fibormyalgia

[beasleyk2]

I am currently taking lyrica for my fibromyalgia and I ended up with a new doctor that put me on Effexor and I am not sure if I should take it or consult another doctor what do I do?

[gymdandee]

My wife has fibromyalgia/costochondritis  does meditation and I have her at the gym doing light stretching with resistance bands and or machines using light weights.

[gymdandee]

Pax. I hit a nerve! Sorry about that!! I posted about meditation and you jumped all over it!! I don't think meditation would harm anyone!! As for the internet, I can't fax my reports to the posts so if I send a link or enter the info. from a web page so! P.S. I've sent many reports to those on the forum that asked me in a private message and gave me an email address. As I mentioned to you That I have reports and PDF files to send you for back problems that you could look at and try or delete. You didn't even say yes or no thanks! I don't know what happened to you but i bet if you ask others on the forums they would agree. Enough said lets get back to posting to questions asked.

[Paxiled]

Well, we know from your posts and your blog that you certainly do like to read websites.  Pharmaceutical company worked for by your son?  Well, okay, but they can't tell you the truth, it's proprietary information that only comes out when companies are sued.  Given this history I think we can all disregard that piece of expertise.  As for my experience, why would I lie?  What would I gain from it?  What have I said on here that sounds like I made it up?  I managed health food stores for 18 years, and yes, I also swept up, because this wasn't a big industry until recently.  Mopped the floors, too.  Ordered everything and was trained by the pioneers in the industry so I could better sell their products without harming anyone.  I studied kung fu and some tai chi, as well as some Gracie ju jitsu, for about a decade.  Started when I almost forty, so I can't say I was good at it, and working where I did ten hours or more a day made it hard to go to all the classes, so it took that long to get my brown belt.  I was studying for my red and black belts when I decided my body couldn't take the pounding that would require.  One of the first things we were taught and had to take an exam on was the history of Chinese martial arts.  The system I studied was tien shien pi (it's been awhile, so the spelling is atrocious and I don't really feel like looking it up).  That's mountain style, from the Shao Lin monastery in the mountains.  Mostly we did forms, but also a lot of sparring.  My teacher, called shifu, was a black belt of many degrees in kenpo (the Japanese form of kung fu, just as zen is the Japanese form of Chinese buddhism), kung fu and tai chi, and his teacher was a God knows how many generation kung fu master from China who taught in Chinatown in DC.  So yes, I did this for many many years.  I am also a long-time meditator.  I have had three forms transmitted to me:  TM, mindfulness, and shinay (bad spelling), a Tibetan form of sitting meditation.  My teachers were some kid for TM, but Thich Nhat Hahn for mindfulness (came in second for the Nobel Peace prize to Martin Luther King for his work for peace in Vietnam) and Namkai Norbu, a tulku who had to flee Tibet and teaches Tibetan culture at a university in Italy but also has spiritual communities all over the world, as does TM and Thick Nhat Hahn.  So I really do know the difference between meditation and exercise.  This was my world, that I grew up with in the 60's in California and pursued until quitting Paxil destroyed my brain and my body and brought me to this website where I spend too much time.  I also have a Masters degree in political science from Berkeley and a law degree from Berkeley.  Which I only cite to show that I had a tremendous ability to learn and to recognize shallow research and statements from deep ones.  If you'll notice, I seldom give specific advice to anyone because I recognize that I'm no expert, and my main criticism of your posts is the fear you'll lead people to dead ends by not answering their questions but instead posing as an expert in things you clearly don't even do yourself.  I just want to alert people to the fact that there are a billion small studies out there which don't prove anything.  They're fun to look up and are great food for future research, but the money for the kind of research that would really reveal truth is never there, even for pharmaceutical products which are approved for sale before we know what harm they cause or even if they work on real people for any length of time, and are then reviewed after years of use to see if they pan out.  Some do, most don't.  I was the victim of one of these drugs which the company knew about but didn't reveal to anyone for fear of hurting sales -- we know that now because of lawsuits and regulatory investigations.  So there's that.  And yeah, I could just be blowing smoke here -- which is why I keep saying to your posts, just finding things on the internet is interesting but one needs to take great care before suggesting someone who needs help do it.  Peace, and please dear God, out.

[gymdandee]

The History of qigong, the Chinese practice of aligning breath, movement, and awareness for exercise, healing, and martial arts training, extends back more than 4,000 years. Contemporary qigong is a complex accretion of the ancient Chinese meditative practice xing qi (行氣) or "circulating qi" and the gymnastic breathing exercise tao yin (導引) or "guiding and pulling", with roots in the I Ching and occult arts; philosophical traditions of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, with Yoga influences; traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts; along with influences of contemporary concepts of health, science, meditation, and exercise.

