyright FibroModem 2012-2015 The views & opinions expressed are not necessarily those endorsed by FibroModem . Advertisers To advertise a product here, please contact FibroModem at admin@fibromodem.com.

Remember if you have any views you’d like to share about the magazine, please send your opinions to contributions@fibromodem.com

by Paul Teeuwen-Green

Or are we able to take back that ownership? This is the big question for me. What are we able to do in order to take back this ownership? How can we rethink what pain is and how can we use this to our advantage? This article is not about what medications to use or what specialists to see, nor is it going to be about what someone else can do for you. It’s purely about what you can do personally to help yourself and to give yourself back some form of a quality lifestyle. I have suffered from fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) for over 20 years. At the tender age of 23, I was injured, due to a previous sporting injury, whilst serving in the Australian Army. Since then I have gone through the many highs and lows that FMS puts us through on a daily basis. I have tried many different medications and have seen numerous specialists. Some have helped and most have not. One day, I decided that I had had enough with the lack of control over my own body and life. After sitting back and analyzing every aspect of my life, I realised that I had somehow let the FMS control my every action. This was not good enough, so I decided to take back the ownership of my body and life. Let’s now look at pain. In its rawest form, pain is just a physiological response; it’s the response that the brain puts into play when we are injured. For people with fibromyalgia, the chemicals that restrict these nerve responses are lacking; thus the pain response is always turned on. This alters the way we perceive pain and over time we forget that some of these pain signals are actually TRUE pain responses being sent from the brain. My lovely wife (who is a psychologist), reminded me one day that all people feel pain from time to time; I had seemed to forget this very fact. With this new insight on life, I decided to call this pain that everyone felt, GOOD Pain. What is GOOD Pain? Do you remember coming home from the gym, a hard sporting workout or just a really hard day at work? Oh what pleasure we used to feel from that slow burning pain that used to ripple through our bodies. What about the pain we feel after we have injured ourselves or from an old existing injury, we are suppose to feel this type of pain, so isn’t that GOOD Pain as well? What about head aches and shoulder tension that we feel when we are stressed or depressed, if everyone else suffers the same then this must be GOOD. So yes, there are some pains that we can categorise as being GOOD, as we are supposed to feel them. What we need to do now, is to use this new way of thinking to re-train our brains and fight back at the FMS. What is BAD Pain then and how does this pain intensify the pain we actually feel? When we feel pain, the first voluntary response we tend to do is to tense up. This tension then adds more pain and soon spirals out of control (very BAD Pain indeed). However, this is something that we can control! If it is the tension that is the secondary root to the original

pain, this can be controlled through relaxation techniques and through distraction. By taking a few deep breaths or focusing on something else, we have started to stop the pain at its core. If the original pain was actually GOOD Pain, haven’t we actually turned a BAD into a GOOD? It is the same for pain that is caused through stress, all that tension and negativity does no-one any good, however, through relaxation and distraction we can reduce the pain felt. Good body maintenance is also another way that we can control our pain. It is a well know fact that for FMS, the best form of maintenance is to exercise. Now they are not talking about running marathons or going to the gym and lifting 20 or 50kg weights. Start out very small; walk to the sink and get your own drink or a short walk, maybe two houses or to the corner and back, then to the next house or corner. The same with weights, a can of peas or 0.5kg will do the trick to start. Go at your pace, what you are looking for is that nice slow burning pain we talked about earlier, the one that gives you satisfaction that you have done something good, not the pain that has you lying on you back for a week. Taking back your life and controlling your own destiny is what this is all about. Find yourself something that you like to do; something that is outside of your four walls of doom and gloom; something that gets you out and about, meeting new and interesting people. This could be anything from joining your local Community Garden, Tai Chi, dancing, Men’s Shed’s or craft clubs – all good places to start looking. Your activity could even start out by doing some gardening at home; you would be surprised how many new people you will say hi to, just by being in your own front yard. Try adding some raised garden beds that you can sit beside or on, you would be surprised at what you can grown in a pot. I have met a wonderful elderly lady at my local Arthritis NSW meetings for fibromyalgia, who suffers from FMS and she does dancing, but for that time she feels not pain because she is out enjoying herself and is totally distracted. If the activity you choose is only on at a certain time, then this works to your advantage, as it motivates you to go. As a person with FMS you are going to be feeling pain no matter what you do so you can chose to sit at home in pain or go out and do something you enjoy and maybe distract the pain for a while, this is the lifestyle choice you have to make. By doing so you will be covering a lot of what we have talked about here; exercise, relaxation and distraction. All these things can be very self rewarding and gratifying, they will also help you find your self-worth and give you a new purpose in life.

