CFSupport

The Northern Virginia
CFS/ME & FMS
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Newsletter: Selections from Emails, Meetings, and More

May 2007


Introduction

Welcome to a CFSupport Newsletter! Please visit Group Newsletter Directory, Home, or About Us for more information.  To receive our emails and news items, please join our email list and Yahoo! Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CFSupport

As a member of our CFSupport Yahoo group, you would be able to browse and search our archives, use our Calendar of local and national groups, download files, use our rideshare database as well as receive current updates of interest regarding CFS/CFIDS (chronic fatigue syndrome), FM (fibromyalgia), ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis), OI (orthostatice intolerance), and more. We keep the number of emails to less than one per day on average.


This Month: May 2007

May is almost always the busiest month overall for CFS and FM events because May 12 is International Awareness Day for CIND: Chronic Immune and Neurological Disorders which include CFS and FM. Groups collaborate to make bigger events, more experts and patients appear on TV and radio, advocacy gets a big push.

Here is a list of what's going on in our area, or involves people from the DC Area. Check events or other sections of this newsletter for details.

Dr. Pocinki on the radio, The Lou Adler Show, May 1 and May 2 (1 minute each)
7 Free Screenings of the documenatry Living with FM in 3 counties:
     May 12 - Sat - 10:30 am to 8 pm in Montgomery County, MD
     May 12 - Sat - 1-3 PM in Prince William County, VA
     May 22 - Tue - 7 PM in Loudoun County, VA
CFIDS Lobby Days on May 14-15 in Washington, DC
CFS Advisory Committee to the Secretary of Health Meeting May 16-17 at DHHS in DC
The Faces of CFS Photo Exhibit at Washintong DC's Union Station, May 21 - June 2
NoVA CFS/FMS Support Group Visit to CFS Photo Exhibit, 1:30 pm, May 31, Thursday
NoVA CFS/FMS Support Group Meeting in Annandale, Fairfax County, Sat. May 19

What is Awareness Day?

In 1993, Tom Hennessy, the founder of RESCIND, INC. (Repeal Existing Stereotypes about Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases) designated May 12 as International Awareness Day for Chronic Immunological and Neurological Diseases (CIND). 

The date was chosen to memorialize the birth date of Florence Nightingale, the English army nurse who inspired the founding of the International Red Cross.  Nightingale contracted a paralyzing, CIND-like illness in her mid-thirties and spent the last 50 years of her life virtually bedridden.  Despite her illness, she managed to found the first ever School of Nursing.

Awareness Day activities take place worldwide in an effort to increase awareness of chronic  illnesses including fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Awareness Day seeks to help patients and organizations educate the general public, healthcare professionals, government officials, and legislative bodies.

Where can I learn more? See Resources - Advocacy and Awareness

Where do I buy items to promote CFS and FM Awareness? See CFS/FMS Items for Sale



NoVA CFS/FMS SG Upcoming Speakers/Meetings

Meetings are the 3rd Saturday of every month, 2 - 4 pm
Large Conference Room
Mason Governmental Center
6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003
Directions

Date/FlyerSpeaker/FilmMore Details
May 12, 2007 Film: Living with FM 5 screenings: The Gilbert Clinic in N. Bethesda, MD
May 12, 2007Film: Living with FM1 pm showing: Potomac Hospital in Woodbridge, VA
May 19, 2007discussion
May 31, 2007CFS Photo ExhibitSpecial Group Visit to Union Station, 1:30 pm
June 16, 2007A meeting with Friends and Family
July 15, 2007discussion
Aug 18, 2007discussion
Sept 15, 2007Mitch Lambros
Attorney
Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits
 Previously  Previously Previously, in 2007:
Jan 20, 2007 Chuck Fuller
Attorney
Long Term Disability Benefits
See PDF Handout about LTD Claims
Feb 17, 2007   discussion
Mar 17, 2007 A. Bains,
MS, RN, CS-P

Jonathan Gilbert,
NCCAOM

The Gilbert Clinic
Herbal Brews & Evolving Views:
Reuniting the Body & Mind in FM, CFS & ME

April 5, 2007Fred Friedberg, PhDWith Pain Connection® in Bethesda, MD
Lifestyle Balance for Less Pain and More Energy
April 21, 2007Alan Pocinki, MDThe Cycle of Pain, Fatigue, Poor Sleep & Depression.