Archeological evidence suggests that the first forms of qigong can be linked to ancient shamanic meditative practice and gymnastic exercises. For example, a nearly 7000 year old Neolithic vessel depicts a priest-shaman (wu xi 巫覡) in the essential posture of meditative practice and gymnastic exercise of early qigong. Shamanic rituals and ideas eventually evolved and formalized into Taoist beliefs and were incorporated into the field of traditional Chinese medicine.[

[gymdandee]

You spent years! It's possible you haven't spent a minute of what you said!
Meditation can't hurt and it could help. I didn't say it will cure anything.
Because you worked many years in the health food ind. doesn't mean you know anything about it. It's possible all you did was sweep the floors at closing time. and yes I read reports from medical doctors of complimentary/alternative meds. and information from my son who works for a major pharmaceutical Co.  You say Qigong isn't for meditation and I say it is.So what makes you the expert about any topic?

[Paxiled]

Kind of wonder why you had to go to an English website to find Shao Lin practitioners.  There's one on every corner of every major city in the US.  Here's the story, which is part legend:  Bodhidharma, an Indian Buddhist evangelist, came to China to spread Buddhism.  He asked for the most spiritual people there and was directed to the Shao Lin monastery, which practiced taoism.  He tried to reach them Buddhist meditation, but they were too out of shape to sit in meditation for very long, so he taught them some basic Indian martial arts and warm up exercises to get them into better shape.  From this beginning the Shao Lin monks mixed some taoism with some Buddhism and eventually Zen Buddhism came out of it, along with qi gong, tai chi, and kung fu, the latter of which just means mastery of something.  Qi gong isn't tai chi, it isn't a martial art, but that's about as far as I really want to get into it.  I did this for many many years and I still ended up with all my injuries, as do most people who practice kung fu for any length of time because getting hit a lot isn't relaxing.  Qi gong were the warm-up exercises so we didn't start cold.  Yes, you did focus on qi, and I suppose you can call anything meditation, but it isn't what a Buddhist would call meditation, because that takes a long period of time and is the highest practice in both taoism and Buddhism and Hinduism, as it is the way to enlightenment if you believe in that.  But enough of hijacking posts -- I just try to give a bit more of the story when I know something about the things you read on the internet and I've actually been trained in.  Again, though, I'll never chime in when you discuss engineering!

[Paxiled]

Gymdandee loves to quote from things he reads.  It's very interesting stuff.  Within it is always a kernel of very important things, but grown out of something he read somewhere usually from a website containing a tiny little study that hasn't been validated by more complete research.  So rather than get into another of our disagreements that hijack posts, and I say this having spent years of my life doing Shao Lin kung fu, tai chi, and qi gong, to the poster:  the important takeaway isn't to start doing qi gong and think you're going to get a miraculous recovery -- there's nothing magical about it that you can't get from any positive program of gentle movement.  (But don't go out and try and do 30 minutes of cardio a day straight off -- even if you are able).  What might help are any positive lifestyle changes that get you going on a positive track, and hopefully will produce gradual changes that make your life better.  Read these posts with the understanding that you're never going to get great info from an internet site like this one that doesn't peer review the posters, but you might get some good ideas for further pursuit.  Good luck.

[gymdandee]

with all other forms of martial qigong, taiji qigong can be categorized into both yin and yang practices. The yin side of taiji qigong contains exercises that emphasize calmness without movement, and the yang side of taiji qigong has exercises that are more physically active. Moreover, the yin side of taiji qigong can again be divided into (yin) sitting relaxed meditation and (yang) standing meditation. In sitting meditation, the body is extremely relaxed, while in standing meditation the body is more tensed due to the special postures.

Qi Gong

Qi Gong is practised throughout the world by people of all ages. The Ba Duan Jin, or Eight Treasures, Qi Gong taught at the Shaolin Temple UK is a set of exercises that dates back to the ancient origins of the Shaolin Temple in China. The set comprises gentle movements which provide energy as well as strength and flexibility for the body. Qi Gong is often described as ‘moving meditation’ or indeed Chinese yoga. The practitioner must concentrate his mind on slowly moving through a routine of different stances. These movements are graceful and controlled. Each stance is held for series of breaths, while the mind concentrates its energy through the posture taken with the body. Inhaling and exhaling through the nose, the body’s muscles should relax completely while the mind focuses this energy.

