Fibromyalgia Podcast

CBD stands for cannabidiol, which is one of the active ingredients found in the cannabis plant. As a non-psychoactive component, CBD will not alter your brain or make you feel “high”. It does, however, affect your body. In this episode, we’ll talk about those effects specific to the fibromyalgia body. Should you talk to your doctor about using CBD? Dr. Ginevra Liptan will offer insight from a medical standpoint and provide resources to help further your own research.  Key Points Is there any difference between CBD, hemp, marijuana and cannabis? What is the difference between the effects of CBD and THC in your body?  I live in a state where marijuana is not legal, or I work at a job where I can't have THC in my system. What can I do? How can you make sure you are getting access to the right types of CBD for you? There is a huge amount of money being poured into researching both cannabis and cannabis-derived medications. I do encourage people to talk about it with their doctor, even though it's uncomfortable.

You can't take a vacation from fibromyalgia, which also means you can't take a vacation from doing all of the things necessary to manage your fibromyalgia. Healing is a full time job, and it takes a lot of work to keep feeling our best! Sometimes we hate making choices that feel like eating broccoli when we are really craving ice cream, and we give in, even when that lack of discipline leads to more pain, fog and fatigue. What can you do when your inner child wants to stomp her foot and say, "No! I don't want to!"?   Key Points Why can’t I do what I know I need to do? Do I just need more willpower? Why forcing yourself to do something never works in the long run. How creating simple habits can help you develop automatic muscle memory - and how to determine which simple habits are right for you. The one BIG THING many coaches are missing when it comes to motivation. Being unmotivated is totally okay and totally normal. Sometimes the answer isn’t white-knuckling action - it’s rest.   Links & Resources Fi

The Mayo Clinic reports 2-6% of school aged children in the U.S. have fibromyalgia. Conservatively, that means 14.8 million kids struggle with fibro fog, chronic pain and a host of other confusing and debilitating symptoms. Dr. Melissa Congdon joins us with the message that pediatric fibromyalgia is very treatable, meaning you and your child can enjoy their time as children. Learn how getting an early diagnosis makes a huge difference in helping your child succeed at school, in sports and beyond.   Key Points Does your child wake up crying or feeling fussy without illness or a known cause? Does your child come home from school some days exhausted, some days not? Homework: Does your child have trouble remembering what they have studied for a test? Sports: Does your child perform well on some days, but on others they have trouble keeping up? If your child has a first degree relative with fibromyalgia, they are 8-1/2 times more likely to develop this syndrome themselves. Might your child have fibromyalgia?   A

Are you struggling to keep up with the demands of your work due to your fibromyalgia? There is a big difference between not being able to do your job and needing a little help to accomplish certain tasks. In this episode, Julie Hamilton discusses how to ask for special accommodations at work, before things get so bad that you're faced with disciplinary action or even termination. Before you think about filing for disability, consider how small changes can make a big impact on your performance and job satisfaction.   Key Points What are special work accommodations? When to talk to your boss about special work accommodations, what you should say, and what you should NEVER say. Just because you ask for it, isn't a guarantee. HOW to have a conversation with your boss that will increase your ability to work together and accomplish your mutual goals. How you can avoid disciplinary action, a poor performance evaluation, or termination, even if your fibromyalgia flares are holding you back. You CAN keep your job, ad

Do you worry that your job could be in jeopardy due to your struggle with fibromyalgia? Did you know that the Family Medical Leave Act can protect your job while you take time away to heal? Julie Hamilton is an expert on FMLA and has used it with her clients and in her own healing journey with fibromyalgia. She joins us today to detail exactly what the FMLA requires in order for you to take advantage of it, and to describe what situations the Act may cover on your own healing journey as a valuable employee.   Key Points "I used to be a good employee until fibromyalgia came along." There may still be ways for you to be that employee again, through using things like the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to take some time off, to heal, and to feel better. Healing can be a full-time job in itself! The FMLA can cover your time away from work, and it also guarantees your job after your return to work. You do not have to be a full-time employee in order to use the FMLA. The Family Medical Leave Act also protects your

What are the things you once loved that fibromyalgia is now keeping you from doing? What would it feel like to be able to take joy in those things again? In this episode, we do more than just tell you how this is possible. Tami will lead you in an interactive exercise that will open the door to your joy and greatest pleasures once again. Download the Joy List Worksheet and start adding the fun things back into your life! Key Points What are the things that you love to do, that feed your soul, that make you happy, that bring joy into your life and fill you up, so that you have something to give? This episode walks you through creating your own Joy List. You will end up, right now, adding something back into your life that brings you joy, something that you've had to say no to before. If you've said yes to too many other things, you might be saying no to the things that bring you joy. Another common barrier to joy: We feel guilty taking time for ourselves. This is not about making yourself another to do list b

