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Upcoming Events
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Every Thursday from 7-8 PM (PST): "Chat" Night on Ning! Note: There will be NO chat on Thanksgiving.
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Featuring Past Webinar: Sue Ingebretson and "FibroWHYalgia"
We hope you enjoy this audio recording. Sue Ingebretson, author of "FibroWHYalgia" spoke to us about "why rebuilding the ten root causes of chronic illness restores chronic wellness."
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The Thriving Fibromite
NOVEMBER 2012 |
Greetings!
Can you believe that the holidays are upon us? We hope you have fun and exciting plans for Thanksgiving. Please pace yourself and be sure and ask family and guests for help so that you don't overdo. The holidays will be a lot more enjoyable that way! PS... Think of one person with fibromyalgia or ME/CFS who has told you, "I wish there was some support for people like us!" and to him/her. |
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The Benefits of Massage, Lymphatic Drainage and Acupuncture in FMS and ME/CFS
Saturday, November 17th 1-4:00 PM
Fran Rodriguez, LMT, will speak first & address:
- history of massage
- different types of massage techniques
- a little bit on lymphatic drainage & why it's helpful
- demonstrate lymphatic drainage
- a little on manipulations (chiropractic)
- how massage PLUS acupuncture PLUS chiropractic will give you better results than just one of them alone
Dr. In Yu will be talking about:
- history of acupuncture
- how acupuncture is used for fibromyalgia & pain
- cupping, what it does & what it's used for
- a demonstration of acupuncture and cupping
Fran and Dr. Yu have surprise door prizes to hand out to lucky audience members.
Reminder: We begin the meeting with social time (1-2PM) and the speakers start about 2:15PM
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Webinar: PAINTRACKING your way to a better life with chronic pain and fatigue syndromes
 Wednesday, November 14th 6:00-7:30 PM (PST)
Our November webinar will feature Deborah Barrett, author of, "Paintracking: Your personal guide to living well with chronic pain," and chronic pain patient, herself.
She will be speaking on the challenges of living with chronic pain and how pain tracking can help with that.
Excerpted from the back of the book...
"Paintracking provides a systematic method that empowers individuals to navigate the otherwise overwhelming array of treatment options and incorporate the effective ones into their lives for continued, incremental progress. Its cornerstone is a self-study tool that enables readers to improve. Readers are instructed on how to track and interpret their experience, whether using a pen and paper or the online Paintracking tool offered as a companion to the book. By cultivating awareness of how their body responds in different situations and to different therapies, readers will become capable self-advocates, able to make informed choices."
Written in clear, understandable prose and filled with sociological insights, therapeutic lessons, practical tips, and empathy, Paintracking offers realistic hope to individuals who often feel hopeless in the face of confusing, debilitating pain.
To read Deborah Barrett's bio, click here.
To read more and RSVP, click here.
To read "How Webinars Work," click here.
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Social Events in October
Notice: There will be no walks during the winter months due to lack of venue that is warm and dry. We will also have no social event this month due to the Thanksgiving holiday. |
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This letter went out to all members recently. It is about some big changes coming up for the community.
First, and most exciting, we have just received 501(c)3 status as a nonprofit corporation. This means that all donations are tax deductible. This will be retroactive for the 2012 year. We want to thank all who have donated thus far this year and we will be sending out acknowledgement letters for those donations in the coming weeks.
Along with incorporating, we decided to change the name of the group. So many areas in the country (and world) don't have active Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS groups. We have had a growing number of people joining the group from areas outside of Portland and Oregon. We also have heard your requests for the group to keep you more apprised of the latest news regarding FMS and ME/CFS. Because of these two considerations, we have decided to change the name of the group to reflect our growing global membership and mission of education and support. The new name will be Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Support Center, Inc.
We will, of course, continue with our local support group meetings and functions where we will keep the local group name, Portland Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Group, as a "doing business as" entity under the larger umbrella of Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Support Center, Inc.
With these changes, we will also be creating a new website to house both groups and we will move away from Ning when the new site is up and running.
We will continue to offer all of our existing group benefits of:
* Monthly group meetings
* Group social events and walks
* Monthly webinars
* Monthly newsletter
* Facebook Group - (the name of this group will eventually change)
* Facebook Page (the name of the page will eventually change)
* Weekly text chats
* Video library of all meetings
* Audio library of all webinars
We will be adding new services and group benefits of:
- Sponsor perks (i.e. discounts for products/services)
- An updated, easier to use forum (when the new site is available)
- A concerted effort to provide up-to-date information about FMS and ME/CFS on our new website
- Assist with referrals to healthcare providers
- Answer questions regarding disability process and related issues
- Answer general questions about FMS and ME/CFS
- Better community awareness (this was begun last Fibromyalgia Awareness Day with a proclamation from Governor Kitzhaber)
With these exciting changes, we want to remind you that the group is an all-volunteer organization. To date, Bob and Tamara Staples have been shouldering most of the group expenses. This has been bolstered by a limited amount of donation and group sponsor support. However, the income from donations and sponsors is not meeting the outgoing expense it takes to run the group.
