Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on May 20, 2009.
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on May 12, 2009.
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Anyone who copes with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or Fibromyalgia (FM) knows there are people out there with all sorts of theories about what’s wrong with them. We’ve heard it all: You’re just depressed. If you’d exercise more, you’d feel better. The insulting “it’s all in your head.” And on and on.
The worst insult is probably: Everybody gets tired.
We know that! Before we got sick, we just got tired, too. But this fatigue is far beyond anything I (or most of the rest of us) would wish on anyone. If you can imagine how you feel on the worst day of having the flu, you can imagine how somebody with CFS feels on a good day.
That’s why it took me more than two months before I could get past the opening line to read the article I’m about to recommend.
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on June 20, 2008.
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by Pamela Rice Hahn
Note: I wrote an initial article about the Bounce Back Exercise Chair in 2005 while working as the about.com guide for the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome site. Getting a chair for myself has been my goal since that time and I now finally have one! I’ve had mine for a week, and I can tell a difference already; it’s especially helped lessen some of my lower back pain. … Now for the article:
Maintaining or improving one’s physical fitness is difficult for a healthy person. It’s even more so for those with Fibromyalgia, and especially so for those who are exercise intolerant because of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Although it doesn’t promise an easy solution, the Bounce Back Fitness Chair does provide a safer fitness alternative. Because it combines the function of low-impact aerobics while the user is seated in a comfortable chair, anyone with balance or most other mobility problems can perform the exercise.
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on September 30, 2007.
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Dr. John W. Gow’s Research Shows Promise of Diagnostic Test for ME/CFS/CFIDS
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (M.E., ME) — referred to as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) per CDC definition in the United States or Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) — is a complex disorder characterized by persistent fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, and post-exertional malaise. (Malaise is usually referred to as the feeling of bodily discomfort at the beginning of an illness; in ME/CFS, malaise is not limited to the onset to the illness, but for those with exercise-intolerant ME/CFS, it is the pain, discomfort, and depression that can follow any exertion.) Because the mechanism of fatigue in CFS is not known and as no reliable diagnostic test is available, misdiagnosis is common and treatment regimes vary.
T-shirts and Gift Ideas Index for the “a nap is only nice when it’s a luxury, not a necessity” design
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on September 26, 2007.
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Diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) at age 9, Casey Fero’s short life was one plagued with headaches, cognitive difficulties, muscle weakness, exhaustion, and other problems associated with that condition. Despite such struggles, his mother — Pat Fero, who was diagnosed with CFS prior to Casey’s birth and is President of the Wisconsin CFS Association — recently told the CFSAC (The Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) that Casey had just completed two years of community college, had a summer job, and was looking forward to beginning courses at the University of Wisconsin. Sadly, that was not to be.
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on September 9, 2007.
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Those who cope with the joint pain and muscle problems associated with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia may be interested in new information that suggests that the beta-cryptoxanthin in fruits and vegetables may cut arthritis risk.
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on November 2, 2005.
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on October 30, 2005.
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by Pamela Rice Hahn
I’m probably not the only person with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia to utter the lame joke: “As long as it’s working, I don’t care if it is a placebo effect!”
(View the Complete T-Shirt and Gift Merchandise Index for the Placebo Effect design)
A joke is one thing. It’s nice to know that the reality is something else entirely. In fact, after pooling the data of 29 studies in which 1,016 people with CFS received various placebos, a new study suggests that if you have CFS, and a treatment does make you feel better, the odds are against it being a placebo effect.
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on October 28, 2005.
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How You Can Be a CFIDS Advocate
Advocacy efforts to increase CFIDS awareness is not just a one-day event.
The May 12th, 2005 Virtual Lobby Day resulted in 2,516 messages being sent from the The CFIDS Association of America Grassroots Action Center to lawmakers and media professionals. In addition, messages were delivered in person by 58 CFIDS advocates who conducted nearly 80 meetings on Capitol Hill!
Complete T-Shirt and Gift Merchandise Index for “CFIDS/ME/CFS Sucks!” design
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Posted by Pamela Rice Hahn on October 22, 2005.
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Aromatherapy is the therapeutic inhalation of the natural fragrance from volatile plant oils, essential oils, infused oils, and herbal preparations, and is one of the ways those with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia can use natural fragrances to enhance their well-being. Some mistakenly think that aromatherapy is simply a carry-over hippy practice of burning incense that’s been wrapped up in a new name. But, while the term aromatherapy is new, the practice has been around for thousands of years.
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Pammy is the main character in two comic strips by 
Those observations are often political, so that's when Thera Pist hangs out at 
A professional writer since 1984, Pamela Rice Hahn is the author of more than 20 published books.