Keep up to date by using our Events page. Some other group events listed there, too.


Recent Meetings


The April 21, 07 speaker was Alan Pocinki, MD, on the Cycle of Pain, Fatigue, Poor Sleep and Depression. Read about Dr. Pocinki and find links to the handouts here:
http://geocities.datacellar.net/cfsnova/sp-Pocinki.html
50 attendees!

The April 5, 07 speaker was Fred Friedberg, PhD, a person with CFS, and a behavioral psychologist with a Lifestyle Balance Program and book with 7 Steps to Less Pain and More Energy in CFS and FM. Read about this meeting, Dr. Friedberg, and find excerpts here:
http://geocities.datacellar.net/cfsnova/sp-Friedberg.html
50 attendees!

The March 07 speakers were Jonathan Gilbert, NCCAOM and A. Bains, MS, RN, CS-P.
Excerpts from Gilbert's articles on using Chinese herbs and an integrative approach including counseling and western medical oversight for CFS and FM can be found at
http://geocities.datacellar.net/cfsnova/spkrGilbertexcerpts.pdf

Feb 07 - Great discussion. Intimate. 5 attendees.

The January 07 speaker was Chuck Fuller, Long Term Disability and ERISA attorney. Mr. Fuller gave us a wonderful and helpful handout, "Long Term Disability Claims: An Overview of the Claims Process and Practical Considerations." Find it on our site at
http://geocities.datacellar.net/cfsnova/sp-FullerLTDClaimsOverview.pdf

ACK! - new floor, mild construction at our meeting facility.

Dec 06 - discussion and pot luck social. Yum!
Nov 06 - discussion.

The October 06 Meeting Summary and Handouts for Janine Blackman, MD, PhD on Integrative Medicine for Health, for CFS and FM can be found at
http://geocities.datacellar.net/cfsnova/sp-Blackman.html

The September 06 Meeting handouts for Mitch Lambros, Esq, on Applying for Social Security Disability Benefits, especially if you have CFS and FM can be found at
http://geocities.datacellar.net/cfsnova/sp-Lambros.html

To get notices of upcoming meetings, read more commentary about speakers and events, sign up for CFSupport emails.

Media Highlights


"Putting chronic fatigue syndrome's myths to bed."

The May issue of the ACP Observer, a publication of the American College of Physicians, covers CFS in a lengthy article by Jessica Berthold.  In addition to interviews with CFS experts Dr. Lucinda Bateman and Dr. Anthony Komaroff, Berthold provides facts and statements from thought leaders affirming the "realities" of CFS. ACP Observer reaches 50,000 internal medicine physicians with its print publication and thousands of others through its web site.
The article can be viewed and printed at http://www.acponline.org/journals/news/may07/fatigue.htm


“Investment in Research Saves Lives & Money” - #23: CFS
During the week of May 7, Research!America will distribute a two-sided flier about CFS to Capitol Hill, health agency leaders, public health officials, research academics, governors, state legislators and media professionals. The flier will also be used in the Association’s Lobby Day information packets, Research!America’s outreach packets, and is available on both organizations’ websites. You can download it at http://www.cfids.org/advocacy/researchamerica.pdf or http://www.researchamerica.org/publications/RA-CFS_f.pdf

"Medical Minute"
DC Internist Alan Pocinki was interviewed for two CFS "Medical Minute" shows for Lou Adler's Medical Journal on WOR710.com
May 1: http://podcast.wor710.com/wor/439186.mp3
May 2: http://podcast.wor710.com/wor/439187.mp3