It can be super tough to say, “No, I can't do that.” It's so easy for fibromyalgia to feel like an enormous taking away of things. We can't do the job we used to do. We can't do the activities we used to do. We can't eat the foods we used to be able to eat. But we can do a little mindset shift and realize we're doing it for a reason. It’s never about saying No. You learn to say “No” so that you can say “Hell YES!” to other things: the things that really matter to you, the things that will help make your life feel rich and rewarding and fun again. Key Points It's very natural to push yourself to do all of the things you want to do, the things you feel like you need to do, the obligations that you have, or even pushing yourself so you can help somebody else. Saying No sometimes is very emotional. Sometimes, for some people, it really feels like a failure. Are you giving yourself the space to heal, or are you trying to continue on in the exact same way, at the exact same pace, doing the exact same things, as yo

Do you dream of travel and adventure, but the thought of going out-of-town, even for a short weekend, feels defeating — and almost sends you into a flare just thinking about it? Traveling with fibromyalgia can be challenging! These tips from Tami will show you how you can take that summer vacation, visit distant family, or even holiday in Spain, without all of the pain and overwhelm. Key Points The healthier you can start off at the beginning of your trip, the better off you'll be at the end, when you've used up a lot of extra energy Don't be afraid (or ashamed) to ask for help when you need it. Know when and where it is smarter NOT to save money when you travel. How to save weight, wear and tear on your body while you travel. When packing light is NOT a good idea. Plan to use facilities and amenities that can help your body feel better.   Links & Resources FibromyalgiaPodcast.com is the digital companion to this audio magazine, where you can find full show notes, links to the studies referenced in thi

Every 10th episode is a special one, where Tami answers YOUR burning questions. Our first listener question is one that Tami hears quite a lot: “Does the weather affect fibromyalgia?” Listen in for some of the science behind the answer, as well as how our own bodies may know things that science hasn’t figured out yet. Key Points “If I'm in a windy place for just a few minutes, it leads to so much pain for days.” “Normal room temperatures are not normal for me. Whenever I sit in a class, listen to a lesson or a  lecture, I feel cold and that starts to cause more body pain.” When we talk about "weather", we are talking about a lot of things. We are talking about if it's rainy or dry, what the humidity is, if the sun is shining, if it's cloudy, what the temperature is, and along with it, there are things like barometric pressure changes. The term “weather” actually represents a lot of different things! How does the weather affect our fibromyalgia symptoms? How can you help your body feel better, regardless of t

If you put a gun to my head and said, "Tell me the one thing that turned your life around with fibromyalgia, and you can only choose one." That one thing would be learning the fine art of self-care, learning how to listen to my body and give her what she needs so she can heal. This is the #1 thing that will make the biggest difference in how you feel. It is also the hardest part of the job. Taking care of yourself when you don't feel good or when you're frustrated with your body can be so, so challenging. Key Points Self-care means self-love, but it goes beyond an emotion we feel. Self-care means treating ourselves the way we would treat someone that we care about and treating ourselves the way we would treat someone who we are responsible for taking care of. A caring environment is always healthier than a bullying environment, which is actually what most of us are providing ourselves when we try to make ourselves feel better. You just can't heal if you are always berating yourself or pushing yourself to you

Do you always do exactly what your doctor tells you to? Or do you sometimes think, "You have NO clue what it's like to live in a fibromyalgia body? Do you realize what you're asking me?" Or do you just forget because you have brain fog? There are so many reasons why you might not be doing the things your doctor is telling you to do. A Certified Fibromyalgia Coach has been there, done that, and is trained specifically in fibromyalgia treatment and management strategies. Learn how that direct, personal experience can help you bridge the gap and feel better faster. Key Points I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2007. Between 2007 and 2009, I did not get better; in fact, I got worse. In those two years, there were lots of things my doctor was suggesting that I do, and I wasn't very good about doing them. Not because I didn't want to, but because I actually didn't know how. The turning point for getting better was hiring a health coach: a person to talk to, to strategize with, and come with new solutions. If you

As patients, we feel so powerless sometimes. We're at the mercy of our doctors. We're at the mercy of our insurance company. A health coach can help us realize that we have what's called "self-efficacy." We gain a sense of control over our pain, and we engage in our own care in a vitally powerful way. When we engage in our care and gain that control, it's really empowering. We understand that, "I am responsible for myself, and I have the ability to improve my pain." Key Points Sports has already figured out how important coaching is. Executive management has figured out how important coaching is. We need to apply it to health now. New studies show that patient pain levels and functional status improve dramatically with just a coaching model alone. A transformative care model: where you integrate coaching and patient training with treatment, using a team of medical professionals, a health coach, and technology. Additional studies demonstrate what happens when you integrate health coaching into routine care, e

You are the world’s foremost expert at living in your body. No one is a bigger expert on who you are and how you feel than you. Your Mission, should you choose to accept it, is to take responsibility for your own healthcare. Discover how to develop a more collaborative relationship with our providers, and provide them with the right information, so they can make the right diagnosis and help us create the right treatment plan for our specific challenges… and then follow through on what we decide we need to do. Key Points Our providers' jobs are the easy 2%—telling us what needs to be done. Our job as the patient is the really hard 98%—actually doing the things it takes to feel our best. You have 100% control over how you are actively participating in a mental and emotional way, and how you are receiving what your providers have to offer. Use data to give a balanced, true picture of how we are doing when we are talking with our providers. If I say “I can't stand very long," that is very different than: “I can