Hans Radowitz, Paul TeeuwenGreen, David Sheather, Ally Borland & Eddie Noble with the latest container of bikes, from the Southern Highlands branch of Bicycles for Humanity, bound for Namibia. Photo by Megan Drapalski.

I personally have started training in Tai Chi, Kung Fu, have added raised garden beds and also attend the local Community Garden. Over the last year I have entered into a couple of martial arts tournaments and was invited to try out for state. Yes, I still feel pain after doing the things I love, but I have met new people, made new personal achievements, I am a lot fitter, my pain is now controllable, I have a new appreciation for life and a spark in my step (which I have not seen in years), and my relationships with my family and loved ones could not be better. So what are you waiting for? Get out there and take back control over your lifestyle.

This issue’s theme is “Fighting Back.” In other Latin based languages, a similar expression would carry the idea of battling, as one would do in a war. A warrior involved in an intense struggle. Many of us have already realized it, but we are in a war, every day. Our bodies are war zones. The impacts can be devastating. Mentally, physically, and emotionally our bodies resemble London in WWII. They say Rome wasn’t built in a day…nor was London rebuilt. In fact, if not for the resolve of the Churchill administration, England would have fallen. Adolf Hitler, by any account was a worthy adversary, and a determined man. Many people think he just appeared on the scene and decided to take over the world. Nope, it took him approximately 15 years to rise to the position that gave him the authority he had. He spent another 6-7 years abusing that authority and committing some of the most heinous crimes the world has ever seen. What on earth is Joshua David talking about? I’m not going to make this a war documentary, I promise. My point is, when deadly, and skilled forces came and set to battle against England, they did not give in. One of Churchill’s most famous quotes, “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” And they never did. England’s resolve was tested repeatedly and violently, by a man whose proximity caused other countries to join him, or surrender. England stood firm. The fact that other countries chose to stand with them strengthened England’s resolve. When you look back at how this illness has affected you, what it has taken from you, what is your resolve? Are you going to lay down? Admit defeat? Or are you going to fight back, on every front you possibly can? This article was not meant to play on the “ratings” that comparing “things” to Hitler can draw. In fact, I hate it when people do that. My point is, at

that point in time, Germany was a very scary thing to face. Many countries would not stand up to them…but some did. Imagine what the world might be like if they hadn’t? Alright, enough about this evil maniac. Our quality of life is under attack. Every day, we fight pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, nausea, brain fog, the list is endless. What are you doing about it? For sure, none of us asked for this. But it’s here, on your island. It imposes terrible suffering, not only on you, but those you love. This is your “island,” and on it are all the people you choose to let into your life. No doubt this is a scary and determined disease, but don’t let it sink you. With the right resolve we can continue to fight back on every front. Seek help where you need it, ask people for help when it’s useful. All these people that you know; the ones on your little “island,” they wouldn’t be there unless they wanted to be. And when asked, almost all of them are willing to help you fight. Seeing your courage inspires courage. Don’t think for a moment you are forgotten, lost, or unappreciated. That’s how this disease wins, by discouraging you from trying. That is how almost anything “wins”, by defeating your will, your resolve. If you keep trying, you are bound to figure out ways to improve your quality of life. No, it’ not easy, but that is why we are sometimes referred to as “Fibro-warriors.” “Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.” That’s Churchill again. Take some advice from the guy who knows how to win a war.

Are you a man with Fibro? Do you want to talk to other men with Fibro – about how they cope every day, what helps them, etc? Join the closed, private group For Fibro Men

In the past, following your doctor's orders has produced quick results. It worked with that bout of flu, your sprained ankle and that funny rash you-know-where BUT with fibromyalgia, things are more complicated. A specialist probably won't want to see you more than once every six months. Your physician may know about fibromyalgia, but may not have the time to guide you through the steps to better health. YOU need to take more initiative now. YOU need to start helping yourself. Umâ&#x20AC;Śhow?

KNOW YOUR ENEMY

Information - that's what you need first. What is this strange illness that has moved into your life? You can get information on fibromyalgia from branches of organisations that deal with arthritis, chronic pain or chronic fatigue. Often public libraries, or the libraries of medical centres, will have literature that describes the illness and what is being done about it. Several associations of people with fibromyalgia run support groups and put out regular newsletters to keep everyone up to date. Make contact. Join an association. Get some literature. It will be comforting to read that certain symptoms which have puzzled you are just â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;part of the package.' And you will learn that many people with severe fibromyalgia lead active, satisfying lives. They are living proof that you don't have to lie in bed for the rest of your life. Each person's story is unique. Some people with fibromyalgia go through stages when they are relatively free of symptoms. Others are able to improve their quality of life despite their symptoms. They learn how to reduce the pain, improve their sleep, and be active once again. They learn to enjoy life again. They actually have fun! Things change. It's up to you to make them change for the better. You have already started on that road by beginning your education.

