Fats have mighty roles in the body ensuring the central nervous and immune systems work properly.  A study published in the International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology in 2000 concluded that omega-3 fatty acids relieve muscle pain, improve mood, and fight fatigue in fibromyalgia sufferers.  In order to reduce flare ups, do be sure to include the following healthy fats into your diet daily:

Polyunsaturated - Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are found in fish, cold pressed and virgin vegetable oils, nuts and seeds.  These play a vital part in healthy brain function.  The body breaks down the fats and oils we eat into fatty acids and can make some fatty acids from other substances, but it can't make polyunsaturated fatty acids so we must get them from food.

There are two main types of EFAs: omega-3, found in oily fish, nuts, seeds, and some plant seed oils, such as flax seed oil and rapeseed oil; and omega-6, mainly found in plant seed oils such as sunflower oil, corn oil, and sesame oil, as well as meat.  Both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are needed for the brain an nervous system to function properly.  Omega-3 oils are anti-inflammatory.  

Monounsaturated (omega-9) - is found in extra virgin or cold pressed olive oil, rapeseed oil, avocados, nuts, and seeds.  These lower LDL cholesterol and are anti-inflammatory playing a vital role in brain function.

Getting the right balance between the two types of EFAs is important.  Too much omega-6 can be problematic to the body's ability to break down omega-3 fats and, along with prolonged stress, can trigger inflammation.  This hampers the body's ability to make serotonin from tyrptophan.  Low serotonin levels are linked to fibromyalgia. I eat a banana a day to keep those levels up! 

Long chain - such as eicospentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)- found in oily fish, especially mackerel, herring, sardines, pilchards, salmon and FRESH tuna.

Short chain - for example, alpha-linoeleic acid (ALA) - found in flaxseed oil, rapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, walnuts, wholegrains, wheatgerm and soy beans.

Note: If your intake of these foods is low, experts recommend choosing a supplement containing at least 500-600 mg of EPA/DHA.  I use fish oil supplements from Puritan.  There are several different types to choose from on the site.  

Miller weaves a tale of unspoken ritual that could easily rope the most conservative of us in.  The Good Mother explicitly shows the consequences of poor judgement from a maternal standpoint that we can all identify with in some diverse way.    


Recently divorced, Anna Dunlap has two passionate attachments: her daughter, four-year-old Molly, and her lover, Leo, the man who makes her feel beautiful -- and sexual -- for the first time. Swept away by happiness and passion, Anna feels she has everything she's ever wanted.

Then come the shocking charges that would threaten her new love, her new "family" ... that force her to prove she is a good mother. - Amazon.com

Fantastic mini series to meet your down time needs.  It is engaging and spiritually uplifting mesermizing you as each episode unfolds.  

This 10-part miniseries meets the overwhelming challenge of bringing the story of the Bible to film in a way that embraces modern technology and makes the stories seem relevant and fresh to today's audiences. The Bible was truly a project of passion for executive producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey. By focusing on hope and love as the string of continuity throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, Burnett, Roma, and the writers and filmmakers have created a powerful series about a historical text that's at once action film, adventure, and even love story. The many stories included in this presentation include those of Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark, the birth of Abraham's son Isaac, Moses's parting of the Red Sea, David and Goliath, Samson and Delilah, Mary's conception of Jesus and his birth, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the spread of Jesus's word through his disciples. Each of the 10 episodes is powerfully rendered--the subject matter is by nature moving, and the costuming, special effects, settings, and filming choices are fitting and realistic. The performances of the entire cast are stirring, but special recognition is deserved by Diogo Morgado for his performance as Jesus, Downey as Mother Mary, Darwin Shaw as Peter, Joe Wredden as Judas, and William Houston as Moses.The best thing about this miniseries is that it functions so well on three very disparate levels: it serves as an affirmation of faith and a bringing to life of a beloved story for the devout, a reminder and re-igniter of faith for those raised in faith who may have strayed from religion, and an overview of the Bible's stories and a catalyst for faith for those who may never have been exposed to the Bible. One hesitates to characterize the series as "highlights of the Bible" because the moniker trivializes the subject (though Downey calls it just that), but indeed the film views like a "highlights of" in the best sense of the phrase: it offers an overview of most of the major, as well as some of the minor events related in the Bible and conveys a strong sense of the emotion, faith, devotion, and even fervor that has driven religious belief for thousands of years. The Bible: The Epic Miniseries is well crafted and powerfully delivered and it absolutely lives up to its professed desire to preserve the true spirit of the Bible. Special features include lots of interview footage with Burnett and Downey on a variety of subjects; featurettes on the Genesis and Creation segments of the series, casting, music, and special effects; and a "Mary, Did You Know" music video composed of visual excerpts from the film set to the 1996 recording by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna. (Ages 13 and older due to graphic violence) --Tami Horiuchi

Gosh, here's a touchy subject if there ever was one.  There are many social networking online support forums, but many are tied into your Facebook or Twitter account where everyone can read your soppy messages when you're feeling especially blue.  Since the entire world you "friended" can also be privy to such episodes, most embark on their sign up journey silently reading other's woes afraid to list anything they are experiencing for fear it will be public to the world.  So, where can you go for some isolated online therapy when you need it?