For more media coverage, see our In the Media page and the
Spark! Awareness for CFS Media page at CFIDS.org



New Books


Riding Grace: A Triumph of the Soul
by Alissa Lukara
(Paperback - Dec 2006)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0974489034/cfsupport
Book's website: RidingGrace.com
Chronicles author's no-holds-barred 12-year quest to reclaim her life from a debilitating, presumably incurable illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), and the trauma of childhood sexual abuse.
Event Alert: June 14 Coast to Coast Teleconference with Lukara and Brosius
Author's site: LifeChallenges.org
Media Headline & Story: A tale of abuse and recovery Feb 2006
Adaptation/Excerpt at Womanlinks.com: "The Power of Embracing All Life"
"Accepting my life fully-the "be-er" and the "do-er"-also allowed me to reclaim my creative writing voice, which had been silenced early on by the fear and shame surrounding the abuse. And the first book I was called by my very soul to write was the journey of healing my body by healing the impact of sexual abuse on my life, how I had transcended it and reclaimed the fullness of my life. Twelve hours after I made the commitment to write that book, in a workshop led by two healers, I had a spontaneous healing of the CFS and the wounds of abuse. I said yes to my life-surrendered to what was, to my creative path and purpose-and I had a healing. I've been healthy ever since."

CFSupport member Jenny's review of Riding Grace:

"I just finished her book. I couldn't put it down, which is unusual for me!...Mostly because reading can make me so tired ;)..but I was enthralled and moved through out. It is rare to read a book of someone's CFS soul journey because so many of us are in the journey...and it doesn't occur to us that anyone else would be interested in 'our' story. Well, that and we are usually too damn tired and cognitively impaired to write! I thrive when exposed to people's stories... particularly one's I can relate to on the deepest of levels and steep in the inspiration and altered perspective they bring.

She hooked me from the start, knowing she experienced healing on several levels (physical-spiritual-emotional) and simply is 'one of us'. I have since gained a renewed sense of self...  reading through her story helped me give voice to parts of me and mine that hadn't yet been heard and encouraged me to continue the journey by intuitively seeking more creative means and trusting this process despite past trials and perceived failures. I have not been a child of incest... but I have of trauma and profound loss.

This book simply brought me a greater freedom to be in this life with this condition and dig a bit deeper trusting my soul to carry me through... because I do see the light... I may not be clear how long it will take to arrive, what that arrival will be...but I see it and it's divine!"


Fibromyalgia: The Complete Guide from Medical Experts and Patients
by Sharon Ostalecki, PhD
Paperback - Jun 2007

Publisher's Site with Book Photo
Author's organization: H.O.P.E. = Helping Our Pain and Exhaustion, Inc.
Books's site, with reviews and excerpts
From Chapter 10: "Moreover, in chronic pain the sympathetic nervous system is often in a heightened state of arousal. What is the sympathetic nervous system? It's a massive network of nerves throughout the brain, spinal cord, and body that causes the familiar "fight-or-flight" response, in which the body is almost instantly prepared for a dangerous emergency. Heart-rate increases, breathing rate increases, blood pressure rises, emotions flare, adrenalin flows. Needless to stay, it's unhealthy to be in this aroused state more or less permanently. It leads to high blood pressure, irritable bowel symptoms, anxiety and despair."
Patient 002
by
Floyd Skloot
Paperback- Apr 2007
Fiction. Author has CFS.

Three authors delve into the practice of medicine and how we can make it better while getting better OregonLive.com, OR - Apr 22, 2007
His [Person with CFS, Floyd Skloot] fourth novel, "Patient 002," departs from what we have come to expect. While he does not altogether abandon his literary roots, Skloot grounds "Patient 002" in stylistically popular formats -- a page-turner that is at once love story, caper and medical thriller that takes novelistic aim and fires on pharmaceutical companies. ...
While this novel takes aim at our health care system, it is certainly not cynical. If "Patient 002" does one thing, it brings home that wellness is our responsibility, particularly if our expectations of miracles are met with medical, financial and political roadblocks.