What's next?

A GOOD LISTENER Second order of business - talk it out. You have all kinds of feelings mixed up inside. You may want to talk about your feelings and try to sort things out. You need someone to listen to you. This can be a friend (though it's better to protect your friendships by not burdening them too much; each of them is going to be of enormous value in the months to

come).

Listeners can be people who also have fibromyalgia. Some associations have a buddy system in which people help each other. Others have â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;hot lines' set up to help you when you are in a crisis, like a panic attack, or when a problem seems too big to handle. You will be amazed at how a sympathetic listener can help you cut a problem down to manageable size. Even better, find a counsellor - a person trained to listen and to understand your feelings. A counsellor can be a social worker, a therapist, a psychiatrist or a psychologist. Your minister, priest or rabbi may also offer counselling. Let yourself grieve. You have lost something precious - your good health. Ill health has walked in on you when you weren't prepared. That is not nice. It is not fair, and you are not expected to like it. It's okay to cry; it might even be necessary. Maybe you are depressed. Depression can be caused by a chemical imbalance in your body, or it can be an understandable response to your situation. Don't let it become your constant companion. Talking about depression is a good start in fighting it. If you can't shake it, maybe your doctor will refer you for professional help.

WHY ME? You may feel angry. It seems as if the life you once enjoyed is over. Everything has changed, and no one can tell you whether you will be able to change it back. Indignantly you think of all your friends and acquaintances who have worked as hard, dealt with as much stress, and been in as many accidents as you have. They didn't get fibromyalgia. Why should you? This is a question that can't be answered right now. Ultimately the answer doesn't matter. You've got fibromyalgia. The way you cope with it is what matters. Perhaps you have had fibromyalgia for a long time, and it is hard to believe that you can ever feel better. You may feel hopeless as well as angry. If you feel hopeless, helpless and angry all at the same time, you are a normal human being...really!

TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR Now you need to learn to talk to your doctor clearly. You know your body better than anyone else. And only you can do things for yourself every day. You have to become a partner in your health care, helping to guide your treatment. Make notes. Write down the things that work for you. Be specific. Choose the top three items you want to discuss when you next see your doctor. If you provide too much information, your valuable insights may be hidden in a mass of detail. Mention the most important point first - an injury that has come back to haunt you? A strategy your doctor suggested that isn't working for you? If your doctor can't take the time to talk with you at length, explain that you are having trouble telling him or her things that are important to you. Most doctors will hear, and stop, and listen. If you and your doctor cannot talk about your medical problems, think about getting a new doctor. Maybe your style and your doctor's style don't match. Or your doctor might be knowledgeable about other illnesses, but less than fully informed about fibromyalgia. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Fully informed' doctors will know the symptoms of FMS, medical treatments and self-management techniques, and they will have access to medical updates. Not every doctor can be an expert on every illness. There are just too many! That's why you may be sent to a specialist for diagnosis or initial treatment. However you accomplish it, find a doctor who has the expertise and the time to support you in your fight with fibromyalgia. You need a doctor on your team. Your doctor should be the one who has the whole picture of everything you are doing to cope with fibromyalgia - a coach who coordinates your treatment.

GAINING PERSPECTIVE Now that you have become a partner in your health care, you must understand what you can do and what your doctor can do about FMS. YOU can do a lot to fight FMS. YOU can make an enormous difference in the way you feel.

Network Care is a powerful new approach to healing and bodywork. Using precise, gentle touches, it triggers your body’s natural healing capacities, helping you release tension from your spine and body. At the same time, it dramatically improves your health and wellbeing in every area of your life —physically, mentally and emotionally.

Developed by an American chiropractor, Dr Donald Epstein, Network Care is a method that unifies the best of a large range of techniques and practices developed through chiropractic and other types of bodywork. It combines detailed knowledge of anatomy and physiology, in particular the functioning of your brain, nervous system and sensory perceptions, with that of your body’s physical, mental, emotional and energetic responses to stress. Network Care has evolved and developed over the past 20 years into an approach that is both gentle and effective. It uses very precise, strategically timed touches to key areas of your spine. These help your body and brain to recognize and release tension and stored energy throughout your body. Your brain, nervous

system and body let go of defensive stress responses and are able to function with much greater clarity and efficiency.

