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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 December 27th.
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Featuring Past Webinar: The Practical Fibromite "Holiday-Related Stress and Self-Care"
Many of us have struggles around pacing, asking for (or demanding) help and stress and family issues during the holidays.
Whether we are traveling to the home of family or friends or hosting them in our own homes, Michelle shared down-to-earth and easily implemented suggestions that are sure to keep our holidays more stress-free. This means fewer flares, less fatigue and more fun. Who wouldn't want that?
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The Thriving Fibromite
DECEMBER 2012 |
Greetings!
Please note the banner above with our new logo and name. This goes along with our incorporating and receiving 501(c)3 nonprofit status. This means that all donations are tax deductible! Also, we hope you enjoy our new "Member Spotlight" feature. If you wish to be featured in our newsletter, please send an email to Tamara. We hope that your holidays are safe, relaxing and enjoyable! 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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Holiday Potluck Party!
Saturday, December 15th 1-4:00 PM
Please join us for food, friendship and fun. As always, partners, family and support people are welcome. This will be a purely social event.
Please bring a dish to share and a note card listing ingredients (for those of us with food sensitivities/allergies). Beverages, utensils, cups, plates and napkins will be provided.
Feel free to arrive early if you want to help us decorate. We will be there at 12:15PM :) Then...let's PARTY!!
We will stage a mock webinar (like we did last year) so that you can see how easy it is to participate in a webinar and can also see what goes on "behind the scenes" to make it happen!
We also hope to debut our new website.
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Webinar: Q&A with "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide" author, Erica Verrillo
 Thursday, December 13th 1:00-2:30 PM (PST)
Erica Verrillo, a chronic fatigue syndrome patient, literally wrote the book on how to manage ME/CFS. The book has received high praise from several top name ME/CFS specialists.
Please join us as we discuss how to manage ME/CFS. We will touch on how to tell the difference between chronic fatigue syndrome and other fatigue states among other topics that have to do with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis, commonly called chronic fatigue syndrome).
You are encouraged to email your questions to Tamara ahead of time; although, we will also take new questions on the day of the event.
Buy the ebook for only $2.99: "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Treatment Guide."
To read more about the book, click here.
To read more and RSVP, click here.
To read "How Webinars Work," click here.
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Social Events in December
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 holidays. |
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Member Spotlight featuring Melody H.
Are you married?
Widowed. My husband died in March 2000, at age 52, after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer about 18 months earlier.
Do you have kids? How many? Are they still at home?
I have a stepdaughter who lives in Seattle with her husband and daughter. So I got a granddaughter without ever having kids!
Where do you live?
Aloha Oregon
How long have you been ill?
Since summer of 2000.
How did your illness begin?
Unrelenting high stress from my mother living near me and developing dementia; my husband's cancer, treatments, and death; and the deaths of my mother-in-law (who I liked a lot) and my father and mother within a 6-month period.
What is the most difficult thing about having Fibro or CFS?
Having to always be careful, plan and budget every bit of energy, and not being able to do things I'd like to do.
What helps you get through a flare?
Watching funny videos or movies, reading, sleep.
Advice for someone newly diagnosed?
Learn all you can and don't believe any one source. Take your own power, think for yourself, and don't expect a doctor or anyone else to "save" you.
One treatment you can't live without?
Meditation of various kinds.
One thing that has made the biggest difference in reducing your pain and/or fatigue?
Sleep, now that I've gotten where I can do that regularly!
Favorite app or tool to help you manage your symptoms?
The Internet and the information and support available there.
What lifts your spirits when you are mid-flare?
Watching funny videos or movies, reading, napping.
Continue Reading...
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November Recordings Available
The Benefits of Massage, Lymphatic Drainage and Acupuncture in FMS and ME/CFS Fran Rodriguez, LMT, spoke first on the topics of: - 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 addressed the following:
- 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
Lymph Drainage and Acupuncture Video Recording Webinar: PAINTRACKING your way to a better life with chronic pain and fatigue syndromes Our November webinar featured Deborah Barrett, author of "Paintracking: Your personal guide to living well with chronic pain," and a chronic pain patient, herself.
She spoke 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.
About Deborah Barrett (from her website): Deborah Barrett, PhD, MSW, LCSW is a clinical associate professor in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a psychotherapist in private practice. She has published self-help articles on fibromyalgia and other chronic pains as well as scholarly papers on health and illness, global culture, and public policy Visit Deborah Barrett's Website PAINTRACKING Audio Recording Join our private web group here...
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 Join our Private Web Group
The Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Support Center, Inc. (formerly 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 community, 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 Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Support Center, Inc....
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Thanks for reading our December 2012 issue! We'd love your feedback on what you thought.
It would really help us if you would:
- 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.
- Join our private web community.
To thriving, not just surviving,
 
Tamara Staples Tami Stackelhouse
tamara@fibrocfssupportcenter.org tami@myrestoredhealth.com
(503) 476-9520 (971) 832-9322
Co-founder, President Co-founder, Vice President
Fibromyalgia-ME/CFS Support Center, Inc. |
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