Karma

by
Holly A Harvey
Paperback- Feb 2007, UK
Fiction - Comedy


Karma's heroine is 28 year old Paige, an ME (CFS) sufferer, like the author. Paige's life revolves around sleep, caffeine and VH-1 while friends are busy partying - but Holly says she only shares a few of her protagonist's personality traits.
Holly Harvey's Website
Article: Write on for good karma


My Body of Knowledge: Stories of Illness, Disability, Healing, and Life

Edited by Karen Myers and Felicia Ferlin
Paperback- Feb 2007

A collection of essays, poetry, and fiction by those with understanding of disability and illness. Includes a variety of writing styles and points of view, with topics ranging from recovery to sexuality to spirituality.  Also included are accounts of loss, anger, and pain, along with humorous stories—and even fantastical depictions of alternate lives. Writers with ME/CFS or FM:Kat Duff, Lawrence Bradby, Madeleine Parish, Floyd Skloot, Merry Speece, and Sharon Wachsler.

FM and Sex Can Be a Pain in the Neck...and back and shoulders

by Kimberley Linstruth-Beckom, 87 pages
Hardcover - Feb 2007
Download - Feb 2007


Press Release for FM and Sex Can Be A Pain in the Nexk... Book
Author's Blog
Excerpt at Author's Website
"...we also need to function in a very inimate and personal matter of expression, the expression of love to another sexually. This is a very important, personal, and intimate topic for myself, and I hope to share a little of my trials and tribulations with my syndrome and how it affects one's marriage in both a positive and negative way. If you haven't read my book, The Fibro Hand, that contains great detail at how I took the hand I was dealt in life, Fibromyalgia, and made it a winning one, I have included some details of my dealings with the syndrome on a day to day basis.
      Before diagnoses, (which took two years) I was a very tired individual that could barely stand up to cook a three minute egg let alone engage in an intimate encounter with my husband. Grinning through the pain became a normal part of my day and a normal part of my night throughout my twenties. ... I felt like a helpless child and thought I was whining too much when I'd as my husband for a backrub before sex...  The fun grew harder when moving into positions was followed be excruciating pain...  Scott and I had a long disscusion that lead him to say to me, Kim, if it bothers you-- it bothers others. Start the book and let me know when we can have some fun with the research. (Insert laugh from husband here.) And so, a book idea was born."

2007 Books by people with CFS/FM about other subjects

Jesus in Love
by Kittredge Cherry
Press Release
Book Website
A new novel about the sexual and spiritual awakening of a queer Christ is sparking controversy this Easter.... “Jesus in Love” closely follows the Biblical text and standard Christian doctrine while speculating on Christ’s erotic inner life. It presents a gender-blind Jesus who blends masculinity and femininity as he does humanity and divinity. Enchanted by people’s souls, he barely notices their gender and ends up falling in love with John, Mary Magdalene and the multi-gendered Holy Spirit as he teaches and heals people in first-century Palestine. “Every community presents Jesus in their own way,” Cherry explains. “There’s black Jesus, Asian Jesus -- and now queer Jesus to heal the damage being done by homophobes in Christ’s name.”

Death Pans Out by Ashna Graves
Article by Theresa Hogue in the Covallis Gazette-Times
Critics, readers respond to local author’s novel.
Former GT columnist finds success with mystery set in Eastern Oregon
Under a bright high desert sun, with the smell of pine and sagebrush and the quiet that can only be found in solitary places, Wendy Madar found peace and healing that she had never before known.

Eight years later, Madar’s experiences living in an old mining cabin near Baker City transformed into a mystery novel that is receiving literary acclaim and has already sold out its first printing.