To understand how Network Care works, it is first important to know a few basic fundamentals about the way your body works. The human body has over 100 billion nerve cells which do everything from operate your pancreas to control your body temperature. Your nervous system consists of your brain, spinal cord, sense organs (eyes, etc) and the nerves that travel to all the different parts of your body. Your nervous system is what keeps your entire body working. Vital messages travel throughout your body to keep your organs functioning, regulate hormonal balances, monitor your heart rate and blood pressure and contract your muscles, allowing you to move. Your nervous system also directs all your thoughts and behaviours and allows you to experience “sensation” and emotions. It is also important to understand that your body responds to stress. Stress comes in a variety of different forms that can be physical, mental, emotional or chemical. From falling off a bike to the death of someone close to you, or constant intake of chemical toxins through medications or other accidental exposures — all these experiences are stress in some form and your body responds to all of them. It responds most commonly by tightening up. Stress responses are mediated through the base or primitive section of your brain. These are the “subconscious” parts of

your brain which direct bodily functions like breathing and heart rate as well as being the seat of your “emotional brain”. All your sensory information travels through these regions first before going to your brain cortex or “thinking” parts. This is why you can find yourself responding to a stress, like recoiling from touching a hot stovetop, before you become fully conscious of what has happened.

There are lots of different types of stresses and many different stress response patterns. The best-known of these is the “fight or flight” response. Imagine yourself walking down a dark alley and somebody jumps out at you. Instantly, the muscles of your body tense, your shoulders rise, the base of your neck tucks down into your shoulders and the backs of your arms, buttocks and calves tighten. What your body is doing by responding in this way is sounding the “alarm” button.

Your body is protecting you by bracing you for possible impact and preparing your muscles to either fight or run away. In response to a perceived stress, the primitive areas of your brain direct changes in many of your bodily functions as well as altering your thoughts, emotions and behaviours. In the case of the fight or flight pattern it does this in three main ways. First, builds tension in different parts of the body. Most of these tensions centre on the spine but also include the muscles and ligaments of your

limbs. You can get an experience of this when you watch someone have a nasty accident. Your body “cringes” in patterns that centre around your spine. The second way your body naturally responds to stress in the fight or flight pattern is to shift energy and blood flow away from your digestive and reproductive systems into your heart, lungs and muscles so you have enough energy, blood flow and oxygen to save your life. Growth, repair, digestion and reproduction get put on hold when your body believes it needs to shift all reserves to save your life. The third of your body’s responses affects your mental and emotional states. During times of stress your attention shifts to your external environment. You block off your feelings and divert all your attention to what is happening around you. In times of stress we also “bottle up” feelings at the same time as storing tension in our body. This is one of our most important survival mechanisms.

It’s not good for your survival to curl up in a ball and cry when someone jumps out at you in a dark alley, or when your children are in danger. So we “bottle up” the feelings until the stress passes, at which time the body naturally releases the tension and emotion associated with the stress.

Your body often goes into defense in response to an uncomfortable or unpleasant feeling or experience. This can

happen in times of severe trauma as well as in times of relatively minor stress or discomfort. Your body will naturally “let down” the tensions and resume its normal functioning once the stress has passed and you feel safe once again. However, if the stress is constant, repeated or overwhelming, you can get stuck in the stress response patterns. When this happens the stresses or uncomfortable feelings can stay “humming away” under the surface, never being fully connected with or released. These tensions and stress responses build up over time and can affect the nerve supplies to various regions of the body, organ systems as well as the brain. Your body has the capacity to store an enormous amount of tension over long periods of time, mostly due to its ability to compensate. The simple movement of turning your neck to one side, for example, incorporates the movement of every vertebra in the top half of your spine. It‟s not until your body literally

cannot absorb any more tension that symptoms can begin to emerge. It‟s often the areas that are working well that become painful or stiff because they have been compensating for the more solid, stuck regions over long periods of time. When your body is stuck in these tension patterns, there is a decreased flow of energy and information throughout your body, especially through your central channel and nervous system, leading to decreased organ function. Your “secondary” systems such as the digestive and reproductive systems can become sluggish. Mentally, emotionally, energetically and physically you become increasingly restricted and rigid. You are less and less able to feel and experience all the different aspects of life, pleasant and unpleasant. Your ability to feel and express your essential states of being — passion, strength, power, value and love — decreases. Your ability to assimilate new information, concentrate, cope with stress and change and make lifestyle improvements diminishes. When new experiences, feelings, opportunities or stresses come along, you experience them through the filter of unprocessed feelings, rather than being clear and fully present. Your body and brain are stuck in the past.

