Fibromyalgia and Depression - getting through the sad times

This is probably the most personal video I've ever recorded, and one of the most difficult I've ever done. One of my online fibromyalgia friends, Helen, asked where I've been, and why I hadn't recorded any videos for a month. I told her my brother had died on July 18th, and it's been a long, difficult summer. I told her I was just glad the summer was done, and that school had started again. She told me that it was important not to bury these feelings, and it was better to share them. So, that's what I've done.

The Stanford presentation that I refer to, (the fascinating one that says people with fibromyalgia have "shrunken brains"), can be found at:

http://www.researchchannel.org/mov/smc_mchh_fibrom_1300k_qt.mov

It is a fascinating video, (and the "shrunken brain" thing), is not meant as an insult. It's just a fascinating little tidbit of research, amongst a lot of other new research that Stanford has been working on with regards to fibromyalgia.

-- Diana

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• fibromyalgia
• and
• depression

[nkerio]

However, something does tell me it's probably a symptom for some fibromyalgics as opposed to part of the cause. The osteoarthritis in my back, to my knowledge, cannot be explained by a shrunken brain. Same goes for my sinus issues, mouth ear nose etc. The cellular theory of St. Amand's, however incomplete, does make sense in the sense that it surpasses the neurological dimension of fibromyalgia.

[dianacwolf]

Yes, I agree with you that the theory is incomplete. The way I see it, many of the doctors who have written books on fibromyalgia have offered up little pieces of the fibromyalgia puzzle. Yet, none of them have the whole picture. At this point, we only have the outline edges of the puzzle. There is still so much we don't know. As you point out, fibro affects the neuorlogical, pyschological, sinus, mouth, ear, etc. etc. With so many areas affected, it is a very difficult disease to treat.-D.

[nkerio]

Sorry about your brother. May he rest in peace. Have you yourself had an MRI for your brain. It'd be interesting to find out whether the shrinking brain is a sign for some or all fibromyalgics. I had one about 4 years ago and there wasn't anything about shrinkage in the report. There wasn't a report of lesions, but I keep wondering whether information about shrinkage was eliminated or it simply wasn't observed.

[dianacwolf]

Hi nkerio. Thanks for your comments. In answer to your question, yes, I've had loads of brain MRIs. CAT scans, too. But, they were unrelated to my fibro. I have a non-cancerous type of brain tumor called a colloidal cyst of the third ventricle. I need to get the thing monitored periodically to make sure it is not causing any trouble. No, never heard anything about shrinkage. But, then again, they were never looking for such things. The scans were always specifically targeting the cyst.

[100lemon]

sorry about your brother . thank you for the video and yes it is hard to admit when depression hits . hopefully this condition will be cured some day . I too suffer from depression from fibro when i have flareups such as today ., it is good to know that as fibro sufferes we are not alone that many others have the same or similar symptoms . all the best cheers

[dianacwolf]

Hi lemon, thanks for the note. Yes, the fibro-related depression can be difficult to manage. Are we depressed because we hurt? Or, is the depression another symptom of a body imbalanced by a disease of chronic pain? I don't have an answer to that. But, as you said, the best part is knowing that we are not alone. Meeting people in the online fibromyalgia community has been the one truly positive part about getting fibromyalgia. I've met some great people I wouldn't have met otherwise. - D.

[MisTreeeGirl]

I can help you get rid of this! Look me up Aprile Plummer. Doctors aren't there to cure it!

[oldskinny1]

This really touched me. I also suffer with Fibromyalgia and depression flare ups. Panic and anxiety attacks,phobis just a little bit of everything. It really sucks. I feel like i am the only on with it. Sorry to hear of your loss. I lost a family member too a couple years ago, while going through my worst part of my illness. LONG STORY! Please keep the videos coming!!!

[nkerio]

I actually forgot to mention. I also came across research a while ago about shrunken brain findings for people with chronic pain which probably excluded fibromyalgia patients. So it seems like the shrunken brain might be directly related to chronic pain as opposed to the condition itself. I wonder whether the overwhelming pain signals play a part.