Celeste Cooper - Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection

INTEGRATIVE THERAPIES
FOR
FIBROMYALGIA,
CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME,
AND
MYOFASCIAL PAIN

This integrative holistic approach to these conditions is what is needed throughout medicine today. Empowering us to become part of our own health and healing process is such a powerful approach to these conditions or any others. I applaud the authors, and hope they inspire others to follow their lead.

BILL DOUGLAS, AUTHOR OF
THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO T'AI CHI & QIGONG

Acknowledgments

I believe God is responsible for certain people crossing anothers life path. Some believe it is destiny. For me (Celeste), this is an acknowledgement of Gods undying love. He never promised me that life would have no trials and tribulations. He did, however, promise to be there to help me through. Without Him, I would be nothing; without Him, none of these people would have been there for me.

First, I want to thank my mother for always encouraging me to be the best I could be, and for teaching me by example that nothing worth having comes without sacrifice.

To my sis, what can I say? You build me up. You give me confidence in myself.

I thank my husband for picking up when I could no longer handle the job. I know my illnesses have affected your life as well. Because of these unrelenting illnesses and their unpredictability, there is little left of me, and writing uses most of that. May God bless you for sacrificing so that I might continue to help others.

I thank my friendsthe ones I have leftfor hanging in there with me. Thank you for being there when I didnt think I could make it through another day; for listening when I needed to talk, even though Im sure you didnt want to hear it again; for understanding when I couldnt repay a favor; and for accepting me as I am.

All my FMily members are so very important to me. It is essential to have a strong support system to make it through the trials of chronic illness. Being able to talk to people who understand exactly what it is like for you brings comfort. Thank you for being there.

Thank you to the person who coined the term FMily, Devin Starlanyl. You have been everything and more to me and your contribution to this book has been invaluable. You picked me up and dusted me off as a new writer. Few would make the personal sacrifices you made to help me be the best I could be. You are all that a mentor should be. You guided me so that I could grow and you corrected me so my readers would have the best information. You did more than just coin the term; you became part of my FMily.

Thanks also to Sondra Cooper, human resource specialist, and Josh Joseph Sonsiadek, chiropractic physician and biochemist, for your helpful contributions to the book.

I cannot conclude these acknowledgments without recognizing all those at Inner Traditions/Healing Arts Press who have morphed my dream into reality. First and foremost, thank you Laura, my project editor, for all your care for not only the book, but for me as well. Your unending dedication and personal concern will forever remain in my heart. Abigail, my copy editor, thank you for your meticulous attention to detail, even though there were times when I wished you werent quite so good at your job. I only mean that lovingly; it is because of the questions you asked and the overwhelming time I know you spent researching that I know you have been truly vested in our book. To all the people at Inner Traditions who had a hand in the publication of this book, I have some experience working with others, and I can tell you, you are all number one, without exception. The pleasure in working with all of you is truly mine. What more could a writer possibly ask for?

This book is dedicated to all of those, both in the present and in the past, who have been instrumental in my life and believed in meI will meet you again one day.

CELESTE COOPER

I would like to thank my parents for their unwavering support. My thanks to the professors who turned the lamp on for me, Jay Haley, Milton Erickson, B. F. Skinner, Roger Ulrich, Hilary Karp, Duane Hartley, and Bill Jesse. My family deserves an award for putting up with Daddys writing schedule; much love to Marji, Corina, and Wilson. Most special thanks to my best teachers who graciously drive to my office and take their hour teaching me about their conditions as they grow and improve, and to Celeste for kicking me where and when it was needed and proving me write. My work here is respectfully dedicated to my late brother, Bob, a brilliant educator shining bright too briefly.

JEFFREY MILLER

Contents

Foreword

Managing one invisible and often misunderstood chronic illness is a challenge. Functioning well with three of them can seem overwhelming. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue immunodysfunction, and chronic myofascial pain can wear you down if you arent prepared. The general support systems that automatically kick in for people who have more obvious or better-known illnesses are absent. Life doesnt end when you get these illnesses, but it does change and a new life begins. Its up to you to determine the quality of that life. These conditions require many changes if you are to successfully navigate the often-treacherous currents in the river of life. One of the most important changes is that of your own attitude toward life and to the illness that complicates it.

Integrative Therapies for Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Myofascial Pain: The Mind-Body Connection is a good guidebook to facilitate this positive change.

DEVIN J. STARLANYL

Devin J. Starlanyl is former director of the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain Institute and is the author, with Mary Ellen Copeland, of Fibromyalgia and Chronic Myofascial Pain: A Survival Manualand The Fibromyalgia Advocate.

Preface

The writing of this book started as an exercise for mental health. Toward the end of a twenty-year nursing career in critical care, emergency nursing, and education, my musculoskeletal symptoms had become severe. I had spent approximately six years juggling chronic pain, family, and work. I cut back my work from full time to part time and tried changing the focus of my career. Because of my disorders, I found that the work I loved so much was no longer possible. My story is typical.

I was fortunate to find a neurologist knowledgeable in myofascial pain before the full implications were realized. He was actually able to see the twitch response on my back when he gave me trigger point injections and taught me about this telltale response of trigger points to injections and pressure. He also suggested alternative treatments.

However, before I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM), I suffered through more than five years of unrelenting, unforgiving symptoms of body-wide pain, fatigue, and flu-like symptoms.

As happens to so many of us, I was also the target of remarks that threatened my self-esteem. When I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia (FM), an additional, separate disorder from chronic myofascial pain, I had reached a point of desperation and despair over my feelings of loss. Being a type A personality, I couldnt accept lack of control.

My psychotherapist was able to help me address my reactions to others and to the health care community of which I had once been a part. That therapist is now my friend and coauthor of this book.

After my diagnosis, I knew I needed to learn as much as I could about these disorders. It was through people like Devin Starlanyl, Dr. I. Jon Russell, and Clair Davies, as well as the Fibromyalgia Network, The Forum, and my support group members that I discovered why birds flock together. You will see references throughout the book recognizing these people for what they have done for so many others and for me.