Network Care works by using precise touches to key areas of your spine as well as other body movements and positioning, all specifically and strategically designed to help your body and brain to discover, connect with and release the areas of tension and stored energy throughout your body. Rather than push your body around or try to make it do things it doesn’t naturally want to do, the touches and other body movements used in

Network Care are like wake-up calls to your body’s powerful healing capacities. The method is structured around ways of asking your body exactly where it wants input and how much pressure would be ideal at any moment in time. It is a way of being in the right place, at the right time, with the right amount of input, working with your body instead of pushing against resistance. The defensive stress responses stuck in your body often carry with them the tone or energy of the undigested feelings or stresses from your past. The precise touches used in Network Care draw your body and brain’s attention to become fully present with these stored tensions and energy. This triggers your body’s innate healing abilities to transform these tensions, integrating the energy, information or “emotional charge” associated with them.

One of the most important and empowering aspects of Network Care is that your body actually learns how to more effectively connect with and release or

integrate tensions and stored energy. As people progress through Network Care, they find themselves naturally wanting to move. These movements evolve through the different levels of Network Care into distinct, coordinated waves. They are your body learning new healing strategies, ways of self-correcting and more effectively regulating its own tension. To the point that your body learns these new strategies, you keep them for the rest of your life.

Network Care is structured in levels that build on each other. Throughout these levels your body learns to accelerate its ability to transform and release deeper layers of tension and stored energy. Your first visit to a Network Care practitioner is typically an extended consultation in which the practitioner will ask you about your health history and perform detailed assessments of your body. They will be finding out if and where your body has become stuck in defensive stress response patterns. After the initial consultation, visits usually take between 5 and 20 minutes, during which time you lay face-down on an adjusting table, fully clothed. As you progress, the practitioner may get you lying on your side, on your back or sitting up at specific times. Each visit consists of a series of touches made, typically, along your neck or tailbone in the beginning. Practitioners use various methods to assess where your body is up to and what input is required. A short amount of time is allowed between each of the touches for your body to begin working with the input. This continues until your body says “that’s enough for today”. The input from your practitioner triggers your body to transform the tensions and integrate stored energy,

which your body will continue to use over the following hours and days. Throughout the first level of Network Care, visits are recommended every second day to continue the momentum of change and maximize their effect. One of the first things many people notice when beginning Network Care is their breathing becomes freer and easier. As you progress through the treatments, your body will begin to spontaneously move in order to quickly and effectively dissipate and integrate tensions. This is often first noticed as the desire to move your feet, ankles, wrists or hips. These movements grow and evolve into often quite large visible wave-like movements. They become progressively more specific, refined and coordinated. Different parts of your body begin to move or rock in harmony with each other and with your breath. People often notice sensations such as tingling, warmth or different aches and pains as they progress with the work. Every now and then, you may notice emotions arising. After a Network Care visit, most people notice their awareness and thoughts are dramatically clearer and more peaceful.

During the first level of Network Care, called Basic Care, your body moves from being stuck in defense, feeling relatively “unsafe” and often rigidly defended in places, to a point of relative “safety”. This signals the beginning of the second level when the practitioner can then begin to assist your body to transform deeper layers of tension in more refined ways. Throughout these first two levels, most people notice dramatic improvements and changes in their posture and flexibility. Different aches and areas of discomfort

often improve, along your spine and in other regions of your body. As your body comes out of defense, your normal, healthy bodily functions and rhythms begin to assert themselves. Your brain functions improve and your perceptions become increasingly clear. Instead of experiencing the world and reacting to it through the filter of past stresses and built-up emotional charge, you are more able to experience events, change and opportunities as they truly are and respond to them more effectively and with greater flexibility and creativity. People discover that situations they used to find stressful no longer seem so, and when stressful events do arise, they relax out of them much more quickly. They are more productive and able to make constructive change in their lives. With a greater connection to their feelings and the flow of energy through their body, people find healthy lifestyle improvements virtually automatic and almost effortless. The effectiveness of other types of healing practices such as exercise and meditation is also dramatically enhanced. Progressing through the third level of Network Care onwards, your experience is focused on growth and expansion, rather than the recovery often felt during the first two levels of care. During Level Three, your chest and the regions around your heart open dramatically. People experience themselves becoming more present, both in themselves and with others around them. They notice increasing levels of openness and accelerated change. Stressful events in your life or tensions and feelings arising from the past are experienced more as fuel for growth than things to protect yourself from, and they are fully felt and integrated quickly and with less struggle.