She had to keep her own diagnosis secret, in fear of being harshly judged by her peers in medical school. While we have come a long way from the stigma that was once attached to fibromyalgia, there are still far too many of us suffering in silence. In this episode, Dr. Ginevra Liptan sheds light on the latest research and treatment options that give her hope. Key Points What is happening in the body with fibromyalgia like a chain reaction. Everybody looks at the scientific and research data a little bit differently, like blind men describing an elephant. The thing that most doctors focus on is the end result of the chain reaction, which is the hypersensitivity or increase sensitivity to pain. But that is just the end result. A whole host of things are happening in concert with that pain. We need more targeted research. The New England Journal of Medicine, which is the biggest and most widely read medical journal in the world, has published only ONE ARTICLE on fibromyalgia. We can educate people about our ill

What is fibromyalgia? As of today, we don't really know what causes fibromyalgia, and there is no cure. However, I do believe that there is a lot that can be done. I believe your symptoms can be managed so well that you can live the life you want to live. Knowledge is power. Find out more about the background and history of fibromyalgia, as well as the cutting-edge scientific study that is re-defining how we think about and treat this disorder in today’s Foundations episode. Key Points Fibromyalgia is NOT a woman’s disease. Fibromyalgia is NOT a new disease. You will find the first full description of fibromyalgia and its symptoms in 1816. Fibromyalgia is MORE than a chronic pain condition. There are four primary symptoms of fibromyalgia, as experienced by the patient. Links & Resources FibromyalgiaPodcast.com is the digital companion to this audio magazine, where you can find full show notes, submit your questions for Tami Stackelhouse, and schedule a free consultation with a fibromyalgia coach. Get a

When we think about our fibromyalgia diagnosis, we tend to think in "survival" terms - How am I going to beat this? or How am I going to get better? Your Coach, Tami Stackelhouse, has a radically different perspective to offer: true, honest embracement. This may be very hard to hear, especially if you are in a lot of pain. We know how impossible this sounds. So listen gently, and learn how Tami took the tough, debilitating “life sentence” of fibromyalgia and turned it into a blessing for herself and others. Key Points “What we don't do is almost more important than what we do, do.” This insightful quote by Steve Jobs is a provocative way to approach your new fibro life. How to become “tracking-wise” to learn what helps and what hurts. How to know what makes you feel good and ASK FOR what you need. Links & Resources FibromyalgiaPodcast.com is the digital companion to this audio magazine, where you can find full show notes, submit your questions for Tami Stackelhouse, and schedule a free consultation wit

"I realized I was treating my body as if it were a stubborn donkey!" What if instead, by treating your body with kindness and respect, you would actually start feeling better? Tami shares how shifting your mindset and your relationship with your body is the first critical key to living the fibro life you love. Key Points Do you feel like your body is a prison, and you are trapped inside? Do you say things like, “Can’t I just get a new body?” What if you and your body were actually on the same team, working together to break free of the fibromyalgia prison of pain? Links & Resources FibromyalgiaPodcast.com is the digital companion to this audio magazine, where you can find full show notes, submit your questions for Tami Stackelhouse, and schedule a free consultation with a Fibromyalgia Coach. Get a free copy of Tami’s book, Take Back Your Life: Find Hope and Freedom From Fibromyalgia Symptoms and Pain at TakeBackYourLifeBook.com. Blog Post: “First Commandment of Healing: Don’t be an Ass. Honor Your Bod

In a fresh approach to hope and healing, Tami Stackelhouse shares what she has learned from a decade of taking her life back from her fibromyalgia diagnosis. Key Points I believe fibromyalgia does not need to be a life-ending illness. I believe there are ways for every person with fibromyalgia to feel better. As patients, the more we know, the better we can advocate for ourselves. I believe in laughter! We need humor and a lightness that makes life worth living. I also value beauty, grace, self-care, and just being kind to one another. I believe fibromyalgia is like blind men describing an elephant! lol I believe you get better faster when you slow down. I believe the world doesn’t revolve around your illness - it revolves around your healing. I believe that talking to somebody who understands is a healing activity in itself. I also believe that in general, most of us really do know what we should be doing. The challenge is actually doing it. Links & Resources FibromyalgiaPodcast.com is the digital

Tami Stackelhouse's fibromyalgia journey went from diagnosis to disability to desperation before she discovered the keys to living a fibro life she loves. Today, Tami almost never has body pain, has enough energy to do the things she wants to do, and her life no longer revolves around her illness. As your Fibromyalgia Coach, Tami's mission is to encourage hope and educate you on ways you can improve your fibromyalgia symptoms. This audio magazine will feature a Dream Team of top doctors, researchers, experts, coaches, and patient advocates in the fibromyalgia community. Tami will be sharing before and after stories to inspire you and show you what is possible. Tami will coach you the same way she has coached her clients over the last decade. Stay tuned for our foundational episodes, covering some basic topics that I talk about over and over again, such as: The role that we have as patients in our own healthcare Why your body isn't actually the enemy What a Fibromyalgia Coach is and does How self-care isn't r