In order to continue the group work and bring you additional services, perks and benefits, we ask that you seriously consider making a donation. If everyone gave $5- $10, it would go a long way towards keeping the group financially solvent without Tamara and Bob continuing to carry the group financially themselves. All donations are gratefully acknowledged and are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by law.Without sufficient donations, we will have to consider whether we need to implement a paid membership option in 2013. If we took this step, basic group functions and events would remain free to all members while other group benefits would become subject to a nominal paid membership fee.We have no desire to prevent anyone who needs the group from receiving its full benefits solely due to inability to pay. Therefore, we would provide "hardship" criteria for a free courtesy membership. We will share further information regarding this option should a membership fee become necessary.This is a link to the expense breakdown, which delineates the basic expenses of the group for Year 2012.We thank you for any donation you are able to give. The donation and you are very much appreciated. If we do implement a paid membership, your donation will be applied toward the membership fee. (We have had trouble with the donate button not working properly. If it doesn't work, please go to our website here and click the donate button on the right side of the page. Thank you!)
If you have questions about anything in this letter (or anything regarding the group), please contact Tamara via email or telephone - 503-476-9520.
Sincerely,
Tamara Staples
Tami Stackelhouse
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October Recordings Available
Brain Training to Lift the Fog and Help Memory and Focus With Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS, we often deal with brain fog and memory/concentration issues.
At our October meeting, Sandy Schwartzkopf, a Cognitive Skills Trainer specializing in movement and balance methodology, presented a hands-on training that assisted memory, auditory and visual processing, ADHD, sensory integration, and much more.
Sandy brought several of the materials for everyone to experiment with. Learn more about brain fitness at http://www.thinkstraighttraining.com/About_Us.html. Brain Training Video Recording Webinar: Intentional Resting with Founder, Dan Howard What is the Intentional Resting™ method? It's an amazingly simple tool to: - instantly reduce mental and physical stress
- enhance healing
- experience inner stillness
- and instantly bring yourself into present moment awareness.
You might think that rest is about lying down, going to sleep or stopping what you're doing - and of course you can experience rest that way, but did you know that you can also experience rest while you're awake during any activity, anytime, anywhere, day or night. Really. The ability to rest is innately wired into every cell of your being. Our bodies are designed to rest, to reach homeostasis. For so many of us, our bodies are in a continuous state of stress from pressure to work harder, be more productive, take in more information, push ourselves to do more and more and more.... So we carry around this frenetic energy of "busyness" and don't even realize how much of the time we're living in adrenaline. Our systems get worked so hard they don't get a chance to reach homeostasis...to pause, to really rest. Intentional Resting creates that pause in the body/mind and brings the opportunity to choose rest over stress anytime by combining the power of consciousness with our innate ability to rest. Resting with intention adds to the effectiveness of rest. And it only takes about 5 minutes to learn and experience for your self. Visit Dan's Website Intentional Resting Audio Recording Join our private web group here...
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 Join our Private Web Group
The Portland Area Fibromyalgia - ME/CFS Group provides a support system and social network for those dealing with fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome and other chronic illness and pain conditions. Our primary purpose is to encourage each other in thriving despite our illnesses.
By joining our private group, you'll have access to:
- Videos of our monthly group meetings featuring knowledgable speakers on various aspects of coping with and healing from chronic illness.
- Audio recordings of our monthly webinars featuring authors, doctors, naturopaths and other experts on fibromyalgia and ME/CFS from around the country.
- A compassionate online community where we share our stories and offer one another support.
- A library of articles on fibromyalgia and ME/CFS.
There are no membership dues and it is free to join. We hope that you will find exactly what you need in our group and look forward to meeting you!
Join the Portland Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Group...
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Thanks for reading our November 2012 issue! We'd love your feedback on what you thought.
It would really help us if you would:
To thriving, not just surviving,
 
Tamara Staples Tami Stackelhouse
tamara@portlandfibrocfs.com tami@myrestoredhealth.com
(503) 476-9520 (971) 832-9322
Group Co-Leader Group Co-Leader
Portland Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Group |
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