Your ability to respond to stressful events and people and relax out of them continues to expand. You become increasingly healthy and fully alive with a greater capacity to express yourself and your essential states — your passion, strength, power, value and love. People in this level often describe themselves as becoming increasingly “heart-centred”.

Several recent studies have shown that Network Care dramatically and consistently improves people’s enjoyment and quality of life in all aspects (physically, mentally and emotionally), with benefits including:  Greater energy Improved flexibility  Reduced symptoms, pain and headaches  Fewer colds or flu  Markedly reduced stress levels plus much greater capacity to cope with stress  Heightened emotional and psychological wellbeing  Improved ability to think and concentrate and much greater ability to focus and stay on task  Reduced anxiety and depression  Much greater ability to relax  Greater life enjoyment  Greater confidence and ability to express oneself and communicate effectively  Higher productivity and ability to accomplish goals

 Increased ability to adapt to change and manage problems and adversity in life  Increased satisfaction and contentment with self, work and life The research has also shown that people in Network Care have a dramatically greater ability to change their behaviour, make lifestyle changes and take up and maintain healthy lifestyle habits such as good nutrition, regular exercise and meditation. The benefits of Network Care were evident to researchers as early as a few weeks into care and continued to grow dramatically from there. The longer people participated in care, the greater benefits they experienced. Network Care is taught only to qualified chiropractors at a postgraduate level. There are practitioners of Network Care working in nearly all capital cities and in many regional centres. References  Blanks, RHI, Schuster, TL, Dobson M, „A Retrospective Assessment of Network Care Using a Survey of Self-Related Health, Wellness and Quality of Life‟, Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, Vol 1, No 4, 1997  Epstein DM, „Network Spinal Analysis: A System of Health Care Delivery Within the Subluxationbased Chiropractic Model‟, Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research, Vol 1, No 1, 1996

Anita Wheatley is a fellow Fibromyalgia sufferer. As a writer and blogger, sitting and typing on the computer for long periods of time is challenging; but Anita just released her first book Choice for Change: Reflecting More of Him and can attest to what a pain it was to write (literally!) The book is available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and Family Christian Stores.

Anyone who has watched a boxing match witnesses the brutal body punches that each opponent throws in order to develop an offensive game. The fans anticipate the final knockout that sends the defender sprawling across the canvas floor and crumpling onto the mat. Whether or not the defender can get back into the fight is directly related to his conditioning that allows him to fight the good fight. So it is with Fibromyalgia. Many who have stepped into the ring of Fibromyalgia are not equipped initially to go the distance with this disease. Not unlike a boxer, they need to learn the fundamentals of the fight as well as consistently apply those techniques, regardless of how they feel. That helps the Fibromyalgia sufferer endure the severe blows to their body. Unfortunately, with Fibromyalgia, once that starting bell rings they are up against a life-long fight. One of the most important individuals a fighter has in his corner is the coach. The coach brings knowledge and wisdom to the fighter that helps him both offensively and defensively. In the case of Fibromyalgia, the coach is the education a person can glean from various sources on the subject, including doctors. Offensively, they inform one who is inflicted with Fibromyalgia how to best live their life. Their help can be in the form of medication, supplements, diet, exercise, or any other approach (acupuncture, meditation, et al.) that works best for the individual. Defensively, education discloses information that assists in knowing the enemy, what to watch out for, and how to listen to oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body. Being well informed helps to mitigate some of the symptoms. An individual fighter requires individual training because everybody is different. Fibromyalgia sets-up limitations within the body. Some of these are physically imposed and some are mentally imposed. Keeping your mental health in a positive realm and applying whatever methods work for you will help to optimize your life style. Having a confident attitude will increase a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stamina to endure throughout this fight of their life. A person is not in the ring alone and needs to utilize the right people in their corner (family and friends). They will cheer you on. Motivation is vital in order to step into the ring, as it helps to prepare one for the fight and provides staying power to maintain a fighting posture. Refuse to throw your towel into the ring signaling the fight is over. Instead, purpose to keep up the good fight mentally and physically and enjoy your life on your terms. You can do it, Champ!

Ode to Can There’s a four lettered word As offensive as any It holds back the few Puts a stop to the many. You can’t climb that mountain You can’t cross the sea You can’t become anything you want to be. He can’t hit a century They can’t find a cure. She can’t think about leaving or searching for more. Because Can’t is a word with a habit of stopping The ebb and the flow of ideas It keeps dropping itself where we know in our hearts it’s not needed And saying “don’t go” when we could have succeeded. But those four little letters That end with a T They can change in an instant When shortened to three. We can take off the T We can do it today We can move forward not back We can find our own way. We can build we can run We can follow the sun We can push we can pull We can say I’m someone Who refuses to believe That life can’t be better With the removal of one Insignificant letter.

