Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic condition that impacts its victims in every aspect of their lives. The day has to be planned around how one might feel at certain times of the day and is always in the foreground of a FM victim’s mind. Many patients who present for treatment of FM ask us about what resources are available for them and therefore, this is the subject of this month’s Health Update.
The National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) was founded in 1997 in Orange, California and has become the largest nonprofit (501c3) FM specific organization. The initial goal was to help patients with FM find doctors who were willing to treat and manage FM patients as this was a BIG CHALLENGE and remains an important focus of the organization today. The mission of the NFA is to improve the quality of life for the FM patient and to find a team who embraces that premise by creating and offering many programs, high profile media campaigns, and providing training to support group leaders across the country. Their philosophy is to, “…empower patients and to provide them with a new level of hope for the future.” To that effect, the NFA evolved to include the development of an educational web site, the publication of an international magazine (“Fibromyalgia AWARE”), as well as developing medical education programs. The NFA website includes a “Resource” tab at the their homepage that leads to a listing of many great options that can be accessed at the click of a button. URL:
http://fmaware.org/PageServer4a00.html?pagename=resources_directory
Here is an interesting place for health care providers and patients with FM to review research articles on FM from 1981 to 2002, with over 300 references available:
http://www.myalgia.com/refs%2081%20to%200302.htm
Another good resource for information on FM is the New York Times Health Guide:
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/fibromyalgia/resources.html
There are many places one can acquire information about FM. The list provided here barely scratches the surface. Simply google “fibromyalgia resources” to find almost anything you’ll need.