Under the nom de plume Ashna Graves, the former Gazette-Times reporter and columnist has written several books featuring heroine Jeneva Leopold. But “Death Pans Out,” her latest book, has taken the mystery genre by storm, something that’s surprised Madar to no end.
....
Like Jeneva, Madar once sought out the desert sun after breast cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome changed her world. Her good friend Allen Throop, who had retired from a job as director of mined lands reclamation for Oregon, suggested a mining cabin she could rent for the summer, so she fled a rainy Corvallis summer for the heat of desert hikes.

“The appeal of the setting drew me to greater exertion,” she said of her months on the desert. “My body reset itself, somehow, back to a pattern that predated the illness. Within two weeks, I felt the difference.”
...

Our Newest & Most Updated Web Pages


Q&A, Our Way: How to Use this Site

April 2007 Print Newsletter (PDF) - 2 Pages - Great for putting on the fridge, bringing to your practitioners' offices so they may learn about the existence of the group (not everyone knows), and a good thing to shove in your car's glove box if you may forget the address or schedule.

Flyers/One Page Posters for Events
   May 12 ("Living with FM Film Screenings")
   May 31 ("Faces of CFS" Photo Exhibit), (will be removed after event)
   June 14 ("Riding Grace Coast to Coast")

Most generally updated pages: Events, In the Media, Other Groups, Practitioners


National Efforts: 


May 12 Awareness Day "Fibromyalgia in Focus" - The Living with FM

National FM Association & Trillusion Media arrange film screenings worldwide
NoVA CFSupport Group, Potomac Hospital, The Gilbert Clinic join in offerings.

To buy the DVD for family members, for yourself, to watch together ($20) visit
the film's website:   http://www.livingwithfm.com


Northern VA, Suburban DC/MD area showings include:

WOODBRIDGE, Virginia - Sat May 12, 1 PM

Hylton Education Center, Garden Level of Potomac Hospital,
2300 Opitz Boulevard, Woodbridge, VA 22191
To reserve a seat:
    Potomac Hospital's Health Connection, (703) 221-2500, 
              OR
     Potomac Hosptial's Online Class registration (You'll get confirmation via mail)
              OR
     Brave New Theater's online reservation for Woodbridge (Directions available)


N. BETHESDA, Maryland

The Gilbert Clinic, One Central Plaza, Suite 1205
11300 Rockville Pike, N. Bethesda, Maryland 20852
Park on the Street. After 1 pm, please sign in at the front desk.

Directions
To reserve a seat, only 12 seats per show:

     call the The Gilbert Clinic, (301) 230-2530, or use the
     Brave New Theater's online reservation system:
Saturday, May 12: 10:30 am   12:30 pm     2:30 pm    4:30 pm    6:30 pm 
 
For more information, see our May 12 FM Awareness Day Poster 2007

To find more showings,
visit   http://livingwithfm.bravenewtheaters.com:80/
and    http://fmaware.org/may12/2007/events.htm 

Note: The Loudoun (May 22, 7 pm) and Charlottesville (3 showings) Support Groups are also offering free screenings.

More National Happenings

The National FM Partnership (NFP) is having its 15 Year Anniversary. Congrats to them.

My Cause is the The CFIDS Association still wants your help.  Set up a fundraising web page. See the November 2006 Newsletter form more information.

CFIDS Lobby Days are here again, May 14-15. Come to DC. Raise awareness, ask for more research. Read about it in "Lobby Day Empowers, Enriches!"


New Group in Loudoun

Loudoun CFS & FM/Pain Management Support Group 
Shawn Robertson (703) 327-6478
Web: Meet Up CFS Group
Second contact: Gary 703-430-9304, Please do not call after 6:30 pm. 
                     
Next Meeting: Tues, May 22, 2007, 7 PM  free screening of Living with FM
Eastern Loudoun (Cascades) Library
21030 Whitfield Place  Potomac Falls, VA 20165
Directions

Coping: Friends and Family Resources

Resources for Family and Friends.