Did you know... Swearing Can Reduce Pain! Swearing when you hurt yourself can lessen the pain you experience – or so say the findings of researchers who asked people to place their hands in buckets of icy water. The first time, they were told to repeat a swear word over and over, the second time repeating an everyday word instead. When swearing, they were able to withstand the cold water for longer, and reported less pain than when repeating the neutral word. The researchers believe that cursing may ramp up the ‘fright & flight’ response, helping people forget about their pain. So swearing may not just help express frustration, it could also lessen the impact of pain

Amy is the owner/author of The Fibro Fog, as well as the correlating Facebook page. Her blog has been voted as one of the top 15 Fibromyalgia blogs of 2014 and 2015 by Healthline. The blog has also been certified for medical accuracy by an M.D. through Healthline. Amy presents a motivational seminar full of tips and tricks for living with a chronic pain illness. For more information about the seminar or to book her for a public speaking engagement, please see her blog. Amy is a 43 year old single mom to four now-grown children, and suffers from Fibromyalgia along with several other chronic conditions. She's getting ready to undertake the task of writing a book about the daily trials of living with chronic pain and fatigue illnesses.

Fibromyalgia has to be one of the most frustrating, infuriating, hard to accept illnesses out there. When physicians and researchers aren't sure what causes fibro, there isn't a cure for it; and we don't even have a standard universal treatment plan that works for everyone affected by the illness, it can overwhelm a person. If a doctor isn't sure how to fight back against fibro, how in the world are those of us dealing with it supposed to fight back? When I'm in a flare, which is about every week it seems, I start off feeling annoyed. Then, I kind of feel sorry for myself. I know, not a great quality but it is what it is. Next I fly into an anger phase. I get so angry at the illness itself. Then, I get angry at researchers - that they haven't found a cure or a solid treatment plan. Next, I get angry with the general population that isn't afflicted with fibro and the portion of those people, that doesn't truly know what fibro is so therefore they don't truly believe in it. All of that anger pushes me to want to educate people on our illness, and show them what it's like to have to live like this. I honestly believe that if enough people can get it through their heads, they too will start advocating and pushing for further research. So I fight back, by educating and advocating. Without having a doctorate degree, I feel it's the only way I can personally make a difference and help "find" a cure. I use the anger and depression that this illness causes me, to spur me on - to fight the stigmas; to voice the truth about living with Fibromyalgia. I've always been a passionate person about life. I've found that's no different in sickness. I'm passionate about trying to educate, and I'm passionate about fighting until the day I die, for a cure to be found. Every day my heart hurts for not only those of us that suffer from this horrible illness, but also for our families. My step-grandchildren were here this past weekend and my heart hurt for them because I couldn't play with them the way I should be able to. The way they crave for me to. The rippling effects of fibromyalgia are astonishing.

Anger pushed me to sit down at the computer and start pushing the Fibromyalgia Awareness Day benefit I'm coordinating. I posted more flyers, asked for more gift baskets to be donated. Messaged and talked with musicians that will be playing the benefit. I want every single penny to be raised at this function, that I can possibly help raise. All proceeds will benefit The National Fibromyalgia and Chronic Pain Association and will be used for education and research. That means so, so much to me because of my own personal beliefs and thought processes. This event is important to me for all of us. There are so many ways that a person can "fight back" when they're afflicted with fibromyalgia. My way is just one. It doesn't matter how you're fighting back. All that ultimately matters is that you DO fight back. Don't let this illness overcome you. Don't let it steal your spirit and heart. It already steals enough without us giving it even more. What I really want, is for all of us to be able to live painfree. For us to have energy and be able to finish a sentence without forgetting what we were saying. I want us to have our lives back. I want our quality of life to be wonderful. All of this my friends, is most definitely worth fighting for. So fight alongside of me, and don't ever back down. I hope you get interactive with this article. I'd love to hear from you and hear how YOU are fighting back!

Melissa Swanson is a chronic pain patient, advocate, and author through her Facebook page and blog. She offers positive encouragement, medical information, resources, and support to 10,000 + fibromyalgia and chronic pain patients. In addition to her own blog, Melissa has been published in Living Well with Fibromyalgia and the NFMCPA Advocate Voice. Graduate of the 2014 Class of Leaders Against Pain Scholarship Training sponsored by the National Fibromyalgia & Chronic Pain Association. Member of the Leaders Against Pain Action Network.

