Living with fibromyalgia

If you are reading this on a computer screen, chances are that you would have clicked your mouse at least a couple of times to navigate through this content. And in most cases, the finger used to click would be your index finger. Now imagine doing this repetitive movement every few minutes, day after day, year after year and you can easily infer that your fingers are at an increased risk of repetitive stress injury (or RSI) due to mouse overuse. The common name given to this painful condition is  Mouse Finger .  The 'Finger' in Mouse Finger usually leads a person to believe that the pain is restricted to the fingers alone.  However, from what I have surmised after reviewing anecdotal evidence and medical literature, it commonly presents as a cluster of symptoms in the finger, wrist and the forearm. Perhaps that explains why there are no easily available research studies pertaining to Mouse Finger alone. Most of the research studies consider these symptoms as a p...

I know your time is important. So let's get right to the main points first and save the details for later. Here is what you need to know about disability insurance in the US. Disability Happens More Often Than You Think According to the United States Census Bureau, nearly 1 in 5 people are disabled . This does not include invisible disabilities which are estimated to be 10% . And then there are temporary disabilities that can prevent you from working for several months to a few years at a time. With these figures, as a conservative estimate, there is a 33% chance that you will be requiring disability insurance at some point in your life . It Happens to Women More Often Than Men According to the United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention,  24.4% women report on disability as compared to 19.8% men. Employer Paid Disability, More Often Than Not, Does Not Help in Times of Need  Employer paid disability is gover...

It was messy, but it is finally done and over with! On December 22, 2017 the tax reform bill , or 'a giant tax cut ' as President Trump calls it, has finally been passed by both houses and has been signed into a law. It is not immediately obvious how the tax plan impacts patients with chronic illnesses. Views in the media are often tainted by the political prism through which the commentators tend to look at this issue. Plus there is limited discussion of the specific provisions that can affect patients with chronic illnesses. In this post, I am outlining some of the major provisions of the final bill that may affect chronically ill patients. Bear in mind that I am not a professional in accounting and taxation . However, I seem to have had more than my fair share of tax problems and as a result, I have become overfamiliar with the IRS website and publications. Article continues after the ad To make it easier to wrap our brains around this complex piece...

Are you looking for holiday gifts for your loved ones who are suffering with chronic pain? Or are you living with chronic pain and have no idea what to tell your friends and family when they ask you about your holiday wish list. Here is a list of gift ideas categorised into various groups that I have compiled based on my own experience and that of the patients that I interact with. Top 10 Gift Ideas Under $100 for Chronic Pain Patients iReliev TENS + EMS $79.95 Legoyo Far Infrared Heating Pad $ 99.99  Shiastu Neck Massager $44.99 Gel Seat Cushion Conformax Airmax $ 96.25 Tablet Stand Levo G2 $79.99 Sdadi Adjustable Table $ 59.99 Memory Foam Wedge Pillow Aeris $77.9 Miracle Back Pillow $77 Penguin Wireless Ergonomic Mouse $ 74.98 Dragon NaturallySpeaking Premium$ 99.99 Time Saving Shopping Tip  : As you go through this article, keep on adding any of the items you like to your Amazon cart via the product links. Once you are done, have another pass...

Are you looking for holiday gifts for your loved ones who are suffering with chronic pain? Or are you living with chronic pain and have no idea what to tell your friends and family when they ask you about your holiday wish list. Here is a list of gift ideas categorised into various groups that I have compiled based on my own experience and that of the patients that I interact with. Top 10 Gift Ideas Under $50 for Chronic Pain Patients HealthMate TENS unit $29.99 Mind and Body Neck and Shoulder Wrap $ 19.99 Body Back Duo Massager Bundle $ 34.95 Backjoy $ 39.99 Mycarbon Posture Corrector $ 19.99 Tablift Tablet Stand $ 39.95 Vogue Carpenter Laptop/Overbed Table $ 37.99 Tampor Contour Gel Cervical Pillow $ 40.99 Brentwood Zuma Therapeutic Foam Wedge $ 39 Logitech HD C525 $ 29.99 Time Saving Shopping Tip : As you go through this article, keep on adding any of the items you like to your Amazon cart via the product links. Once you are done, have another pass at th...

If you are frequently bedridden due to illnesses like chronic pain , chances are that you will tend to lose muscle mass. Less muscle strength can lead to increase pain thus causing a vicious cycle of chronic pain. It is important therefore to find a way to exercise and strengthen the muscle despite being bedridden . Over the years, I have found myself frequently to be in this situation due to fibromyalgia .  There are several videos about exercises for the bedridden patients(for example, this ). However, the exercises in these are more to improve mobility rather than increase muscle strength. Ultimately, I spent quite a bit of time compiling a list of exercises from YouTube that exercise and strengthen every major muscle group.  The list is provided below along with the major muscle groups that they exercise.As I have suffered from injuries because of using weights incorrectly, I recommend trying only with the resistance bands initially and that is what I have includ...

The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook  is the #1 book for you to consider buying if you want to get more information on self treatment for myofascial trigger points ( common in fibromyalgia patients) than what is available through websites and YouTube videos. I have found it useful for dealing with the neck pain at home. it was very useful in situations where the muscle would continue to have trigger points even after multiple physical therapy sessions. A regular home treatment several times a day is more effective than going to physical therapy session a few times a week. HOW I USE IT I got a basic understanding of the affected area from the physical therapist first, then understood the relevant anatomical features through YouTube videos and then read the book to dive deeper .I would periodically review the understanding with the physical therapist and also reread he book.I would usually get a new insight every time I went through this process. You do not have to read t...