Many people seek brief and/or lengthy materials to share with interested Friends and Family about CFS and Fibromyalgia. Sometimes it is to save yourself from having to repeat the same things over and over, sometimes its because words don't come so easily when you need them. Here are some options:

1) Online Course for Family and Friends of people with CFS and FMS (register by 4/5/07)
2) FM Netnews - 17 page Relationship Supplement Publication- $9
3) CFIDS Association Resources for Family and Friends
4) Living with FM,  A DVD For Family Members and those affected by F
5) NoVA CFS/FMS Support Group Meetings
6) Our "For Carers and Caregivers" Resources


1) Course for Family and Friends - Starts June 23

The CFIDS & Fibromyalgia Self-Help Program is accepting sign-ups for the Summer session of their new online course for family members and friends of people with ME/CFS and/or fibromyalgia. The cost is $25. 

The course is taught by Bruce Campbell, PhD, the creator of the CFIDS and Fibromyalgia Self-Help program, assisted by volunteer peer leaders, all of whom are course graduates and family members of people with CFS or fibromyalgia. Dr. Campbell is a recovered CFS patient who before becoming ill worked on self-help programs for chronic illness at the Stanford University Medical School. For more on his background, see his biography.

[The next class for patients, begins Jun 11, 2007. With your registration, you receive a copy of the course text, The Patient's Guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia.]

This four-week online self-help class is designed for family members and friends of people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or fibromyalgia. (Note: This is not a course for couples.) Offered for the first time in Fall 2006, the course is based on the recognition that CFS and FM create uncertainty and stress for family and friends, as well as for patients.
 
The class offers a comprehensive framework for understanding CFS and fibromyalgia, and provides strategies class members can use both to help their loved one and to take care of themselves. Because the course is conducted as an email discussion group, you will also learn how other people in similar situations deal with the issues created by CFS and fibromyalgia.
 
-Lasts 4 weeks, with classes starting four times a year
-Groups consist of about 15 people each
-Led by health educator and trained peer volunteers
-Taught via list server (email)
-Participate as much as you want
-For family members and friends, not couples

The course offers information about ME/CFS and fibromyalgia, as well as ideas for how class members can both help their loved one and take care of themselves. Because the course is conducted as an e-mail discussion group, participants will also learn how other people in similar situations deal with the issues created by ME/CFS and fibromyalgia.

You can register either online or by mail. The course text is available online in both conventional and print-friendly formats. Visit the CFIDS & Fibromyalgia Self-Help Web site to learn more and to register.
http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/course_for_family.htm


2) FM Netnews - 17 page "Relationship Supplement" Publication - $9

Does your spouse and family question you when you say you are not up for participating in a physical activity with them? Do you always feel as though you look much better than you feel? Or, perhaps your partner is just pretending that your "fibromyalgia phase" will be over within a few months, and you can both get back to living life as it used to be. These are just a few of the strained relationship problems that you are probably facing, given the invisible nature of your symptoms, but there are ways to resolve them.

A 17-page collection of helpful advice on the social aspects of fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). Experts weigh in on how to keep your personal relationships strong, enjoy intimacy in spite of pain and fatigue, and help children (or grandchildren) cope with your fibromyalgia. Improve your emotional well-being by learning to handle hurtful comments and unwanted advice. Plus, find out how to help others relate to your condition, improve communication, and keep a positive attitude.


3) CFIDS Association Resources for Family and Friends

    Family and Friends Page

    Information "For Those Who Care"
        Online
        On paper Fact Sheet - Free
         
    20 CFIDS Information Cards - $2.50 - business-sized cards explain CFIDS.
        

4) DVDs for watching with, giving to familiy:

Purchasing for home, attending free screenings of documentary "Living with FM"
Was filmed by Family Members, to be watched and those affected by FM and their families. To find worldwide free screenings check the FM Aware Awareness Day Events 2007 web page and Brave New Theaters. Several people have registered in 2's and 3's already for the our film screenings! Thanks!