I was honored when the NFMCPA asked if I would write for their Inspirational Patient Stories column. Each person I have interviewed has a different story. They have all been living with Fibromyalgia and its “evil sidekicks” for most of their lives. The one thing they have in common is that they are all Warriors fighting back, and giving back to others by sharing their knowledge and offering their support. Prologue: LJ is a fibro warrior whose journey began approximately 6 years ago. She is a married with one child and is always active in her child’s activities. She had been working at the same company for 15 years. Her family experienced a sudden unexpected tragic death. When faced with this type of death of a loved one, we tend to move into “survival mode”. Survival mode entails doing what we have to do to move through the situation. In LJ’s case, it involved a year of travelling weekends, while continuing doing her child’s activities and working full time/overtime during the week. The physical and mental stress of everything that was happening led to migraines, much unexplained pain, and sleepless nights. The migraines and the pain in her back increased such that her doctors prescribed an MRI and physical therapy. More pain begin to appear in different body parts and the sleepless nights continued. During the time that she was being sent from one doctor to the next, each time receiving a new diagnosis and no relief of pain, she continued to work beyond her 8 hours shifts because the company “needed her”. In a short time, she was diagnosed with TMJ, Migraines without Aura, Seasonal Affective Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Depression, and sent to Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy and Physical Therapy. However, none of these treatments were helping her symptoms. Her place of employment insisted, as soon as she was having an MRI, that she complete the FMLA paperwork. “The FMLA entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of

group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave.” She found a new doctor who specialized in chronic pain and ran a total blood work up. LJ said “I was crushed when the tests showed nothing but to my surprise she said ‘We are not giving up’. She then wrote a referral to a rheumatologist. I remember thinking what a relief. I was walking out of the clinic without being told ‘it is all in your head’, and ‘nothing is wrong with you'; in addition, I had a doctor that was not giving up and willing to keep trying. The rheumatologist checked the “tender points” asked a list of questions. When I walked out of there, I finally had a diagnosis ~ Fibromyalgia & Myofascial Pain Syndrome. Now, it was time to find out what the best treatment would be for me. I found a very good rheumatologist and began treating my diagnoses with prescribed medications, vitamins, water therapy, Chiropractic Care, acupuncture and keeping to the same daily routine. Even though I still experienced daily pain and “flares”, I had learned what I could do and what would aggravate my conditions. I continued to work my full time job and do things with my family.” Every January, LJ was required to see her physician to have the FMLA papers completed. Each year, it stated the same thing. She was going to need to get up and move around some. Sitting for too long could cause an increase in symptoms. There was nothing on the doctor’s report stating she was not to do her job. The company she worked for was going through a shortage of staff, which led to her working increased hours past her required 8 hours a day according to FMLA. The longer hours and added stress of not being able to get all of the work done caused higher levels of pain - “flares” - to come more often and she developed more of the co-existing/co-morbid diagnoses of Fibromyalgia. Even though her doctor had told her she needed to work less hours, she continued to put in long days because the company “needed her”. January arrived, and it was the 5th time that she would see the doctor for her FMLA review. This time, he wrote something different on the paperwork. He said that she was not to exceed 7 hour workdays. He told her, “since you won’t listen to me, then I will make sure you do what you need to do.” The company was very accommodating and adjusted her work hours. “I would have good days and bad days. I had my ‘Fibro kit’ which consisted of ice packs, heating pad, sunglasses, sunlamp, a tens unit, and medication with me at work if needed. One month, after a glowing review and 20 years of service, I found myself being sent home for good.” She is, by law, unable to discuss the termination, and hasn’t wanted to talk about the first few months afterwards. All she would say is “it was a roller-coaster of emotions, disbelief, fibro flares, depression, anxiety and uncertainty.” What she did know, however, was that she was still able to work, and was very employable. Not only could she work, but she was going to prove those who doubted her future.

LJ’s Fight Back: During the 4 months after losing her job, she received wonderful recommendations from her former supervisors, co-workers, and clients. She began taking mandatory classes when on unemployment. “I replaced my doubt with self-confidence, took every class that I could from ‘What kind of job do I want’ to ‘How do I market myself and get the job’. I came out of each class no longer feeling unable to work but with knowing I could do it. ”

Who doesn’t need more SPOONS!

She also knew it was time to change the type of job she was doing. LJ wanted to help others, not just in her spare time, but as a new career. It took some time, but she found a great job with no stress and many rewards. One year after being let go, LJ is happy.