Qi Gong is an important part of gong fu, providing the internal aspects to training at the Shaolin Temple UK. At first any student will find it relaxing and a useful way to reduce the stresses of day to day life. It should also begin to ease strains on the body, especially when combined with proper stretching. Internal training like this leads to improved health, higher energy levels and long lasting vitality. With the right application to Qi Gong, a martial artist should find his body’s movements combining with his mental focus in a way that has become the hallmark of Shaolin gong fu. The Shaolin Temple UK recommends its students practise Qi Gong regularly and makes Qi Gong a component of the exams needed to enter higher level gong fu classes.

[treyclee]

I also have Fibro, and I would definitely suggest talking to another doctor. I take Dothep (low grade anti-depressant) now and it is working well, I still get the symptoms but it is a definite improvement overall. It helps me sleep and the fatigue isn't as bad. I took Efexor years ago for depression and it was terrible. If I forgot my tablet one day I'd get withdrawals and have a horrible lurching feeling and shakes. It took 8 months to wean me off it after taking it for 2 yrs. So just make sure you've explored other options too. Although your mental health is also extremely important so do what you have to, just use caution! Good luck :)

[beasleyk2]

yes to answer to your question the Lyrica is working as far as helping with the pain to a point  but ever since I quit smoking I have been having major mood swings and emotional problems. Was hoping to find something that would help with the pain an not give me all the side effects. I had a consult with a friends doctor who is in Rheumatology as a favor and not as my new doctor and he said that I should consult another doctor before starting a new med. contacted my insurances to get a new doctor and start over.

[Paxiled]

Good advice, but a little off on the facts.  Qigong (one of many English spellings) are warm-up exercises for kung fu and tai chi and other Chinese martial arts that originated in India.  They're not a form of meditation and tai chi isn't the martial form of qigong (we called it Qi jong when I did kung fu) but they do involve circular movements and breathing exercises.  Chinese can be found in huge groups in the parks in China doing these warm-up exercises in the morning, and we did them at the beginning of every tai chi or kung fu class.  Tai chi is actually basically slow motion kung fu -- same movements, but done very slowly with an emphasis on balance and more emphasis on qi or chi than kung fu.  It's one of the so-called three internal martial arts that flowed from kung fu, along with to others I can't spell anymore!

[gymdandee]

Research in Canada suggests that the routine practice of qigong, a form of meditative movement, can help lessen the pain of fibromyalgia and makes a difference in the disorder on patients. Researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia enrolled 100 people, mostly women (average age 52) with longstanding fibromyalgia and assigned half of them to a treatment group and half to a waiting list. Those in the treatment group participated in a three-day workshop to learn seven specific movements and exercises that are said to emphasize relaxation, release and distribution of "qi" (energy) throughout the body. The researchers reported that after only eight weeks of practice the patients' pain, as measured on a 10-point scale, had dropped by 1.55 points while those in on the waiting list reported only a 0.02 decline. When participants responded to the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (a 100-point measurement of the effects of pain, function, sleep and psychological distress), negative symptoms had declined by 18.45 points among participants in the treatment group, but only by 0.93 points among those in the control group. After six months, the women on the waiting list received the same training. Over time, the more qigong the women practiced on a weekly basis, the better (lower) they scored on measurements of the impact of fibromyalgia on their lives.

Using qigong to ease pain and reduce other symptoms makes sense. 30 minutes daily aerobic exercise such as swimming, walking or biking. Breathwork, meditation and yoga can help cope with stress, and acupuncture, physical manipulation, and massage may help relieve physical symptoms. Qigong and tai chi (the martial form of qigong), which promote flexibility.

[Paxiled]

Effexor is one of the most difficult drugs out there -- hard to take, almost impossible to stop taking.  I'd think long and hard before going on that one.  I guess the big question is, how bad is the pain?   You didn't say if the Lyrica is helping.  The class of drugs Effexor is in, snris, have been recently certified for pain control.  The main one used is Cymbalta.  But as I said, this class of antidepressants is a difficult one to use and stop using, so if you're doing okay without it I wouldn't go down that road, but if it's the only road to go down, then you're stuck with what it is.  There are other ways you can try if you haven't already -- natural ways involving dietary changes and lifestyle changes.  I used to manage health food stores for many years, and I had several customers who had greatly improved their lives by leaving doctors behind and moving on to strengthening their bodies rather than piling on enervating drugs.  Just a thought.

[Cassijo1984]

Effexor did not help me at all. If Lyrica is working well for you I would express to your new doc that you would like to continue with the regimen that has been working.