My husband has fibromyalgia (which is thought of as a woman's diease, it is not). He got his diagnosis in Indiana but when we moved to Californua his new doctors told him that dispite what the doctors in Indiana said his pain was all in his head and would not even take into account what my husand's medical records said. It was a tough 2+ years for my husband, dealing with hostile doctors and trying to getting his SSDI. The stress did not help his pain.
Fibromyalgia..........................
by morty 60 Replies latest jw friends
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NewChapter
Does anyone know the phsychologica/physical connection with fibromyalgia? I've been wondering because I remember a LOT of JW's having it---much more than non-JW people I knew. Once I walked away and looked back, I realized the numbers were somewhat disturbing. But I'm only one person, and that was only my experience. It didn't give me the bigger picture. Still, I'm curious.
NC
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botchtowersociety
Anatabine citrate.
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Fernando
Hey NC!
It seems possible to connect physical outcomes such as FM with CBT (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy) in Psychology.
In CBT an unhelpful outcome is underpinned by unhelpful behaviour (poor diet, lack of exercise, over stressing, no R&R etc), which is underpinned by unhelpful emotions and feelings, which are underpinned by unhelpful thinking, which is underpinned by unhelpful beliefs.
In Psychology misalignment between beliefs and behaviour creates Cognitive Dissonance which if sustained eventually leads to mental and physical illness.
No surprises that a cult can steal our health by stealth!
So now we have two dimensions of health and illness: physical and mental (BioPsycho).
Two multi-dimensional models of health and illness suggest a further two dimensions:
- the BioPsychoSocial model by Psychiatrist George L Engel (1977)
- the Body-Mind-Spirit model.
Which could lead to discussions around social isolation, socially destructive ideologies, and spiritual abuse...
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Band on the Run
I did cognitive therapy with Albert Ellis. While I truly appreciate how helpful it can be for almost every life stress, I do believe that the mechanisms of fibromylalgia are biological and chemical. I was labelled as not truly ill by male doctors. Now it is pretty established but I recall when it was first recognized here.
Cognitive behavioral therapy, particularly with Ellis, amazed me. When I left the Witnesses, I had no party skills. We were not allowed to dance. Dating was nixed. on and on and on. We were so isolated I did not know how to signal that I was interested in anything social. For instance, I always dreamed of attending ballet, opera and Broadway plays. If I had the money, I had no idea how to do it. CBT solved that. I needed therapy after all the abuse I endured. Psychodynamic therapy helped me greatly. When I arrived at Ellis' Institute, there were actual classes on how to ask someone out, how to refuse, how to accept, how to dance- very concrete social skills that also took into account life in a very large city. Safety was also stressed. It blew my mind. I can talk about men till the cows come home but I did not any role models or experience. It seemed so elegant and simple to empower people.
Another cool part was that Ellis composed these wacky songs to very common songs. They were all statements that neurotic people make. When you hear these zany lyrics sung to O Christmas Tree, Happy Birthday, Mary Had a Lamb, and other ditties, you just convulsed in laughter. It brought such insight into neurotic thinking. It was far more effective than discussing it abstractly.
It seems to me that cognitive/behavioral therapy is not getting so much press anymore. I no longer have ready access to CBT b/c of where I live now. Also, reading the books it sounds sooo easy! It was not easy. I was so impressed and shocked. CBT offers concrete solutions to real life problems, not some Freudian/Jungian YAVIS(young, attractive, verbal, intelligent, and sexy-the stds for analysis and most therapy)
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mrsjones5
Yep Wha, I've been told it does help.
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Band on the Run
Mrs.Jones,
May I ask how your H felt about being diagnosed with a disease so associated with women? I once met a man who was so outraged. He was a Witness type who totally believed in male superiority. It played with his mind. Of course, he was in a group discussing it. Everyone else was female and his attitude did not endear him to the women present.
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Snoozy
It took forever for the Dr to diagnose my daughters Lyme disease. No Drs here knew how to treat it. She had to go to another state. If you find a DR that doesn't act like they know it all you may be able to get some help. Because the DRS took so long to recognize my daughters disease it has been a long hard battle trying to get well..thankfully with Drs that are wiling to listen and try to find you help she is getting better..she ws almost in a wheelchair by the time she found one that could help her.
It is the same with Fibro..if a Dr is ignorant of the disease they will make excuses and try to say you are mental..you have to keep looking for a Dr that can and will help.
Many Drs have lost their license for treating Lyme Disease patients..they too (the patients) have been accused of it "Being all in their heads"..because the DRs are too ignorant of the tests available and the treatments (as they are of Fibro) ..so they pass the buck..
In growing up I was surprised to find out that Drs indeed , did not know it all. They were next to God when I was growing up as were Policemen..
Snoozy..
Did you know that many cases of Fibro have the same symptoms as Lyme Disease? Many Fibro patients may be suffering the effects of a past tick bite! There is a blood test to detect if you are suffering from an old tick bite with Lyme disease..it wouldln't hurt to ask your Dr for one just to be sure.
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talesin
NC - It's usually brought on by some sort of trauma (physical illness, car accident, abuse), and is believed, at this point, to be a neurological disease. The newest 'med of the month' is Lyrica, which has been used by neurologists for years, to address other illnesses. FM causes 'nerve pain', and is thought to be present in the fascia (or lining that encases every organ, muscle and joint in the body). The joint pain, for example, can feel just as painful as arthritis, yet does no physical damage to the joint, and no inflammation is detectable.
I went from being prescribed NSAIDs (till they made me vomit blood at 19/20YO), to anti-depressants, trycyclics, (and other drug concoctions) and finally the Lyrica, which knocked me out for 2 days -- yes, folks, for 2 days I didn't wake up. Finally, my Dr. recommended maryjane. That, and hot baths, are the only two meds that have worked for me (I have had fm all my life, and was misdiagnosed up until my early 20s, when they had NO CLUE what it was, and first called it 'fibrocytis').
CBT can be helpful, as are many treatments for depression, including NLP, transactional analysis, self-hypnosis and meditation, to name a few. FM can cause severe depression (or triggered by stressful and/or depressing events), and the depression aggravates the FM - indeed, it is a chicken/egg scenario.
mrsjones5 -- I feel bad for your hubby, as this is one of the areas in which men are discriminated against. My ex has it (quite severely), and even his own brothers feel he is being lazy (he's not, he did roofing in the wintertime, sick as a dog, when we were together and trying to make ends meet, both being sick).
tal