Fibromyalgia can be an isolating condition that leaves meany sufferers with the knowledge that no one understands what they are going through.  Hence, making your statement public for everyone's view can make life frustrating on your "up" days.  But, by making contact with fellow suffers who are dealing with the same feelings can bring a sense of resolute peace.  The organizations listed below offer you an isolated opportunity, free from other friends, colleagues, or coworkers to voice your dark days and concerns with a community who shares your plight.  These forums are open 24/7 just waiting to hear your voice with concerns for the moment.

MD Junction
Fibromyalgia Forum and Support Group
Daily Strength 


Please feel free to email me with other groups that you use.  I will post them for others to see.

Stephen King's Doctor Sleep is a an ongoing sequel to The Shinning.  If memories of The Shinning still harbor remnants, then this new book is just the medicine you need to take you away during your reading moments.  

On highways across America, a tribe of people called the True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless—mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, the True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the steam that children with the shining produce when they are slowly tortured to death. 

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel, where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant shining power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.” 

Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of devoted readers of The Shining and satisfy anyone new to this icon in the King canon. - Amazon.com

It is well noted that individuals who suffer from fibromyalgia benefit immensely from tailored exercise programs.  Non-weight bearing exercises such as swimming in warm water is a wonderful choice for those who can not handle any type of pounding activity.  Recent research suggest that swimming can significantly reduce chronic pain in fibromyalgia.  In a study involving 33 woman with fibro, one group swam in warm water at least three times a week for an hour, while the other group didn't swim at all.  At the end of this eight month study, the women who swam reported a noticeable decrease in their pain levels compared to those who didn't.  

Swimming is helpful because the water supports your weight by not putting too much strain on your muscles, hence, helping mobility.  Swimming stretches and strengthens the muscles and improves cardiovascular fitness.  An added plus is warm water relaxes the muscles and eases pain and stiffness. While you are swimming, you must concentrate on your breathing, rhythm and stroke.  This takes you mind off your worries and pain.  You are totally immersed in the moment!  If you're lucky enough to live by the beach, you'll get the added benefits of swimming 'green'.   All those beautiful lowly waves, rolling and and massaging every stroke.  

I know it isn't easy getting off that chair when you're in pain, but you must!  Just get up and move!  That is of course on the days your pain is under a level six.  When you move, your mind shifts.  The pain becomes weaker, and all of a sudden you are at one with the activity and pain is but a small impression for the moment.

I once loathed those individuals who were always on their phones, pulling and plugging away at the various games they downloaded recently.  You know those harbingers who blanket the Facebook page crying out for "more lives!"  I just couldn't fathom the sheer power of personal happiness that could accompany a simple game.  That was until I found myself waiting on vacation recently in an overcrowded restaurant.  Anything with a long stint that requires a stationary position for a long time could beacon the call of a painful flare-up.  There I was amidst 20 or so patrons waiting for service when a painful flare-up attached its claws. Sitting there refusing to leave, I flipped through my apps and noticed the Candy Crush Saga. I was in no mood to sit a moment longer, as pain cursed my body, and I thought, what can it hurt?

After cruising through a few levels at warp speed, I took mental note my pain was gone!  I went inward trying to feel the trail that once engulfed the massive wave, but it was only a residual mark barely noticeable!  Soon, I began picking up my phone when I came home from an awful, harrowing day at work to play a couple of games to unwind.  I felt as though I was toting my favorite wine, years gone now, due to restrictions.  It had the same sedating, calming effect allowing my frazzled nerves to unwind.  

According to new research reported in Asian News International, playing immersive games can produce brain reactions similar to those produced by powerful painkilling drugs.   Dr. Jeffrey I. Gold of USC's Keck School of Medicine, the benefits go beyond just taking your mind off the pain. After using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine to measure the mental activity of patients exposed to pain while playing video games, he found the resulting pain reduction was not simply a result of distraction, but actually involved the games inducing an opiate-like response in certain regions of the brain.

Gold and his team aren't yet certain why video games produce these pain-killing reactions, but it's likely to be due to the attention-grabbing, immersive nature of various games, he told ANI. Even simply watching video games produces a mild effect, they found, but the more engaging the experience, the bigger the analgesic effect.