The CFS DVD "I Remember Me" available at ProHealth ImmuneSupport. FYI, you can use our support group code "SGELLY" to get 30% off one supplement from Immune Support until the end of the year.


5) Friends and Family are welcomed at NoVA CFS/FMS Support Group Meetings.

     Please join us for our June 16, 2007, Meeting with Friends and Family.


6) CFSupport's Resources:
Carers and Caregivers Links
Q&A "Can you help me help my spouse with CFS/FM?"

Shopping, Good Food & Water Delivered


Shopping can be exhausting... especially if you start out that way. If possible, invest in keeping your own energy by using home delivery of groceries. You may even have the energy to make a meal... or eat one! Toni reports being able to put her groceries away instead of leaving them in the car. Since she throws out less, there is savings.... unles the stuff rots in the fridge anyway. Oh well... we keep trying.


Washington Green Grocer
http://www.washingtonsgreengrocer.com/
They deliver an all-organic box or mixed box of produce weekly, on any schedule you want or just when you call.  They also have dairy and specials every week.  Potential cons - price, and too much produce for 1 person.  Pros - good, fresh food; great folks, excellent service. (301) 333-3696. Nina orders occasionally.

Safeway grocery delivery 
http://www.Safeway.com
Some organic products available! Visit the site and enter your zip code to check availability.
Toni uses this service.

Giant / Peapod grocery delivery
http://www.Peapod.com
Some organic products available! Visit the site and enter your zip code to check availability.
Elly uses this service.


For CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, for another way of getting fresh, organic produce, see our Food & Water Resources


The EGG Dish

Elly's Gratitude Group (EGG) is a mind, body & soul discussion group for people with CFS, ME, FM, & OI. Members help each other practice appreciation to accelerate healing.

The March 29 EGG Summary includes notes about special guest author Alissa Lukara and contributions from 12 CFSupport participants.


EGG meetings are:
Sunday
April 29, 2007
4:30 PM EDT
Conference Call Call (218) 936-6666; Usual code: 33669933
Press 2 to enter/create and existing conference,
then the code, then the # key.
Tuesday
May 29, 2007
8:30 PM EDT
In Person
Conference room of
The Gilbert Clinic
11300 Rockville Pike, #1205; N Bethesda MD 
(301) 230-2530
Dinner afterward at White Flint Mall at
The Cheesecake Factory across street ~7:30 PM.
June
TBD
 PM EDT
In Person
Conference room of
The Gilbert Clinic
11300 Rockville Pike, #1205; N Bethesda MD 
(301) 230-2530



One More Thing: Review of Living with FM, a documentary

 Review by Elly Brosius

On March 21, I watched the film "Living with FM" with a nutritionist and stress management counselor who has many FM clients. Well done, we said! It covers a wide variety of experience and subject matter, keeps your interest to the end. Those living with FM will definitely relate to one or more of the stories presented. The people in it are real, and they were given the time to talk in natural ways. This film is going to be special for those individuals with FM having trouble reading printed information, or who have never seen the face of another in a similar situation. Families are particularly welcomed to watch since it is told from the point of view of a concerned daughter seeking hope, seeking how to help her mother and the whole family cope.

As a CFS and FMS support group facilitator, I am particularly excited for the opportunity for groups to view and discuss the documentary and what it brings up for viewers about symptoms, coping techniques, possibilities for recovery, and the courage needed for those days when just surviving is a monumental triumph. The professionals in the documentary are particularly good, giving information and direction about the things we can do for ourselves with them as our "coaches." Pausing the DVD to talk with my friend whenever either of us wanted to was a very satisfying way to watch it, but group discussion afterward is going to be great, too. I am very glad to have purchased "Living with FM" and to be making the effort to offer screenings with discussions on May 12 (see above).



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Updated May 3, 2007
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